The news of the sudden death on Sunday of our esteemed colleague and comrade-in-arms, Professor Chachage Seithy Loth Chachage came to us in the CODESRIA Secretariat as a rude shock that will take us a while to come to terms with. During the last two weeks of his life, he had numerous telephone exchanges with us in the CODESRIA Secretariat both concerning the on-going struggle for academic freedom he was helping to coordinate at the University of Dar-Es-Salaam and CODESRIA programmatic matters centring on medium-to-long-term institutional personnel strategy. During those exchanges, we had a full glimpse into the full agenda which he was running and the usual selfless commitment with which he was attending to his assignments. We also noted that he was, in spite of his time pressure, his usual witty self, delivering his critique of all that was wrong with contemporary African higher education with his uncommon, trademark punchlines that sent us both thinking and cracking with laughter at the same time. What we did not see, nor even had a possibility of guessing was that we were witnessing the last moments of his sojourn with us. And when the news of his death reached from his mentor, colleague and friend, Professor Issa Shivji, a numbing sense of disbelief prevailed among us. And now, we have the onerous duty of informing all members of CODESRIA, on behalf of the Council´s Executive Committee, of the loss of a titan of African social scientists.

CSL Chachage, a completely self-educated and self-made person was unique among his peers. An original thinker who had no time for intellectual fads, he contributed some of the most interesting insights into the roots of the crises of post-colonial development in Africa. He left no one in any doubt as to where his commitment lay: with the working people of Africa whose toils he identified with as defining the purpose for his scholarship. His versatility was also unmatched. Apart from bestriding the social sciences in his writings, at once addressing historical, philosophical sociological, political and economic issues, he was also a keen novelist who combined his passion for creative writing with an equal commitment to supporting African scholarly publishing. The last five years of his life were easily among his most prolific; it was as if he knew, somehow, that time was no longer on his side. But the stream of works that flowed from his pen did not prevent him from maintaining his love for teaching. He was elected head of the Department of Sociology and a member of the deanage at the University of Dar-es-Salaam during this period. He also resumed a frontline leadership role in the University of Dar-Es-Salaam Academic Staff Assembly. Furthermore, after a period of time as the Chair of the CODESRIA Scientific Committee, he was elected into the Council´s Executive Committee at the 1General Assembly held in Maputo, Mozambique, in December 2005.

To say we shall miss Chachage will be an understatement. But as our comrade transits to join other frontline CODESRIA militants such Claude Ake and Guy Mhone, we must, as a community, seize the moment to rededicate our commitment to Africa and humanity. For, when the epitaph of our Chachage is written, it will surely be highlighted that he was a foremost gentleman driven by the greatest humanitarian principles of all: social justice and freedom.

Members of the African social research community wishing to send messages of condolence to the late CSL Chachage´s family may do so through this e-mail address: [email][email protected]

Ndugu yangu
Rafiki yangu
Kamaradi Chachage:

Nani kasema umetuacha?
Eti umefariki!

Kwani mwili ndiyo maisha?

Maisha ni fikra.
Maisha ni vitendo.
Maisha ni ubinadamu.

Fikra zako,
Vitendo vyako,
Ubinadamu wako,
Utadumu.
Leo, kesho, keshokutwa na milele.

Vitendo vyako tutavienzi,
Ubinadamu wako tutauiga,
Fikra zako tutazieneza.

Msomi wa afrika,
Mtetezi wa wanyonge,
Mshabiki wa fikra za kitabaka,
Tabaka la wavujajasho.

Nimetumwa.

Nimetumwa na wasomi wenzako wa afrika kupitia codesria nikuletee salaamu zao.

Wameniambia, nikuage.
Nimekataa.
Sikuagi.

Nitakusindikiza tu.
(Follow link to view the complete poem)

I lost a brother today,
a friend, ndugu, comrade,
a human being.
I always thought I would see him again...
Sadness overwhelms me.
He walked through life his head held high
speaking up against injustice
and laughing at the stupidity of oppression.
His giggles still resound in my head
tho’ his seriousness never wavered
to fight for a better world
where ‘the meek would inherit
not only the earth, but also the mineral rights’...
Go well comrade and brother
you made us laugh, you showed us the way;
we shall miss you in the coming struggle...
Keep a place at the table for us
for when we come to join you
so we can laugh one more time
together.

Pambazuka News is deeply saddened to learn of the untimely death of Chachage S.L. Chachage. Africa has lost a comrade and fighter for freedom, someone who has not only contributed to the struggle for justice and emancipation, but has also been a major influence on the development of critical and creative thinking of generations of African intellectuals and activisits. Below is a selection of voices that speak to his extraordinary contribution.

