Kenya: Breaking Toilet Taboos

Among members of the Mijikenda community of Kenya's Coastal Province, it is taboo for a father-in-law's faeces to mix with those of his daughter-in-law. Read more »

Kenya: Nation Setting Sights on Eliminating Blinding Disease

Had a community health worker not found him at the rural Kenyan village of Olenarau, 65-year-old Tonke Nalakiti would still be blaming his failing sight on old age. Read more »

Africa: Celebrating Democracy and the Youth Revolution in Tunis

The Palais des Sports d'el Menzah was the venue Friday night for a form of exercise rarely practiced there: dancing. Read more »

Africa: Simple Steps Can Curb Childhood Deaths

Although she is five years old, Rose Nduta is about the same height as a 20-month-old toddler. Pale, spindly-limbed and severely underweight, the Kenyan girl suffers from chronic… Read more »

Kenya: Social Media Leapfrogs Drought-Hit Nation into a New Generational Order

Defying elders who flatly reject western culture, youth in northeastern Kenya are resisting efforts by spiritual leaders to ban social media. Read more »

Kenya: Tree Planting, Forest Queens Highlight Wangari Maathai's Legacy

"Just look at that hillside over there," Mary Kiptanui said pointing at a green hillside sparsely scattered with trees. "That used to be covered, a forest, and now there's hardly a… Read more »

Kenya: Clean Water as a Life Force

The streets of Gatwekera village in Nairobi's Kibera slum throng with people on a recent Sunday afternoon. Small shops and kiosks line the dirt paths separating brightly colored… Read more »

Africa: Continent's New Middle Class Lures Investment

For too long, the story of Africa has been about government corruption, war and disease. Economic news was also bad. From 1975 to 1995, the continent was mired in negative growth,… Read more »

Africa: West Has Taken Sides in Libyan 'Civil War,' Says Annan

Former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan believes the Western coalition fighting Libya's Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi has "crossed a line" and is now "fighting on one side… Read more »

Cote d'Ivoire: Will A Unity Govt Resolve Nation's Crisis?

Côte d'Ivoire is on the brink of civil war. Its president since 2000, Laurent Gbagbo, is refusing to cede power to Allasane Ouattara, the putative winner of elections last… Read more »

Africa: Obama Will Promote 'Strong Democratic Agenda' - Top U.S. Official

Popular uprisings in north Africa and elsewhere, and elections in many countries, are giving democracy new prominence across Africa. Read more »

Kenya: Justice Must 'Replace Impunity and Violence,' Says U.S.

Kenyans accused of responsibility for the violence which followed the 2007 elections must answer for their crimes in front of a judicial body, the top U.S. official responsible for… Read more »

East Africa: New Documentary 'Ni Wakati' Brings American, East African Artists Together

The new documentary by Kenyan filmmakers Michael Wanguhu and Russell Kenya premiered at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles this year. It proved to be a good year for… Read more »

Kenya: 'Soul Boy' Tells a Different Story of Life in Kibera

Soul Boy is a gem of a film. It takes us into the world of the Kibera slums of Nairobi, telling the story of 14-year-old Abila, who sets out to find what is wrong with his ailing… Read more »

Kenya: Top Politicians Accused of Crimes Against Humanity

International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has named six people as major perpetrators of ethnic-based “crimes against humanity,” including rape,… Read more »

Kenya: Gibraltar MP Contests Report on Nairobi Meeting

Gibraltar Member of Parliament Steven Linares, in a letter to AllAfrica, has contested the accuracy of a recent report on a meeting in Nairobi in which he was quoted on the issues… Read more »

Africa: Governance Improves in Liberia, Angola, Togo But Declines in Eritrea, Madasgascar

Governance standards have improved significantly in Angola, Liberia and Togo over the past four years, but have declined in Eritrea and Madagascar, according to a leading survey… Read more »

Africa: Why Kenya Has Pulled Ahead of Zimbabwe

Kenya and Zimbabwe's last elections, held within a few months of one another, were characterized by violence either before or after polling. The outcomes of both were strongly… Read more »

Kenya: New Constitution is Only First Step

Kenya's referendum to decide on a new constitution ended a decades-long, tortuous journey to reach a basic law to regulate the country's politics and give voice to all its… Read more »

Kenya: Chronicle of a Newspaper and a Nation's Birth

One of the chapters in Gerard Loughran's new book on the history of Kenya's Nation newspaper is prefaced with a quote from Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United… Read more »

Kenya: Obama Praises 'Significant Step for Democracy'

President Barack Obama of the United States today lauded Kenya's approval of its new constitution in a referendum as "a significant step forward" for the country's democracy. Read more »

Kenya: Nation to Enter Period of Peace and Maturity

Kenya is a colourful country, and nowhere more so than in the world of politics. During the last constitutional referendum in 2005, the opposing sides selected oranges and bananas… Read more »

Kenya: The Great Rift

A most intriguing political development occasioned by the constitutional referendum is how former President Daniel Arap Moi and his onetime political protégé, William… Read more »

Somalia: Conflict Will Spread Unless International Community Acts - U.S. Policymaker

Kenya: Urban Women Grow Food in Sacks

Driving through the crowded streets of the sprawling Kibera slum in Nairobi, it’s nearly impossible to describe how many people live in this area of about 400 hectares, the… Read more »