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By Paul Ndiho
May 17, 2011
Tunisian youth are playing active roles and have recently become more politicized as they continue to assert themselves, and demand for democratic change. Today, more young people are joining activist movements and taking a keen interest in government affairs.
Following the youth-led revolt that ousted Tunisia’s long time leader Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, young people are mobilizing to try to move the country toward a functioning democracy.
Many observers say the overthrow of Ben Ali in January helped break down much of the fear across the Middle East and North Africa in places with repressive regimes. Across the region, students and pro-democracy activists continue to clash with and push authorities for reforms and concessions, often resulting in protests spilling over into violence.

“We, the students are part of the national movement; we are an integral part of the national movement.”
Recent protest in Tunisia has prompted the government to implement a night-time curfew to control the streets. Around half of Tunisia’s population of 10 million is under 30 years of age. This protester says the voice of youths should not be ignored.
“We will continue to demand change until our demands are all met.”
Some in Tunisia are calling for an end to protests, while others, including state television, are saying some troublesome youths have been paid money to cause havoc.
“Some people are using Tunisian youths who have little political knowledge. It may be a particular party or movement who use them to further their goals.”
The National Youth Forum in Tunisia is bringing young political activists together. Political debates and party meetings were a taboo under the government of the ousted president, Ben Ali. Yu’ad Bilrajab, a youth leader, says the change in the political leadership means that the youth no longer have to fear open meetings.
“We are all youth who have gathered together despite not knowing each other. (Former President Zine el-Abidine) Ben Ali’s strength was in separating us and now this is bringing us together.”
“What we need is serious and real initiatives, opposite to what we have today. We can express our ideas and demand the youth to participate and present initiatives to help move Tunisia forward.”
Other activists in Tunisia say they believe there is an even bigger role to be played by their generation to help ensure their nation makes a successful transition to democracy.

By Paul Ndiho
May 17, 2011
Somalia’s Transitional Government says it’s making some progress in stabilizing the security situation, but a lot more needs to be done in the fight against al-Shabaab.
Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, Prime Minister of Somalia, says the al-Qaida-linked militia group al-Shabaab is vowing to avenge the killing of Osama bin Laden by continuing kill and attack innocent civilians. Al-Shabab is trying to overthrow Somalia’s transitional government and set up a state based on a strict interpretation of Sharia law. The Somali- American prime minister says his government and Africa Union troops have boosted security around the capital Mogadishu, and are now expanding to other areas under their control.

“We’re making some progress and a lot of things need to be done. In a short period when we are in office, we have improved the security situation, we increased the revenue that enable us to pay salaries for all civil servants and the military, and, of course, to provide food for our military, medical service and we’re now to ready to face the enemy.”
Mohamed Farmajo says his government has made some significant gains in trying to reach out to young militants in the last couple of months and more than 150 al-Shabaab militia fighters have defected and joined the government forces.
“We have received calls from those youths asking where they can come if they want to defect. And also we communicate through the air, radios, and assure them that they will be welcome and provided with salary and education. We also tell them that this is not Somali culture or Islamic culture blow up and kill innocent people.”
Al-Shabaab controls much of southern and central Somalia but has lost some ground in recent weeks to a government offensive. Last week, officials in Somalia’s Puntland region said at least 26 people were killed in fighting between government soldiers and Islamist insurgents. Basto Ahmed, a US-based Somali community leader observes that the transitional government is making progress in the fight against Al- Shabbab.

“This government with the short period of time they have accomplished a lot. In other words, this is the first government which clearly has some sort of success on the ground against Al- Shabaab and against these terrorist groups that are in Somalia. They have made some significant gains; they’ve only been in office for the last 8 months.”
Ahmed says that the killing of bin Laden will diminish al-Qaida’s ability to support the Somali militant group.

“We hope that their funds, their economical funds from al-Shabaab came from al-Qaida. As of matter of fact, Somali news and Somali websites, they had a meeting today in a city called Afgooye and they declared themselves, the al-Shabaab leadership declared that the death of Bin Laden will be loss, because they used to get training from al-Qaida and because they used to get funds from al-Qaida.”
David Smock, Senior Vice President for the U.S. Institute of Peace, says that though African Union and Somali forces have made headway against al-Shabaab, the group may not be deterred by the death of the al Qaida leader.
“I think al-Shabaab, even though it’s facilitated with al Qaida, I don’t think it would significantly be influenced or held back by the death of bin Laden. I will expect al-Shabaab to carry on with his nastiness.”
Critics are urging Somalia’s transitional federal government to engage young militias in a dialogue aimed at integrating them into the government forces, and where possible, rehabilitate militants who have caused so much suffering in Somalia.

