Sub-Saharan Africa

A number of civil society groups concerned with Zimbabwe's welfare and operating under the banner of the Institute for a Democratic Alternative in Zimbabwe have slammed the Southern African Development Community and Thabo Mbeki for their lack of resolve on the Zimbabwe question. In a damning quotation Wellington Chibebe of the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade […]

Is Zimbabwe on the brink of a civil war? Has the military engaged in a secret coup? Is Zim a police state? (To this last, at least, we say: “yes.”)  The sad state of affairs is such that these questions are not only viable, they are necessary. Even with the United States putting the sort of […]

The news is not getting any better in Zimbabwe. Police have arrested hundreds of individuals seeking shelter in the headquarters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). many of them were seeking safe haven from ZANU-PF's ominously-named “Operation Mavhoterapapi,” which translates to “Who did you vote for?” This does not end well. 

Within the past few weeks I had a review of Robert Collins’ book A History of Sub-Saharan Africa, which he wrote with James N. Burns, appear in the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa's (ASMEA) “Current Book Reviews.” I gave the book a very favorable assessment. I was thus saddened to discover […]

A diverse coalition has caused China to recall its arms shipment intended for Zimbabwe. Comparable organizations are emerging to address the domestic crisis in Zim while leading religious figures are calling for change in the country. Pressure from outside countries, including South Africa and the United States, is beginning to increase, though Jacob Zuma has made a […]

To his credit, Jacob Zuma has positioned himself brilliantly on the Zimbabwe question. While acknowledging Thabo Mbeki as rightful head of state and thus mediator, Zuma wants to see a Pan-African delegation step in and settle the crisis north of the Limpopo. Zuma's clear goal is to see Robert Mugabe's reign of power come to […]

So, how's this for an anniversary that should inspire ambivalence? Zimbabwe is celebrating its 28th year of independence.   I know that there are those who argue that things were better under Ian Smith's Rhodesian regime. I am not one of those people, if only because I refuse to grant privileged status to a white-dominated regime in […]

I now have a pdf of my pre-election Zimbabwe Op-ed in the March 25 edition of the Cape Argus in which I argued that it was inevitable that Robert Mugabe would win the election. I was right on much, wrong on some. (Mugabe has not been able to control things as easily as I thought, and I […]

So, is the Miss Landmine beauty pageant, recently held in Angola,  an example of awareness raising or exploitation? Certainly the first response is to be shocked, and maybe disturbed, but that initial impression should give way to an understanding of the larger issues at stake involving not only the self esteem of these young women, […]

The ongoing Zimbabwe arms shipment fiasco has not seen Thabo Mbeki at his best. At The Mail & Guardian Richard Calland argues that Mbeki's handling of the Zimbabwe crisis has further damaged a reputation that already was on a downward spiral. But he further believes that human rights problems at home undercut South Africa's ability […]

The news cycle is tough to predict. That much I think we can all agree upon. As much as the world has been outraged by the events of recent weeks in Zimbabwe, who knew that it would take a bizarre arms shipment to sharpen the focus? Even China, whose willingness to destabilize Africa for its […]

Kenyan runner Robert Cheruiyot's victory in Monday's Boston Marathon may represent one of those moments when sport can serve to unite rather than divide. At least that is the hope among Kenyans, where the country's world class distance runners are heroes to millions.