New African articles from May 2002

New African archives from May 2002

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2002... Lynching from Lynch In your September issue (NA Letters), David Saffery, writing from London, said that the infamous gospel according to William Lynch -- the white slave owner from the Caribbean -- was a hoax. However, when proper...

Nigeria: Blessed are not the tax dodgers; multinational oil companies wanting to pay less tax have merged their operations, but the Nigerian government says no, not here. (For the Record).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Is globalisation harmful or helpful to African national interests? The answer could lie in the current tussle between the Nigerian government and six multinational oil companies who have combined their operations in order to pay less tax to...

The best hair days: at AFRO Hair and Beauty show. (The Gallery).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The AFRO Hair and Beauty show - Europe's largest black hair, beauty and lifestyle event - is 20 years old this year, and it is being celebrated with a two-day extravaganza (3-4 June) at the usual venue, Alexandra Palace, north London. The...

'Dr Death' walks free. (South Africa).(Wouter Basson)
May 1, 2002... The champagne was on ice and barbecue flames alight even before Dr Wouter Basson, popularly known as "Dr Death", walked into the Pretoria high court on 11 April to hear the final verdict in a marathon trial that had lasted two-and-a- half...

Lift sanctions now! (Liberia).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Ordinary Liberians are caught between sanctions, LURD rebel attacks and the continued instability in the Mano River basin. But their plight is far from over as "the international community" has completely turned a blind eye to the instability...

Storm gathers over historical sites. (Senegal).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The stage has been set for an explosive academic debate in West African archaeology after archaeologists from the University of Michigan (USA) probed 11th century funerary patterns in Sine Ngayene, an old Senegalese settlement south-east of...

Is Uhuru the next president? (Kenya).(Uhuru Kenyatta)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... In early April, President Daniel Arap Moi who steps down at the end of the year after 24 years in power, unveiled the four possible successors to his throne and yet managed to keep the country guessing who the successor would be. Addressing a...

Kagame sues in Paris. (Rwanda).(Paul Kamage)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... The 17th chamber of the French high court in Paris was the scene of a chain of dramatic flip-flops on 8 April as the court began to hear a case brought by the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, against the Paris-based freelance journalist and...

Chiluba not enjoying his retirement? (Zambia).(Frederick Chiluba)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Just when he had started enjoying the perks attached to his new status as former president, including a government-owned house, state security, staff and vehicles, Frederick Chiluba who ruled Zambia for 10 years between 1992 and 2002, has...

Pledges galore! (Ghana).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Ghana's development partners are to provide a total of $1 billion to fill the government's financing gap for this year. Announcing this at the end of a three-day Consultative Group (CG) meeting in Accra in mid-April, the World Bank...

We won't break up. (Tanzania).(opposition party Civic United Front)
May 1, 2002... "Nobody is advocating for a complete break up. How can we split after almost 40 years together? Moreover, the CUF, my party, is a national party. All we are seeking is that the structures should be very clear within the union." Seif Shariff...

Foreigners not very welcome. (Botswana).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Botswana has many faces to the foreigner. Warm and friendly people, yes, but the derogatory word "makwere-kwere" reserved for foreigners is making African immigrants in the country feel uneasy. Not all immigrants are seen in the same light,...

Democracy: Milton Obote vs Tony Blair. (Feature: Uganda).
May 1, 2002... "The credibility of the Commonwealth is on the Line with the policy to punish perceived violation of good governance in Zimbabwe while, at the same time ignoring the total and glaring banishment of good governance in Uganda," writes Milton...

Saartjie Baartman comes home at last: "This young woman was treated as if she was something monstrous. But where in this affair is the true monstrosity?". (Feature: South Africa).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... A South African delegation is expected in Paris "in late April or early May" to take home the remains of Saartjie Baartman, the Khoi woman displayed as a freakshow attraction and museum curiosity in the French capital for nearly 200 years (see...

Zimbabwe: Life after the election. (Cover Story 1: Zimbabwe Special Report).(Cover Story)
May 1, 2002... If you believe the Western media and Zimbabwe's own private and anti-government media, the country has broken up and fallen down the bottom of a hole. But nothing of the sort has happened. Baffour Ankomah spent two weeks in Zimbabwe immediately...

Mugabe: no remote control ever again! (The Interview).(Robert Mugabe)
May 1, 2002... Mugabe speaks Zimbabwe celebrated 22 years of independence on 18 April. Because of the severe drought affecting the whole of Southern Africa and causing food shortages in the region, including Zimbabwe, the ZANU-PF politburo decided to...

