Zimbabwe–Great Lakes Blog Roundup · Global Voices
Zimpundit

Robert Mugabe, the last of Africa's “big men” turns 82 late next month.  Members of the ruling ZANU-PF have begun murmuring about ambitous plans for an extravagant birthday bash despite the failing economy and famished population.  The silver lining in Zimbabwe's dark cloud is that the rainy season has been good thus far.
The MDC debacle which has deteriorated into a split of the party many had tippped to bring an end to Mugabe's tyranny is the main topic of discussion in the country.   Writing on the subject, The Zimbabwean Pundit points out that the split is more a struggle between the “technorats” and the mobilizers in the party than it is a controversy about whether or not to participate in elections.
In powerful anecdotal piece This is Zimbabwe illustrates just how powerless the Mugabe regime has rendered Zimbabweans.
“This is what it means to be so poor and vulnerable that you lose control of your own life and are forced to rely completely on others on a daily basis – assuming that is, someone will be there for you. This is what it means to be one of the disempowered people of Zimbabwe who have lost hope of any better future.”
Agathon Rwasa points out a new blog that features testimonials from survivors of the Rwandan genocide.  RW also features a post highlighting how the FNL is exploiting peasants in rural Bujumbura.
With elections  on the horizon, Congogirl is worried  about the authenticity of the voter registration process.  With the election commision announcing that half the country had already registered to vote, she wonders possible this could be so when that is the totality of eligible voters in DRC.
Geeta has an interesting post in which she asseses the status of some Malawi's hospitals.  She suggests interstingly that, “one can use the condition of hospitals to somehow measure the success of a state in looking after its people.”