Last week’s election in Uganda illustrated just how far-reaching the Internet’s impact on politics has become. The African nation’s first multi-party election in over twenty years took place last Thursday, with the presidency and all seats in parliament up for grabs. Technology played a much more significant role in the proceedings than it ever has before.

The People's Health Movement, a global network of civil society groups, researchers, activists and teachers involved in health, proposes the launch of a global campaign on the Right to Health. PHM would like to invite civil society organizations, interested individuals and groups to participate in discussing the possibility of hosting such a campaign in South Africa. It would also contribute to building civil society for the Third People's Health Assembly, planned for 2010 at an African venue (to be determined). This edition of Critical Health Perspectives sketches the background to the campaign and some of the thinking behind it.

I enjoyed your articles immensely. I thank you for the information that you present because as a women who is disabled I personally have great reservations as to where the world is headed. As a citizen of a country that has many social services in place (though dwindling due to Free Trade Agreements) I feel that I have a very privileged position in relation to the conditions of women in other countries. Yet, I experience many problems relating to issues of inequality, lack of resources etc. I can't imagine what it must be like for women in what we term "Third World" countries.

I am presently a student at University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada and plan to use the information contained in your articles in both a presentation and an essay that I have due. The essay will include details on the IMF and how it affects the most vulnerable of our populations via the mechanism of globalization. If you have done any research in this area please point me to it. I would love to include your view.

Thank you for your advocacy and your heart.

Pambazuka News replies: Thanks for your comments, Deb. We've had a number of articles on the IMF which you can read by browsing through the back issues. In 2004, we had a special issue on the IMF which can be read at http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?issue=175

I write to register my support against all acts that constitute a breach of trust of the peoples will. Corruption in Africa is one of the greatest vices needing a proper inward look.

In as much as it might be true that this attempt by the Kenyan government may just be a convenient smoke screen to thwart the focus of the populace, I have the strong conviction that all of us must lend support to such a bold step taken by the Kenyan Government.

Evidence of widespread corruption abounds throughout Africa. Little has been done to counter its growth and if any authority takes the responsibility to treat it in such an open manner as the Kenyan Government has done then our support is needed. The Kibaki government may just be guilty of the several malpractices which abound in Africa, but certainly we can count the number of leaders, be they good or bad, who have taken such decisions to avail the suspects to justice. It is too early to coin it a smoke screen. This may just be some new wine in old wine skin.

The Control Arms campaign is launching the '100 Day Countdown' on 16 March 2006. The 100 Day Countdown is a critical period to increase campaigning activities and heighten media attention in the run-up to the UN Review Conference (RevCon) on small arms. The 100 Day Countdown is a concerted final push of campaigning at the national level before the international culmination of campaigning activities in June/July 2006 at the RevCon in New York when the Million Faces Petition will be delivered. The events taking place around the world during the 100 Days will have some common objectives, and will ultimately highlight the global problem of gun violence. This year, the Global Week of Action Against Small Arms will take place within the 100 Day Countdown.

I agree with Onyongo Oloo. The fuss in Kenya is similar to the one in my country, Zambia. Both countries look to the West in the anti-corruption crusade. In Zambia, the fight against corruption is personified by prosecuting former President Chiluba. Curiously, President Mwanawasa expects us to believe that his anti corruption crusade is serious and not a sham! It is shameful that Githongo is fighting corruption in Kenya from Britain. If he is too scared to do it from Nairobi, let him find a base in an African country.

Editor comment: This is rather an unfair, and rather one could suggest even naive, position to take. Githongo has been heroic in challenging corruption. It is naive to believe this can be done without threat to one's own and one's family's safety. We should not equate Githongo's position with the use that the the western media and governments might make use of his revelations.

Campaigning in Uganda’s first multiparty elections in 25 years ended on a tense note on Tuesday, after weeks of political activity marked by several violent clashes between security personnel and supporters of opposition candidate, Kizza Besigye. Thursday’s elections will be monitored by a host of foreign observers. Officials at the electoral commission have indicated that some results may be available on Saturday.