BY Paul Ndiho
May 6, 2011
The International Monetary fund (IMF) says Sub-Saharan Africa’s recovery from the global financial slowdown is well under way, with growth in most countries now close to the highs of the mid-2000s. Growth this year is expected to be robust.
Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa has largely returned to the levels that preceded the global financial downturn, according to the IMF’s Director for Africa:
“Sub-Saharan Africa’s recovery from the global economic downturn is proceeding quite well. Our best estimates at this point is that in 2011 we’ll see growth approach some 5-1/2 percent, up from the 5 percent growth achieved in 2010. All of this, of course, depends on the global economic recovery continuing to proceed as well. And as you know, there are some uncertainties surrounding that,”
The IMF’s report on economic growth in Africa accounts for higher average oil prices which would result in higher import bills for most countries in the region.
Also, a surge in food prices has begun to nudge up consumer prices across the continent. In some countries, inflation has not increased much, reflecting good local harvests, according to Antoinette Sayeh.

“So far the impact on domestic inflation in many countries has been limited. Some countries have had very good harvests and so have been able to see mitigation on the inflation rate because of that. Our sense, though, is that in the next few months many countries, if not most countries, will see, certainly from the food shock and also from the fuel shock, high pressures on inflation that they will then have to respond to.”
Inflation rates are on the rise throughout east Africa. People are unhappy over the rapid increases in food and fuel prices, In Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda the cost of food and fuel has increased sharply over the past few months. The high prices have triggered a wave of street protests as people call on their leaders to help ease the cost of living. Sayeh says governments should figure out how to help those who need it the most.
“In the short term, of course, with these increased food and fuel prices it is important for governments to look at their budgets and see what room they have to implement targeted initiatives to mitigate the impact on the poor. Of course, they have less space this time around than they did in 2008, so it’s very, very important to make sure that they avoid very costly initiatives and that those initiatives are properly targeted on those who need help most, and those are the poor.”
The IMF urges low income but growing African countries to focus on medium-term debt sustainability, better spending, and on finding room to help vulnerable households affected by higher food and fuel prices.

May 6, 2011
President Yoweri Museveni has been the strongman in Uganda for 25 years. When Museveni came to power, he was thought by the United States and other Western powers to be one of a new generation of African leaders who would resist dictatorial rule in favor of democracy.
When he became Uganda’s president in 1986, Yoweri Museveni was an immediate U-S favorite, according to David Throup with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS, here in Washington:
“Certainly for the first ten years U-S relations with Uganda were extremely close. Museveni was seen as a great improvement over former Ugandan leaders. accepted structural adjustment as proposed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. And from 1986 to 1996 relations with Uganda were very good. In the late ’l990’s, early 2000’s when Uganda got involved in Rwanda and northeastern Congo relations became more problematic but I still think Museveni was seen as a positive force in East Africa and the wider regional politics and relations remained good.”

