How it is that a man who gave so much to his people's quest for dignity has become a mere footnote in the contemporary narrative of the liberation struggle?

While genuine historic commitment to transformation and upliftment by South Africa, and the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in particular, went 'without saying', it was not clear that the country remained on the path to 'achieving the vision for which so many struggled', said Archbishop Thabo Makgoba.vSpeaking at his inauguration as UWC Chancellor, Makgoba said the fact that economic disparities in South Africa 'remain vast, and are even growing', was 'truly immoral' and a 'scandal'.

The Nigerian constitution and laws disadvantage the poor in terms of setting up their own parties to champion issues that are of interest to them. Any talk of electoral reform that does not address this matter will still leave the country’s politics firmly in the hands of the capitalist class.

I come and sit here as often as I can. Beside the lake, under my favourite fig tree. To relax, to contemplate. Or if I have a problem, it is a perfect place to search for solution.

Some call it Nyanza,
Outsider named it Victoria.
We know it as Nnalubaale -
We of Buganda.

I prefer to come at evening time, when the lake is quieter - momentary visits of silence. Enraptured always; by the orange of sunset - the canvas of the Creator.

In my sweet reverie,
It's splendour of colour.
Of the yellow-backed weaver,
The paradise flycatcher.

The kingfisher on the branch, dreaming of barbs and dragonfly. The shy situanga, amongst the reeds; one of the most beautiful of antelopes.

Fisherman on the lake,
Fish eagle above me.
Blessed by panorama,
A cinema called Rift Valley.

There's no place I'd rather be than here. To see a Goliath Heron, prominent on his throne. The spotted-necked otter; the swimming supremo, a connoisseur of crustaceans.

Being a farmer,
This water's everything to me.
The source of my health,
The gift of fertility.

So I think of Katonda, the Creator. And of Mukasa, guardian spirit of the lake. I thank and praise them, for what they continue to give me.

I go to Bubembe Isle,
The shrine of Mukasa.
To say thank you for banana,
For sugar cane and cassava.

I speak through a priest or priestess, who we have titled mandwa. They are members of the Njovu clan, whose totem is the elephant.

I give thanks for nile perch,
And also tilapia.
For the white-sand beach,
And the woodland savanna.

This shrine we call ekiggwa. The residence of the sacred drums. A place of pilgrimage, it's balm of beauty.

The stork and the ibis,
Buffalo and crocodile.
I have a little time now,
So I think I'll sit awhile.

These moments are very precious to me. And when I leave, I feel refreshed, renewed. Walking home, smiling at the thought, of bouncing around with my son.

Whether from Uganda, Tanzania or Kenya; we the people of the lake, are blessed by what Katonda has given us, guarded over by Mukasa.

© Natty Mark Samuels, 2012.

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The challenges facing Haiti are discussed in this Q&A with Ambassador Rodolfo Mattarollo, Special Representative of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) Technical Secretariat in Haiti, who was interviewed by Claudia Florentin, the Spanish Editor of the Latin America and Caribbean Communication Agency (ALC).

Namibia has tried to promote national unity and contain the scourge of tribalism, but it hasn’t quite succeeded. Top positions in government and in the ruling party are in the hands of people from one ethnic group. Now voices are being raised against this, as debate on presidential succession gathers pace.

Mass incarceration has created an underclass of Black US citizens with fewer rights and more bitter futures than the rest of America.

For more than a century, Kenya’s coastal people have been repeatedly alienated from their land and marginalised from public services, particularly education. Now they want to break away from the rest of the country.

The whole issue mirrors the contradictory relationship between the right to self-determination as enshrined in international law and the principles of state sovereignty and territorial integrity.

State prosecutors in Beitbridge recently refused to handle a case involving MDC-T officials, who were arrested over the weekend for attending a party workshop. The prosecutors said the case was ‘too sensitive’ to handle, but our correspondent in Bulawayo told us they feared the powerful co-Home Affairs Minister and local MP Kembo Mohadi.

A Zimbabwean minister launched a verbal attack on Impala Platinum Chief Executive David Brown, saying he was 'sick and tired' of the mining group's failure to comply with local black ownership laws. Implats is the biggest foreign investor in Zimbabwe's mining sector and has become the prime target of a government drive to get all outside companies to hand over majority stakes in their local operations to black Zimbabwean investors.

When looking at the vast array of reconstruction plans and promises of aid to rebuild Haiti, the old cliche? ‘actions speak louder than words’ rings true. But a determined group of Latin American and Caribbean countries is providing speedy and effective support.

Hundreds of Tunisians in the capital and the wilaya of Sfax took to the streets recently to demand that the interim government shoulder its responsibility for the rising price of basic goods. 'I can no longer provide for what my family of eight needs,' Mondher Welhazi, 56, told Magharebia. He added, 'All the prices of basic materials in terms of vegetables and meat rose after the revolution in a frightening, alarming way. I am embarrassed before my children as I can no longer bring them what they want.'

Bill Gates' support of genetically modified (GM) crops as a solution for world hunger is of concern to those of us involved in promoting sustainable, equitable and effective agricultural policies in Africa.

Although the charges have been dropped the fact remains that Ayanda was arrested on a bogus charge and assaulted and humiliated in front of his six-year-old son.

In this article from the Peace and Conflict Monitor, Vital Nshimirimana discusses the transitional justice process as planned by the government of Burundi for 2012. He argues that issues including ongoing insecurity, human rights abuses, lack of dialogue and trust among social partners, as well as lack of rule of law will undermine the process.

The former governor of Delta state has pleaded guilty in a British court to laundering millions of dollars in a rare case of a Nigerian politician being held to account for corruption. James Ibori, a former governor of the oil-rich state, pleaded guilty on Monday to 10 counts of money-laundering and conspiracy to defraud. He pleaded not guilty to a further 13 similar charges. Sentencing will take place in April.

Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda) is shocked by the Uganda government's rejection of recommendations made to it during the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism (UPRM) to admit the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression to visit the country and assess the human rights situation. UPRM is a brainchild of the United Nations Human Rights Council whose intention is to assess the human rights situation of its respective member countries. HRNJ-Uganda has learnt that an Inter-ministerial meeting held on 23 February 2012 in Kampala and chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected 21 recommendations out of 42 which had been reserved by the same government during the October 2011 Geneva review.

A Facebook and Twitter campaign has been started to find Zimbabwean human rights activist Paul Chizuze who went missing on 8 February. According to a press release sent out by his colleagues and friends which has been posted on Facebook: 'Over the last three decades, Paul has been either employed by, or active with, the Legal Resources Foundation, Amani Trust Matabeleland, The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, ZimRights, Churches in Bulawayo, CivNet, and Masakhaneni Trust. Paul has worked tirelessly as a paralegal to track activists in jail and offer them support.'

Experts say that the increasing trends of illicit financial flows are posing a great threat to Africa’s fragile growth as they pump back more dollars to developed countries than those sent to poor African states. Alezar Dessie, a consultant with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, notes that out of every dollar channelled to poor countries, as much as ten dollars may have left going back to rich countries, a back flow that leaves Africa begging.