Onyango Oloo, a Kenyan political activist and ex political prisoner, argues that there is a deepening crisis of legitimacy for the Kenyan government. The implication of key government officials in grand corruption has struck yet another nail in the coffin of the shattered and battered National Rainbow Coalition. Oloo sees corruption as driven by two factors; internally by a lack of democratic institutions, structures and culture and externally as one of the by-products of the disastrous neo-liberal policies imposed by the West and its institutions.

As I write these lines, Kenya is being rocked hard by the ramifications of the dossier unleashed from the United Kingdom by John Githongo, the country’s former anti-corruption czar. Githongo has since fled the country after uncovering the deep involvement of key Kibaki insiders in one of Kenya’s most notorious scandals - the Anglo-Leasing Affair.

Earlier in the week, the President appeared on live television to inform his compatriots that Kiraitu Murungi, the Energy minister and Prof. George Saitoti, the Education minister had “stepped aside” to allow for unimpeded investigations of the twin graft scandals of Anglo-Leasing and Goldenberg.

Some observers believe that this dramatic announcement may have been a desperate, even deft move to stave off, pre-empt or undercut the looming mass actions announced by a consortium of 76 civil society organizations and to scuttle a planned meeting of parliamentarians ratcheting up the pressure for the re opening of the National Assembly to allow members of Parliament to debate the corruption scandals.

Whatever the case, these latest resignations - coming hot on the heels of the firing of State House official and Kibaki right hand man Alfred Getonga, the resignation of long-time Presidential confidant and former Finance minister David Mwiraria and the dropping of former cabinet minister Dr. Chris Murungaru in the post-referendum reshuffle last year -have if anything deepened the crisis of legitimacy for the Kenyan government and struck another nail into the coffin of the shattered and battered National Rainbow Coalition which rode to power on a landslide victory, with a mandate to fight graft and deliver a new democratic constitution.

Many have hailed John Githongo as Kenya’s knight in shining armor and have lauded the critical, sometimes strident opinion pieces of former British envoy Sir Edward Clay. The Kenyan media, especially the Nation Media Group, has been giving itself a pat on the back, preening in self-congratulation about their role in publicizing and exposing the scandal.

Indeed, the feistiness of the Kenyan press is ironically one key indicator of how much democratic space has opened up since the ascendancy of the Kibaki-led NARC regime. Truth be said, the courage of the Kenyan media and the almost unfettered expressions of critical views by ordinary Kenyans has happened in spite of, rather than because of the NARC government. Indeed, many are the times when demonstrators have been shot dead in cold blood, clubbed senseless, tear gassed, arrested and vilified by leading politicians allied to the ruling elite. The freedom of the press in Kenya is a direct by product of the burgeoning democratic struggles within the country over the last fifteen years or so.

In as much as the ongoing campaign against corruption in Kenya has highlighted the need for clean, transparent and accountable governance, it also throws up several convenient smokescreens when it comes to unraveling the enabling environment for grand graft in Kenya.

Many Nairobi-based pundits and observers have focused on the personal greed, moral foibles and even psychological make up of the leading villains. A few have probed the links to the need for the NAK faction to have a war chest to perpetuate itself in power come the next presidential elections in 2007.

Laudable as these insights are, I am of the opinion that they do gloss over two fundamental factors - one internal and the other external that seem to fuel the waves of corruption scandals that have bedeviled Kenya for decades.

The internal factor has to do with the refusal of successive ruling cliques to take the lead in democratizing the structures of power - especially in the economic sphere. In the particular case of the Kibaki regime, there is a justifiable national ire at the NARC government because it is the one formation that rode to power with a pledge and a popular mandate to deliver a new democratic constitution within its first one hundred days in power.

The fact that a national constitutional conference concluded its deliberations by ratifying and proclaiming a new draft constitution that was effectively trashed, thrashed and shelved sent strong signals that the parvenu rulers - especially in the NAK faction fronted by the President himself - having tasted what KANU had enjoyed for 39 years were quite reluctant to forego the perks of power - like the latitude given for ministers and government insiders to circumvent procurement and conflict of interest policies for self-enrichment. Therefore the adamant refusal by the ruling clique to acquiesce to the national demand for a new constitutional dispensation was a direct factor that led to the rot of institutional safeguards against corrupt practices. Indeed the injection of political agendas directly propelled the Anglo-Leasing scandal - with disclosures that one of the motivating factors that drove key Kibaki insiders to loot state coffers in collusion with shady hoodlum business types was to stuff a war chest full of loot that NAK would use to fight its electoral rivals in 2007.

