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Protests that originated in Uganda are now spreading to other East Africa countries. Across the region, people are unhappy over the rapid increases in food and fuel prices. Disappointed in the unprecedented price hikes, citizens are looking for better consumer protection from their governments. Inflation rates are on the rise throughout east Africa. In Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda the cost of food and fuel has sharply increased over the past few months. The high prices have triggered wave of street protests as people call on their leaders to help ease the cost of living. Analysts say that with unrest prevalent across oil producing North Africa and the Middle East, bringing an end to current economic climate will not be easy. This week in Kenya, angry protesters marched to the government’s finance offices, paralyzing traffic for several hours.

“We are protesting because prices of fuel, food petrol, everything is going up and it is affecting the common mwanainchi (citizen). We are saying, let the government intervene, let the government come in between and subsidize what is happening so that wanainchi (citizens) can be able to live comfortably. That is
A recent poll showed that most Kenyans now see the high cost of fuel prices and food commodities as their biggest concern, taking a back seat was corruption and bribery, which had previously been their biggest worries. The survey by pollster Synovate was released one day after fuel prices in east Africa’s largest economy rose by 8.5 percent, prompting calls for public protest.
“We are ready to go all the way, and we are not going to be cowed, we are not going to be intimidated, we are not going to be bullied. We are going to use the constitution to get what is rightfully ours.”
In Kenya, analysts criticized a move by the treasury to check food and fuel prices by reducing Kerosene and Diesel excise tax by 30 and 20 percent respectively, as a solution that would take far too long to be felt by ordinary citizens.
Ugandan economist Patrick Wakida, says the current economic crisis is being felt worldwide and relief may not be near. Due to the ongoing violence in Libya, a key oil producer, oil exported to African nations at subsidized prices has been halted, contributing to the region’s soaring fuel prices. But Wakida says, governments have a responsibility to cushion these effects.
“There are exogenous factors like the conflict in north Africa, those are oil producers, true they are there, but there are endogenous factors that are internal, how do you protect your country from such calamities in order to be called a good driver, if you fail then you are bound to be accused of failure to manage a country, what preparation has been there by the country,”.
In Uganda, peaceful protests against rising fuel prices dubbed “Walk to Work” and led by Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, recently turned violent when demonstrators clashed with government troops. The two sides also held running street battles on Thursday.
Wakida says Uganda’s government is failing to show any effort to help citizens weather the harsh economic times.

“Why is it in Rwanda petroleum products are lower than they are in Uganda, why is it that Kenya can put percentage cuts on the fuel price and Uganda cannot, what is happening to our country, that is the question everybody is asking,”.
Across the continent, in Burkina Faso, tens of thousands of people marched last week in Ouagadougou angry over the high cost of living. And some of the country’s soldiers upset over unpaid housing allowances, vandalized buildings and stole fuel.

By Paul Ndiho
April 20, 2011
Uganda’s president is stepping up his criticism of the West for interfering in internal African politics. Yoweri Museveni warns that there will be strong consequences for Western nations if they continue to intervene in African affairs.
President Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s long-time leader has criticized Western involvement in Africa, and threatens a ”Vietnam-style” scenario if foreign troops continued their involvement in Africa. Speaking at a recent press conference, General Museveni said this new phenomenon of Europeans and Americans intervening militarily in Africa without authorization from Africa Union will be defeated.

“Can the European troops go on intervening in Africa? No. They will not, because we shall not allow it. And if they want a new Vietnam they will get it. So if you say what is my reaction to this new situation of European troops coming into Africa without the permission of the African Union, I can tell you it will stop. Like we defeated colonialism in the past, this one also will be defeated,”

In March, Museveni condemned foreign air strikes against the forces of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, accusing the West of double standards and a thirst for more oil. But his critics say that General Museveni doesn’t criticize the West when they are supporting his side. Like Gaddafi, Museveni has ruled the East African nation with an iron fist since 1986 and he continues to suppress protests led by opposition leaders like Kizza Besigye. Museveni defeated Besigye, his main rival, in February’s presidential election with 68 percent of the vote. But, there remains tension between the two men.

