New African articles from April 2003

New African archives from April 2003

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2003... Where did the name Africa come from? Midjima Muhammed, writing from Istanbul Turkey (NA, Letters, Feb), asked where did the name Africa come from, what does it mean, which language it came from, and whether Africans themselves named the...

Not in our name, definitely. (Baffour's Beefs).
April 1, 2003... "From 1965 to 1990, Britain cast 27 vetoes in the UN Security Council, mainly in support of the racist regimes in Rhodesia and South Africa. This was twice the number cast by the Soviet Union" - Mark Curtis of London in a letter to The...

Non-Aligned Movement "Let America teach by example. (For the Record).
April 1, 2003... "Iraq might have developed or desired to develop arms of mass destruction. But the US has massive arms of that magnitude. Why can't the US demonstrate what Iraq should, by destroying their own massive heaps first?," he tells the 13th summit of...

The case for not eating GM! S.K. Agyemang-Duah defends his ground on GM food. "GM is an American invention. So let the Americans eat it," he writes. (Right of Reply).(genetically modified foods)
April 1, 2003... In the December issue of New African, John Wendt, reacting to my earlier guest column (GM Food for Africa?, NA Get) tried to use subtle intimidadon to dismiss my point of view. 'As an agricultural scientist, I was amused at S. K Agyemang-Duah's...

Rwanda: "RPF had no foreign support"; Sam Louis Gisagara rebuts Uwe Freisecke's view that Rwanda's 1994 genocide was an international conflict, not an internal one, and thus the blame must be spread far and wide. (Right of Reply).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... As a Rwandan in the diaspora and a frequent visitor to both Rwanda and Uganda -- countries I call my cradle - I cannot let Uwe Freisecke's "dossier" (The Rejected Testimony, NA, Nov & Dec) go unchallenged. My political sojourn led me to trade...

Who killed Samora Machel? (Cover Story: Mozambique/South Africa).
April 1, 2003... When the plane of Mozambique's revolutionary leader, Samora Machel, crashed on the night of 19 October 1986 killing him and 34 others, Apartheid South Africa immediately blamed it on "pilot error". "The Russian crew were high on Vodka," crowed...

Congo will rise again! (Lest we Forget).
April 1, 2003... The current tragedy unfolding in Congo cries out for the humanitarian interest and political attention of us all, not least the African Union. We should all feel ashamed and outraged, particularly at a time when billions of dollars have been...

The 'master dribbler' dribbled? (Around Africa: Zambia).
April 1, 2003... In other parts of the world, former presidents are feted as elder statesmen. Not in Zambia. Kenneth Kaunda was humiliated out of office, and Frederick Chiluba (who did it to Kaunda) has now become a victim himself. Zerina Geloo reports from...

Zenawi runs into London demo. (Around Africa: Ethiopia).(Meles Zenawi)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, visited London recently with a high level delegation to hold talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair and some of his top ministers. Blair assured Zenawi that Britain would continue supporting Ethiopia...

The cheque is in the post: president John Kufuor is a happy man because his citizens living abroad are sending home more money than ever. George F. Asmah reports from Accra. (Around Africa: Ghana).
April 1, 2003... Ghanaians living abroad sent home over $1.3 billion last year to enrich the national economy, President John Agyekum Kufuor revealed in his recent annual "State of the Nation Address" (his third since coming into office in January 2000)....

Kibaki's broom sweeps clean: Blamuel Njururi, in Nairobi, reports on the new government's determination to sweep the stables clean. The chief justice has become one of the early casualties. (Around Africa: Kenya).(Mwai Kibaki)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... President Mwai Kibaki is poised to overturn Kenya's reputation as the haven of corruption. On 22 March, he nor only suspended Chief Justice Bernard Chunga from office, but also set up a tribunal to investigate his conduct in accordance with...

