cc. Having closely followed Barack Obama’s electoral success, Raquel Luciana de Souza considers the prospects for a presidential candidate of African descent within the South American giant of Brazil. Scrutinising the historical myth of Brazil’s racial democracy and the supposed absence of formal barriers to Afro-Brazilian social mobility in contrast to the US, de Souza considers the role of the US’s implementation of measures to address socio-racial disparities and the successful struggles of black organisations in framing the broader background behind Obama’s rise.

cc. Caroline MoseBeginning by reviewing the circumstances behind Kenya’s 2007 post-election crisis, Caroline Mose discusses the role of an alternative radio station-led initiative in Nairobi to draw attention to the plight of the country’s internally displaced persons (IDPs). Underlining the social role of Hiphop as a tool of consciousness, Mose considers the significance of Ghetto Radio FM’s ‘Glass House' experience, a six-day event staged at Nairobi’s Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) in which three radio MCs took turns to broadcast continuously with only a daily glass of carrot juice for sustenance. Highlighting the historical marginalisation of much of Kenya’s youth, the author emphasises the ability of the Glass House experience’s participants to force the government into direct contact with the country’s IDPs, and success in driving a conveniently-forgotten issue back into Kenya’s collective memory.

cc. Surveying the plethora of problems faced by women in Africa, Marie-Claire Faray-Kele and the Women's International League for Peace (WILPF) argue that while divided in the diversity of their backgrounds, African women are united in their collective voice. Highlighting the detrimental role of spurious assumptions about ‘tradition’ in preventing women from speaking for themselves, the authors state that overcoming gender inequality represents the key solution for tackling poverty on the continent and allowing the wisdom of Africa’s women to be harnessed.

cc. In the wake of Madagascar’s political crisis, Vondrona Miralenta ho an’ny Fampandrosoana (VMLF) calls for a coalition of interests to transcend party differences for the greater good of the stability of the country and the livelihoods of its population. Pointing the finger of blame at all those fighting over previous weeks, the organisation calls upon political parties to renounce false, self-aggrandising declarations and work towards achieving the effective decentralisation of power and preparations for future municipal and presidential elections.

cc. Outlining the essential differences between sex and gender, Audrey Mbugua discusses the damaging general incomprehension of transsexualism within Kenyan society. Drawing upon personal experience of prejudice in the field of work and life at large, Mbugua states that transsexual people deserve the same respect and treatment as any other member of society, and urges those uneducated about transsexuals to think before opening their mouths.

cc. As he laments Bruce ‘The Boss’ Springsteen’s willingness to cuddle up to the Bridgestone tyre corporation and mega-market Wal-Mart, Gerald Caplan explores the exploitative history of Bridgestone and its Firestone subsidiary in Liberia. Alluding to many African countries’ ‘double jeopardy’ in the shape of avaricious leaders and self-interested rich-country policies, Caplan discusses the outrageous working demands imposed upon Firestone’s rubber-tappers, demands which often see workers obliged to draft in unpaid family members in order to fulfil quotas. With the company largely impervious to the campaign of elected union leaders to improve working conditions, the author highlights the struggle of the Stop Firestone Coalition for greater labour equity.

cc. In an emotive piece about a country largely distant in the world’s consciousness, Fernando Gamboa discusses the entrenched hold of the brutal Obiang dictatorship in Equatorial Guinea. Underlining the relentless ability of the presidential clan to systematically plunder the central African nation’s abundant natural resources, Gamboa evokes the shocking practices of torture and robbery imposed upon a long-suffering populace. Situating the country’s demise in Spain’s rushed decolonisation process of 1968, the author appeals to the cultural unity of contemporary Spaniards and Equatoguineans, with a view to fostering greater awareness and international pressure to undermine tacit global support for uncompromising oppression.

cc. With the ‘Waki’ Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence identifying several politically-prominent figures in Kenya, Yash Ghai argues that the Kenyan people will increasingly regard their government as illegitimate if those responsible are not effectively brought to task. Contending that some form of international arbitration is required to make up for the deficiencies of Kenya’s domestic courts, Ghai considers the recommendations of the commission and the composition of a special tribunal, arguing that these will represent a key means of developing ordinary Kenyans’ trust and restoring the country’s international reputation.

cc. That South Africa must face an epidemic in the infancy of its democratic age is perhaps one of the great injustices of our time, writes Theodore Powers. Facing up to the legacy of AIDS dissidence must do more than simply substitute a heterodox discourse of HIV/AIDS with an orthodox scientific position. A sustained and localised response that aligns politically opposed social organisations and state institutions while utilising existing social institutions, Powers maintains, is not only cost-effective, but creates a united front in support of improved public health and orthodox science.

cc. Journalist Venance Konan delves into the Côte d’Ivoire impasse and reveals that the interminable delays in setting a date for the elections are due to the machinations of political elites who continue to benefit from the status quo. While various protagonists on the political stage drag their feet, ordinary citizens continue to suffer grinding poverty and the imminent threat of renewed violence. Konan calls on Côte d’Ivoire’s civil society and the international community as a whole to act for the sake of the Ivorian people.