“There will be no demonstration in Kampala. In fact, I will call upon the public to really go to Kampala as if there was nothing because in Kampala, Besigye will not demonstrate in Kampala. He will not.”
Ugandan troops arrested Besigye outside his home on Monday as he was leaving to take part in the third “Walk to Work” protest against high food and fuel prices. He was arraigned in court and charged with incitement and engaging in what authorities termed as riotous behavior. Besigye was later released on bail.
“I believe what the prosecution was saying that the state is in fear… it is not in fear of my walking, it is in fear of its citizens, that is not a fear that I can cure The state fears its citizens because it knows its citizens are unhappy about what they are doing in government, stealing their money, misusing their money, abusing their rights while hard working citizens cannot even have enough to have a meal a day. That is what the state is afraid off, and which they think my walking is going to … uh… exacerbate.”
Besigye and other opposition leaders are vowing to move forward with the protests, and are willing to bear the brunt of Museveni’s brutal regime.
“What is happening clearly is that we have a regime that is hell bent on ruling by terror, violating citizens’ rights with impunity.” Besigye said.
Food prices in Uganda are steadily rising after drought diminished output across the country. Higher global oil prices have increased transport costs, pushing up food prices in urban areas even more. The consumer price index jumped 4.1 percent in March from February, raising the year-on-year inflation rate to 11.1 percent, the fifth straight rise. Security forces fired rubber bullets and teargas last Thursday to disperse a crowd of more than one-thousand led by Besigye who was injured after being hit in the finger with one of the rubber bullets.
In 2005, President Museveni’s push for a third term came under stinging attack by western governments, especially from U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Johnnie Carson, who was then the U.S. Ambassador to Uganda. But, with his troops now in Somalia, mister Museveni currently enjoys a good working relationship with the U.S. and other western powers, though critics accuse him of keeping a tight grip on power and not allowing opposition voices to be heard.

Uganda’s strongman vows he will quash protests led by opposition leader Kizza Besigye. “Besigye will not demonstrate in Kampala.” Earlier today, Ugandan troops arrested opposition leader Kizza Besigye outside his home. He had left his house on his way to take part on a protest against high food and fuel prices. In this video clip Besigye is seen forcefully being dragged into the back of a pickup truck, and taken to a police station. “There will be no demonstration in Kampala.” said General Museveni.

This is the third time in less than two weeks that Besigye and other opposition leaders have been arrested by pro Museveni soldiers. Protests began last week after prices rose because of a drop in food production – due to drought in the east African country and an increase in transport cost as a result of higher global oil prices. General Museveni, who defeated Besigye in February’s presidential election won with 68 percent of the vote, and has been in power for 25 years.

South Africa’s Health Ministry recently released statistics showing that almost 5-thousand schoolgirls in Johannesburg became pregnant in just one school year.
Health experts in South Africa are scrambling for answers following the report. The report says that teenage pregnancy between the ages of 12 and 19 has reached an all-time high, and education officials, parents and charities are working around the clock to address the problem.
Also, over 100 primary school girls, also became pregnant in the same period. Most come from poverty stricken homes, and are often influenced by their peers, according to the report.
17-year-old Lethlogonolo Mampane fell pregnant while still at school. She says her boyfriend used money and gifts to lure her into sex.

