A university in Finland plans to confer an honorary doctoral degree on Ethiopian ruler Hailemariam Desalegn in May. In doing so, Tampere University of Technology will have been an unwitting partner in a sophisticated public relations campaign to legitimize, glamourize, mythologize and romanticize a ruthless and brutal dictator and his regime.

Freedom of expression is under threat in Kenya. In the past, bloggers have been arrested and detained on baseless charges. The latest turn of events is the Central Bank of Kenya’s allegation that bloggers are responsible for the collapse of one the country’s banks.