On April 4, Brig (rtd) Julius Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party was declared the winner of the March 31 run-off with 51.8 per cent of the vote.
The passing of one of the Freedom Struggle’s most iconic figures inspired another bout of white-media vilification. Assailed for her un-silence, her refusal to compromise with the deal-makers of the new Rainbow Nation, Winnie Mandela’s life, and death, will forever remain the un-dimmed light for African and feminist struggles everywhere. By RASNA WARAH.
Kenya experienced a protracted electoral period after the unprecedented nullification of the August 8 presidential election last year. After the Supreme Court gave its detailed ruling on September 20, the opposition leader Raila Odinga stated that if there were no reforms in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the repeat election ordered by the […]
Here in this zinc coffin lies a dead person or his legs and his head or even less of him or nothing, for he was a trouble-maker. He was recognised as the root of all evil. Dig him in. It will be best if his wife goes alone to the knacker’s yard with him because […]
An astute political entrepreneur, Raila long recognised the deeply transactional nature of Kenyan politics, and leveraged his struggle bona fides and his popular appeal for ethnic slices of the political pie. In salvaging Uhuru Kenyatta’s second term, however, has he done one trade too many?
For strongmen seeking office, the facade of competitive elections provides an important reputational asset. For the others facing real competition, procuring the services of Western spin doctors, who now deploy big data propaganda to engineer electoral consent, is now not just a cute fashion item, it is a strategic imperative. Whatever the case, the Cambridge Analyticas of this world may not demand payments upfront, says GABRIELLE LYNCH, but they almost always return for their pound of flesh.
Has the fourth Estate compromised its independence? Brown envelope journalists and editors, who believe in and propound the political (and ethnic) divisions of the day now fill the newsroom. “Small sacrifices” on their part has led to self-censorship. They have today betrayed their audiences and the very pillars of democracy which they were created to uphold. MUTHONI WANYEKI delivers a prescient message against the purveyors of silence.
Did the Jubilee government loot $20 billion during its first term? The equivalent of 10 Eurobond issuances, the money has disappeared from the government’s loan portfolio. Technically broke by its own admission, Treasury has blamed, unconvincingly, everything from devolution to the wage bill for the state of its finances. DAVID NDII delivers another damning indictment against the pirates of pillage.
Forgive me, comrades If I say something apolitical And shamefully emotional But in the dark of night It is as if my heart is clutched By a giant iron hand: “Treachery, treachery” I cry out Thinking of you, comrades And how you have betrayed The things we suffered for – Dennis Brutus During a 1998 visit […]