New African articles from March 2002

New African archives from March 2002

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2002... Zimbabwe: sanctions vs empowerment As the date for the presidential election approaches in Zimbabwe, there is great tension in the highdensity suburbs and rural areas. People are being beaten up and all the political parties are denying...

Spreading prosperity to Africa is in all our interests: The British Prime Minister writes for New African. (Guest Column).(Tony Blair)(Transcript)
March 1, 2002... I'm pleased to have this chance to write in New African magazine and the opportunity to set out why I believe the future of Africa matters to everyone of us wherever we live and why, despite the colossal challenges ahead, I believe there is...

In Praise of Black Women: A magnificent tribute to black women from the ancient past to the present. (The Gallery).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... In the mid-1980s, one black woman -- Simone Schwartz--Ban, an author of six novels and a play - set out "to rescue and reconstruct the lives of black women worldwide dating back to Eve and Lucy, and to trace their diverse roles in human history...

How it all started. (Zimbabwe/Britain).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The world has been told about the "bad guys" in Zimbabwe, but not how President Robert Mugabe who was voted "Africa's best president" by New African readers in 1990 (see NA, Jan 1990), suddenly became a "tyrant" in 1998 and turned his...

'Monrovia is calm'. (Liberia).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Liberia suddenly relapsed into full-scale war in early February as rebels operating from Guinea for the past three years, threatened the capital Monrovia. President Charles Taylor, in power since July 1997 through democratic elections, was...

Not a happy New Year. (Nigeria).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... When Nigerians wished themselves the traditional Happy New Year greetings on the first day of this year, they hardly expected the strings of misfortunes that have bedevilled the country since 27 January 2002. Nigerians are not unfamiliar...

Mbeki silences his critics. (South Africa).(Thabo Mbeki)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... He floated like a butterfly and stung like a wasp, albeit harder. In his annual "state of the nation" address on February at the opening of parliament, President Thabo Mbeki pulled no punches in tackling popular perceptions and the crucial...

Lumumba apology not enough, but... (Congo/Belgium).(Patrice Lumumba)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... At long last, Belgium is doing something concrete about Lumumba's assassination. It may not be enough, but for the time being Brussels' "official" recognition on 5 February of its "irrefutable" complicity in the 1961 murder of Lumumba has been...

One down, more to come. (Ethiopia).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Ethiopia is still awaiting the long-promised return from Italy of a priceless obelisk that was taken from Axum in northern Ethiopia on Mussolini's orders in 1937, but they can now console themselves with the return of a sacred church tablet...

Elections in the air. (Sierra Leone).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The brutal 10-year rebel war may be over, but leadership squabbles may yet come to haunt the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary elections fixed for 14 May. Three months to the elections, only one of the country's 22 political...

Nujoma will step down in 2004. (Namibia).(Sam Nujoma)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... It is now official. President Sam Nujoma who himself a third shot at the presidency, will changed the constitution in 1999 to give step down when his current (third) term ends in 2004, State House announced in early January, but in the midst of...

Arresting argument. (Cameroon).(MP Laurent Mongkuo Ngupeong, drug trafficking)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Embarrassed beyond measure, the opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) party of Cameroon, has vowed to punish (even "expel") an erring MP who was arrested recently in Paris for drug trafficking. Laurent Mongkuo Ngupepong, an SDF MP, was...

The Nuba dilemma. (Sudan).
March 1, 2002... Years of isolation for Sudan's beleaguered Nuba people are hopefully coming to an end. A six-month cease-fire that came into force in the rebel-controlled enclave since January appears to be holding. For many, it was their first taste of peace...

Cold reception for American troops. (Kenya).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... When the US troops arrived in Kenya in early February - as part of their "war against terrorism", the official statement from the American embassy in Nairobi said the troops had come for "joint military exercise" with the Kenyan army. But...

Worrying trend. (Togo).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... A political deadlock is once again looming in Togo, and dire warnings are coming from the opposition parties and diplomats. The new wave of warnings has been sparked by a "unilateral stance" taken recently by President Gnassingbe Eyadema to...

High noon in Zimbabwe! (Cover story 1: Zimbabwe election).(Cover Story)
March 1, 2002... At long last, the matter will be settled on 9 and 10 March. One of the most crucial presidential elections in Africa's post-independence history will take place in Zimbabwe, pitching President Robert Mugabe, 22 years already at the head of the...

In the land of the 'saints'. (Cover story 2: Media Special Report).(Cover Story)
March 1, 2002... Britain recently led the cavalry against Zimbabwe's new media act. But how does it square with Britain's own Treason Felony Act 1848, which threatens anyone advocating the downfall of the monarchy to be "deported for the term of his or her...

'What shall we do about Africa?' Real, lasting, positive and sustained development in Africa can only be created by Africans, of all classes, themselves. No one else has the motivation or the interest. (Viewpoint).
March 1, 2002... Once it was a scramble for Africa; now we're told it is the struggle for Africa. And how the West squirms as it searches for new ways to deal with the Africa it confronts in the 21st century. Each period of European history arrives with its...

Ako Adjei -- the walking history of Ghana: Cameron Duodu on one of the founding fathers of Ghanaian independence who died in Accra on 14 January.
March 1, 2002... Ebenezer Ako Adjei, who died in Accra on 14 January can best be described as a "walking history of Ghana". The 86 years that he was blessed to spend on this earth encompassed the most important historical periods in the life of Ghana. ...

Cameroon oye! "Going to Mali was a great experience". (Football: CAN 2002).
March 1, 2002... Since 1965 -- when Ghana's Black Stars won the African Nations Cup for a consecutive time - no team has successfully defended the tide in 37 years. Now that record is gone, thanks to Cameroon's Indomitable Lions who, on 10 February, beat...