The presidency has dismissed reports of the imminent suspension of police commissioner Bheki Cele. The Sunday Times reported that the president was about to send a final letter of suspension to Cele, seen as a once trusted political ally now fighting for his job, despite success in reducing crime rates. According to the newspaper he would be barred from office while a board of inquiry investigated his role in the police's R1.7 billion lease deals for new headquarters, which the public protector had deemed unlawful.

In a male-dominated society where many customs oppress women, Wambui Otieno stood out for resisting the status quo, says Patrick Maina. Her life offers the lesson that women’s equality to men in rights and dignity cannot be realised without a fight.

‘Whether we are aware of it or not, in our daily negotiations with modernity and tradition, with selfhood and community, with partnership, family, society and state, we swim in waters changed forever by the battles she fought, writes Shailja Patel.

Wambui’s tensions, dilemmas and challenges represent the realities of colonial and post-colonial Kenya, writes Njoki Wamai, who also points out that she has left Kenya a rich legacy of courageous struggle for personal and national freedom.

'Election Day was generally peaceful, however incidents of violence were reported at Lilanda, Kanyama and Nakatindi polling stations owing to the delay in opening of polling stations and the delivery of Ballot boxes. It is important to note that when notified of these issues, the Electoral Commission of Zambia was quick to rectify some of the problems identified.'

Wambui Otieno-Mbugua fought valiantly for freedom and women’s rights, writes Anne Njogu who describes the fallen Kenyan heroine as robustly nationalist, progressive and feminist.

Daughter of Kenya, Wambui,
I weep with you.

Why has your nation left you alone?
In the moment of pain...

If I sing you a song whose words
You have heard in the west
You will forget that I come from the East
You will tell me that I am a confused Afrikan woman
Who has learned from the west to sting with venom
deriding cultures and speaking in borrowed tongues
Failing to stem Lawino’s tide for all that sharpness
Relying on papers instead of oral wit...

‘In this special issue of Pambazuka News we seek to bring to the fore the layered nature of Wambui’s life and the opportunities it in turn offers to understanding the social, political and economic factors that are contested, influence and shape Kenya … Through these pieces we gain some insight into how the brazen defiance of one woman captured the imagination of a nation, writes Awino Okech. ‘Love or hate her, you could not ignore her.’

Awino Okech examines Kenyan public memory, 24 years after the SM Otieno case and in the wake of Wambui Otieno’s death.

If they must sing about Wambui Otieno, ‘may our children’s songs be a robust tribute to the courageous spirit of a woman who said “sikubali!” to the chauvinist currents of her time,’ writes Grace A. Musila.

Wambui Otieno, a 'solitary woman who fought against patriarchal values', may have 'struggled against oppression, but her story is simply a struggle for love and dignity,' writes Wandia Njoya.

‘With her death on 30 August 2011, Wambui Otieno-Mbugua joins the pantheon of African women activists who devoted their lives to struggles against colonial and post-independence political regimes and against systems that favoured and still do favour men over women,’ writes Elsie Cloete.

Survivors of last week’s fire that killed more than 100 people in a Nairobi slum say they are lucky to be alive. As the government works to help and compensate those affected, the explosion ignites fresh debate about the safety of slums.

'Tonight the State of Georgia killed an innocent man,' writes the NAACP, following the death of Troy Davis on 21 September. 'Troy's execution, the exceptional unfairness of it, will only hasten the end of the death penalty in the United States. The world will remember the name of Troy Anthony Davis. In death he will live on as a symbol of a broken justice system that kills an innocent man while a murderer walks free.'

An initiative of the Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa (IFAISA)
Initiated by the Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa (IFAISA) (a non-profit association), and organised by Omega Investment Research, this international conference is intended to deal with all the more serious forms of corruption and combating corruption from both an international and an African perspective.

Gabriele Habashi gives a gripping account of her experience during the early days of the protests that would eventually force President Hosni Mubarak out of power in Egypt. She debunks some myths about how the revolution actually unfolded.

Following the marriage of two lesbians of African descent in New York earlier this year, Nick Mwaluko asks whether their historic act will help change perceptions towards same-sex relationships in Africa, not just in the US.

The Coalition of Civil Societies On Elections says it is satisfied with the conduct of general elections in Zambia. It warns however delays in announcing the results could create tensions.

A decade after the historic World Conference against Racism, the issues raised remain relevant and urgent despite western opposition, writes Pierre Sane. The whole world must confront racism, which continues to reinvent its justification and modes of expression.