Obert Hodzi thinks that the African Union @ 50 is a dream deferred and that the ‘old boys club’ needs a serious overhaul. Here you go:

The African Union has long been accused of being an ‘Old Boys Club’ with neither political will nor a genuine drive to see a reformed Africa. With virtually all African countries being members one would expect nothing short of a vibrant organization capable of stamping its authority when it comes to promoting good governance principles, human rights obligations and purging the scourge of impunity across the continent. 50 years on, Africa stills gruels under various forms of oppression and lack of accountability.

The recent stampede by African leaders to condemn the International Criminal Court (ICC) for ‘race hunting’ in Africa and the clamor to let go Kenyatta, Ruto and Al Bashir is just but one of the many barometers to gauge African Union’s commitment to good governance, transparency and rule of law. It is not just, Al Bashir and Kenyatta but also its response to the Zimbabwean, Swazi, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascan crises of governance and general disregard to good governance and human rights obligations that worries many. Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, after the much condemned June, 28, 2008 election in his country is on record for saying of African Union members: “We have never interfered in their domestic affairs. Never ever. And now we want a country which wants to point a finger at us and say ‘you have done wrong’. I want to see that finger and see whether it’s clean or dirty”. With the exception of a few leaders like Ian Khama of Botswana no one responded to Mugabe’s challenge. Who then can respond to Al Bashir or Kenyatta? Who among African leaders is clean enough to lay a finger on the two and many others, let alone execute the International Criminal Court’s warrant of arrest against them?

Truth be told, there seem to be no ‘African solution to African problems’ nor is the ‘African Renaissance’ rhetoric anything more than a dream. History proves it. Over a decade after its inception, the African Court on People’s and Human Rights has heard only a few cases; the African Peer Review Mechanism has only had a few volunteers while the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, which aimed at fostering good governance principles and economic liberalization in Africa was dismissed by many as a western initiative. Today, the ICC faces the same old demon; the African Union continues to urge its member states not to cooperate with the ICC first on Al Bashir’s case and now on Kenyatta’s. The enthusiasm with which African countries like South Africa have heeded that call begs a lot of questions: To what extent are African leaders willing to overlook grave human rights atrocities to protect their fellows? Can the AU be trusted with the mandate of ensuring and enforcing accountability, good governance and human rights across the continent? Could Africans afford a good night’s sleep unless the AU is transformed by the renewal of its member states’ leaders? Are any of the African leaders’ conscience clean enough to formulate policies to purge impunity enjoyed by most of them, and are their hands clean enough to execute those policies without fear or favor?

It is this multitude of questions that confronts us today. Possibly it is high time that African leaders are taken to task, both on a national and continental level. It is imperative that the civil society and dreamers of a better governed Africa take their governments to task regarding some of the decisions they make at the AU. It is high time Civil Society Organizations start campaigning for reforms in the AU bearing in mind that unless the AU transforms from an ‘old Boys’ Club’, Africans will continue to suffer at the hands of oppressive leaders who enjoy unquestioned impunity and no reprimand from the continental body.

Zimbabwe stands above 85% of its whole population belonging to Christianity. Christians believe that as soon as life departs from a human being the spirit either goes into purgatory or lays in wait of God’s judgment on the earth. This is the reason why people cry in mourning the departed because as soon as life slithers out from a human body, never shall we see that same spirit-host union again in this life.
Our politicians are no strangers to this belief because from whence this faith is coined are their roots. I specifically singled out politicians because they are in these pre election times the only people I can think of who can, in the comfort of their offices, incite interference with our lives with the aim of retaining their political supremacy.

It is easy and in fact right for the ordinary man in the street to point fingers at police as perpetrators of disrespect of lives but the root cause is our councillors, MPs, and Ministers. They are the command centre and the epicentre of all the atrocities that we are suffering in our homes. How can a trusted politician and people representative stand on a podium and downplay democracy ingeniously saying that mere ink can never bring political change in Zimbabwe? The love of power in Zimbabwe has reigned supreme over everything else; superiority is now a force so deadly that our politicians will do anything to retain their thrones.

Our political representatives should come back to their senses and realise that they are there because we are here.

