Gambia’s president says that he wants to implement a policy change that would shift the country’s language from English to a local language.
Yahya Jammeh said on Friday that “we no longer subscribe to the belief that for you to be a government you should speak English language.” He spoke during the swearing-in ceremony of Gambia’s new Chief Justice.
Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh. (Pic: AFP)
He made the announcement months after the West African country announced it is withdrawing from the Commonwealth, a collection of 54 nations made up largely of former British colonies.
Though a popular destination for British tourists, Gambia has been criticised by the United Kingdom and rights groups for human rights abuses.
Jammeh, who came to power in a military coup, said Western countries have no “moral platform” to talk about human rights. – Sapa-AP
The recent passing of the anti-gay law in Uganda and the South African government’s mealy-mouthed reaction to it demand attention.
Internationally, South Africa sponsored and is leading the first ever UN resolution on sexual orientation and gender identity. South Africa also boasts a post-apartheid Constitution that explicitly affirms equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sexuality and gender. Yet our government cannot muster the political stealth to speak against (rather than just about) homophobia when it really counts – as is the case with the recent passing of the homophobic law.
Uganda President Yoweri Museveni signs an anti-homosexual bill into law on February 24 2014. (Pic: Reuters)
In a statement shortly following the law was passed, the government said that “South Africa takes note of the recent developments regarding the situation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual, Transsexual and Intersex persons (LGBTI) worldwide….[and] will, through existing diplomatic channels, be seeking clarification on these developments from many capitals around the world.”
But what’s to clarify? This indicates a deep reluctance to name recent events in Uganda and to take a position on them. It also implies, through the seeking of clarification, that there might be some legitimate rationale for criminalising your own citizens because of their sexual or gender identity.
The South African Human Rights Commission took a bolder position and “strongly reject[s] the notion that the freedom to live and love without fear of violence and regardless of one’s sexual orientation is part of a rights framework from western countries. The struggle for these and other freedoms has been at the heart of liberation struggles throughout the African continent.”
The ANC blocked a motion in Parliament against the law, reflecting its ambivalence to speak out. On the contrary, the former president of Mozambique Joaquim Chissano’s open letter to African leaders is an example of the kind of leadership present persecutions demand.
The anti-gay law and other legislation of its kind give state legitimacy to violence against people on the basis of their real or perceived sexual orientation and/and gender identity. It will also, as is already the case, prompt the forced migration of some LGBTI people.
The law feeds a narrative that positions citizens with non-conforming sexualities and genders as outsiders to the dominant culture of the nation. This is linked to the false notion that homosexuality is unAfricanand, therefore that homophobia isn’t.
In its self-appointed leadership role on LGBTI equality internationally, the South African government should readily offer a counter-narrative to those that peddle prejudice in the name of “Africanness”.
Homophobia in Africa represents a set of complex and intersecting issues – deeply routed in the continent’s colonial past. Violent inscriptions of race, sexuality, ethnicity and gender took place under colonialism and are linked to present-day norms around sexuality. These historical continuities, and how sexuality is racialised, are mostly entirely absent in discussions on homophobia.
Drawing on the ‘savages-victims-saviours’ construct of law professor Makau Mutua (pdf), the west has a keen interest in homophobia that is often framed within these sets of relations. Lurking within much of the public discourse on homophobia in Africa is the notion of the civilising mission of Eurocentric culture (and its human rights frameworks) that will save African culture, and the victims thereof, from its barbarism and its savagery.
One example of this is a recently launched online fundraising effort initiated in the US.
It is a “Rescue fund to help LGBT people escape Africa” and is aimed at “Gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people persecuted and trapped in African countries that criminalise their sexuality”. The campaign states that “by contributing to this Rescue Fund you will help me [the initiator of the fund] to save more gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people from Africa escape terrifying persecution.” An online counter shows the money is flowing in. If one donates to “save” an LGBTI person in Africa one is granted a status recognition originally titled as “ultimate saviour”. There are also prizes for donors such as “Nelson Mandela coins” for “passport providers”.
