http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs Fearless. Thoughtful. Witty. Canadian. And Opinionated. Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:09:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en NAIROBI—It was all over. We were gathered on the patio of the national museum's café , post-morteming in the shade, coffee cups shaking in our hands. "By the time bodies start piling up, that’s just a detail." — Ugandan journalist Kalundi Serumaga, speaking at the Kwani Litfest in Nairobi. NAIROBI—It was all ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/08/12/a-year-in-review/ NAIROBI—He wasn't born here; the father who was didn't raise him; and he's only visited three times in his life. But now that he’s got a clear shot at the White House, Barack Obama is every Kenyan’s Kenyan. The country’s Luo community, robbed by that Kikuyu antichrist Mwai Kibaki last ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/06/05/haleluo-an-african-in-the-white-house/ RIFT VALLEY—Rift Valley: an apt name, it turns out, for a region that's become a metaphor not just for Kenya, RIFT VALLEY—Rift Valley: an apt name, it turns out, for a region that's become a metaphor not just for Kenya, but for much of this self-conflicted continent. Originally named for the ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/05/26/kenya-back-to-rift/ Kibera is the Zsa Zsa Gabor of slums: famous for being famous (it was featured in The Constant Gardener), its beauties and blemishes endlessly exaggerated by local and international media alike, Kibera’s half-million or so residents play host to a small army of earnest NGO’s, exploitative religious groups, intrepid journalists, ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/05/12/all-that-glitters/ NAIROBI—The good news is, Kenya's new cabinet was finally announced on Sunday. It was the deal everyone had been waiting for, the one that would seal the agreement reached on February 28 in the presence of Kofi Annan. With political peace, there should now be real peace on the ground. The ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/04/14/mo-fire-in-africa/ Earlier this week, Robert Mugabe announced that it would be "a wasted vote" for Zimbabweans to cast their ballots for anyone but him when they go to the polls this Saturday, March 29th. “It will never happen for Tsvangirai to take over government here—never," the 84-year-old said of his chief ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/03/27/zimbabwe%e2%80%94president-for-life-hooray/ (See Arno Kopecky's first post about Zimbabwe.) As Ralph drove me to his rose farm in Enterprise Valley, some thirty kilometres outside Harare, he explained how anyone with access to foreign currency and local credit can become a Rockefeller in the new Zimbabwe. "I bought my farm in 2000 for the ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/03/17/enigmatic-millions/ With even Kenyans starting to lose interest in the Kenyan saga, Zimbabwe looks set to become the next African media darling. This time around, though, coverage will be more spotty; president Robert Mugabe has banned reporters from ‘hostile’ Western countries—meaning all Western countries—from entering the country in advance of ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/03/13/your-turn-zimbabwe/ NAIROBI—"Smile, it's a New Kenya," read the Wednesday headline of Kenya's largest newspaper, the Daily Nation. Raila Odinga, the probable winner of the Christmas election, last week agreed to call Mwai Kibaki president; in exchange, the post of Prime Minister was created for Odinga, along with an agreement to split ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/03/06/welcome-back-kenya/ NAIROBI—It's been a hard-slogging month for Kofi Annan. Unlike Condoleezza Rice, who whisked in for a ten-hour visit last week, the former UN chief has promised not to leave until he finds a solution to Kenya's intractable crisis. This means looking to the very people who provoked the last two ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/02/27/kenya-kofis-last-stand/