The violence in Karamoja is likely the biggest forgotten, neglected part of what has been called the biggest forgotten, neglected humanitarian emergency in the world. Both UPDF soldiers and rebels have been accused of gross human rights violations, drought is sweeping the northeast, and the violence has gotten so bad that the night commuter phenomenon, previously restricted to areas under LRA attack, is spreading to the region.Amidst it all, there is hope — in the form of a hip-hop duo called the Rocky Boyz Crew. Ugly-Unit and Legless, its two young members, aim to promote unity and reverse negative perceptions of Karamoja through their music.Another hip-hop artist in Kampala is doing the same thing. Abramz, a rapper and breakdancer, works in Nsambya, Gulu and Mbale to encourage...
George Bush will out Aga Khan as a terrorist mastermind and commence war against Pakistan and Tajikistan. Turkmenistan will be thrown in for good measure. Shortly thereafter, the Washington Post will reveal that what were thought to be terrorist training camps in northern Pakistan were actually just schools for poor shepherds, and CNN will begin featuring "Stangate" on the nightly news. Fox News will insist wool from the sheep in question contained suspicious traces of plutonium, thereby justifying the attack. Ronald Gates will resign, and in an unprecedented violation of the Constitution, Dick Cheney will take over his role. American voters, disturbed by the thought of radioactive sheep, will be too busy lobbying against imported lamb to notice.Yoweri Museveni will die of gout....
AfriGadget is proof that the Internet celebrates holidays (if it didn't, why would it be giving me such great presents?). This delightfully, inspirationally geeky blog is a bit Gizmodo, a bit MAKE — a chronicle of "African ingenuity" that's a pleasant jumble of everything from battery-operated podcast broadcasters to trendy USB flash drive covers. One of my favorite gadgets, though, is the PlayPump. No, it's not anything like that. It's a merry-go-round that pulls water from the ground, stores it in a tank, and makes it easily available from a tap. It's brilliant.I was happy to learn that USAID supports PlayPumps — compared with this debacle, it's a rather impressive endeavor. I was even happier to learn that one of the lead fundraisers for the project is none other...
Though I pretend to write about politics, conflict and economic development, I know what really draws people to Jackfruity: Aga Khan and Jay-Z. It's been a while since I last touched on the Hov, and it turns out there's a lot I've been missing.I'm reserving musical judgement on Jay's new album until I can sit down and listen to the whole thing, start to finish, but the buzz in the blogosphere caught my attention. Turns out there's a bit of controversy about Kingdom Come. Jody Rosen at Slate rips him a new one:The Brooklyn street hustler shtick is anachronistic, and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous songs pay diminishing returns: How many more times can he keep a straight face, rapping about his fancy vacations and his famous girlfriend's "Birkin bags"?My boy Jack, on the other hand,...
Q: How many Ugandans does it take to get a matatu (shared minivan taxi) from Kampala to Entebbe?A: Two to maneuver your friend's suitcase into the front seat; another to charge her 225% of the fare because she's bringing luggage (I'm sorry, isn't everyone else?); three to load the back of the vehicle with bags of grain and sacks of live chickens; two to strap foam mattresses to the top; one to yell at those strapping mattresses to the top about the way in which they're strapping mattresses to the top; six to get in, properly position (read: cram into every available nook and cranny) their baggage, get settled, then change their minds, extract their belongings and leave; one to roll his eyes at the six indecisive ones; two to press water, biscuits, handkerchiefs, newspapers and other...
I've been out of commission this past week, enjoying the outlying edges of Uganda. Sipi Falls. I highly recommend it.I'm back and looking forward to honing my writing skills by participating in National Novel Writing Month. Fifty thousand words in thirty days, mostly composed by candlelight during my long, lonely nights in the bush. I'm still not sure what I'll write about, but I have a hunch it will involve Aga Khan. Jay-Z should also feature heavily.Want to join me? Go to NaNoWriMo.org and sign up. Then go to my page and be my buddy so we can poke and prod each other to the finish...
While on his combination concert/water crisis awareness tour in Tanzania, Jay-Z found time to play a little dress-up with his girlfriend Beyoncé: picture via My AfricaThe rags-to-riches rapper claims, "I wanted to go to these [new places] to just tour and play music. Of course, I can't go to any place without touching the culture and seeing what's going on...I'm not a politician — I'm just a regular person with a heart."A heart that compels you to dress up like the...
First he boycotts Cristal, now he's working with MTV and the UN on the global water crisis. Is there anything liquid-related that the self-proclaimed "United Nations of this rap shit" can't...