Latest posts by Elia Varela Serra from December, 2008
Uganda: Being a journalist is unpredictable
Daniel Kalinaki, an editor at the Ugandan daily The Monitor, explains that being a journalist in Uganda is an unpredictable profession: this week the paper has received a letter to “present ourselves at the Criminal Investigations Directorate to assist the police investigations that a story we published in the paper...
Tanzania: Visiting Mikumi National Park
Pernille of Louder than Swahili describes going on a safari to Mikumi National Park, 5-6 hours drive from Dar es Salaam, including some pictures.
Ghana: Tired of dirty politics
Omanba of Ghanaconscious criticizes politics in Ghana as pressuring people with “with negativity and scandalous innuendos”. For him the recent presidential elections have brought “the worst of humankind in Ghana”.
Nigeria: Discussing the Christmas spirit
With the Christmas holidays coming to an end, it is time to collect a few thoughts by Nigerian bloggers on this special season of the year. While some like certain aspects of the holidays, others are critical of the excessive consumerism and partying, wondering about the real spirit of Christmas.
Kenya: Banks should embrace money transfer service M-pesa
Bankelele explains why he thinks Kenyan banks should embrace M-Pesa, the popular money transfer service offered by the mobile phone provider Safaricom: “Banks need to change and embrace M-Pesa as it is able to do some things they can't or won't do”.
Senegal: Domestic workers’ exploitation
Faty Dieng at Dakar Bondy Blog [Fr] denounces about the working conditions of domestic workers in Senegal, some of them as young as 16, which she describes “a form of slavery and exploitation in disguise”.
Nigeria: Victoriana in African costumes
Saharan Vibe features the works of British-Nigerian textile artist Yinka Sonibare who had garnered international recognition with his Victorian historical figures dressed in Dutch wax African print costumes. The post includes numerous photos of his works.
Ghana: Election runoff
African Elections Project posted some pictures of the runoff for the 7th of December Presidential elections taking place today, while @ghanaelections has been offering live Twitter updates on the voting.
Tanzania: Friends of Ruaha blog
Samuel Maina of Theatre of Inconveniences introduces the recently launched Friends of Ruaha blog devoted to the conservation of the Ruaha Park in Tanzania which is “arguably, one of the largest and most beautiful wildlife parks in Africa”, according to him. The post includes a video from the Friends of...
Ethiopia: Most popular stories of 2008
EthioBlog at Nazret.com posted a list of the top 50 stories of 2008 in this popular Ethiopian news portal. At the top of the list there's a story about Forbes magazine listing Addis Ababa as the 6th world's dirtiest city.
Ethiopia: Clerics seek constitutional ban on homosexuality
EthioBlog reports that religious leaders in Ethiopia have urged lawmakers to amend the country's constitution to ban homosexuality, sparking a heated debate amongst the readers of the blog about homosexuality in Ethiopia with over 300 comments.
Instability in Guinea could mean trouble in Liberia too
Emmanuel of Liberia Journal expresses concern about the recent developments in neighboring Guinea because “any power struggle would be extremely dangerous, and could easily become a regional problem”.
Zimbabwe: Update on Jestina Mukoko's abduction
Denford Magora's Zimbabwe Blog posted some photos of human rights activist Jestina Mukoko (who was abducted a couple of weeks ago) appearing in court yesterday accused of recruiting insurgents to topple Mugabe. A few hours later he reported that “although not being freed, it looks as though the abductees will...
Guinea: Late President Lansana Conté's legacy
Sofa Jawaro of The sword of truth reflects on the legacy of late President Lansana Conté of Guinea, and about what the future holds for the country after 24 years of dictatorship.
Ghana: Upcoming conference on communication education
Communication, Culture, Democracy & Development in Nigeria announces that the African Council for Communication Education (ACCE) is organizing a conference to take place at the University of Ghana from the 4th to the 8th of August 2009 under the theme “Communication education and practice in Africa: a social contract for...
MSF's Top 10 Humanitarian Crises in 2008
MSF (Doctors without borders) has released its annual list of Top 10 Humanitarian Crises of 2008 and the DR Congo, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Somalia and Ethiopia's Somali region made the cut. Several bloggers have commented on the list, including The Road to the Horizon who noted that there was “no under-reporting...
The San bushmen of Southern Africa
Saharan Vibe writes about the San, a term that refers to a diverse group of hunter-gatherers living in Southern Africa who share historical and linguistic connections, including several photos.
Malawi: A decade of internet
Bennett Kankuzi reviews the history of internet in Malawi and the current accessibility challenges in the country.
“Why I blog about Africa” (Part 2)
A couple of weeks ago we brought you a meme that was doing the rounds in the Francophone blogosphere answering the question of why to blog about Africa, after which it spread into the Anglophone blogosphere. Now we bring you a selection of that new batch of reactions.
Rwanda: Military leader convicted of genocide
UN Dispatch reports that Col. Theoneste Bagosora, and two accomplices, Maj. Aloys Ntabakuze and Colonel Anatole Nsengiyumva were sentenced to life imprisonment for “genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes” by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda today.
Ghana: Time for decentralisation?
Omanba at Ghanaconscious gives a few reasons why handing back power to local governments would be good in Ghana, as a new government approaches after the December 7th elections.
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