States and Power in Africa - I first realized I wanted to be a political scientist while reading this book for the second time. Stresses imposed borders, population density and the problem of "broadcasting" authority as key challenges to African political development. 
This photo is from Mental Acrobatics. I don't know if the media is still operating under a blackout, but at least they're working together now to articulate what must be every Kenyan's collective wish: "Save Our Beloved Country." Read an amazing piece of citizen journalism from Mental Acrobatics, who braved the empty, boarded up streets to document the planned rally by Odinga supporters in Nairobi yesterday.
I was in Nairobi, Mombasa and Lamu just four short months ago and I fell in love. I fell in love with Kenya for her people; for the hospitality, wisdom, kindness, brilliance and courage I found. But I suppose I never got to know Kenya well enough to have imagined I was in a tinderbox, that this would happen.
Now Kenya is burning, and I still haven't been able to get in touch with any of my friends except for my friends who are bloggers, and from them I get images of troops marching through Nairobi's empty streets (streets I remember quite differently), sad stories, stories of human life wasted. I've started praying and I'm not the praying kind.
Which brings me to Barack Obama. He isn't exactly an African topic, but his win at the Iowa Caucus and his speech tonight have given me reason to believe in my own country again.
To be sure, the kind of unity he's calling for--one that transcends red states and blue states--is a lot easier to come by than the love Kenya will need to heal itself from this. But Barack Obama is a son of a Kenyan, and after tonight it looks like he might just become America's first Black president, all because he promises the only thing that can bring a lost and divided people back from the brink: hope.
They said this day would never come. They said our sights were set too high. They said this country was too divided, too disillusioned to ever come together around a common purpose. But on this January 9th, at this defining moment of history, you have done what the cynics said we couldn't do.
If you really believe the President of the United States is the leader of the free world, then this son of a Kenyan just may change the world.
The post-election violence in Kenya is having devastating effects throughout East Africa as fuel shipments from Mombasa, the region's largest port, ground to a halt.
Enter the Ugandan army.
Joseph Karoki writes that Ugandan troops have entered Nyanza Province in Western Kenya to help secure safe passage of oil trucks bound for Kampala:
Last night I recieved news that there were reports of Ugandan militia in or around Nyanza Province and Western Province. I waited utill I got confirmation from the ground. After several late night phone calls, I did confirm that Ugandan Forces were indeed within Kenyan borders. Just within the last hour Ugandan Army Spokesman, Major Felix Kulayigye, confirmed the deployment of the troops on Tuesday, saying “it is to forestall possible spill over of violence in Kenya”...
...So if we do have Ugandan militia in Nyanza province, many of you might ask why? Well, here is a simple answer. Uganda is a landlocked country that relies heavily on the political stability of Kenya for imports and exports through the Mombasa Port on the Indian Ocean and is dependent on the the safe passage of goods through Kenya.The political instability has had devastating effects on Uganda’s economy. Uganda, fuel prices have risen from USh2,400 (Sh100) to USh5,000 (Sh225). Most oil importing companies have reported that they have not replenished their stocks after their reservoirs dried up. So there is motive as to why Uganda would get involved.
His Kenyan readers are not too happy.
The Monitor newspaper says Uganda was woefully unprepared:
[Energy Minister Daudi Migereko] had a hard time explaining to the media how the country could suffer crippling scarcities almost immediately after the Kenyan turmoil began, and why the nation's reserves could not even last days.
Both the Monitor and New Vision report price gouging and long lines at the few stations in Kampala that haven't run out of petrol. The Ugandans are trying to redirect shipments through Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania), but are facing major logistical problems, i.e., ships to carry fuel across Lake Victoria. Moreover, because of the higher transport costs associated with that route, importing via Dar would not normalize prices.
Continuing west, government officials say Rwanda, which (surprise surprise) still has several days of reserves, may be facing its own crisis unless it can start importing fuel again.
I can't imagine what the situation must be like in Eastern Congo.
There's been a lot of coverage of Western pressure on Kibaki (well, minus the Americans of course, who found in him a staunch "War on Terror" ally). But I imagine that today, it's Museveni and Kagame who are really giving him hell.
Happy New Year everyone. I'm just helping Ory spread the word about the media blackout in Kenya following what at list one diplomat described as a rigged election. The censorship has now spread to the internet, with cyber-activists like Ory, who blogs at www.kenyanpundit.com, being shut down. Visit Kenyan Pundit to learn what you may not be reading in the international news. Readers have been SMS-ing first-hand information/rumors about more shootings of protesters. If you are a foreign journalist, or know a journalist, in East Africa, consider covering this angle of the story. Ory is also behind the mzalendo project. Read more Kenyan blogs at the Kenya Unlimited's blog aggregator and see Ndesanjo's roundup of Kenyan bloggers, "Is Kenya turning into a police state?" over at Global Voices.
Update: Kenyan Emergency/A Political Mugging in God's Own Country is doing a great job of centralizing information on this story.
