On 23rd January 2012 a panel of judges at the ICC (International Criminal Court) announced a majority decision that four Kenyans, part of the so-called Ocampo Six, will face charges of crimes against humanity, murder, rape, forcible expulsion and other

Read the rest of Kenya: ICC shakes up politics, but Ruto and Kenyatta may still run for President – By Ken Opalo »

The presiding judge in the cases of crimes against humanity committed during the post-election violence (PEV) in Kenya in 2007-8 have decided by majority verdict that William Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang will face charges of crimes against humanity, murder,

Read the rest of Kenyatta, Ruto, Sang and Muthaura to face trial at ICC for crimes against humanity – By Keith Somerville »

It has been argued that Kenyans are interested in the ICC trials¹ because it’s the first time any senior Kenyan has been held to account for serious wrongdoing. This is usefully wrong. Throup and Hornsby² once said, more acidly than

Read the rest of An Update on the ICC 6: Kenyan politicians at last face the consequences of their actions – By Daniel Waweru »

The Kenyan government’s decision to invade Somalia was preceded by an ambiguous encounter that received comparatively little coverage. In mid-October, a supposed member of Al-Qaeda, curiously claiming to be from the USA, was seen to be handing out food, clothing

Read the rest of Who’s backing Al Shabaab? – Al Qaeda, Eritrea? – By Maddy Fry »

Kenya has sent over 2,000 troops into Somalia to fight the Islamist rebel movement al-Shabaab in the South of the country. The incursion comes as a response to the increasing instability on and within its own borders, most clearly shown

Read the rest of African Arguments Editorial: Kenyan incursion into Somalia risks internationalising the conflict »

This is How to Write About Africa Binyavanga Wainaina is most famous for How to write about Africa – an essay published by Granta in 2005 that formed a cynical guide to all the clichés writers generally employ when writing

Read the rest of A Review – One Day I Will Write About This Place – By Binyavanga Wainaina »

Michela Wrong is the author of 3 books on Africa including It’s our Turn to Eat: the Story  of a Kenyan Whistle Blower This is a very exciting time in Nigeria’s history, a moment full of potential and opportunity, and

Read the rest of Michela Wrong – “Nigeria in Transformation” – speech on Nigeria’s 51st Anniversary of Independence »

It’s over a month since famine was declared in Somalia and alarm bells clearly rung about serious food shortages across Northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia. 12 million people in the Horn of Africa are in desperate need of food, clean

Read the rest of Famine in Somalia: Never again, again – By Jamie Drummond, Exec Director, ONE »

Today, the International Criminal Court’s began its “confirmation on charges” hearings for the Ocampo Six, and the conventional wisdom holds that the proceedings will be a major test for some of Kenya’s savviest politicians. However, the ICC hearings also present

Read the rest of The International Criminal Court and Kenya: ‘Ocampo’s Six’ an important hurdle for ICC – By Charlie Warren »

Kenya is, according to the writer Billy Kahora, a ‘half-made place,’ a country of ‘parallel universes, parallel economies, parallel lives, futures and realities.’[i] One does need to look hard these days to find the parallel universes and realities.  On one

Read the rest of The International Criminal Court and Kenya: ‘The Half Made Place’ – the ICC and elections, 2012 – By Dan Branch »