Zimbabwe’s economy now ranked in the top 10 in Africa but hang on, how come there aren’t any jobs? Kenyan MPs, already among the highest paid in the world, vote to raise their salaries. Death toll of SA soldiers attacked in Central African Republic has risen to 15. Ngugi wa Thiong’o says that after 50 years, unity is still an African dream but a dream is better than nothing. Civil society exclusions dampen mood at AU summit.Russia gives anti-aircraft missiles to Syria; EU suspends arms embargo to rebels. Ashley Cole to captain England against Republic of Ireland tonight. Kolo Touré to become first Liverpool player from Côte d’Ivoire. The BBC’s DJ Edu says Daima by Eric Wainaina is one of the chart-toppers that’s kept Africa hot; what’s your top tune?

In pursuit of Robert F. Kennedy’s dream of a more just and peaceful world, Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights Europe officially launched the RFK International House of Human Rights based in Florence, Italy.  The training center is housed in the Le Murate, which used to be a former prison but recently went through some renovations. It also hosts offices for RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights’ European branch. After going through a major facelift the building still maintains its prison features as a reminder of its past history of torture and other human rights abuses. In an official opening speech by Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, she said that in pursuit of her father’s dream the Center will be a place where digital dissidents will get training from technology experts on how to use technology in promoting human rights.

Specialists from Tactical Technology Collective (TTC), Global Voices Online, OneWorld Digital Security Exchange, Witness.org, Electronic Freedom Frontier and Human Rights Watch shared their knowledge with the first group of digital activists who were selected from various countries including Zimbabwe, Mexico, Pakistan, Myanmar, Philippines and Sri Lanka. The one week training programme focused on adopting the latest technology tools in digital activism, use of social media to promote human rights and also provided a platform to share experiences with other human rights defenders. Coming from different backgrounds human rights defenders at this year’s training session were exposed to the best practices in implementing human rights work and the latest technology tools, which will help transform and overcome the day-to-day challenges of promoting human rights.

What is Zimbabwe’s equivalent?

How Phone Messages Helps Eritrean Revolutionaries
Some have called Eritrea Africa’s answer to North Korea and it is indeed the seemingly most repressive country on the continent. Revolution is practically unheard of and the country’s jails overflow with critics, opponents and dissenters. But you can’t keep liberty down, writes The Economist: for the past two years an expat protest group has been making calls to Eritreans, telling them to “Start asking questions”, or “Don’t take this lying down”. But in order to reach as many people as possible, the campaign recently turned to that most-hated of telemarketing tricks: the RoboCall. Using this automated technology, the group says it is reaching over 10,000 people a month with small but important messages encouraging change in this police state. – Source, MSN

It is always interesting, well, for me at least, that many leaders, African or otherwise, while apparently extolled elsewhere, are often “unwanted” and face harsh criticism in their own countries.

And this has nothing to do with the hiding-being-religion motif of a prophet being unwelcome among his own people. Far from it.

I have been thinking about this in the past few days that when our President was heaping praises on Zambian President Michael Sata for literally feeding Zimbabwe with 150,000 tonnes of maize, university students in Lusaka were protesting, taking to the streets demanding that their “crazy president” resign.

The students were protesting against something that resonates with Zimbabwe’s tertiary education students who however would never dare bum rush the streets in the manner seen in Lusaka.

That was not the end of it.

Jobless youths reportedly joined in the protests demanding jobs, and a comment attributed to one youth summed up the mood: “Let them come and arrest all the young people for speaking out on the wrongs that are beng done by the government. This is a government that has lost popularity so early and we cannot wait to vote them out. They don’t want to listen to people who voted for them and since they have closed their ears, we can take to the streets because that is the language they want to understand.”

One of the accusations leveled against President Sata was that he had become “arrogant and insensitive to the plight of the people.”

And we await here the day when students can get on their soapboxes and speak their minds about their wretched circumstances.

Yet because student activists will tell you there are spooks who sit through lectures pretending to be students, this has crippled any militancy you would expect from an impoverished aspiring academic.

But we read that President Sata’s response was typical of an African leader who is antithetical to the right to protest: LOCK THEM UP, he is alleged to have instructed cops.

That was not the end of the crackdown. Police have in past few days also locked up Zambia’s own protest poets for music critical to Sata.

The offending lyricist when translated went something like: “You were lying ‘Tata’ (old man). You promised cheap fuel; you said you will construct roads but you were lying as people are still sleeping in tunnels.”

We are in good company hey? Thanks for the maize.