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Not in front of the servants: the case of the Acerbic Arushan
Fiery background imagery from AcerbicArushan2. The photo is of farm invasions in Zimbabwe. The “Acerbic Arushan” blog has been shut down. I came across this story in the Daily News, and thought we had...
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Witchcraft and witch-hunts in England and Tanzania
“Trial of Witches, 1612″, by Fred Kirk Shaw in 1913. In the year 1612, in the northern English county of Lancaster, a famous trial took place – the trial of the “Pendle witches”. Twelve so-called...
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The power of “we”
Today is Blog Action Day, and this year’s theme is the power of “we”. So I thought I would throw a few observations out there. About how Jimmy Savile got away with his abuses for so long, at least in...
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Public Seminar: The Media and Democracy in Tanzania
I will be speaking next month at a public seminar in London, UK, on “The Media and Democracy in Tanzania”. Also speaking will be Ananilea Nkya of the Tanzania Media Women’s Association (TAMWA) and...
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Presentation: The Media and Democracy in Tanzania
This is a copy of the presentation I made yesterday at a public seminar organised by the Britain-Tanzania Society (BTS) and the Centre for African Studies at SOAS. The Media and Democracy in Tanzania...
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A mighty tree has fallen: Chinua Achebe 1930-2013
Chinua Achebe 1930-2013 Chinua Achebe has died, at the age of 82. He leaves a legacy that will live on for generations. He told a different story of Africa, perhaps best summed up by a Igbo proverb he...
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What the Tanzania press is saying about the visit of Chinese president, Xi...
Tanzanian newspaper front pages 26/3/2013, via mjengwablog.com and millardayo.com. The historic visit of the new Chinese President, Xi Jinping, to Tanzania this week was a great honour for the...
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Preparing for spontaneity: Kissinger and Nyerere in the Wikileaks cables
The folks at Wikileaks have just released another huge batch of US diplomatic cables, this time dating from 1972-1976. They’re calling them the Kissinger Cables, after the controversial US Secretary of...
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The centre cannot hold
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and...
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Opening aid, but in the wrong direction
Cartoon adapted from HakiElimu, 2005 Making aid more accountable is a worthy goal. So is building support for public spending on international aid among citizens of donor countries. But a new proposal...
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Lost in translation: Swahili keeps the outrageous below the radar?
A language barrier? Tanzania is going through interesting times at the moment, even more so than usual. The political scene is hot, messy and ugly – the rise of Chadema as a meaningful opposition and...
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Kamtafaruku! “Is that what you’re taught?”
I spotted this little anecdote at the end of a lengthy article on President Obama’s visit to Tanzania, in Habari Leo. I’ve abridged it slightly: Earlier, harmony came close to breaking down in the...
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How will Tanzania cope with 275 million people?
Adapted from the Washington Post, using UN data The Washington Post has just published a fascinating analysis as of new UN population projections up to the year 2100. It’s worth reading the whole...
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Changing headlines in HabariLeo, but why?
HabariLeo newspaper seems to have engaged in an intriguing bit of late revisionism today. Take a look at the two images below – from the printed edition of the government-owned paper (on the left), and...
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On the back of an envelope: Tanzania’s #NoSimCardTax mess
It’s a tiny little thing, just 2.5cm long, 1.5cm wide and a millimeter thick. And yet it has found itself at the centre of a political storm in Tanzania. I’m talking, of course, about mobile phone sim...
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Campaign finance in Tanzania: Is anyone following the money?
The money trail (image taken from http://low2highafrica.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/final-days-of-cycling.html) Peter Nyanje, with a “polite reminder” in The Citizen: There is a need to give 2015 General...
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“A journalism of integrity”: Mwananchi and The Citizen take a stand
Favourable press coverage in return for money? That sounds like corruption to me. According to an announcement published in Mwananchi newspaper last month, it sounds like corruption to them as well:...
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Closure of Mwananchi and Mtanzania newspapers – a list of sources / references
“The Government Official Blog” posted earlier today an announcement that Mwananchi and Mtanzania newspapers have been closed down by the government, Mwananchi for 14 days and Mtanzania for 90 days. I...
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Unofficial translation: Government statement on the suspension of publication...
This is an unofficial translation of the government statement published yesterday. It is not an official translation so you are strongly advised to check the original Swahili if you need to be precise....
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A step backwards on the road to democracy
“To avoid closure, papers should write like this. Obama: we envy Tanzania’s economy. Mafia declines aid, they have no problems. Tanzania supports Japan.” From Mwananchi, October 2010. Tanzania trades...
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