On 8 July 8 2013 several individuals wrote to the President of South Sudan, expressing unease at disturbing developments in the country, particularly the impunity of the armed forces and growing corruption that portend future instability for the country. An immediate commitment to rectifying these problems is called for

In essence, what we had witnessed on 30 June 2013 in Egypt was the ordinary people’s revolution against the Islamists governance that had dismantled their lives for the interests of the West

Obama’s recent visit to South Africa when the 94-year-old Mandela was hospitalized created a golden opportunity for analysis and a questioning of long held assumptions about both men. The personal triumphs of these two individuals have not translated into success for black people in either of their countries.

America’s allies, Rwanda and Uganda, are involved in training, arming and offering operational support to rebels who have killed millions of people in eastern Congo. Yet, tellingly, Obama refrained from openly criticising them

Except in South Africa where some protesters opposed his visit, President Obama’s tour of Africa was received with much excitement around the continent. But burning questions about America’s dealings with Africa should be asked

Obama sees no irony in making a pilgrimage to Nelson Mandela’s place of political imprisonment, while holding 80,000 human beings in solitary confinement

There is a very broad conception of national security wherein state spooks have come to see themselves as the main watchdog of society, almost separate and above the constitutional and democratic order

The clan militia, supported by Kenya and Ethiopia, has defied the legitimacy and jurisdiction of the Federal Government and unilaterally declared a regional State called ‘Jubbaland’

Kenyans have this horrible habit of abandoning and forgetting those among them who fought hard to free others during both economic and political difficulties

Women in the Congo and other conflict torn regions in Africa experience rape and domestic violence as do their counterparts in Syria. Syrian women are suffering an epidemic of gender-related violence, both at home and in the countries where they have taken refuge.

The ANC is starting to fragment on the back of the governing party’s inability to reduce poverty, deliver jobs and effective public services. The party will continue to fragment as it remains divided and is unlikely to secure a two-thirds majority of votes as it has done in the past

‘Are we not mature enough as a nation to make our own rules? At 53, should we still have to copy from other nations? At 53, should we still have to grovel at the feet of other nations?’

Established book publishers in Kenya have a keen nose of commerce and politics. They do not publish to store and disseminate knowledge. But instead they publish either to make money or to gain political favour. And now tribalism has also set in

A bill sponsored by the government and backed by IMF to raise more money to finance a huge budget announced recently seeks to impose value added tax on basic commodities. This has led to angry protests by Kenyans

Coverage of day-to-day news in African affairs in German media lacks in quantity as well as quality. AfrikaEcho, a young online news site, wants to change this, financed by ‘crowdfunding’ and ‘pay as you want’ subscriptions

'Our silence in the face of outrageous lies may give the misimpression that we are ignorant, witless, fainthearted and without much sense or sensibility. But we know the simple truth; and that truth is human rights in Ethiopia is an afterthought for the Obama Administration'

Beneath Obama’s beguiling smile and rhetoric the exploitation of the African continent by the US continues. With both Obama and Zuma on the back foot in terms of their justification for looting Africa, this is an ideal moment for a new solidarity movement to make its case

Here is a about the struggle of a community to stop British Petroleum from building a new gas extraction site off their coast. BP partnered with the ruling Muslim Brotherhood, against whom protests are being staged in Cairo since June 30.

The only real hope for Egypt is the formation of a government of national unity where the progressive forces are at the centre of the emerging political dispensation

Democracy in Africa now features semi-competitive elections that retain and entrench neo-patrimonialism and old networks of elite domination. But social transformation that gives human content to good governance will only begin with strong African social movements in every state