Sierra Leone: The women who want Kabbah's job. (Feature: Sierra Leone).(Ahmad Tejan Kabbah)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Finally, sierra leone's presidential and parliamentary elections are being held on 14 may. For the first time in the country's history, 60 women are in the race for parliamentary seats. One woman has even stepped up for president Kabbah's job....

What became of 'Mandela's Houses'? he promised one million houses by 1999, but by the time he left office, Mandela's administration had built only 40,000 houses. What happened to the promise? (Feature: South Africa).(Nelson Mandela)
May 1, 2002... "We are not happy. How can we be if we can't even afford a house?" Thandiwe Madikizela shakes her head and points towards the new Smartie-coloured government houses opposite. "These people, they were moved here recently, so there is money. It's...

Ghana: Budget blues. (Economy in Brief).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... While presenting his budget for this year, Ghana's finance minister, Yaw Osafa-Maafo, choked on his words. His colleagues became emergency first aid men who applied various means to stop his cough. But according to one budget analyst, the...

Spain reclaims its African heritage: after centuries of denial, Spain is reclaiming the heritage of Arab-African Moors who brought a high civilisation to barbarian Europe. (Diaspora: Old Africa).
May 1, 2002... The Catholic cemetery in the southern Spanish port of Algeciras has dozens of graves of illegal African immigrants, roughly moulded recess tombs of concrete which stand out among marble grave slates within the confines of the whitewashed walls....

The first black millionaires in Britain: Clayton Godwin on how Dudley Dryden, Len Dyke and Tony Wade became the first African-descended millionaires in Britain, selling hair products. (Diaspora: Britain).
May 1, 2002... "How They Made A Million The Dyke & Dryden Story" written by Tony Wade, one of the partners in the firm, and published by Hansib Books caused quite a stir when it came out a year ago. It was heralded as being the story of the first...

Wanted: African single currency. (Continental Viewpoint).
May 1, 2002... The issue for Africa is to snatch from the jaws of neo-liberal globalisation the power to define its own developmental priorities. Africa must not allow others to define its emancipation, not least through loans and grants that have led...

Cancer now has a black care. (Diaspora: Britain).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Cancer is not something black people normally talk about, but it kills us all the same. Now, Cancer Black Care, a registered charity set up in 1995 in London by Isaac Dweben, a Ghanaian whose brother died from prostate cancer, wants to change...

NEPAD or KNEE-PAD? (Not in Black or White).
May 1, 2002... The manner in which the Commonwealth's myriad bodies operate daily shows that democracy is not the lowest common denominator as Mr Blair claimed at the Commonwealth Summit. Money is. She is going for "a chat" at one of the many...

The way forward in Zimbabwe. (Under the Neem Tree).
May 1, 2002... Certainly, Zimbabweans have a right to ask: "So, what has the US to teach us about fair elections? But Mugabe should have the grace to bring Tsvangirai in from the cold, and allow him to admit that he too was a "fool" to have left Zanu-PF. ...

The blue book: Chapters 3 & 4; Chapter 3 covers "Germany's declared policy in regard to the native races", while Chapter 4 deals with the "first steps after annexation". (Namibia: Colonial Scam).
May 1, 2002... "In the year 1884, shortly after Prince Bismarck had cabled the Emperor's blessing and the protection of Germany to the merchant Luderitz at Angra Pequena, another event of great importance took place. In November of that year, Prince...

Cecil Rhodes stays at Matopos ... for the meantime: Baffour Ankomah went to see his grave in early April. (Feature: Zimbabwe).(Brief Article)(Column)
May 1, 2002... I admire the grandeur and loneliness of the Matopos in Rhodesia, and therefore I desire to be buried in the Matopos on the hill which I used to visit and which I called the 'View of the World' in a square to be cut in the rock on the top of the...

World Cup: Africa takes on the world. (Sport: Football).
May 1, 2002... For four weeks -- between 31 May and 30 June, Africa will be battling with the rest of the world at the 17th Fifa World Cup finals which, for the first time this year, are being held in two countries -- Japan and Korea. Africa expects its five...

Swaziland: English language vs nationalism. (Feature: Swaziland).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... English is the official language of Swaziland but the nationalists want it pushed to second place behind the native tongue, SiSwati. The debate is heating up, reports James Hall (Gemini) from Mbabane. Swaziland is facing the question of...