“I felt I have to be independent you know, I want to do things on my own without asking my mother for money, I couldn’t ask my mother for money so I can go and drink with friends, so yeah, money is like the main thing, some girls maybe think it’s love, but really it’s about sex and money, that’s it.”
Unlike many girls in her situation, Mampane continued going to school while pregnant. She says she has learnt her lesson and is now focused on her future.
“Well I went to school, I told myself that people are going to talk, I know they are, because I used to talk, so I told myself that, you know what, you know what you want, and you are going to get what you want, forget what people are saying, it’s not your business, they are here, they are gonna talk, they are gonna do that, and not everyone wants good things for you.”
The Gauteng Department of Health has embarked on a campaign to educate youth on the implications of pregnancy and HIV/AIDS.
The department has deployed more than 30 family planning nurses to local clinics.
Fidel Hadebe is the spokesperson of the department of health.
“It indicates the inability of our programs in terms of one, changing attitudes towards issues of sex and sexuality.”
Hadebe notes that sex is considered ‘cool’ for school children of school age, and another problem is persuading teenagers and children to talk about it to their parents. But Lethlogonolo’s mother is she having a hard time dealing with her daughters pregnancy
“Well, there is no way I can deny this, I didn’t understand why Lethlogonolo did that to me, I mean I talk to her about issues of sex, I wanted her to be married, have kids after marriage, I mean look at me, I have two kids from different fathers, life is tough for me, I am forever fighting with their fathers to pay maintenance for their kids, I have to do anything for my children to eat. I was involved in recycling just so I could support my children, how are we going to survive with an extra mouth to feed?”
Mampane says she has put aside her disappointment and will help her daughter look after the baby so she can finish school. But she hopes other children in the neighborhood can learn from their situation and better understand the reality and responsibilities of being a parent.

Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been shot after the military police opened fire to disperse protesters in the capital, Kampala.
Ugandan police fired teargas to disperse a crowd that gathered after an opposition leader was prevented from taking part in a second round of protests over rising fuel and food prices on Thursday (April 14).
Opposition leader Kizza Besigye, President Yoweri Museveni’s closest rival in February elections, was stopped by military police from taking part in the protest. Teargas was fired to disperse a crowd that formed a ring around him in a Kampala suburb as police tried to arrest him.

Police had already detained Besigye on Monday (April 11) as he prepared to join another protest over rising food and fuel prices.
After a few hours of cat-and-mouse chases with protesters, police stopped firing teargas and three of their vehicles escorted a crowd of more than 1,000 towards the city centre, with Besigye in the middle.
But the protesters were then dispersed by military police, firing live bullets.
Prices have been rising in the east African country after drought hurt food production in many parts of Uganda and higher fuel prices have increased transport costs, pushing up food prices further in urban areas.
After Monday’s attempted protest, Besigye was charged with inciting unrest and released on bail.
More updates coming!

By Paul Ndiho
April 11, 2011

Ugandan police fired teargas canisters to disperse opposition supporters after their leaders are arrested in a protest against rising food and fuel prices.
Ugandan police detained two main opposition leaders on Monday as they prepared to march in protest over rising food and fuel prices in the east African country.
Civil society and opposition parties were planning to hold a “Walk to Work” protest when the police detained Kizza Besigye, who was General Museveni who closest rival in February elections. Uganda’s strongman General Museveni won with 68 percent of the vote and has been in power for 25 years.
Dr. Besigye was walking to work near his home in Kampala in support of civil society who had called on leaders to join them in their protest.
“If am not committing an offence, do not violate rights, let me go about my business. Go to do what I want to do the way I want to do it, that is my right, you have very clear choices and you can use them, you have the power, I do not have power, I am an ordinary person,” .

Another opposition leader, Norbert Mao, was detained after a brief standoff with the police in a Kampala suburb. Security forces used teargas to disperse a crowd that had gathered.
Before Besigye was bundled into a police vehicle, he said authorities should not be worried by a small minority that may not be happy with them.
“We have just gone through an election in which the regime claims to have got 70% of the votes, so why would they be worried about this small minority of people that may not be happy with them and many of them wishing to go to work the way that I am doing, why would they be fearing? I think the fear to me is a demonstration that they have lost the legitimacy to govern and therefore they must govern by might, by violation of other people’s rights,” Besigye said.
Besigye was the presidential candidate for the Inter-Party Cooperation, a coalition of five parties that fielded a joint candidate against Museveni. Mao was candidate for the Democratic Party, which is not part of the opposition coalition.

Police had warned that “Walk to Work” peaceful protests against the rising fuel prices and cost of living in the country were illegal, saying the opposition intended to cause “violence and destruction”.
Besigye and other opposition leaders have repeatedly warned Uganda is ripe for an Egypt-style uprising, though analysts question public appetite for unrest.
Besigye unsuccessfully appealed to the Supreme Court after losing the 2001 and 2006 elections. While judges agreed there had been vote rigging and violence against the opposition, they said it had not changed the overall result.