 Following the recent attacks on Gaza, Abayomi Azikiwe examines the sentiment of the African-American population against Israeli aggression and the support of this violence by the US. Azikiwe argues that a direct correlation exists between the Palestinian and Arab struggle for independence, the plight for African liberation during colonialism, the Atlantic slave trade, apartheid, and African-American movements in the US. By highlighting the connection between imperialism, colonialism, and Zionism, Azikiwe affirms the need for oppressed peoples worldwide to speak out against Israel’s aggressive policies and actions, and for the media to disseminate accurate information concerning the impact of the Israeli occupation upon the people of Gaza.

cc. Developed as a participatory platform in sharp contrast to the general absence of space for political representation in the Kenyan nation, this article traces the history of the Bunge La Mwananchi (Parliament of the People) social movement through its members’ own voice. Set against the backdrop of the intolerant Moi government, Bunge offered a viable alternative to the corruption-riddled and ethno-factional nature of official party politics, and has continued to challenge the excesses of the country’s political class. With a view to further advancing the success of the movement, Bunge calls upon fellow Kenyans to open new chapters around the country and make their voices heard.

cc. In response to the reaction of 33 scholars to the publishing of Mahmood Mamdani’s , seek to ignore or discredit the considerable research of Sam Moyo on the land question, Johnson stresses that ‘deep thinking’ requires an actual engagement with the scholarship of informed individuals in place of mere dismissals and allegations of Mugabe ‘cronyism’.

cc. Speaking at the Kenya We Want Conference (4–6 February 2009), Yash Ghai elegantly outlines his views on the historical limitations of Kenya’s constitution and the holistic service it should provide in shaping lives rooted in opportunities, representation, freedom of expression and ‘nation building’. While keen to see the development of a constitution true to these goals, Ghai highlights the inherent complexity of creating such a national document, and concludes that a constitution’s successful implementation ultimately hinges upon a country’s ability to foster popular, representative participation and a culture of genuine respect for the law.

cc. Dated 19 December 2008 and originally widely published in Arabic following his arrest and torture, Monim Elgak’s letter to Salah Abdullah, the director general of the Sudanese Security and Intelligence service, suggests that his own gross mistreatment while detained is nothing when compared with Sudan at large. Offering a crushing indictment of the Sudanese regime’s oppressive policies and blatant disdain for human rights and freedom of expression, the author writes that redress for his own experiences will only come through the implementation of a restorative package of reforms on the back of sustained political will.

cc. Reflecting on the refusal of

cc. Underlining South African labour’s support for the people of Gaza in an 8 February address to a Cape Town rally, Zwelinzima Vavi of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) highlights the need for growing global solidarity in standing up to Israeli oppression. The COSATU general secretary salutes the efforts of groups both within South Africa and beyond in refusing to facilitate the movement of Israeli goods, and stresses the role of international isolation in bringing down another directly comparable example of brute political force in the shape of South Africa’s erstwhile apartheid regime.

cc. Kakuma News Reflector (KANERE) is an independent news magazine produced by Ethiopian, Congolese, Ugandan, Rwandan, Somali, Sudanese and Kenyan journalists operating in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya. In a new article following on from an original piece published in Pambazuka entitled www.kakuma.wordpress.com.

cc. With events in the central African region unfolding at a dizzying pace over the last week, Friends of Congo (FOTC) responds to questions posed to them in the aim of enhancing readers’ understanding of developments on the ground. Casting doubt on the nature of Laurent Nkunda’s reported arrest and highlighting the persistently extra-parliamentary and undemocratic nature of negotiations between Joseph Kabila and Paul Kagame around Rwandan troops entering the DR Congo, Friends of Congo discuss some of the limitations around recent efforts to achieve greater stability in the troubled eastern region of the country.

cc. In the wake of the death of alleged militant Tubotamuno ‘Boy Chiki’ Angolia at the hands of Nigeria’s Joint Task Force (JTF), Chioma Oruh considers the consequences of the Nigerian state’s crackdown on the militant efforts of organisations such as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). While much of the mainstream international press lauds the state for the stability (and enhanced official access to oil resources) achieved under the watch of the JTF, Oruh contemplates the inequity behind a system that will happily find funds to enforce order yet comes up empty in the face of local people’s abject poverty.