From Ory:
As some of you might know I've been pretty much the only source of credible information about the election situation in Kenya over the last fews, and more especially since a media blackout was imposed by the government (no live broadcasts, no news, nothing!) - the country is on fire and we have no idea what the government is doing to clamp protests down and how many people have been killed. After the blackout, blogs and sms's have been pretty much the only source of information for Kenyans both in Kenya and outside Kenya. Late night I asked my readers to send me whatever information /news they have in the comment section so that we could keep the news flowing. When I woke up this morning to moderate comments and write a post I was unable to do any admin on Kenyan Pundit (see attached screenshot and note the swiftkenya details even though I'm hosted in the states).
I never thought I would ever witness this in Kenya and be the subject of censorship - in fact every time I spoke about blogging in Kenya I was proud of the fact that the government has stayed away from bloggers. Now I have been shut down (well they think they can shut me down).
Kenya is now officially under a police state and I'm not sure how much coverage this is getting internationally, and I'm not sure how long it will last.
Please spread the word internationally and take up our cause as Kenyan bloggers and citizens - I refuse to be cowered by fear and intimidation.
Hopefully internet and mobile access won't be next.
In shock,
Ory Okolloh
A few weeks ago, I wrote a very optimistic post about
But then I received an email I could not ignore. It was written by an aid worker who has been living in Rwanda for 3 years and who undoubtedly has a much deeper understanding of the country than I possibly can. She found my depiction of the situation there "appalling."
Continue reading "Notes on Rwanda, Democracy & Authoritarianism" »
Conakry, capital of the francophone West African country of Guinea, is bracing for a new round of violence following last month's general strike which left at least 59 dead and 1400 injured. The strikes were organized by Guinea's powerful labor unions to pressure President Lansana Conte, an aging dictator, to appoint a prime minister without ties to the current regime and devolve some of his considerable powers. On January 28, after an 18-day standstill, Conte and the unions reached a deal.
However, union leaders are unhappy with President Lansana Conte's choice of prime minister, and are planning to go ahead with a second round of strikes, due to start tomorrow. In the last few days, 8 civilians have already been killed, including two in an incident were presidential security forces opened fire on youths throwing stones (Fr) at the president's motorcade.
By all accounts, the unions have considerable support among the Guinean people, who also want Conte to share power or step down.
Many Zambians are angry about Chinese petty merchants who are
outcompeting local retailers and the poor or unsafe working conditions
of Chinese-owned mines.
The Washington Post reports on Michael Sata, a Zambian presidential candidate whose campaign is attempting to win votes from the urban poor by capitalizing on growing anti-Chinese sentiment.
Sata, a former cabinet minister and the leading challenger to President Levy Mwanawasa, has called the Chinese profiteers, not investors, in a country where unemployment is about 50 percent and more than 73 percent of people live in poverty.
Sata has lambasted Chinese-run businesses, accusing them of neglecting the safety of Zambian workers, and threatened to run "bogus" Chinese investors out of the country. He has suggested that, if elected, he would recognize the independence of Taiwan, which China regards as a province that must return to the mainland's rule.
"Foreign relations must benefit all concerned. It must not be . . . one-way traffic," Sata said on privately owned Radio Phoenix this month. "Chinese investment has not added any value to the people of Zambia."
Chinese Ambassador Li Baodong said that China might sever diplomatic ties with Zambia if Sata became president and recognized Taiwan. The ambassador also raised the specter of a halt in Chinese investment.
Foreigners make easy scapegoats and have for decades been a favorite tool of election campaigns around the world, I am sure. The difference here is that the Chinese are not economic refugees, they are capitalists with the clout to influence African countries' domestic politics in a big way. Just a few weeks ago, the Chinese suspended investment in Zambian copper mines to send a message about the diplomatic and economic consequences of Sata winning the election.
Zambia's is voting right about now in what appears to be a very tight race. We'll see if Sata wins and if China makes good on its threat.
I was just reading this IRIN article from a few days back which details how children were paid by various political parties in the DRC to attend election rallies, and often ended up getting seriously injured or killed when those rallies turned violent.
I have a hard time deciding whether this is another sinister case of exploitation, rampant in fragile and impoverished socities, that is somewhere along the same lines of using children as soldiers or sex workers. Clearly paying children to march in a rally is nothing so extreme, and yet it disturbs me that these political parties would take advantage of street children's poverty to swell attendance at rallies, and in the process, put these children into harm's way.
Children pariticpating in a political rally in the Congo: © Eddy Isango/IRIN
Extra Extra and The Salon are two English-language blogs that have been offering really great coverage of election day. I've also been writing a bit about the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the elections elsewhere:
Global Voices
About.com
Since my last post, "The facade of democracy slipping in Uganda," Museveni's unraveling has continued. Kizza Besigye, a major political rival who was set to appear before the High Court on charges of treason and rape, has now been charged by Uganda's military court. Even if the civilian High Court grants Besigye bail, he may still be held indefinitely on military charges.
In addition to banning pro-Besigye demonstrations in Kampala, the government has threatened to shut down any news organization discussing Besigye or the case before a decision is made.
Related news articles:
"Museveni rival in military court" BBC News
"Museveni defends rival's arrest" BBC News
"Blair attacks arrest of Ugandan opposition leader" Mail & Guardian
Tags
Recent Comments