The external factor is best described in the following excerpt from Sue Hawley in a July 2000 publication by the Corner House titled “Exporting Corruption: Privatization, Multinationals and Bribery”:

“The growth of corruption across the globe is largely the result of rapid privatization of public enterprises, along with reforms to downsize and undervalue civil services, pushed on developing countries by the World Bank, the IMF and western governments supporting their transnational corporations…” (http://www.globalpolicy.org/nations/launder/general/2001/0705sng.htm)

If we accept the argument that I am advancing - namely that corruption is driven internally by lack of democratic institutions, structures and a culture that militates and acts as a check on abuse of power by political barons and other state-connected thieves and that it is one of the by-products of the disastrous neo-liberal policies imposed by the West and her institutions like the IMF on ‘Third World’ countries like Kenya, then it follows that corruption is a fundamentally political problem rooted firmly within certain local and global ideological constructs and parameters.

To put it more colloquially, graft is a manifestation of a rotten neo-colonial regime gutting the country at the behest of the imperialist powers. This means that at an ideological level, a consistent fight against corruption in societies like Kenya has to be embedded in a broader struggle for national democracy and against imperialist neo-liberal policies and machinations.

That is why I find it bizarre to see so many of my Kenyan compatriots look to places like the UK and individuals like Sir Edward Clay for mentorship and support in the war on corruption.

It is surreal to find the sleaze engulfed states like the United States and the United Kingdom - with their ENRONs, Haliburtons and so on - presume to act as the 21st Century champions against graft and other economic crimes and go further not only to lecture and harangue, but to sanction and punish states and governments that they consider “corrupt”. These mark you, are the very states which consciously assisted pariah governments in Africa like Ian Smith’s illegal regime in the so called “Rhodesia” and the racist cabal in the apartheid South Africa circumvent international censure and sanctions for their repressive and corrupt practices in years gone by. These are the same governments which turn a blind eye to the erection of the apartheid wall in Israel and the series of scandals implicating the now ailing Ariel Sharon.

We must therefore openly question the motivations and ideological intentions of these imperialist powers when they jump into the fray in battling corruption in places like Kenya and so on.

This is not to say that we have swallowed the demagogic populist appeals of discredited Kenyan ministers caught in a web of deceit who suddenly discover their mythical anti-imperialist credentials only when they are caught with their pants down. It is so easy to pierce through their threadbare rhetorical flourishes - especially when these ministers are confronted with compromising facts and startling admissions on tape - even when these surreptitious recordings are executed in less than ethical fashion.

By interrogating the motives of the Western powers in “fighting” graft in countries like Kenya, we are also putting a question mark on the local actors who, like the embedded journalists during the Iraqi invasion seem to be snuggling in bed with the Sir Edward Clays of this world.

One litmus test that would indicate whether these actors are driven by purely patriotic motives rather than being proxies and conduits for nefarious imperialist - even regime change agendas - can be gleaned by the extent that these local players participate in national democratic struggles and oppose neo-liberal imperialist policies.

We are aware that the anti-corruption campaign the world over has provided a convenient platform for many a would be imperialist friendly Presidential aspirant in this or that neo-colonial outpost. Of course, the surest testing ground is the arena of mass struggles where progressive and democratic forces meet to know each other more, struggling for unity and clarity while pursuing concrete pro-people goals.

* Onyango Oloo is a Nairobi-based political activist and former political prisoner who is currently the National Co-coordinator of the Kenya Social Forum. He returned to Kenya in late October 2005 after an 18-year stint in exile where he lived in Toronto and Montreal, Canada. The views expressed are his personal opinions and do not in any way reflect the positions of the Kenya Social Forum - which in the spirit of the World Social Forum process, does not in fact hold or express any political or ideological viewpoints as an entity.

