http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/547/gay_wedding1_tmb.jpg[/img">http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/547/gay_wedding2_tmb.jpg[/img">http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/547/gay_wedding3_tmb.jpgOn 24 July 2011, New York State legalised same-sex marriage. Masotho Kelebohile Nkhereanye and her African-American wife Renee Boyd were among the couples that made US history by marrying that day. A few months later Nick Mwaluko spoke to them about their decision and what same-sex marriage might mean to Africans on the continent and in the diaspora.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki nominated the new Attorney General Githu Muigai because he does not care what the rest of the country thinks, asserts Samuel N. Omwenga, adding that it also shows how tribalism is deeply rooted in Kenya.

Tumusiime Kabwende Deo investigates the current malaise in Uganda's education sector which has seen teachers going on strike for the second time this year after fruitless month-long talks with the government for a 100 per cent pay rise.

In response to Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille, Mzonke Poni of Abahlali baseMjondolo stresses that dialogue around housing, justice and a dignified existence can never be a matter of mere stage-managed engagement.

Why does Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi refuse to make public the details of a ‘large chunk’ of Ethiopian land given to Sudan, asks Alemayehu G. Mariam.

Following comments about Botswana being a puppet of US imperialism, ANC Youth League President Julius Malema is appearing before the party’s disciplinary committee, writes Ronald Wesso.

Africa faces an alarming rise in land grabbing, writes Esther Vivas.

Swaziland's authorities are acting with more restraint towards protestors in response to this week's demonstrations, writes Peter Kenworthy.

Young working class Britons' failure to act collectively will inadvertently punish them, since this renders them unable to articulate their concerns publicly and fight against the root causes of their dispossession, argues Nimi Hoffmann. They should look to the global South, which offers lessons in how to build sustained, focused collective action.

The media’s response to Norway’s recent terrorist atrocity have revealed anti-immigrant, racist and xenophobic attitudes among ‘conservative sections the world over’, writes Norah Owaraga.

One of ‘the most important aspects of Frantz Fanon’s legacy for the youth of South Africa is to take seriously his call for real engagement, at the point where thought meets action’, observe Chantelle Malan and Danielle Bowler, following a Rhodes University colloquium to mark the 50th anniversary of Fanon’s death.

Of ‘growing public and government concern in Western Libya is the whereabouts of 53 female and 52 male children’, who were ‘part of a government-run home for orphans and abused children that until February was operating in Misrata, now under rebel control,’ writes Franklin Lamb.

‘The perception amongst workers who are trying to make a difference at the grassroots in Zimbabwe is that big aid agencies such as UNICEF and DfID don’t engage with communities to find out what they need; they deliver to them,’ writes Diane Jeater.

Competition between rival interests is behind the violence in Sudan, writes Explo N. Nani-Kofi. As a result, voices for empowering popular forces for justice and resistance are not being heard.

Ishema in Rwanda has published an entire issue as an apology to President Paul Kagame, writes Tom Rhodes.

‘Life is cheap. And so we are lethargic – until the numbers become too large to ignore,’ writes Muthoni Wanyeki, as Kenyans fail to heed the plight of either their fellow citizens or neighbouring Somalis during the region’s worst drought in 60 years.

When it comes to sexual violence against women in Uganda, Doreen Lwanga says it is about time men start seeing women as human beings and not sexualised objects.

If Kenya’s new constitution is to provide for a genuine democratisation of the country’s politics, public participation will need to be the prerequisite underpinning all other constitutional provisions, writes Katto Wambua.

With the Horn of Africa facing an acute drought and food crisis, Anne Mitaru underlines the need for African states and leaders to take centre stage in dealing with the crisis.

The appointment of Dr Willy Mutunga as chief justice in Kenya is a welcome development, writes Katto K. Wambua, but the wider public’s optimism needs to be tempered with pragmatism to avoid unrealistic expectations and subsequent frustration.