Oh dear! "Impressionable" Gambian parents are taking money and handing over their children to Western paedophiles who visit the country to prey on children. Abdoulie Sey reports from Banjul. (Around Africa: The Gambia).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... When on a hot February afternoon a suburb of the Greater Banjul Area (GBA) was raided by the security forces in search of suspected paedophiles, many Gambians underestimated the exact scale of the problem. In that raid, several people -- all...

There may be trouble ahead: the government of president Patasse is in danger. But France won't help its former colony and ally. It has even withdrawn its troops stationed there. (Around Africa: Central African Republic).(Felix Patasse)
April 1, 2003... International attention may currently be focused on Cote d'Ivoire, but one story bound to unfold this year is the increasing likelihood of more infighting in the Central African Republic (CAR). The position of the democratically elected...

The case of the mysterious fugitive: after the war, comes the consolidation of peace. But it is proving to be a bit much for president Tejan Kabbah's government. Mike Butscher reports from Freetown. (Around Africa: Sierra Leone).
April 1, 2003... Recent rumours of a coup plot have called into question the government's ability to manage security as it brings back fresh memories of the war, the invasion of Freetown by rebels, and the May 1997 coup led by Major Johnny Paul Koroma (who won...

Don't mention the economy: Pini Jason reports from Lagos how 30 parties campaigning for votes in the 19 April elections have still managed not to talk seriously about the economy. (Around Africa: Nigeria).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The 19 April elections are expected to consolidate democracy and signal to the world Nigeria's readiness to be counted as investment-friendly. Sadly the economy has not been a big issue in the campaign so far. Rather, the key issues have been...

"Elections will be held on schedule". (Around Africa: Liberia).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Liberia is due to hold general and presidential elections in October this year, but rebels fighting the government for the past four years cannot wait. Knowing that they have no chance through the ballot box, the Liberian United for...

Land issue heats up: Namibia, like its neighbours Zimbabwe and South Africa, inherited a skewered land tenure system at independence. Now, the government of President Sam Nujoma wants to redress it -- and fast! (Around Africa: Namibia).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Like Zimbabwe and South Africa, Namibia's unequal land ownership system has been stymied by the "willing seller, willing buyer" clause under which the government has laboured to bring some equity into land ownership in the country. The...

Straw quizzed on arms sales. (Around Africa: UK-Africa).(Jack Straw)
April 1, 2003... Lokongo Bafalikike went to westminster to hear jack straw (pictured below) speak on british arms sales to africa and the rest of the world. "sometimes, you just have to use force to prevent conflict side by side with political dialogue and...

Botswana: repeating the mistakes of history? (Guest Column).
April 1, 2003... A fierce argument has erupted in recent months over the fate of the Gana and Gwi people (San) in Botswana. The controversy has now dragged in the diamond giant De Beers, the World Bank, Australian Aborigines, Ogiek hunter-gatherers in Kenya and...

France-Africa: Chirac's new partnership. (Feature).(Jacques Chirac)
April 1, 2003... Plenty of nice worlds flowed at the 22nd France-Africa Summit held in Paris. A "new partnership" between France and Africa was even announced. So why are the Africans not jumping for joy? Ruth Nabakwe, in Paris, explains. Despite the high...

Tanzania Babu - the CIA file. (Feature).
April 1, 2003... "Probably the man most responsible for, and who touched off the revolution [in Zanzibar on 12 January 1964] is Babu whose UMMA party was the radical wing which broke off from the Zanzibar Nationalist Party (ZNP)," writes the CIA in its official...

Sudan unity in diversity. (Feature).
April 1, 2003... The people of Southern Sudan are earnestly in search of peace -- between their region and the North, and among themselves. A recent workshop in Nairobi proposed a framework of governance that would place ethnicity in the centre. Jacob Akol,...

Madagascar 'government is now fully in charge'.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... "We have brought back stability and the country is getting back to work, Marc Ravalomanana, the president of Madagascar tells Khalid Bazid of New African. Q: Mr President, there is strong competition between France and the US in Africa,...

