Zanele Muholi: Raising consciousness through art

by Sokari Ekine, Black Looks

Is their a link between the defacement of “The Spear”, the painting of  Jacob Zuma which shows his genitals and the theft of five years of Zanele Muholi’s work?  Is free expression through art or any other medium under attack from the ANC government?

The DA/Cosatu fracas: Appreciating the moral high ground

by Steven Friedman, Pambazuka

Even in a “class war”, taking the moral high ground is not a luxury – it is a vital weapon that can be the difference between winning and losing.

The Looting of Nigeria

by Thomas Mountain, CounterPunch

As western oil companies loot some $140 Billion a year of Nigeria’s black gold two thirds of the country’s 100 million people live on less than $2 a day.

Nigeria’s “official” oil production figures show about 3 million barrels a day being pumped from their oil fields into the holds of western tankers though for decades now informed observers have estimated up to one third of all Nigerian oil is actually “stolen”, secretly loaded onto oil tankers after bribes are paid to corrupt government officials.

Mali: What is really happening

by Oualid Khelifi, Ceasefire

Mali has seen a rapid succession of events this year. A rebellion broke out in the country’s north on 18 January and a coup d’état followed two months later, on 22 March. The army mutineers have justified their move by Bamako’s failure to manage the conflict in the Azawad, a northern region which encompasses three out of Mali’s eight administrative provinces: Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu.

Apartheid petty and grand, old and new is evil

by Ayanda Kota, Pambazuka

The Unemployed People’s Movement (UPM) was formed in August 2009 to respond to the crisis of unemployment and the commoditization of essential services in a society dominated by corruption and greed. As Steve Biko said, we blacks are tired of standing at the touchlines to witness a game that we should be playing. We want to do things for ourselves and all by ourselves. This is a realisation that we are the protagonists of our lives and nobody will free us but ourselves; we – the unemployed – will have to be our own liberators.

Our aims will never be the same

by Lindela Figlan, Pambazuka

People are born not the same and they will die not the same. Although people got united to achieve one goal, which is an equal and democratic society, the gap between the haves and the have nots is not fading away. In fact it is growing.

Gay Bashing, a Government Diversion

by Dayo Olopade, The New York Times

KAMPALA, Uganda — On Feb. 7, Uganda took again the same large step backward it had taken in 2009. The member of parliament David Bahati reintroduced his anti-homosexuality bill. The proposed legislation would impose a life sentence for any consensual same-sex act and the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” which includes same-sex acts by a person with H.I.V. or with a minor. Gays in Uganda are seeking refuge in neighboring Kenya and farther abroad.

Election anger mounts in Senegal

Aljazeera

Senegalese are continuing their protests against incumbent president Abdoulaye Wade’s decision to seek a third term in office, erecting barricades and pelting police with rocks just days before a presidential election.

Kenya: Uhuru and Ruto sowing seeds of discord

by Samuel Owenga, Pambazuka

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and MP for Eldoret North William Ruto organized what was billed as a ‘peace/prayer rally’ on Friday, January 27, 2012 at the 64 Stadium in Eldoret.

Nigeria: Was it a 14-day dream?

by Sokari Ekine, Pambazuka

Is the Nigerian ‘revolution’ over? Was it just a brief moment in our history when everyone came together believing that this time things would be different? Or has there been a permanent shift in consciousness? Emmanuel Iduma likens Nigeria’s 14-day revolt to a dream from which we awoke and returned to normalcy.