A Political Economy of Noise
Kangsen Feka Wakai traces the uncharacteristic journey through a “noisy era” of one of Africa’s heralded statesmen and reveals that his road less travelled has set him somewhat apart in the hood of the neo-liberal BigMan. Like most Big Men, Joachim Alberto Chissano has lived an eventful life. And like many of his generation, he […]
My Life as a Seventh Day Adventist
By Paula Akugizibwe Jesus waits in the swimming pool. The tenth commandment lies in pieces all over my sinful heart as our queue snakes towards salvation. We are facing the pastor one by one, waist-deep in water warm and dirty from all the sinners that went before. Around the pool, the congregation is gathered, singing […]
Quiet No more
Paul Goldsmith traces the sonics of Islam in Kenya and questions if a shifting consciousness among the country’s marginalised Muslims is the result of an increasingly politicised faith or the opportunistic agendas of local and multinational forces? Islam is not a noisy religion. Acoustically, the five calls to prayer, the rhythmic drone of Quranic recitation, […]
The African Affairs Bureau
By Helmi Sharawy I have pointed out in the past that the three spheres of interest in Egyptian politics (Arab, African and Islamic, in this order) mentioned in President Gamal Abdul Nasser’s booklet Philosophy of the Revolution did not indicate the real priority given to Egypt’s relations with Africa. The period 1956 –1960 was rich in […]
El-Salahi – The Wise Enemy
By Hassan Musa I want to introduce Ibrahim El-Salahi here as “our teacher,” using the first-person pronoun, although I did not personally have the honour of being his student when he was teaching drawing and painting at the College of Fine and Applied Art in Khartoum. I entered the college in 1970, a year after […]