People stand on a float holding signs in reaction to Uganda’s law banning homosexuality. Hundreds of people gathered on the streets of Green Point in Cape Town, South Africa, on March 1 2014 to take part in the Gay Pride Parade. (Pic: AFP)
The forced flight of LGBTI from persecutory regimes will require interventions to provide places of refuge and safety. However, promoting an “escape” from Africa to “greener” US pastures, without simultaneously addressing the underlying conditions that force this migration, is dangerous and opportunistic. Dislocated from Africa-based struggles for social justice these feel-good interventions offer no long-term solution to the systemic issues that drive homophobia. At best they are palliative and patronising, at worst they reinforce the victimhood of Africans and the saviour status of westerners.
This is part of the logic that keeps the “homosexuality is un-African” discourse in play.
Other more pernicious saviours are those US religious conservatives who have actively promoted homophobic ideologies across the world and are now pushing such legislation in the US. There is much to be done to challenge these religious groupings and leaders on their home soils to expose their active undermining of sexual and gender rights both domestically and transnationally.
State-sponsored homophobia serves to keep certain power relations intact. Battles over power and identity are increasingly being played out on the bodies of LGBTI people. These battles relate to, among others: contestations around what it means to be “authentically” African; citizens’ pressuring for democracy, inclusion and leadership accountability; basic needs being met in a context of global inequality wherein rich elites govern over the poor; and women increasingly asserting their sexual rights. The scapegoating of LGBTI people and other “deviants” deflects from this inter-connected matrix of issues in which all Africans have a stake.
In this context, South Africa’s tiptoe diplomacy on homophobia in Africa exposes the troubling underbelly of current leadership on democracy and human rights. Whilst Jon Qwelane remains Ambassador to Uganda, in the face of his imminent court appearance for homophobic hate speech, perhaps government’s tread is more firm-footed than might appear.
Melanie Judge is an activist and social commentator. Follow her on Twitter: @melaniejudge.
A prominent director goes to Nigeria’s troubled oil-producing region and recruits 21 youngsters with absolutely no film experience.
He brings them to one of the country’s most expensive hotels for a 10-day filmmaking crash-course then flies them back home to make movies about positive, non-violent change.
Picking up the tab are US taxpayers – red carpet premieres included.
“This is pretty out there,” the US Consul General in Nigeria’s economic capital Lagos, Jeffrey Hawkins, said of a new TV programme which chronicles the search for new moviemakers.
Dubbed Dawn in the Creeks, it aims to showcase Niger Delta role models “who did not win (their) fame and respect with a gun”, said Hawkins.
The United States – as well as other countries and big oil firms – is concerned that conflict could return to the Niger Delta, which churns out some two million barrels of oil day – the highest crude output in Africa and Nigeria’s lifeline.
Decades of corruption have long denied Delta residents the benefits of oil revenue while oil-related pollution, including thousands of spills, has ravaged their environment.
Creeks and vegetations devastated as a result of spills from oil thieves and Shell operational failures in Niger Delta on March 22 2013. (Pic: AFP)
This volatile mix fuelled an insurgency that saw scores of oil workers kidnapped and infrastructure bombed – all tempered by a 2009 amnesty deal where, in effect, militant leaders got massive payouts to stand down.
Critics, however, say the payouts fostered the perception that wielding a weapon was the best way for the common man to get rich quick.
The amnesty’s expiration in 2015, when Nigeria also elects a new president and parliament, has fed fears about a return to the bad old days.
The poll, too, is expected to inflame tensions, notably in the Niger Delta whose native son President Goodluck Jonathan will likely face a tough re-election bid.
Despite billions of dollars worth of oil flowing out of Nigeria South East, life for the majority of Niger Delta’s inhabitants remains unchanged. (Pic: Reuters)
A prominent ex-militant has already threatened to take up arms if the presidency changes hands.
