March 22, 2013 News

Continue reading for stories including the death of acclaimed Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, crackdown on opposition in Zimbabwe, the expectation the the BRICS summit will produce a development bank, divides in Kenya after the election, Kenyan journalists beginning to ask the difficult questions, a renewed focus by the UN on ending slavery in Africa and the world, and the arrest of popular human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa in Zimbabwe.

Prof Chinua Achebe is Dead
"Mr. Achebe, 82, died in the United States where he was said to have suffered from an undisclosed ailment...

'Achebe's global significance lies not only in his talent and recognition as a writer, but also as a critical thinker and essayist who has written extensively on questions of the role of culture in Africa and the social and political significance of aesthetics and analysis of the postcolonial state in Africa,' Brown University writes of the literary icon..."
To read the full article, visit the AllAfrica site here

Zimbabwe: Crackdown on opposition ends period of goodwill
"The turnout of 3.3-million voters – the largest ever in a Zimbabwean poll – was higher than anticipated. The excitement was a big change from the last time people voted, in the 2008 runoff, when many cast their ballot only out of fear.

But days later, the euphoria of finally getting a new Constitution is already threatened by anxiety as the run-up to the election begins. While both Zanu-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) campaigned for a "yes" vote for the Constitution, Zanu-PF appears to be in a hurry to end the honeymoon. Police have already boldly ignored a court order, which critics see as Zanu-PF sending a quick reminder that not even a new Constitution will automatically bring change..."
To read the full article, visit the Mail and Guardian site here

Brics Summit expected to establish development bank
"THE fifth summit of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) group of leading emerging markets in Durban next week is expected to establish a development bank that will spearhead its ambitious aim of reforming the existing political and economic world order..."
To read the full article, visit the Business Day site here

Kenya: The closest of shaves
"Uhuru Kenyatta's presidential victory leaves Kenya still a divided nation. He achieved it by engineering a partnership between his fellow Kikuyu and the Kalenjin of his running mate,William Ruto, in the Jubilee Alliance. Locally, the big losers are the rival candidates, Raila Odinga and Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka. Those Western countries which opposed the candidacies of Kenyatta and Ruto now face the problems of dealing with a President and Deputy who are charged with crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC)..."
To read the full article, visit the Africa Confidential site here

Kenya's journalists start to break their election silence
"It has been a week of soul searching for the media in Kenya. The Supreme Court has just one more week to deliberate on claims by Raila Odinga that it was a "flawed electoral process" that delivered Uhuru Kenyatta the presidency in a first-round win. It is a decision which not only suspends the swearing in of Kenya's president-elect, but has left anxiety lingering in the air like a dust cloud.

It is only now that Kenyan journalists are emerging from behind a curtain of silence and asking the "awkward questions" that Linus Kaikai, managing editor of Nation TV, admits "we should have been asking before". For example, were earlier warnings that the electronic voting system could fail simply ignored?..."
To read the full article, visit the Mail and Guardian site here

To be forever free!
"Renewed focus on modern slavery on anniversaries of the transatlantic slave trade..."
To read the full article, visit the Africa Renewal site here

Feisty Mtetwa holds tightly to her smile
"Beatrice Mtetwa seemed to be enjoying herself – dressed in a grey tracksuit, with only her socks on, and standing in the back of a police truck as it left Rhodesville police station on Monday.

Arriving at the court, with a plastic bag in one hand, containing her personal belongings, she stood in the vehicle and joked with friends, and her captors.

The celebrated human rights lawyer, who was arrested on Sunday for allegedly preventing police from searching the home of a client, was showing just the kind of defiance that has endeared her to many, and has made her a frequent target of Zimbabwe's security forces..."
To read the full article, visit the Mail and Guardian site here