So on May 3, World Press Freedom Day, Freedom House got us to wake up and smell the coffee about the state of media freedom. It released a report revealing that press freedom has fallen to its lowest level in over a decade globally, and only one in six people live in countries with a free press […]
Tag Archives: Africa
A Farewell: Kenya’s Kibaki, And The Making Of An African ‘Minimalist Presidency’
Whether or not a clear winner emerges from Monday’s March 4 Kenya election, thus avoiding a second-round run-off in April, one thing is for sure: In State House, President Mwai Kibaki will be packing his last suitcases, preparing to clear out. A lot has been said about what Kibaki’s legacy will be; how the disputed […]
As Kenya Elections Near, Some Struggle To Find Their Place In The Homeland – It’s A Story Well Told
Kenya’s first presidential debate aired on Monday February 11. Reports say it was easily the most watched local TV event of recent years in Kenya. I guess it would not have been a genuine Kenyan debate if, as it did, it didn’t linger a little long on the question of ethnicity/tribalism. But maybe that also […]
Meles Zenawi, A Retrospective: Why Ethiopians Eat Raw Meat, And One Man’s Struggle To Be A Modern Emperor Menelik
One of the key events in Africa of the last 10 years, not just 2012, was the death of Ethiopia’s cerebral but iron-fisted Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Officially, Meles died on August 20, 2012, but his critics and enemies (and they are quite a few) believe he passed on early in July, but his ruling […]
What East Africa’s Cows And Their Milk Teach Us About Why Reform Fails
TODAY I visited with the good people of East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) in Nairobi, to talk about cows and milk in our neck of the woods. Put briefly, EADD works with dairy farmers in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda to help them be smarter and make more money. As I sat with Moses Nyabila, EADD’s […]
Africa’s Slums, Leafy Suburbs, Its ‘New’ Children, Music And Beautiful Future
Nairobi is an unusual city. Every wealthy suburb has its own slum that provides cheap labour for gardening, housework, plumbing, and other services for the stately homes. The diplomatic enclave of Gigiri, home to the UN Complex, US and other embassies; and the Runda and Rosslyn suburbs too have their slum – Githogoro. However, something […]
Singer Seal vs. Supermodel Klum; The Case For Sleeping With The Housegirl And The Gardener – A Rogue African’s View
Singer Seal, caused a stir a few days ago when he criticised his soon-to-be ex-wife, former supermodel Heidi Klum, for showing a lack of class by sleeping with “the help”, i.e. her bodyguard of four years, Martin Kristen. “I guess the only thing I would have preferred is that…Heidi show a little bit more class […]