Nii Akuetteh is the founder of the Democracy and Conflict Research Institute in Ghana. He says U.S.-Uganda relations, despite recent strains, continue to be good, for at least one good reason:
“Washington and Kampala both have the same enemy, and because of that President Obama sent Eric Holder, the Attorney General, to see Mr. Museveni and a host of other American officials have gone. You don’t need to be a genius to imagine what they are talking about, how do we fight these people together.”
Akuetteh says the United States should be far more critical of Museveni. He says Museveni rigged the last election, and is trying to rig the next one by repeatedly arresting and beating opposition leader Kizza Besigye.
“This is a former presidential candidate. If there were real elections he would have come close to becoming president. The State Department said he should be respected. Museveni didn’t respect him. So Museveni is actually thumping his nose at the U-S because since they said he should be (respected) they’ve arrested him three times.”
Akuetteh says that the United States has often coddled African strongmen like Yoweri Museveni.
“The U-S has continued a policy under the Cold War of embracing dictators they called ‘friendly tyrants.’ You have Mobutu Sese Seko of the country now called Congo. He renamed it Zaire. He was a dictator who ran the country into the ground. Then you go to Tunisia, the dictator they just gotten rid of, Ben Ali. In Egypt President Mubarak He was an American backed dictator. You come to Sub-Saharan Africa, Hessene Habre in Chad. President Reagan supported him. Now the man is being tried for killing tens of thousands of his opposition. You go to Liberia, Samuel Doe was supported by President Reagan. Jimmy Carter supported the dictator Siad Barre in Somalia. Then fast forward to today. You have Paul Kagame in Rwanda. Former president Bill Clinton is seen as a friend of Kagame’s. He’s a dictator. In Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, he’s an American backed dictator.”
At CSIS, David Throup says the Cold War competition between the U-S and the Soviet Union for influence in Africa did indeed destabilize much of the continent.
“The crisis of Somalia, the problems of Ethiopia, the conflict in southern Sudan, the legacy of Mobutu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, all of these are direct consequences of Cold competition.”
Throup says the negative consequences of the Cold War are one thing. But he says blaming colonial power mischief in Africa is simplistic, and with an ever more economically powerful China, now mostly irrelevant.
“It’s almost out of date to worry too much about the economic relationship, particularly the terms of trade that existed from the 1960’s to the 1980’s between Africa and the West. I am slightly more concerned about the extent of economic exploitation which is beginning to gather momentum from China. China is clearly involved in the exploitation of new oil discoveries in Uganda.”
Nii Akuetteh says for Africa to prepare for any challenges China might present in the future, Africans must understand the challenges of the past.
“There are critics who say colonialism is over. lf you talk about colonial influences on Africa you are just making excuses for bad African leadership. That argument is false and a good way to understand that it is false is to look at the United States. The United States had a civil war for four years and the best American analysts will tell you that if you want to understand the United States you have to understand the Civil War. Because it was over slavery, it was over state’s rights, it was about race.”
And, Akuetteh says, the issues of race and state’s rights are still a very big part of the political discourse for Americans a hundred and fifty years after the end of that war.

By Paul Ndiho
May 5, 2011
Ugandan farmers are producing organically grown pineapples and other food crops destined for European markets.
The United Nations says the market for organic products from Africa is expected to grow exponentially over the next three years, offering new opportunities for small farmers in poor countries.
“The major benefit I’ve had from organic agriculture is an increase in my income. I’ve been able to educate my children and I have been able to harvest enough food to feed my family.”
In Uganda, the National Organic Agricultural Movement (NOGAMU) promotes the growth of organic agriculture across the country, and the export of certified, organic products around the world:
“The green economy is important to Uganda because it creates a lot of opportunities to create wealth for different actors, from farmers to traders, in a way that is more sustainable and protects the environment.”

Farmers say the key to success in the export market is becoming certified as an organic grower.
“I can sell this organic pineapple for 600 shillings to an exporter. But the same sized conventional pineapple is worth only 200 shillings on the local market.”
Ssonko sells his certified organic produce to a local exporter called BioFresh, which air-freights his pineapple to Germany.
Workers at the BioFresh packing plant earn twice what conventional packers do, and enjoy free food and transport, unheard of in the conventional agriculture industry.
NOGAMU also runs a shop in the capital Kampala, providing organic produce to locals. There’s even an online delivery service.
“The potential for organic agriculture in Uganda is very high. It’s easier to improve the livelihoods of farmers in rural areas thru organic agriculture than any other intervention.”
Scientists say organic farming; help to mitigate climate change, that organic fields sequester 3-8 more tones of carbon per hector than conventional agriculture. And there can be productivity gains:
we’ve prepared a study on the transition towards organic agriculture and the associative productivity gains achieved. Across Africa, on average, the increases in yields were 100 percent and in East Africa even 125 percent.”
Like other farmers in rural Uganda, Ssonko says that the green economy creates not just jobs, but better living standards.
“My life has changed. I started w 10 acres, now I have 80 acres. I’ve built three houses, and opened a hardware store in the village.”
In Uganda, more than 80 percent of the population works in agriculture, contributing more than 40 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.