As is the case for most public schools in the DRC, the government is responsible for paying teachers' salaries and providing benches, tables and classrooms for the 150 pupils at the Lokanja Lina Nkoy village school. However, students here are crowded into four classrooms where the sun shines through gaping holes in the roof. They sit on logs, bare feet in the sand, wearing shabby clothes instead of uniforms. Still, the children are enthusiastic about learning, even if they must do so without even the most basic supplies.

A hard-hitting song accusing Senegal's government of forcing young people to risk their lives to seek their fortunes abroad has been an internet success - ahead of its official release planned later this week. But the man behind the song, DJ Awadi, says he is not trying to use the internet to market his latest release, just trying to educate people.

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OIC International, Inc., an International PVO based in Philadelphia, PA, is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Project Director, Education Specialist, and Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, pending the results of our application to the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) for an upcoming multi-year initiative, Combating Exploitive Child Labor Through Education, Tanzania

ActionAid is looking to recruit two committed and competent Country Directors in the Africa Region. These are two senior positions reporting to the International Director for Africa, have functional relationships with counterparts in ActionAid and upward accountability to donors sponsors and National Advisory Boards where they exist as well as downward accountability to both their teams, partners and communities in the country programmes.

Human rights defenders in East Africa and the Horn of Africa - who have been harassed, defamed, attacked, and tortured - have formed a network to support and protect one another. Their first report, launched Thursday (July 6), reveals the current human rights situations in their respective countries.

The Project Coordinator will be responsible for managing and implementing ECWR's activities for the FGM Regional Media Task Force Partnership and our Stop Sexual Harassment Campaign.

Egypt's independent and opposition newspapers were not published on Sunday (July 9) to protest against a draft press law which the government bills as a reform but journalists say puts new limits on press freedom. The government-drafted bill, which won preliminary approval in parliament on Saturday 8 July, eliminates imprisonment as a penalty for some media offences, but continues to allow judges to impose jail terms for journalists in many others.

There is need to harness the education sector in Zambia to enhance development. Perth Institute of Business and Technology (PIBT) managing director at the Edith Cowan University (ECU) of Australia Andrew Crevald has said. "Having the private sector operate in the education system in Zambia offers competition as well a solution to meet the inception demand the two Government universities can not stand," Mr Crevald said.

Education Minister Namirembe Bitamazire has disclosed that the government has made available Sh30 billion and will recruit 2,000 teachers for the Universal Secondary Education (USE) programme commencing in February next year. "Plans will be finalised by December 2006 and the actual release will be done by February when schools open," she said.

Egypt has announced a series of initiatives intended to strengthen its scientific research and higher education sectors, reports SciDev. In the latest move, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak this week (3 July) approved a 15-year strategy for higher education whose aims include increasing the proportion of students who study at scientific institutions from 40 to 60 per cent.

As the G8 assembles again, a leading African lobby group exhorts summit leaders to finish what they started a year ago and fully cancel Africa’s debt. Last year G8 leaders proclaimed that 2005 would be the “year for Africa” and created a plan to address the continent’s challenges. Debt cancellation figured prominently and the G8 leaders crafted a deal to cancel 100% of the debts owed by 18 countries – 14 in Africa – to the IFIs.

After decades of setbacks in education, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are sending more children to school and taking steps to improve education quality. But the region still needs help from wealthy nations to achieve universal education by 2015, says a global partnership of donors and developing countries. “We have seen that progress is possible when political will and resources come together,” says Desmond Bermingham, the new head of the global compact on education, known as the Fast Track Initiative (FTI).

The eradication of illiteracy -a goal long proclaimed by the international community- had advanced significantly over the second half of the 20th century. Now, however, the trend towards improving literacy levels seems to be slowing down and many fear that past gains may even be lost as resources for education are cut down, with some countries alarmingly moving backwards from previously high rates of literacy.

Ministers from more than 50 European and African governments are meeting in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, to discuss ways of dealing with migrants. There are an increasing number of Africans trying to cross into Europe. The ministers are talking about human trafficking and security but also ways of alleviating the poverty which causes many migrants to seek a better life. Already this year at least 8,000 African migrants have reached Spain's Canary Islands alone.

The World Social Forum is coming to Kenya! Activists are busy laying plans and organising the 2007 event, and this article spells out the principles of the Forum and lists the Council that has been chosen to organise the event.