H. Nanjala Nyabola

When I was asked to reflect on the state of youth in Africa, I have to admit, I balked at the enormity of the task. Youth is a poorly defined category; Africa, more so. And as for the state of both – well, how would I know?

In an impressive show of solidarity, Kenyans have harnessed the media and various communication platforms and managed to raise a staggering 105 million Kenya shillings towards the alleviation of drought in the North Eastern region of the country, less than a week after the appeal was officially l

Historians often tell us that the main way through which African history was transmitted across generations was through storytelling, and that one of the ways in which African cultures were constituted and bound was through the myths of common ancestry that these stories contained.

‘Tiny, emaciated children with wrinkled skin hanging off their bones, rib cages jutting out, bulbous eyes gazing out forlornly, flies covering their faces – the-all-too-familiar face of African hunger’ – BBC News

Around this time last year the media in the UK was awash with stories of ‘intolerant Africa’ – the backlash in Malawi and Uganda to a set of gay couples in both countries was taken as evidence of the apparently enduring homophobia of African people in general.

To begin with, please accept my sincerest apologies for the unprecedented hiatus last week. It was a hectic time and I appreciate the patience of the Pambazuka family in letting me have some breathing room to get through it.

‘The Object of racism is no longer the individual but a certain form of existing’ – Frantz Fanon

I was at a conference last weekend on ‘Pan-Africanism for a New Generation’ and got into an interesting discussion with one of the panellists on the role of language in building Pan-Africanism.

When a young Guinean maid allegedly fought off the advances of a naked man in an upscale New York apartment, it is highly unlikely that she knew that her bravery would set off one of the most interesting power struggles in the international system.

‘… the African human experience constantly appears in the discourse of our times as an experience that can only be understood through a negative interpretation.