Thousands of Ivorian refugees are taking refugee in neighboring countries, as fighting intensifies between forces loyal to Ivory Coast presidential rivals Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara in the world’s top cocoa-growing nation.
United Nations-certified results show Alassane Ouattara won the November 28 presidential election. Forces loyal to Mr. Ouattara are battling to forcefully remove incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, who refuses to step down.
More than three months of post-election turmoil has killed more than 1,000 people in Ivory Coast and rekindled the country’s 2002 civil war.
Hundreds of thousands Ivorian refugees have taken refuge in neighboring countries, prompting Liberia to set up refugee centers in collaboration with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). Brownie Samukai, the Liberian Minister of Defense, says the international community has a stake in assuring that people in Ivory Coast get help in this conflict.
“They deserve the attention of the international community and that attention will protect the investment that you have made in Liberia, and that attention will make sure that those women are okay, those civilians who are suffering the brunt in Ivory Coast can be protected. Liberia supports the stand that the ECOWAS has taken and we believe that it is in our best interest that international community also come and support ECOWAS to urge the UN to take the appropriate step as a desire in order to bring peace.”
According to the UN, as many as one million people have fled the conflict to neighboring countries.
Aid agencies across the region are appealing to the international community to increase donations to help the refugees. Many of those arriving in Liberia and other countries have very little with them:

“We arrived in Lome, and we have no accommodation. There is no accommodation and we do not know where to sleep, we cannot fully integrate, it’s difficult for us here in Lome.”
“It’s ok for us men, but for women who now have to sleep outside, and who don’t have a roof over their heads, it’s really pitiful, really pathetic. We as Ivorian refugees, we didn’t ask for this to happen to our country. It may be that our country is going through another chapter in its history, but what is happening to our country is horrible.”
In Togo, the situation is similar. Refugee assistance official Moise Inaddjo says the country has been trying to provide the basic necessities for the refugees.
“When they arrive to the national coordination of assistance for refugees, we try to calm them, we try to listen to them and many are traumatized. We must first help them out the trauma and then we register them as refugees. When we register them, we realise that there are many cases, and that many of them have nothing to eat for example”.
Armed militiamen loyal to incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo are patrolling streets in Abidjan in a standoff with forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara. Dressed in army fatigues or civilian clothing, the militiamen are on the streets or on boats. Meanwhile, hundreds of pro-Ouattara soldiers are gathered on the outskirts of Abidjan, waiting to launch what they say will be a final assault to unseat Laurent Gbagbo.

By Paul Ndiho, Washington DC
March 30, 2011

Tens of thousands of Ivorians continue to flee to Liberia. The United Nations estimates that nearly 1 million people in Ivory Coast have left the country because of the fighting there.
The mass exodus of refugees from Ivory Coast is straining food supplies and resources in Liberia. An estimated 1 million people have fled the capital Abidjan and neighboring towns. Aid agencies say more than 90,000 people have crossed into Liberia.
The crisis comes as the world’s gaze has been fixed on uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East, and international appeals for urgent aid have gone largely unanswered. Chaloka Beyani is a Professor of Law at the London School of Economics, and the U.N.’s Special Rapportuer on the human rights of internally displaced persons.
“The magnitude of displacement is huge and i think that picture is changing almost on a daily basis but the estimates indicate that at least you have around 400 thousand people displaced with the country and a lot more outside the country. The partner of displacement seems to be urban based at the moment and so far UNHCR have presence in the country in an attempt to provide assistance to those who need it as a result of displacement.”

