OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — The murderers of Norbert Zongo, editor of the weekly L’Indépendant, demonstrated particular cruelty in December 1998 when they shot up his body, and those of three companions, and then burned it. But they failed to eliminate memories of his journalism and the effect it had on people here. “We consider Mr. Norbert Zongo as our defender because he used to depict the government’s wrongs,” said Mandé Ousséni, an English teacher who was a student in 1998. Germain Nama, publisher of the fortnightly L’Evénement newspaper, described Zongo as Burkina Faso’s premier investigative journalist, full of passion, whose [...]
Rwandan President Paul Kagame came to power following the 1994 genocide in his country. Before that, starting in 1990, he was the leader of the Tutsi rebel force, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (FPR). Accusing Paris of being “implicated in the genocide,” he has no intention of conceding in a confrontation that, according to him, began more than twelve years ago. Last November, Kigali broke off diplomatic relations with Paris after the French investigative judge Jean-Louis Bruguière recommended that the Rwandan President be tried for his “presumptive participation” in the shooting down of the jet of his predecessor, Juvénal Habyarimana. The [...]
ACCRA, Ghana — The green, red and yellow colors and the black star of Ghana’s flag symbolized the rush of pride felt by many people here as their country celebrated 50 years of independence from Britain. Some sported hats and wristbands, while others wore t-shirts, emblazoned with the government slogan, “Championing African excellence.” A few even donned the flag like a cape as they enjoyed their Mar. 6 holiday, the date of founding President Kwame Nkrumah’s declaration of independence in 1957. The vibrant displays of patriotic fashion certainly pleased the eye, but they could not disguise the dissatisfaction with Ghana’s [...]
