#RIP2PAC Remembering Tupac Amaru Shakur
JOHANNESBURG – On 13 September 1996, Tupac Shakur (2Pac) — considered one of the greatest rappers of his time — died. On Thursday, social media users across the globe remembered the legend that was. PLAYLIST: Tupac’s biggest hits on his 47th birthday Please follow and like us:
Four Famously Rigged Elections
Democracy is totally rad and everything, but sometimes it just gets in the way of total power. That's when the folks in charge decided to rig an election. What follows are four of the most bizarre and blatantly rigged elections in history. 1. François Duvalier, President of Haiti To be fair to Duvalier (if we're […]
Kofi Annan – a Complicated Legacy of Impressive Achievements, and Some Profound Failures
Kofi Annan (80) was an important historical figure who played a critical role in many key events of the 1990s and 2000s. His death is therefore an opportunity to both celebrate his life and to begin honestly assessing his contributions to the world. The Ghanaian diplomat’s legacy is complicated. He served as both head of […]
Ethiopians abroad eye return as reforms kick in back home
On a recent Tuesday night, nearly every table was occupied at Harar, a small Ethiopian restaurant in Vauxhall in South London. Most of the clientele were Ethiopian, eating the flatbread called injera and drinking either coffee or tej, a traditional honey wine. The restaurant was redolent of frankincense, burned as part of an Ethiopian coffee […]
‘Shot like a dog’: Zimbabwe buries its post-election dead
The four children of a fruit-seller gunned down by Zimbabwean soldiers in post-election violence wept uncontrollably at the sight of their father lying in a casket under a baking sun. Ishmail Kumire, 41, was one of the six victims of Wednesday’s bloody chaos, sparked when troops fired on opposition activists protesting alleged electoral fraud. The […]
Uneasy silence in Harare streets after Zimbabwe’s military moves in, guns firing
Zimbabweans are eagerly awaiting the results of the presidential election after the ruling Zanu-PF party won the majority of seats in parliament. Follow the live update here: Watch this video of the moment when MDC supporters started protesting in capital Harare. An uneasy silence is settling over Zimbabwe’s capital after people fled military and other […]
Malian refugee refuses forced marriage in favour of school
Sitting in her family tent in Mauritania’s Mbera refugee camp, 12-year-old Fatimata concentrates intently as she draws a flower on her school notebook. Behind her are piled the mattresses and blankets that were to be her dowry, had she not resisted her family’s attempt to forcibly marry her off to a cattle-herding cousin in her […]
Women’s leadership ‘critical’ to future of Niger
The role of women in leadership positions is critical to the future of a peaceful Niger according to the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed. Ms Mohammed was speaking at a meeting with the Nigerien president, Mahamadou Issoufu, on Saturday in the capital Niamey which was part of a joint United Nations -African Union (UN-AU) mission […]
Remembering Igbo slaves who committed mass suicide off U.S. coast in 1803
The stories of slave resistance, many of us know, have to do with bloodshed, violence, and destruction. But there are other acts of resistance whose stories are worth being told. Take that of ‘The Igbo Landing’ also called the Ibo Landing, Ebo Landing, or Ebos Landing. The Igbo Landing is a historic site at Dunbar […]
Why I Thank God My Children Were Not Born In Africa
No disrespect, but had my 6 children been born in Africa I would have spent most of my time fighting their school teachers than being a mother. Growing up in Zimbabwe for me meant teachers had the full authority and rights to brutally ‘beat’ any child in their care. There were no regulations or control […]