With this in mind – and the failure of earlier NGO peace-building campaigns after funding dried up – US diplomats “wanted to do something really glitzy,” Hawkins told AFP.
Nollywood So they turned to Nollywood, Nigeria’s hugely popular domestic film industry.
First will come the television reality show about the recruitment drive and the film academy. Once a student’s films are made, they will be shown during three days of US-sponsored premieres.
Running the artistic side is Jeta Amata, an accomplished director and Niger Delta native now based in Los Angeles.
In a 10-day stay in the region, he found his students at town hall meetings or stopping random people on the street.
Elina Emeseruome, a semi-employed interior decorator, said she was getting her hair done at a roadside stall in the town of Ozoro when Amata stopped to ask her thoughts on the Delta’s future.
Days later, the director (39) called and told her she’d be going to Lagos to learn scriptwriting.
Her girlfriends were sceptical. “They were like, ‘same old story, he’s trafficking ladies’,” said the 27-year-old.
But her doubts were eased when the film academy began on the manicured lawns of the plush Eko Hotel in Lagos.
Amata himself feels the Delta’s future is “dicey” and said he heard multiple reports of militants mobilising to renew fighting.
“I am concerned about the region but I’m hopeful about what I see in these guys,” he said of his students
Like Hawkins, Amata acknowledged that a few feel-good movies cannot undo decades of resentment and conflict. But he voiced faith that powerful stories told through film can help steer people away from militancy.
Joel Jumbo On day six at the academy, Amata’s students were divided into groups of seven and tasked with producing a five-minute film by 5pm.
Playing the male lead in a piece about a jaded wife competing for her husband’s affections with a younger woman was Joel Jumbo, a 32-year-old who said he had served in both the army and been part of a militant group.
Jumbo said he got nothing from the amnesty, not even a place in job training programmes Nigeria insists are ongoing but many say have achieved little.
He was unemployed, “feeling aggressive and angry and ready to do anything”. Only days before meeting Amata, he said, he was “about to go.. and meet some [of] my bad boys… militants”.
Though still tense at the film school, his frustration was more about his director who showed no signs of getting the shoot done before the deadline.
It contrasted to the quiet, understated performance by Jumbo, who said he was just enjoying being around a “different kind of people”.
These clothing and jewellery collections from African fashion labels speak for themselves. If you’re looking for sartorial inspiration different from the red carpet and magazine pages, you’re bound to find them here.
Jason Porshe is a luxury bespoke Nigerian menswear brand. The latest collection ‘Skyfall’ – tagged as a glorious return to the 20s by the creative director Jason Samuel – is stylish, classy, old-school and vintage. It includes tuxedos, plaid trousers, trench coats, detailed coats, and elegant suits with a colour palette that varies from classical to neutral shades.
Yevu is an upstart menswear and womenswear fashion brand, taken right from the streets of Ghana and into the marketplace of Australia. The creative director, Anna Robertson, spent a year in West Africa and established a sustainable and ethical brand. Each outfit is handmade by Ghanaian artisans.
Sawa Shoes is a retro sneaker brand that is 100% sourced and made in Ethiopia. Founded in 2009 in Cameroon, the brand has expanded into international markets and launched an online store. CEO Mehdi Slimani says Sawa is inspired by a ‘vintage attitude’ and he is dedicated to adding value to Africa by supporting the local industry. The premium footwear is available in a variety of styles and fabrics – low tops, high tops, leather, suede and canvas.
Nigerian Ghanaian designer Anita Quansah launched her own London-based label of statement jewellery in 2006. Her collections have been a huge success, with international magazines like Vogue and Elle featuring her work. Each piece is handmade, unusual and unforgettable. The latest collection, Silhouette of Power, stays true to the brand. Crystals, shells, feathers, chains, and many more are brought together to create wearable art.
The Wambui Mukenyi label was born in 2009, after the self-taught Kenyan designer branched out from sewing for private clients to creating wedding gowns and ready-to-wear women’s fashion. Her latest collection, Fall 2014, is inspired by minimal colour and simple geometric patterns.
