Monthly Archives: May 2011

Revealed: How Zuma and the ICC are helping muzzle Africa

Posted on May 31, 2011 by

 THE MATSANGA CORNER:  By David Nyekorach- Matsanga I have just returned from the Namibian capital of Windhoek where I joined Namibians in celebrating Africa Liberation Day. The country’s leaders had declared it a public holiday and the country, whose population is equivalent to that of Uganda’s capital Kampala, enjoyed a day off from their busy activities. My main purpose of travelling to Namibia was to lobby Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) leaders on Libyan dialogue and Africa’s wish to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC).  Libya and the ICC made my integral part of my travel and to those who had thought I could not continue with my work … Continue reading →

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Mubarak and sons to be tried over protesters’ deaths

Posted on May 25, 2011 by

Egypt’s ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons are to be tried over the deaths of anti-government protesters, judicial officials say. Mr Mubarak, who was ousted in February, is being detained at a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. He and his wife also face allegations of illegally acquiring wealth while they were in power for 30 years. The couple’s two sons, Alaa and Gamal, are being held in Cairo’s Tora prison and also face fraud charges. The three men have been charged with “premeditated murder of some participants in the peaceful protests of the 25 January revolution,” the country’s state news agency reported the prosecutor … Continue reading →

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What the future holds for Southern Sudan

Posted on May 23, 2011 by

For the last three days, Professor Mahmood Mamdani from Uganda’s prestigious Makerere University, Kampala has been explaining how the fortunes of Southern Sudan were changed by the 9/11 horrors. He winds up his educational analysis of Southern Sudan by looking at what the future holds for Southern Sudan. Please read on. In actual fact, colonial administrations created homelands and Native Authorities. My research suggests that colonialism began with a programme of ethnic cleansing. Take the case of Buganda where all the Catholics were moved from the centre to Masaka, and Mengo was considered a Protestant homeland. Administrative counties were designated as Protestant or Catholic or, in a few cases, Muslim. … Continue reading →

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US$53million needed to save starving Ethiopians

Posted on May 23, 2011 by

The number of people requiring humanitarian assistance in the Horn of Africa is set to increase sharply in coming months due to below-average rainfall and high food and fuel prices, say aid workers. Moreover, funding shortfalls, drought and conflict could further increase the number of people needing humanitarian aid in the region from an estimated 8.75 million people. This was said by Peter Smerdon, spokesman for the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Kenya. He told the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (IRIN): “The total number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in the Horn is 8.75 million; some of them get food aid from governments … Continue reading →

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Revealed: Why the North let go of Southern Sudan

Posted on May 22, 2011 by

    FEATURE:     My answer is provisional. In the case of South Sudan, the external factor was more decisive. That external factor was 9/11 and, following it, US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. In my view, it is only this factor, the real grip of post‐9/11 fear, the fear that it will be the next target of US aggression that explains the agreement of the government in the North to include a provision for a referendum in the South in the CPA (Common Peace Agreement). So how did South Sudan win its political objective – independence – in the absence of a military victory? In today’s article, Mahmood … Continue reading →

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Facts about President Kagame that one ought to know

Posted on May 22, 2011 by

OPINION This week we were to read and hear that there was a possibility that sinister persons described as assassins were within the city of London and that Rene Mugenzi and Jonathan Musonera were the possible targets. Amazingly we were not seeing the names of Libyans, where perhaps one could expect evil manoeuvring, but the two named, and possibility others, are from Rwanda, the Tutsi dominated tribe (mini nation) under the leadership of Paul Kagame. It was shocking news, especially as it had come from a British government source. However, the Rwanda government, as expected, furiously dismissed the allegations as “unfounded.” Here we have a country that has been supported … Continue reading →

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How the SPLA came to demand an independent state

Posted on May 22, 2011 by

  FEATURE: Starting this weekend, The London Evening Post is introducing articles written by academics, writers and politicians, that touch on matters of importance, not only to Africa in particular, but the world in general. Every weekend we will endeavour to bring to our readers 4000-word articles that we will spread into three parts spreading over the weekend. This week, we start with Ugandan Professor Mahmood Mamdani, Professor of Politics at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and director of the university’s institute for research. In his piece, Mamdani reflects on the context behind South Sudan’s exercise in self-determination and the potential sources of political violence following the country’s independence.  He … Continue reading →

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Understanding who controls the IMF

Posted on May 21, 2011 by

  OPINION  – There are few, very few, of those who live in African townships who can tell you what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) does or how it helps improve their way of life. He or she might make a guess that it is a piece of America, a country that seems to be striving to dominate the world, whilst others are aware that the IMF has been on the frontline of lending to countries to help boost the global economy as it suffers from the deepest crisis since the Great Depression. But now this organization is dominating the news following the action of the New York police boarding … Continue reading →

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Uganda police drop all charges against Besigye

Posted on May 15, 2011 by

          LETTER FROM KAMPALA By Christine Acen The Uganda Government has withdrawn all charges it preferred against the country’s leader of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, Dr Kizza Besigye. In a surprise move, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) told the Nabweru Chief Magistrate, Justine Atukwasa that it was no longer interested in the case and asked that charges against Besigye be dropped. In a very rare appearance, Dr. Besigye went to court unescorted by a crowd, and sat in an empty courtroom. He was later told that the DPP had dropped all charges against him. The charges were preferred because of his … Continue reading →

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Libya: Achieving ceasefire, moving towards legitimate government

Posted on May 14, 2011 by

  FEATURE: The longer Libya’s military conflict persists, the more it risks jeopardising or undermining the anti-Qaddafi camp’s avowed objectives. Civilians are figuring in large numbers as victims, both as casualties and refugees. The country is de facto being partitioned, as divisions between the predominantly opposition-held east and the predominantly regime-controlled west harden into distinct political, social and economic worlds. As a result, it is virtually impossible for the pro-democracy current of urban public opinion in most of western Libya (and Tripoli in particular) to express itself and weigh in the political balance. All this, together with mounting bitterness on both sides, will constitute a heavy legacy for any post-Qaddafi … Continue reading →

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