bY Paul Ndiho
May 1, 2011
Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni finally bowed to pressure on Friday and allowed opposition leader Kizza Besigye travel Kenya to seek medical treatment. Just one day earlier, police smashed the window of Besigye’s vehicle repeatedly spraying him with pepper spray, damaging his eyes.
The top United States diplomat for Africa is calling on the government of President Yoweri Museveni to act in a “responsible and civil” manner toward anti-government protesters. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Johnnie Carson, says he is alarmed at the way the Ugandan opposition leader is being treated and has called Uganda’s foreign minister to discuss his dismay at the apparent “harassment” of Kizza Besigye. Besigye’s latest arrest came just one day after his release from prison for leading a similiar “walk to work” demonstration last week.
“We have seen the reports of the arrest of several former presidential candidates for attempting to carry out peaceful demonstrations in Kampala that were designed to highlight rising oil and food prices. We have also seen with great concern and regret the very serious and apparent mistreatment of one of those candidates, Dr. Besigye. We have expressed our concern about what appears to be harassment of President–, of Dr. Besigye. I have myself spoken to the Ugandan foreign minister about this and have urged that the Ugandan government act, both, in a responsible and civil fashion in dealing with the arrest of individuals attempting to carry out peaceful protests.”

On Friday, security forces tried to quell the riots that erupted on the streets of Kampala, over the treatment of Besigye. At least 5 people died after security forces fired live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse protesters.
Besigye appeared in court on last Thursday, slumped forward in his chair, his ear bandaged and eyes covered with tissues after he was arrested in a fifth round of protests against high food and fuel prices.
His lawyer David Mpanga, says he was unable to make a plea because he could not open his eyes or talk. The judge, concluding he was in poor health, adjourned the case until Monday without reading out charges and released him on bail.
“What is happening increasingly I think is looking like persecution, I think government is not happy with what Dr. Besigye may be saying or expressing himself about and they are determined not let him do so because now it appears he cannot walk to work, but neither can he drive to work or any part of town without facing arrest.”
This is the fourth time in three weeks that Besigye, runner-up to long-time President Yoweri Museveni in a disputed February election, has been detained and violently rousted by police.
“I’m here to see the speaker of parliament because our nation is going down, our nation is going in ruins and they are doing nothing. We haven’t heard the speaker say anything; we haven’t heard any Member of Parliament come to say anything. They are sitting there, they are quiet, yet the nation every day the situation is getting worse and worse. They should come up and say something so that people can have hope.”
Some of Uganda’s constitutional lawyers and opposition figures are calling on the Museveni’s security forces to stop using excessive force because Article 24 of the Ugandan Constitution — which says “No person shall be subjected to any form of torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment,”

Ugandan lawyers accused the country’s security agencies on Wednesday (May 04) of committing crimes against humanity in their crackdown on the ongoing protests over rising food and fuel prices.
For nearly a month, the east African country’s capital Kampala and several other towns have been hit intermittently by demonstrations spearheaded by the opposition which have been quashed by the security forces.
About 200 lawyers dressed in their black robes converged on the High Court’s front lawn and the Uganda Law Society’s President Bruce Kyerere gave a petition to the chief justice.
“The indiscriminate beating of the members of the public and indeed the inhumanly and degrading treatment of citizens of this country in the most brutal and violent arrests of the various members of the public, including senior and respectable opposition leaders… My lord as you can see a whole catalogue of these atrocities indeed qualifies to be categorized as crimes against humanity.”

Museveni’s critics argue that images of security personnel smashing car windows with guns or pointing weapons at people is something that reminds Ugandan’s of previous brutal regimes.
Kizza Besigye’s loss in Uganda’s February presidential election to Yoweri Museveni, was his third straight defeat — and had threatened to end his political career. Now, some analysts say the “walk to work” protests are giving the tireless opposition leader new political life.

Uganda’s opposition leader Kizza Besigye is detained for the fourth time in three weeks on Thursday (April 28) during a fifth round of protests against high food prices, as his support grows amongst ordinary Ugandans.
Besigye, who was dragged from his car by police and thrown into a pickup truck, this is the fourth time in three weeks that Besigye, runner-up to General Yoweri Museveni in a disputed February election, has been violently arrested pro- Museveni government troops over the protests that have left at least five dead.

Besigye’s arrest comes a day after he was released on bail, and immediately vowed to carry on the campaign of protests.
Besigye greeted his supporters as he came out of the court house on Wednesday (April 27), where hundreds of his supporters where waving to him and carrying posters reading; Mandela of Africa.
The protests, dubbed “walk to work” to highlight the fact that people cannot afford fuel, have triggered bloody clashes between opposition supporters and police and soldiers in Kampala and at least five other towns in the East African country.
Inflation has risen across East Africa in recent months, pushed up by increases in food and fuel prices.
Some analysts say Besigye is opportunistically using widespread anger about rising prices to try to topple the government.
But Museveni blames drought and soaring global oil prices for Uganda’s double-digit inflation rate.

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.