Following the Waki report on Kenya’s post-election violence, the KNCHR offers its response to the report and its strong opposition to any political attempts to discredit the report’s findings and undermine justice. The KNCHR contends that an informed citizenry represents the last line of defence for democracy against those who abuse power. Keen to see Kenya’s political problems resolved within domestic institutions and mechanisms to avoid the need for intervention by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the KNCHR likewise urges Kenyan parliamentarians to work towards upholding justice and challenging any scope for impunity for those in power.

Despite overcrowding and teacher shortages, South African students at the Katlehong Technical High School are determined to do well in their end-of-year examinations. But last year, final year students at the school managed only a disappointing 16% pass rate, making Katlehong Technical High the worst-performing school in the country's financial heartland province of Gauteng.

The Coalition for Peace in Africa and Responding to Conflict are offering a new course for practitioners to deepen their understanding of the processes of social change and conflict transformation, to explore the strengths, limitations, and challenges of their work, and new ways for implementation in the future.

Reporters Without Borders condemns a violent attack on leading journalist Amare Aregawi on 31 October in Addis Ababa, in which he sustained serious head injuries. Aregawi edits The Reporter, a big-circulation newspaper published in Amharic and English-language versions.

How can we address the issue of the information and knowledge society without first dealing with the fact that almost a sixth of the world's population remains illiterate, and thus excluded from the possibility of effectively participating in a knowledge-driven society? What good are the advantages afforded by the new ICTs for the more than 860 million who cannot read and write?

Some migrant workers in southern Africa who have been diagnosed with MDR-TB are being deposited at the border of their home country without treatment or referral to care, according to reports at the World Lung Health Conference held in Paris from October 17th-20th. In some cases, it is the migrant’s employer that is sending ill patients back to their home country, usually a mining company .

The African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) is looking for a suitable candidate to fill the position of Programs Manager. This position offers possibility of gaining experience working for a leading Africa women’s Regional organisations in a very stimulating, multicultural and dynamic environment. The position will involve considerable travel within Africa and other parts of the world.

Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu have been granted bail by Justice Ndou in the Bulawayo High Court this afternoon. The two were instructed to pay bail of $200,000 each (roughly USD 1.50). Other conditions include reporting to their closest police station twice a week and not travelling outside of a 40km radius of Bulawayo Post Office without written permission from a Magistrate.

The Master's programme in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford is a part-time degree offered over two academic years. Admissions for the 2009-10 Master's programme are now open. It involves two periods of distance learning via the internet as well as two summer sessions held at New College, Oxford. The degree programme is designed in particular for lawyers and other human rights professionals who wish to pursue advanced studies in international human rights law but may need to do so alongside their work or family responsibilities.

The Institute for Social and Economic Studies (IESE) will be holding its second conference, on the 22nd and 23rd of April 2009 in Maputo about "Dynamics of Poverty and Patterns of Economic Accumulation in Mozambique." IESE intends to contribute to challenge mainstream approaches to poverty and to develop the debate further by introducing new perspectives that are based upon the political economy analysis of poverty in relation with the patterns of economic and social accumulation and reproduction.

The Somali Diaspora traces, through photographs and essays, the journey of a family from the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya to new lives in the United States. The work takes readers from civil war in Africa to the culture shock of arriving in the United States, growing roots in the Somali community, learning English, finding work, and–in a remarkably short time–participating fully in American life.

‘The Somali Diaspora is remarkable in its ambition; it is a necessary book, very much worth reading and buying, and an important addition to the work done on the Somali presence in North America.’ Nuruddin Farah

‘Having travelled many of the steps of the Somali Diaspora, Abdi Roble always photographs what he knows and cares deeply about, making these photographs as much autobiography as photojournalistic narrative. The Somali Diaspora deftly chronicles the almost irreconcilably odd collision of cultures that emerges out of relocation, but with hope and sympathy throughout. It also performs the important job of making Minnesotans, and Americans at large, look at and take stock of the society we've created that they seek as refuge.’ George Slade, artistic director, Minnesota Center for Photography

‘Opening The Somali Diaspora is like finding a hidden doorway into the lives and experiences of Somali immigrants to the United States. This book will serve to give us all a deeper sense of connection to anyone whom we may come to call 'neighbor' and 'fellow citizen.'‘ Omar Jamal, executive director, Somali Justice Advocacy Center

* For more information, including the book's table of contents, please visit the .
* Abdi Roble was born in Mogadishu, Somalia. He emigrated to the USA in 1989, where he developed a passion for photography. Roble started the Somali Documentary Project in 2003, and won the Arts Freedom Award by the South Side Settlement House in 2006. Doug Rutledge is a poet, essayist and academic.
* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

While the ODM rejects the Waki Report (Commission of Inquiry into the Post-Election Violence), the Kenyans for Peace through Truth and Justice (KPTJ) issue a strongly worded statement urging full implementation of the recommendations.

The South African government should aim for free universal education, backed up by teacher training so as to make a significant impact on the quality of schooling, said the country's largest public service union. Jon Lewis, spokesman for the South African Democratic Teachers' Union (SADTU) said the plan by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to extend free education to 60 percent of schools in 2009 should be applauded, but it was not without glitches.

At least two Africa migrants were reported dead after landing in a wooden fishing boat packed with 125 migrants in Spain's canary Islands. Another four migrants were taken to hospital after boat arrived early in the morning at a beach on island of La Gomera, a spokeswoman for emergency services said.

Five years after the introduction of free primary education (FPE) in Kenya, the enrolment of girls in schools continues to lag behind in Garissa, in Kenya's North Eastern region. Most communities living in the North Eastern region are nomadic and semi-nomadic, and depend on livestock for their livelihood.

Prominent South African academic and writer Es'kia Mphahlele has died at the age of 88. He was best known for his autobiography Down Second Avenue, telling of his life as a herdsman, teacher and journalist for the celebrated magazine Drum. It ended with his exile from apartheid South Africa in 1957. He returned 20 years later and became the University of Witwatersrand's first black professor and founded the school's African Literature Department.

Pamoja Africa is a loose Network (Meta Network) of National chapters (Networks), which in turn consist of Organizations that practice Reflect and other participatory methods in the conduct of their development work. Pamoja requires the services of a competent and visionary person to fill the position of a network facilitator

The Visiting Fellows Programme has been established to further the ARSRC’s commitment to increase Africa-focused research and publications on sexuality, issues, as well as, build links between scholars and practitioners working in this area in Africa. ARSRC is offering one (1) residential fellowship to a suitable candidate from the southern Africa countries. The fellowships of 1 to 4 months long will be based at the ARSRC’s office in Lagos, Nigeria.

The course is aimed at those who want to learn how to use a project management tool such as Open Workbench (which is the same type of program such as MS Project) to create project plans on the computer. Delegates will be provided with the Open Workbench program on CD. Visit for more information about the program.

HAI has been working in Sudan for over 20 years and has provided essential support and services to vulnerable older people and their dependants. HAI is committed to providing a community based approach to address the most pressing needs. As Programme Director, you will be responsible for the development, management and administration of HAI’s programme in Sudan and promote the development of a national capacity to meet the needs of older people. Please email your applications by the closing date of 17 November 2008.