* Please send comments to

Three people were killed and several others injured when a soldier opened fire into a crowd that was waiting for opposition leader Kizza Besigye at Bulange, Mengo. Police confirmed two people were killed and four injured, but eyewitnesses said a third person had died on the way to hospital.

Personal attacks among election candidates have relegated bread-and-butter issues to the backseat days before Ugandans vote in the country's first multiparty election in 26 years. With 38 per cent of the population living in abject poverty, 1.6 million people displaced from their homes by the war in the north of the country, biting unemployment in the urban areas, industries bleeding over power blackouts and international concerns over democracy and the rule of law, there are enough issues to define the February 23 Ugandan election.

The development worker will work with FOSDEH's Communications Department, strengthening its internal and external communication capacity. The main areas of the communications work are related to poverty, external debt, public policies, transparency, corruption, etc.

What is it about rape and sexual assault that causes society to blame the victim, to allow the perpetrator to escape punishment, and to largely ignore its very existence? More importantly, how can these attitudes be changed? Take Back the News works to raise public awareness about the epidemic of rape, in order to foster greater public dialogue and ultimately greater public responsibility. The new site reflects the incorporation and revamp of this anti-rape organization, including the formation of a Media Response Project to streamline communications with media outlets, and the distribution of free Community Print Project Kits that college activist groups can use to gather and publish rape survival stories.

This exciting new competition established jointly by RUSI and The Brenthurst Foundation, a Johannesburg-based think tank devoted to strengthening Africa’s economic performance, with the generous support of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, aims to encourage fresh and innovative perspectives on African security and development. Entries are invited to address this critical relationship between security and development in the context of a trans-national theme or issue in Africa, or a single country case-study.

EDITORIAL: Femnet’s Christine Butegwa analyses what hope the ICC will bring for Darfur’s women
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS:
- Can protocols and legislation really be an effective weapon against gender discrimination? Asks Janah Ncube about SADC gender policy
- Thabo Mbeki gets a poor report from Mohau Pheko and Lebohang Pheko for his state of the nation address
- John Christensen writes about how Africa’s resources are looted through capital flight and tax avoidance
- Mona Prince, an Egyptian woman writer, flies to the US and experiences “homeland security” first hand
- Zimbabwe: Voice of the People staff and directors arrested
LETTERS: Readers discuss whether trade in the era of globalization can be just
BLOGGING AFRICA: African blogs present their perspectives on the third term debate
CONFLICTS AND EMERGENCIES: Cartoon crisis protests spread to Africa
HUMAN RIGHTS: ICC to hear first Africa cases
REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION: Forty days later: Remembering the victims of the Cairo refugee massacre
ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE: DRC hurtles towards April poll with 300 parties and 40 presidential candidates
WOMEN AND GENDER: Women’s empowerment crucial for representation in leadership
DEVELOPMENT: Corporate influence over WTO talks exposed in new report/ ‘Bamako Appeal’ promotes struggle against market-driven society
CORRUPTION: Groups question World Bank's role in troubled DRC mine
RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA: Malian killed in Russian street attack
HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS: Nigerian bird flu outbreak
EDUCATION: Free primary education in Kenya having negative impact on early childhood development
ENVIRONMENT: GM debate fought on cotton fields of South Africa
MEDIA AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Newspaper group sorry for offending Muslims
NEWS FROM THE DIASPORA: Haiti votes by candlelight
PLUS…Advocacy and Campaigns; Internet and Technology; Advocacy and Campaigns; Courses, Fundraising, Jobs and Books and Arts…

* Can trade in the era of globalisation be 'just'? Read last week’s issue at

* French speaking? French friends?

Subscribe to Pambazuka News in French by sending a message to [email][email protected] with 'subscribe French edition' in the subject line or send an email to your French friends telling them to subscribe.

In Amnesty International's biggest campaign ever, high-profile international artists sing covers of classic Lennon tracks to raise funds for the organisation. This is Make Some Noise - a mix of music, celebration and action in support of human rights. Tracks can be bought and downloaded from the site, where supporters can also sign-up for updates to keep in touch throughout the 12-month timeline.

