Africa

Wednesday

Justin Cartwright

Zuluboy is here

South Africa’s Brave New World: The Beloved Country since Apartheid, by R. W. Johnson After the Party: Corruption and the ANC, by Andrew Feinstein I am writing this in Cape Town on the very day that Jacob Zuma is exonerated of all charges of corruption, racketeering and money-laundering — not by a judge, but by an ANC-appointed acting Director of the National Prosecuting Authority. This man defended his decision by claiming that there had been an abuse of due process when the head of the Scorpions anti-corruption unit was recorded by the National Intelligence Agency talking with ANC high-ups, including Thabo Mbeki, about the timing of Zuma’s prosecution. This abuse

Saturday

Anthony Daniels

Whistling in the dark | 21 March 2009

It’s Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistleblower, by Michela Wrong Once, when I was crossing Mali by bus, it took three days to go 100 yards. This was not because of the condition of the road, but because three sets of officials — the army, the police and the douaniers — insisted upon extracting their pound of flesh from the passengers (except for me), and would not let them go until they had duly paid up. The passengers took it all with a good-humoured resignation that both surprised and moved me. Perhaps their resignation derived from an understanding that, had the boot been upon the other

Wednesday

Michela Wrong

Killing with kindness

When I wrote a regular column on Africa for this magazine’s left-wing rival, I was always intrigued by the contrast in responses to any sceptical article on aid. ‘This reactionary bigot is clearly happy for millions of Africans to starve,’ pretty much summed up the fury of white readers at having their Oxfam direct debits questioned. ‘No, she’s right!’ replied my defenders. ‘These corrupt, thieving governments should be cut off without a penny.’ Those ones always came from Africans. The assumption that foreign aid is an unalloyed good runs so deep in the guilt- ridden, post-colonial West, people are often shocked to discover that many Africans, far from showing appropriate

Friday

Alex Massie

Global Crisis Deepens

Uganda’s ethics and integrity minister recognises that these are perilous times. Women wearing mini-skirts, he says, are a danger to public safety, responsible for all manner of traffic accidents. What’s wrong with a miniskirt? You can cause an accident because some of our people are weak mentally.” He continued arguing that, “if you find a naked person you begin to concentrate on the make-up of that person and yet you are driving.” According to Foreign Policy: The BBC notes that [Mr] Buturo is seeking to rid Uganda of its many vices, and inappropriate dress is just one of the many indecent items that appear on the minister’s list. Among others

Friday

Alex Massie

Appeasement Watch: Harare Edition

Michael Ledeen despairs over Condi Rice’s condemnation of Robert Mugabe: This is Darfur all over again. And Iran all over again.  And Syria all over again.  Stern language, with the threat of even sterner language if the recipient doesn’t behave better.It’s an embarrassment.Once upon a time, we had leaders who supported freedom and did everything possible to bring down tyrants.  But not today. Today we give feel-good speeches full of politically correct slogans, wrapped in the mantle of multiculturalism and multilateralism. [Emphasis added]. When did the United States enjoy these leaders? This seems a questionable assertion to say the least, certainly in the post-WW2 era. And, of course, Ledeen doesn’t

Thursday

Alex Massie

Zimbabwe’s Dr Benito Speaks!

Many thanks to Isaac Chotiner for pointing out the latest example of what he rightly considers to be Scoop-turned-fact. One the one hand, Zimbabwe’s opposition leaders are being detained, on the other there’s the confiscation of American food-aid which, rather than reach its intended target, was requisitioned to feed ZANU-PF supporters. When the Americans complained about their convoy being hijacked… Wayne Bvudzijena, spokesman for Zimbabwe’s national police, did not respond to the substance of Mr. McGee’s charge when contacted on his cellphone on Wednesday, but instead contended that there was no place named Bambazonke in Zimbabwe. “If you can go back to the honorable ambassador and verify your facts, madam,”

Wednesday

Alex Massie

Department of Pretty Words

The Boston Globe: “Candidates Unite Against Darfur Genocide” Isn’t it a bit late for that? “Today, we wish to make clear to the Sudanese government that on this moral issue of tremendous importance, there is no divide between us,” the three candidates say. “We stand united and demand that the genocide and violence in Darfur be brought to an end and that the CPA be fully implemented. Even as we campaign for the presidency, we will use our standing as Senators to press for the steps needed to ensure that the United States honors, in practice and in deed, its commitment to the cause of peace and protection of Darfur’s

Thursday

Alex Massie

Hillary of Harare

In one sense there’s little point in writing about Hillary Clinton anymore. She’s lost. Still, if there is any truth to the notion, much-favoured by Washington reporters, that you can gain a sense of character and, indeed, governing style from the way in which a candidate campaigns then, by gum, we should be glad that Hillary Clinton is not going to be the next President of the United States. Her caterwauling about the perceived injustice of not counting the Florida and Michigan primary results on account of their determination to break DNC rules, has conquered many peaks of absurdity lately. Norm draws my attention to this one: People go through

Wednesday

Alex Massie

Corker, Shumble, Whelper and Pigge would be proud…

Congratulations to Joe Bavier, a Reuters correspondent in the Congo. You could work years in this trade and never get to tap out an intro like this: KINSHASA (Reuters) – Police in Congo have arrested 13 suspected sorcerers accused of using black magic to steal or shrink men’s penises after a wave of panic and attempted lynchings triggered by the alleged witchcraft. [Via, Passport, Foreign Policy’s excellent blog.]

Saturday

Alex Massie

Hillary and Rwanda: A Study in Cynicism

Annoyed though I am by Hillary’s claim to have solved the Irish Question, it’s nothing compared to her – how to put it? – revisionist claims about the Rwandan genocide. These are revolting. Hilzoy lays it all out here in a post* that’s as enraging as it is sickening. The conclusion: I think it’s a lot more likely that she either didn’t advocate action on Rwanda at all, or did so only in passing. If so, this would have to be the definitive example of her attempt to claim responsibility for everything good that happened during her husband’s presidency, while disavowing all responsibility for his mistakes. This was, in my

Thursday

Alex Massie

Today’s shocking news

Comes from poor Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe’s governing party has endorsed Robert Mugabe as its candidate for next year’s presidential elections. The vote by delegates at the Zanu-PF conference in the capital, Harare, allows the 83-year-old president to seek a sixth term in office in March…. Mr Mugabe’s selection was by open acclamation and all 10 of Zanu-PF’s provincial bodies backed him. “I did not hear any dissenting voices,” John Nkomo, the Zanu-PF chairman said, according to the French news agency. “It means this congress has fully and unreservedly declared Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe as the presidential candidate for next year’s presidential elections.” Killer quote (literally): “Every one of them matters to