Blogger, journalist, lawyer, digital activist and new media consultant. Ndesanjo Macha is interested in the relationship between social media and development in the developing world, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa.
Macha was formerly, Global Voices’ Sub-Saharan Africa Editor. Follow me on Twitter: @ndesanjo
Latest posts by Ndesanjo Macha from March, 2007
Mauritius: players don't use intelligence
Ishtiba on Mauritian soccer following their recent loss agains Sudan, “So much frustration among Mauritian supporters today …but 1 thing that many persons dont understand is that : how can we get good /quality football, how can “we deliver the goods” when there is no effective structure put in place...
Ethiopia: blog blocked
Andrew Heavens blog has been blocked in Ethiopia: Surprise, surprise…meskelsquare.com is now out of sight here. Why would they block a blog which publishes stories about Miscalls and Kenyan web watchdogs? Ahunis enezih sewotch cherkavhewin tilew abedu Of course, blogs on blogspot.com have disappeared once again.
South Africa: Busisiwe, Rest in Peace
Earlier this month, the South African blogosphere lost a blogger, writer, artist and poet, Busisiwe Sigasa (25). She started her blog, My Realities, at the end of last year with the help of Sokari Ekine. Busisiwe, whose name means “the Blessed One” in Zulu, was also known as Latifah. She...
Sudan: is it genocide or civil war?
Andile Mngxitama responds to Mahmood Mamdani‘s article about the conflict in Darfur: “If we cut through all the historical and sociological verbiage proffered by Mamdani, we can more clearly see his Arab settlerist sympathies. He uses a hierarchy of suffering method (genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of war and civil...
Zimbabwe: taking gospel too far!
Is putting your hands up in the air illegal in Zimbabwe?: The Media and Information Commission (MIC) whose business it is to accredit newspapers and journalists think some gospel music producers have taken the gospel too far. According to The Standard newspaper, Geoffrey Chaparadza who was involved in the production...
Sudan: soldier of Africa is going home
After spending a year in Darfur as a UN/AU military observer, Soldier of Africa is going home. Well, after they get paid: “We have done our part, spent a year in Darfur as promised, but now we have to wait for news on when we go home. All we have...
Africa: we should all wear sacks and cover ourselves in ash
A thought provoking piece by Dennis Matanda at the Sub-Saharan Africa Roundtable, Africans: A race that got lost a long time ago: “And in response to Koluki’s www.africanpath.com’s article on ‘Are We Losing the Plot?’ my answer is a resounding YES. I will even dare to go further by saying...
Africa: Bloggers Differ on Reparations and Apology for Slavery
The Slave Trade Act was passed in England 200 years ago. The act ended slave trade in the British empire. A number of events such as art exhibits, lectures, church services, and parades have been taking place all over the world to mark this day. In England, Prime Minister Tony...
Sierra Leone: claiming Ishmael Beah
A Siera Leonean blogger claims Ishmael Beah, the author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, “However, as a Sierra Leonean, I don’t want Ishmael to be a Universalist. I want very badly to claim him as Sierra Leonean and to own his experience as part of...
Zimbabwe: living under a dictatorship
Zimpundit on life in Zimbabwe, “In Zimbabwe, a nation dominated by government owned media, keeping up with the political realities is an impossible and risky undertaking. Media in Zimbabwe is dominated by a state owned daily newspaper, and state owned radio and television. All reports carried by state media are...
Mozambique: mourning after bomb blasts
Green Chicken Diaries writes about the recent bomb explosions in Maputo, “Officially, 101 people are dead (at least that was the number of bodies delivered to the morgue so far). The city of Maputo is providing coffins for the funerals which started on Sunday. Searchers are also trying to hurry...
Uganda: 2006 Best of Blog Awards
Jackfruity announces the winners of the 2006 Uganda Best of Blog Awards: The goal of the 2006 Uganda Best of Blog Awards was to recognize the incredible writing and art in this community, and all of our nominees are certainly emblematic of the talent that exists in the Ugandan blogosphere....
Ethiopia: political prisoner needs urgent medical care
A petition for political prisoner Hailu Shawel: “Petitioning the agency to pressure the government of Ethiopia–its primary regional ally in the Horn–to allow Engineer Hailu access to immediate and proper medical care is not a political demand. It is a purely human rights concern.”
DRC: Angolan troops in Kinshasa?
While Congolese are trying to get their life back to normal, there are rumours that Angolan troops have been deployed in Kinshasa, blogger Kate Wolf reports: The have been rumours of Angolan troops in the country on and off for several months and there have now been definite sightings in...
Malawi: Malawians are talking, are you listening?
Victor Kaonga publishes an article about blogging, Malawians turn to the blogosphere, in the Sunday Times and Nyasa Times, “When a young Mzuzu-based Malawian by the name of Mangaliso Jere died on January 18 this year, the number of non-Malawians who learned of his death probably surpassed that of Malawians...
Burkina Faso: woodless construction
Under the Acacias writes about woodless construction in Burkina Faso, “Woodless construction is an approach to building in the sahel that uses traditional building techniques to build houses entirely out of mud, including the roof. Such houses save on scarce wood, encourage local industry by using local skills and materials,...
Africa: potential uses for twitter
Soyapi Mumba discusses the potential uses for Twitter in Africa, “So the launching of Twitter provides a good alternative considering that the use of mobile phones is much higher than that of computers. In Malawi for example, there are about 50,000 Internet users against about 700,000 mobile phone users out...
DRC: broken peace
Head Heeb discusses Bemba's broken peace: It seems to be the fate of the Democratic Republic of Congo never to know unbroken peace for long. Last month, peace throughout the country seemed on the verge of happening when the last major militia leader in the troubled Ituri region surrendered his...
Kenya: Kenya's cricket team needs some madness
Losing to New Zealand was not hard to take, it was the manner in which Kenya's cricket team lost, writes Mental Acrobatics: “I still think we can beat England with or without their redemption song flowing in their ears. If they bat first and post a huge total, I hope...
Africa: China's Africa interest not neo-colonial
China does not seek economic and political control of Africa: “IT’S ironic that some Western countries which are former colonial powers have accused China of pushing a “neo-colonialism” policy in its trade with Africa. The accusations of “China’s neo-colonialism in Africa” simply lack basis in fact,” via Afroshangai blog.
Kenya: a disappoiting performance
Kenya Cricket reviews Kenya's performance at the Cricket World Cup, “all in all, it was a disappointing performance, but as Steve Tikolo himself acknowledges, the team know they can do better. Do they have a chance of an upset against England? It depends which Kenya turn up on the day....
