Chapter 1: Jeremy and Jeremy love football Jeremy and Jeremiah were playing with their friends Jack and Louis in the grass in the evening. They were using a ball rolled out of banana fibres collected from their banana plantation. They liked to play football every evening with their friends. Jeremy was 6 years old and Jeremiah was 7 years old. Jack and Louise were also 7 years old and went to the same school called Masanafu Primary school. When…
Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC), unanimously, issued a confidential decision on 30 September 2019, confirming the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity brought by the Prosecutor against Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud (« Al Hassan ») and committed him to trial before a Trial Chamber. A redacted version of this decision will be published later. Pre-Trial Chamber I, composed of Judge Péter Kovács, Presiding Judge, Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut and…
There is no other continent which is marred with inter and intra-rift like Africa. We pretend to love one another, but the truth is that in reality, we often hate one another to the inner core. We live a life of denial feigning we are a united continent, but most of the time, our actions speak louder than words. An outsider who happens to grace any Independence Day in any of the African countries may feel inspired by the…
Amid the rise of the number of people in Rwanda, parents, especially those in rural areas, are being implored to use the modern family planning methods to control the rising population. Speaking over the weekend at Ngagatare in Eastern Province of Rwanda, speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Donatile Mukabalisa said it is high time parents embraced family planning programmes to control high birth rate. She urged dads and mums to only sire the number of children they can…
Masquerading Kenyan gospel artists Kenya is a country marred with controversies from the top leadership to the grassroots. It is hard to separate Kenyans from polemic. The two are like a person and his shadow, which are inseparable. This article is mainly focusing on the rot in the gospel industry. Gospel songs are no longer noble and upright the way they used to be instead they have become disreputable and shameful. The industry has been hijacked by wolves in…
The latest failed coup attempt in the Amhara region of Ethiopia has raised serious security concerns in the country and equally posed undeniable challenges to the bold reforms of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. More than that, the ethnic unrest poses a serious existential threat to the country. The aborted coup a few days ago, which claimed the lives of Ethiopia’s army chief Gen Seare Mekonnen and Mr Ambachew Mekonnen, the governor of the Amhara region was orchestrated by Brig-Gen…
The marriage between a man and a woman is a special celebration of the natural continuity of life in every part of Africa. African weddings are unique and joyful; a huge family affair, and an undertaking everyone participates in. It also brings families together as well as enables people to reconnect with friends. Having said that, African wedding attires are magnificent outfits that make a wedding ceremony standout. The outfits are made of fabrics that are usually unique to…
When a nation turns a child into a bride, it turns its future into a hell. Irrespective of the differences in culture, language, ethnicity, religion and geographical position, child marriage has become a global problem, which is practised in different parts of the world. From Niger, Bangladesh to Iraq, child marriage is a common practice in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and even in Europe. While some might argue that child marriage is an integral part of…
Failures are a success – if we could learn from failures and transcend them into a guiding step towards success. You can, therefore, confidently, say that perseverance is the mother of success. What does this say about the many problems facing Africa today? A lot. However, before we discuss this further, let us look at an interesting story from Ethiopia, which is making a headline around the world. Yesterday, a 21-year-old Ethiopian woman sat for her secondary school leaving…
Chumba chidide chinaidima kuphenya atu mirongo kumi. (Duruma) Chumba kidogo huweza kuwa na marafiki mia moja. (Swahili) Une seule maison peut avoir cent amis. (French) A small house will hold a hundred friends. (English) Although this proverb of the Duruma, the Mijikenda ethnic groups of the Kenyan coastal region along the Nairobi-Mombasa, might sound a bit confusing and contradictory or even ironic, it is definitely true if you think about it deeply. Traditionally, a typical Duruma homestead is not…
A story had it that a man was seriously ill for weeks and all treatments seemed not to produce any effective results. After many trials and errors, the man and his wife went for an elaborate test, which eventually revealed the unexpected bad news. Afraid to break the shocking news to the man, the doctor called his wife aside and broke the news. “God is wonderful. He has done it again for me.” The woman shouted, dancing. Confused, the…
For Africa and other so-called third world countries to progress, they must tell their own stories based on their indigenous knowledge and experience. Africans must create their own knowledge based on their own realities. You cannot develop people; people must develop themselves based on what they are used to. You cannot import and impose knowledge on a people; the people must develop from their own knowledge and experience, which must fit into the environment, where they live and where…