November’s disputed presidential election in Ivory Coast has pushed the country to the brink of a new civil war, with Laurent Gbagbo rejecting results showing rival Alassane Ouattara won.
Hundreds have already died in street clashes between the two sides. An outbreak of fighting in western Ivory Coast between pro-Gbagbo forces and rebels who back Mr. Ouattara has contributed to a huge spike in people fleeing over the border.
“I was on my way to school with my friend. We were walking and the shooting began. We fled. We left our guardian at home, my friend’s mother. We could not go back, so we fled into the bush. We then fled towards the border and we slept in the bush.”
Despite the best efforts of humanitarian agencies, the rapid movement of people has put a huge strain on sanitation and water and the situation has been declared critical in some places.
“This mass displacement in Abidjan and elsewhere is fueled by fears of all-out war. This week we have panic in Abidjan as thousands of youth have responded to calls to civilians to join the ranks of forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo.”
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf warns the crisis risks destabilizing the West African region. She says Ivory Coast is “already at war” and calls on the international community to take greater action to stop the violence from spreading to neighboring countries.
Conflicts triggering huge movements of refugees in the region have occurred before, as happened during Liberia’s civil war of 1989-2003. But most observers thought late last year that Ivory Coast was less of a concern than Guinea, which ultimately managed to make it through a similar tense election period.

As some Africans become increasingly affluent, they may find that managing their money wisely is a challenging task. To get some answers, I talked about money management with Juanita Kilasara, author “Taking Control of Your Money,” a guide for young professionals.

By Paul Ndiho
March 15, 2011

Movies can tell much about a country, its culture, values, aspirations and shared experiences. In some African countries, an emerging movie industry is helping Africans to tell their stories.
The 1982 film “Wend Kuuni,” also known as “God’s Gift,” was a breakthrough in West African cinema. Directed by Gaston Kabore from Burkina Faso, it brought the tradition of African oral storytelling to the big screen, ushering in a new genre of African movies, elegant in their simplicity and profound. “Wend Kuuni” tells the story of a young mute boy who lost his memory. Only when he remembers his past, does he regain his voice.
“…this child is told in parallel with the story of Africa, the colonial period, the slavery, and everything and how we take back our own voice and words.”

“Wend Kunni” was the first feature film ever made in Burkina Faso – and it catapulted Kabore onto the world stage. His success set him on a mission: to unlock the imagination of a whole new generation of filmmakers and help Africans to tell their own stories.
“Who are we? To me is the fundamental question. If the Africans do not see themselves on the screen they are going to disappear in their own minds and eyes.”
Kabore grew up in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital. After independence, despite few resources, the government committed to building a local film industry. Since 1969 it has hosted the Pan-African Film Festival – called FESPACO – the largest and most prestigious in sub-Saharan Africa. It also created a film archive and with the support of
UNESCO, founded the African Institute for Cinematographic Studies, which trained hundreds of filmmakers. Kabore taught there until 1986, when the school closed for lack of funds. Eleven years later, he released “Budd Yamm,” which won the top prize at the FESPACO film festival that year.
“I said, OK Gaston, now maybe as an individual you need to do something. That’s how the idea of Imagine started.”
Kabore began the Imagine Institute in 1999 – a film academy for young Africans, pouring in his own money to equip the school with state of the art technology. He raises funds to pay professionals to teach intense workshops that he believes should be free for students:

“If we want to have the best students, if we put the money like the filter to select, then we are going to lose many of them…”
Anna Piuri, from Zambia, is one of the 600 students who have attended Imagine with aid mainly from European donors. She says she could not have found quality training back home.
“What you have now in Zambia is a lot of vocational training. You might be able to learn the basics of how to handle a camera but you really don’t get the knowledge of how to really tell a story.”
An aspiring script writer, Anna is thrilled to be working with the man known as the father of Burkina Faso cinema.

“I think for Gaston to do that, to me was really amazing… I think it’s very valuable that he says OK. I made my films now. I am going to pass on the knowledge to other people… And I am not going to make you pay for it.”
“Filmmakers are not only people using techniques, they also need to continue shaping their inside world and vision…It’s not only a question of entertainment, it is also a question of survival in the cultural level.”
But today, after seven years, Imagine has been hit hard by the global financial crisis. Kabore says he wants Imagine to survive, and for students to create film Institutes in their own countries.
“My conviction is life is a journey, is a quest. We take something from those who have lived before us. We continue the journey and we have to pass something to the new generation for them to continue the journey.”
Despite the financial challenges, Kabore is committed to keeping Imagine open. He says helping other people make films is as important as making his own