Nyumbani Design is a Tanzanian-based jewellery brand. Their SS14 collection encapsulates the brand’s signature warm-coloured wooden jewellery, all of which are hand-carved with locally sourced wood from many different indigenous Tanzanian trees. This makes each piece unique in some way. The brand, founded by Kerry Glanfield, is inspired by her cultural influence from East Africa, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. This collection is part of a wood fusion range, dipped in 24 carat gold plating.
Month by month, Kampala is becoming more and more characterised by shopping malls than its hilly, green and scenic landscape. Malls unpacked with containers from China and India, small malls, large malls, finished malls, unfinished malls, malls next to malls, and somehow when you step into one you will notice that we can’t quite fill them up or keep product moving off the shelves. Why the need for all this shelter in a tropical climate? What are we running away from?
(Pic: Melinda Ozongwu)
In the past, visitors to Uganda used to be charmed by street-side shopping, bargaining for inexpensive arts and crafts, while residents would prefer to seek foreign goods at extortionate prices. It made sense then, we weren’t spoilt for choice as we are now. Going to a shop that would sell pulverised Walkers crisps from England at four times the price was something I was guilty of. The increase of local manufacturing doesn’t seem to compete with products from South Africa and Kenya and lately even they are losing out to the competition of Chinese products. Mall after mall is stocked with anything and everything that they think might sell. It may read ‘electrical goods’ on the signage but stay in the store long enough and the sales assistant just might show you a suitcase filled with edible panties, I kid you not. Then she will tell you they are from America – to which you will jump in delight and fork over your money, to the business, or her pocket, it’s hard to tell.
The recent launch of the first KFC, in Village Mall in Bugolobi, probably attracted more attention than the government announcing its HIV/Aids control programme through distribution of free anti-retroviral drugs. It adds value to a mall like no local business could ever draw in. I’ve never seen KFC as any sort of luxury brand, but the novelty and foreignness of it in Uganda makes it date-worthy, special and even fancy.
When I think of mall culture, America comes to mind, where there are more shopping malls than schools. My first teenage US mall crawl left me completely dwarfed in the magnitude of the experience. Stopping to gasp at every single in-store demonstration, I was perfect bait for promotions, sample testing and ‘free promotions’ that only cost me surrendering all my personal data of course. The ‘mall rats’ that hung around after school looking for dates, the compulsive shoppers, the power walkers and the food court buzz – every time I want to feel frustrated rushing through a mall in Kampala because I can’t get past the family taking pictures in front of a shop or blocking my way as they walk at snail’s pace to take it all in, I am reminded of my awe.
Acacia Mall in Kampala. (Pic: Kampala Night Life / Facebook)
Ugandan mall politics are a bit different from your typical American mall. The customer is always right only if they are white, or black and rich. Everyone else will most likely be followed around in suspicion or flat out ignored. Shopping arcades were conceived as a solution to shelter the wealthier from the rain. We have no rain but like the olden days, the malls are still for the wealthy. I’ve always loved cities like London that have maintained high-street shopping versus malls, utilising the strengths of the city and making solutions for the weaknesses, while still allowing for aesthetically pleasing commercialism. Creating an illusion that we are all the same, as we brush shoulders in the sale, regardless of how far it may be from the truth, is an art yet to be mastered here. Walk into a mall in Uganda and the illusion is placed in exclusion. Poorer people dress up in their Sunday best to experience a supermarket, even if just to buy a bottle of water, yet foreigners think everything is so cheap. Working-class Ugandans know better than to pay four times the cost so they only buy the essentials and shops end up with a lot of dusty and unbought stuff.
As I write this, I can hear yet another construction site, another mall being born. No surprise there.
Melinda Ozongwu is a writer based in Kampala, Uganda. She writes television scripts and regular opinion pieces on the subtext of urban culture in African countries. Her blog SmartGirl Living is a cocktail of thoughts, recipes and advice for the modern African woman. Connect with her on Twitter.
