The International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) passed a resolution at its 31st world congress that called for a process that would unban political parties, remove repressive legislation and introduce multi-party democracy in Swaziland.

The BVR system worked well in Uganda’s recent elections. But BVR is not a silver bullet in solving all electoral issues. Inadequate voter education was a major problem as well as state interference and harassment of the opposition. The electoral commission was also perceived to be partisan in favour of Yoweri Museveni.

When the African American freedom fighter, Malcolm X, visited Kenya in 1959, he found he had a lot in common with Pinto. They planned a common strategy to deal with the daily humiliation and indignities suffered by both Africans and African-Americans. Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965, three days before Pinto.

The government of President Uhuru Kenyatta in Kenya has lost credibility in the eyes of citizens because of extensive corruption by people that are very close to the seat of power. New scandals are coming to light every other day. While Uhuru keeps talking about fighting the scourge of graft, nothing is happening on the ground.

Politicians of the ruling Jubilee coalition in Kenya and public officials routinely lie to citizens, and the public has come to aept that as normal. This has led to a debilitating cynicism and resignation to the inevitability of deception. When the lies are not just expected but aeptable, when they no longer arouse outrage and when national policies can be built around them, it is evidence that the nation is sick.

Indeed, manners maketh the man, but what happens when the man who insists on being treated as a highly-respected elder uses his position to steal millions of dollars of public money to redecorate his private home? Maybe being a conscientious people with good manners is what is causing the downfall of Africa.

Pope Francis has remained silent several months after a letter was sent to him providing compelling evidence of entrenched racism at the World Bank and the systemic exclusion of Africa as a continent and Africans as human beings from participation in international forums even in areas that determine their destiny.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s official visit to Israel this week raises serious questions about Kenya’s foreign policy. The regime in Tel Aviv is arguably the most racist and islamophobic in Israel’s history. Israeli leaders have advocated for the murder of Palestinian children, the expulsion of refugees and even the banning of books that portray Arab-Jewish couples.

Former President Daniel arap Moi should explain to Kenyans what happened to the canteens that were looted during his regime in the 1980s. The present government of Uhuru Kenyatta needs to trace these properties, return them to the police and punish the looters.

As different as Hammarskjöld and Boutros-Ghali might have been in their background, their socialization, their character and personality, as much alike was their approach as regards the independence of their office.

Marijuana is a traditional drug in West Africa, and it remains the drug of choice of the region’s young and poor. Legalising it in the region will be an economic boost to its farmers, as well as freeing law enforcement resources currently dedicated to suppressing its production, sale and consumption.

Why do African countries continue to export raw materials only to buy them back in the form of finished products? It is high time African countries focused their efforts on building up industries, skills and technologies so they can produce their own high quality products, creating much-needed jobs and income for their people.

Nigerian soldiers are notorious for their brutality against civilians whenever they encounter them. This possibly has something to do with the militarized nature of power in the country since independence. The soldiers hit a new low with the emergence of a video showing a group of cadets thoroughly brutalizing hapless citizens – and enjoying it.

Ethiopia is in the grip of a terrible crisis. The recent widespread popular protests must be understood in the context of an atrociously repressive regime and near total capture of the state by ethnic elites, who are now the sole beneficiaries of national resources. The people are bitter. If this mass frustration is channeled into properly organized popular resistance, Ethiopia could see a revolution.

As this most unfortunate and shameful incident shows, all that talk about the Nigerian military being a disciplined institution is balderdash. What you get, in the end, is a military bursting at the seams with impunity and heavily laden at the top with corruption. This unwholesome, putrid mix is the definite make-up of Nigeria’s military.

Peacekeeping deployments are essential to the U.S. and its Western allies’ interests, but they are also an economic opportunity for soldiers from the Global South and for troop contributing nations.

Last year news that medicalization of FGM is an increasing trend in Kenya went online. Considering that Female Genital Mutilation is outlawed in Kenya, there’s a huge need to build a national and transnational strategy to tackle and address the issue in order to eradicate it.

Does Ethiopia really need resorts for relaxation and entertainment of the corruptly rich and foreign sex fiends when over 80 percent of the population lives in tattered thatched-roof tukuls?

Forty years after his death, Nigerians who see General Murtala Muhammad as their country’s ‘best gift to the world’ are clamouring for the anniversary of his death to be declared Heroes’ Day.

Against the backdrop of past and continued efforts by white supremacists and their institutions to keep us down, Black people must stand up together as one to fight back just as Dr. Woodson did in his time. We must continue to research and write our own rich and diverse histories.