Zimbabwe’s violent dictator is once again the darling capitalist of the West. The reason is the standard and most simple: Zimbabwe has the world’s second largest reserves of platinum, its uranium production is going westwards and Mugabe has agreed to toe the line on the marketing of the world’s largest ever single field diamond operation, Marange.

This sociological novel provides readers with an opportunity to read the kind of Africanized French that is spoken in the streets and neighborhoods in Gabon’s major cities such as Libreville. The text is replete with standard French words, argot and indigenous language words and expressions that endow it with a reasonable dose of cultural authenticity.

The first generation of African leaders had some excellent qualities like nationalism, patriotism, vision and less corruption. But they suffered from the grave original sin of staying in power too long by undemocratic means. The continent is still harvesting the sour fruits of their legacies in the likes of Mugabe, Museveni and Kagame.

The West has forced millions to become wandering, destitute refugees, as it destroys nations and peoples that get in the way of Empire. Palestinians have lived this reality for 67 years. Beirut sits at the lip of the volcano.

As the world continues to search for viable solutions to the issues of sustainable development and climate change, why not look at the ordinary men and women who have done extraordinary things in fighting poverty and preserving the environment? One such inspirational figure is Tadeo Nyabirweki.

After extending for a final non-stop 24-hour negotiation between the major trading powers, the 10th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) concluded with a Ministerial Declaration that marks a turning point for the multilateral trade body according to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman.

The Pope’s visit was not just about Africa. He used Africa as a platform to air his views of global concern. The Pope was basically pleading the cause of Africa before the international community, but also assuring the ordinary African people that he is on their side.

Last month, upwards of 20,000 Brazilians of African descent, predominantly women, came together to protest the deep seated racism, including the targeting and murder of Black youth by the police, and gender based violence in Brazil. This single act of protest shatters the myth of a racially harmonious nation.

Justice for the revered public intellectual remains elusive 35 years after his assassination. The Commission of Inquiry instituted by the government, and which was recently forced to end its operations amidst questions about its credibility, seems to have been set up for political expediency. Whatever the findings of the Commission, Guyana and the world will not stop demanding the truth about Rodney’s death.

In recent weeks, hundreds of thousands of peaceful Biafrans have turned their cities and towns and villages into panoramic freedom park marches, unprecedented in Africa, demanding the restoration of the sovereignty of their beloved Biafra. Biafrans will surely free their land. It is high time BBC editors got used to this eventuality.

In my interactions with the youth, I have discovered that we are in a very serious situation in this country. The average Nigerian youth is not independent, but their mind is focused on conformity and adherence to the rules. If the youthful minds of our country are busy doing what they have been told, then who will challenge the status quo?

In September, there were high hopes in some parts of Swaziland’s civil society and democratic movement that a dialogue with the county’s absolute monarch King Mswati III was on the table. Not least because of pressure from the Commonwealth, the USA and the EU. Three months later no such meeting has taken place and that hope seems all but shattered.

Self-described Africa scholar Gerald Caplan’s recent praise of Canada’s relations with Uganda is superficial and misleading. He ignores Canada’s support for imperialism in East Africa that goes back to the days of the slave trade.

There is renewed agitation in Nigeria to actualize the break-away republic of Biafra. While this demand is unrealistic in many ways, it points to an urgent need to address the unresolved question of Nigeria’s nationhood once and for all.

It is a matter of international solidarity to side with the oppressed, advocating their rights and thereby also promoting fundamental human rights universally. Namibia itself benefitted from such solidarity in its struggle for freedom. So how come the country is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court?

As the violence escalates to a kill a week – sometimes more - illegal evictions continue unabated, women are are raped by gun-toting triggermen, and freedom of movement and association has ground to a halt in this poor South African neighbourhood, anyone who suggests ‘bringing warring factions together at the ‘negotiation table’ has clearly been drinking Molotov cocktails, or they are on the thugs’ payroll.

Not many years ago Kenya’s flowers were produced by hundreds of small producers, providing livelihood for thousands. Now they are produced by a handful of multinationals. Those who own the farms in Naivasha as well as middle agencies make enormous profits, but the direct producers – the wage workers – get very little.

There was a time when Prof Moyo stood alone with the revolutionary people of Zimbabwe. In international academic platforms he refused the seductive embrace of colonisers which comes with a litany of personal rewards.

Professor Sam Moyo reached the pinnacle of academia and stayed true to his vocation to the end.

As teenagers, we used to good-humouredly call him Sam ‘Mudzanga’ (because of his new-found love for smoking, “mudzanga” being the Shona word for cigarette) or Sam Kanhunzi (because of the dark mole by his nose which stood out in contrast to his very light complexion, “kanhunzi” being a small housefly or domestic fly). He was born with more than enough charisma, but he remained down-to-earth as he rose higher and higher.

Moyo was neither an Afro-pessimist with a colonial mentality hankering after servitude like a house nigger nor a hopeless optimist as to blind himself to the post-independence failings and evils like oppression and corruption. Moyo’s colleague Professor Ian Scoones encapsulated this in an obituary he wrote this week: “Sam has often been inaccurately pigeonholed as being on ‘one’ side or another . . . Whether inside the State and the party (Zanu PF), among opposition groups or with the World Bank and other donors, no one could ignore what Sam had to say.”

His free academic spirit could not be shackled by ideology and this made him “challenge oppression and exploitation in whatever form”.

Moyo did not erect barriers, but built bridges. He interacted with all sides — from the ruling party to various opposition formations.

Moyo, true to academia, adhered to highest standards of scientific analysis, earning himself a global reputation as an eminent scholar bringing real value to humankind.

What more can I really add except that a whole library has gone?

Rest in peace, Sam Mudzanga.

*Conway Nkumbuzo Tutani is a Harare-based columnist.

I enjoyed my research assistant work although it was not an easy job, given Sam’s high academic expectations. However, through it, Sam taught me hard work, discipline and persistence. Sam was a professional at heart, by experience, dedication, and commitment to land and agrarian issues.