Campaign 88 Days is an effort to raise awareness, take action and mobilise resources for women's rights worldwide. In the 88 days between December 10, 2005, International Human Rights Day and March 8 2006, International Women’s Day, you can help keep women safe from domestic and sexual violence, guarantee them equal treatment in the work force, push governments to do what’s right for women, and support groundbreaking initiatives. Together with your support we can change the world in 88 days. Because women’s rights are human rights…

In 2006, GCE will continue to build on the amazing campaigning success of previous years, maintaining and increasing pressure on rich and poor countries alike to take urgent action towards achieving Education for All. The theme for the week, April 24-30, is: Every child needs a teacher. Right now, over 100 million children wake up every day without the hope that education offers.

EDITORIAL: Can trade in the era of globalisation be ‘just’? We introduce a series of articles on the topic of trade and justice.
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS:
- Charles Abugre on plugging the leakage of Africa’s resources
- Manu Herbstein, author of ‘Ama, a Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade’, reflects on the historical background to his novel and some of its contemporary implications
- A court case has been filed over “the modern equivalent of slavery" in Liberia, reports Robtel Pailey
- Can US$777 trillion ever be repaid? M.P. Giyose makes a case for reparations
- Women bear the brunt of the effects of trade liberalization, argues Jennifer Chiriga
- Water, health care and every other essential service is up for trade - with enormous implications for the lives of the poor and vulnerable. Oduor Ongwen explains
LETTERS: Pambazuka News readers want action on Darfur and reason from Mugabe
BLOGGING AFRICA: Hamas win sparks African blog debate
PAN-AFRICAN POSTCARD: Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem narrowly escapes road robbery in Nigeria
BOOKS AND ARTS: Review of ‘Silences in African History’ by Jacques Depelchin
CONFLICT AND EMERGENCIES: Instability in Nigeria, “barbaric” beating at Darfur talks
HUMAN RIGHTS: AU talks tough on human rights violations
REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION: Egyptian government agrees not to deport Sudanese detainees
ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE: Amnesty tells Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to act on Charles Taylor; No court martial for Besigye
WOMEN AND GENDER: Rwandan genocide survivor writes hope into law; MPs scrap pregnant schoolgirl ban in Zanzibar
DEVELOPMENT: 30 years later, a celebration for "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa"
CORRUPTION: Kenyan government rocked by resignation of finance minister over corruption scandal
RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA: Multiple discrimination for women from minority groups, says report
HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS: US abortion policy from a global perspective
EDUCATION: African UNESCO gets go ahead
ENVIRONMENT: Farmers in Mali reject GM crops
MEDIA AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: "The net will soon close", Zimbabwean minister warns remaining journalists; Crackdown on independent radio station
NEWS FROM THE DIASPORA: Following a Pambazuka News editorial on Haiti last week, news comes in that Father Gerry has been released
LAND AND LAND RIGHTS: Tension increases in ongoing Central African land dispute
INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY: Blogging mentoring project starts up in Nigeria
PLUS…e-newsletters, fundraising, courses, books and arts.

* This edition was produced with the assistance of Hivos,

* What do you think of the articles in this edition? How have you used them? Have you forwarded them to friends or colleagues? Let us know by sending an email to [email protected] We'd love to hear from you!

Women Working Worldwide is a small NGO working with an international network of worker organisations to support the rights of women workers in the global economy. We are seeking to appoint an Advocacy and Information officer to work in our office in Manchester, and in particular to support our current project "Promoting Women Workers' Rights in African Horticulture". You will work closely with our project partners in East Africa. This is an exciting opportunity to play a leading role in an innovative and highly respected organisation working for trade and social justice. Please email:[email protected] for an application pack

As an Advocacy Manager you will act as the focal point for all advocacy work, including: coordinating, facilitating and supporting implementation of Progressio's advocacy strategy; managing the Thematic Advocacy Coordinators carrying out advocacy campaigns in relation to HIV and AIDS and sustainable environment; and taking on broader advocacy work such as aid and debt as needs arise at the organisational level.