Wave of tribalism threatening South Africa’s infant democracy

Posted on May 12, 2012 by

By William Gumede A new wave of tribalism is threatening to unravel South Africa’s infant democracy, destroy economic development and unleash devastating ethnic violence if not stopped decisively. This apparent new upsurge in tribalism in South Africa appears to be driven by a number of factors. There has been appallingly poor political leadership at the helm of South Africa. A perception has now taken root that to be successful in South Africa, whether securing a job or a tender in the public and private sectors depends mostly about whom you, rather than one’s talents. South Africa appears to have now become a patronage based society, which fuels tribalism, rather than … Continue reading →

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History of Buganda Part 65:
Capt Lugard, the Maxim Gun and Sudanese fighters

Posted on May 12, 2012 by

By Robert Asketill So far we have seen the hard courageous fight Kabaka Mwanga made to serve his kingdom and keep out the European colonisation. We now present the mainly unknown military history in the building up of Buganda and later Uganda. We have discussed briefly how towards the end of 1890 Captain Lugard, who had taken service with the Imperial British East Africa Company, arrived in Buganda. Pressure from the British Government and the general interest aroused in the country by Stanley had obliged the Company to reconsider its cautious attitude, and Lugard came to assure Mwanga of the Company’s protection and assistance. By this time Gedge (Part 44) … Continue reading →

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Bingu’s legacy and the political future of Malawi

Posted on May 10, 2012 by

By Steve Sharra The late President Mutharika was hailed at home and abroad. But after the 2009 landslide re-election victory, his quest to engineer the election of his brother to succeed him in 2014 and increased autocracy astounded many. Questions about dead presidents’ legacies are best left to historians writing a generation removed. But for the late Malawian President Prof. Bingu wa Mutharika, we can be sure of a few things that will be part of his national and international memory. On the bright side, he gained worldwide fame with the farm input subsidy that ended Malawi’s chronic food crises. The first decade of the 21st century started on a … Continue reading →

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History of Buganda Part 64:
The execution of Moslems in Kiweewa’s palace

Posted on May 2, 2012 by

By Robert Asketill We saw in Part 63 how Kiweewa was hesitant in becoming Kabaka and still wavered strongly towards the Kiganda religion and that he was a great traditionalist. He was also aware that the Moslems wanted to impose their religion along with circumcision on him and if he did not strike at them first they would do so first. He therefore plotted to assassinate all the Moslem leaders. If that plot had succeeded, it would have been the beginning of a widespread persecution of Moslems. He organised a bodyguard of about a hundred fearless men, armed them with swords and spears and hid them in his house. He … Continue reading →

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Resolving the misunderstandings of Ghanaians’ tribalism

Posted on April 30, 2012 by

By Kofi Akosah-Sarpong The pronouncement by the Assin North Member of Parliament, from the opposition National Patriotic Party, the hot-headed Kennedy Agyapong, on the Accra-based Oman FM station, which he owns, that people from the Ewe and Ga ethnic groups should be killed in the Ashanti Region, once again opens the unresolved issue of tribalism in Ghana, 50 years after freedom from British colonial rule. Kennedy Agyapong’s stupidity also reveals that Africans do not understand each other, that ancestrally they come from the same cultural tree, and can easily destroy each other without reason. In Kennedy Agyapong, images of the Rwandan genocide flicker. The hell in Somalia flashes. Ewes living … Continue reading →

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The Enlightment and Ghana Culture Day

Posted on April 22, 2012 by

Dr Kwame Antony Appiah author of the Honor Code. By Kofi Akosah-Sarpong Wednesday, 14th March, 2012 was Ghana Culture Day. Authorities say the day is to promote “mainstreaming of the culture in national development.” This has been going on over the years – basically pandering the same thinking. From that day till now, I was expecting something more enlightening from the cultural connoisseurs but what I read was the same old, same old rational. Why Ghana Culture Day? To restore Ghana/African cultural values that have been demeaned in the eyes of the world during colonialism and perpetuated by the lethargic Ghanaian/African elites and the fact that Ghanaian/African traditional values have not been … Continue reading →

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Africa’s free press problem:
Why press freedom has dropped off West’s agenda

Posted on April 22, 2012 by

By Mohamed Keita As Africa’s economies grow, an insidious attack on press freedom is under way. Independent African journalists covering the continent’s development are now frequently persecuted for critical reporting on the misuse of public finances, corruption and the activities of foreign investors. Why this disturbing trend? In the West, cynicism about African democracy has led governments to narrow their development priorities to poverty reduction and stability; individual liberties like press freedom have dropped off the agenda, making it easier for authoritarian rulers to go after journalists more aggressively. In the 1990s, leaders like Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia were praised by the West as political … Continue reading →

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Amazing tale of Nigerian Governor-cum-fraudster James O. Ibori

Posted on April 18, 2012 by

By Robert Asketill With five decades of oil and gas production bringing close to $500bn in revenue to the Nigerian exchequer, the constant stream of petrodollars ought to have provided the West African country with the financial muscle to transform itself into a global economic powerhouse in which its citizens, especially those from the oil-producing regions of the Niger Delta would have been guaranteed a high quality of life. But the ordinary citizens of that region, particularly those from Ogoniland in Rivers State, would find it hard, if not impossible, to do anything else other than to curse the day that oil production by Shell began in their homeland, as … Continue reading →

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The Sudan Conflict: Another side of the coin

Posted on April 16, 2012 by

By Robert Asketill The Sudanese authorities in Khartoum made great material and human sacrifices in order to preserve Sudan’s unity. And when they found that the foreign determination to support separation was so strong that they could not confront it, they opted for peace, accepted the separation of the south, and presented all guarantees for coexistence with the new state in order to stop the bloodshed, lessen the losses, and turn over the page of wars. This great concession made by the ruling salvation front in Khartoum was not met with appreciation by the new state and by its rulers who insisted on continuing with a policy of hostility and … Continue reading →

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History of Buganda Part 63: How the Bible eclipsed Islam

Posted on April 12, 2012 by

By Robert Asketill There is no question Moslems had played a great part in Buganda’s greatness until eclipsed by a new book, some thought capable of miracles, brought into the kingdom by the Protestant and Catholic missions. The teaching of literacy from the Bible called “emisafu” which commenced in 1879 certainly influenced the standing of Islam and its rightful place in the kingdom and as we were promised in Part 62, we will see the attempt to retake and retain power. As it is clear, Moslems had got the lion’s share of the bargain. Militarily as well as numerically, they were the most formidable group. There should therefore have been … Continue reading →

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