JuJu diplomacy: that a looming massive attack on Iraq which will kill thousands of people was being "traded" around Africa like this, shows the moral principles of Bush and Blair. (Under the Neem Tree).
April 1, 2003... It would be funny were it not for the fact that so many people's lives are at stake in the farce. In February, during the France-Africa Summit in Paris, the American assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Walter Kansteiner, was...

"Germany has not come to grips with colour". (Diaspora).
April 1, 2003... Germany's first national "black congress" was held last October. The movement that emerged from it is now fighting for the "dignity and human rights" of all black people in the country. Petar Hadji reports from Berlin. The moment for the...

USA the battle for affirmative action. (Diaspora).
April 1, 2003... To president Bush's republican party, affirmative action is reverse discrimination. To African-Americans, it is a pretty good policy. Choongo Moonga reports from New York on how America is dealing with its disadvantaged African-American...

Czech republic: Nigerian diplomat shot dead. (Diaspora).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The Nigerian authorities have always warned people abroad not to involve themselves in get-rich-quick deals (popularly known as 419) with faceless Nigerians. A Czech national didn't listen, he got his fingers burnt and then, on 19 February,...

Austria Nightclubs of hatred: Issa Mansaray a Sierra Leonean living in Vienna, seen here with a police officer, reports on how pubs and cubs in the Austrian capital would not serve or allow in Africans. (Diaspora).
April 1, 2003... A young man close to my table dropped his beer on the table, and then looked straight into my face. "The music is very fast you know," he said. Then he shook his head and mopped the table with a tissue from the floor. The music blasted from the...

An unreasonable veto? Pray, what is "an unreasonable veto" in the UN security council, Mr Blair? It is a veto that HE would ignore if it is not applied according to how HE would wish it to be. And he's supposed to be a lawyer! (Not in Black of White).
April 1, 2003... Would you kill somebody if your good friend asked you to? As a token of friendship, you understand? It would not be a case of defending yourself under an attack; it's just that your good friend feels this other person should not be around any...

Fashion it suits you Kevin: Patrick Kevin is Nigerian, and his designer label is turning heads in Her Majesty's Kingdom. Clayton Goodwin went to meet him. (The Arts).
April 1, 2003... West African fashion is more than just reproducing traditional dress -- important though that maybe. Designers are beginning to make an impact in different styles and materials, and perhaps the most exciting development of the past year or so...

Films Dirty Pretty Things: Beverly Andrews on a new film depicting life in the African community in the UK. "It highlights a dark nether world, where people are so poor that they have to sell parts of themselves". (The Arts).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Many immigrants now coming to Western Europe, particularly to the UK, are from Eastern Europe, as a direct consequence of the collapse of the former Soviet Union. But a good number still comes from Sub-Saharan Africa and they often do the jobs...

Music: water and oil cannot mix. (The Arts).
April 1, 2003... Femi ransome kuti, the son of the legendary nigerian musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti, is proving to be a chip off the old block. His lyrics bite, and his politics... well, is "like father like son". Osasu Obayjuwana interviewed him recently. ...

Music the King of Rhumba is netted: Papa Wemba is big not only in his native DRCongo, but also abroad. His recent arrest in Paris now threatens to shoot all that fame down. (The Arts).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The knock came on 17 February in the Parisian suburb of Aulnah-sous-Bois. Papa Wemba was at home, and he was promptly arrested by the police for allegedly smuggling Congolese immigrants whom he passed off as musicians and dancers working for...

Youssou N'Dour cancels tour. (Iraqi War).
April 1, 2003... Appalled by the rush to war in Iraq, Youssou N'Dour, the Senegalese superstar and UNICEF ambassador, has cancelled his seven-week tour of North America, saying he did not want to be seen as supporting the American policy for war. The 38-city...

Zimbabwe -- the way out. (Endtail).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... In the unhealthy climate of irreconcilable African and British views on Zimbabwe, the position taken by the French president, Jacques Chirac, who wants dialogue, offers the most practical way out. That is the sensible path on which the...