Issue # 6
The Kleptocracy Project
How African oligarchs sell out their countries. How international aid helps them. How activists try to stop them. The Kleptocracy Project ZAM & Pakhuis de Zwijger Livecast 24 June, 2021, 20h30. Livecast. Free admission. In many African countries, investigative journalism is on the rise. A new generation of change-makers uncover scandal after scandal, energising African protest movements fighting for social justice and good governance. The Kleptocracy Project, a long term collaboration between a...
How African oligarchs sell out their countries. How international aid helps them. How activists try to stop them. The Kleptocracy Project ZAM & Pakhuis de Zwijger Livecast 24 June, 2021, 20h30. Livecast. Free admission. In many African countries, investigative journalism is on the...
Today we present the second episode of ZAM’s #ImagineMandela video series. It features Tanja Jadnanansing , chairperson of the South East District Council in Amsterdam. In this area more than 170 cultures and nationalities live together. Here, later this year, Nelson Mandela’s life and work will be honoured with the unveiling of a memorial. It is also dedicated to the people of ‘South East’. Jadnanansing: ‘My ideal is to show all of Amsterdam, all of the Netherlands and, indeed, all of the world...
Today we present the second episode of ZAM’s #ImagineMandela video series. It features Tanja Jadnanansing , chairperson of the South East District Council in Amsterdam. In this area more than 170 cultures and nationalities live together. Here, later this year, Nelson Mandela’s life...
Over the past few years the Rwandan Supreme Court seating as the Constitutional Court has established itself as a reliable force in considering challenges to unconstitutional laws. That’s why public interest petitions have arisen. In 2018, there was a petition about defamation and the Supreme Court largely ruled in favor of rights to expression. In response the president of Rwanda called for the repeal of the article that protected his office from defamation. The parliament proceeded to amend the...
Over the past few years the Rwandan Supreme Court seating as the Constitutional Court has established itself as a reliable force in considering challenges to unconstitutional laws. That’s why public interest petitions have arisen. In 2018, there was a petition about defamation and...
A trip to Niger on the trail of colonial crimes was an eye-opener for a young British-Nigerian poet. At the end of the 19th century, European powers came together to carve up the great African cake. One of the pieces of land allotted to the French was an area branching into the Sahara Desert in what was to become Niger. My film African Apocalypse (showing at the Docville Festival in Leuven 10,16,19 June) follows the road created by the French invasion of 1898-99 in which a French colonial officer,...
A trip to Niger on the trail of colonial crimes was an eye-opener for a young British-Nigerian poet. At the end of the 19th century, European powers came together to carve up the great African cake. One of the pieces of land allotted to the French was an area branching into the...
The film Message from Mukalap captures a unique sound recording from 1936 in the now extinct Khoe language !ora. It will be screened at the upcoming International Film Festival in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. At the core of the film Message from Mukalap lies a unique sound recording that captures a spoken message from a man named Mukalap. It was recorded around 1936 in South Africa. Mukalap speaks in the now extinct Khoe language !ora. In his message he calls on an European audience to just for once...
The film Message from Mukalap captures a unique sound recording from 1936 in the now extinct Khoe language !ora. It will be screened at the upcoming International Film Festival in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. At the core of the film Message from Mukalap lies a unique sound recording...
Traces of colonialism are often hidden in plain sight and continue to have a conscious or unconscious effect in today’s society. In this project/exhibition the traces are a school building, a park, imperialist myths, but also the presence of people with African roots (who are) born in Belgium. Fifteen international artists inhabit the imaginary city, Congoville ,where they guide the visitor over the Middelheim site. They walk as ‘black flâneurs’ through the present and history and guide us in a...
Traces of colonialism are often hidden in plain sight and continue to have a conscious or unconscious effect in today’s society. In this project/exhibition the traces are a school building, a park, imperialist myths, but also the presence of people with African roots (who are) born...
Andrea Stultiens' breathing photographs, a hypnotising re-figuration of colonial imagery. Breathing photographs. That's Andrea Stultiens' fascinating invention. Stultiens, photographer, artist and researcher, came up with the concept while working on the collection of still images, films and written notes of Dr. Paul Julien (1901-2001), explorer and amateur anthropologist. Over the past 20 years or so, she has worked with photography archives, mainly on Uganda. Always in relation to the imaging of...
Andrea Stultiens' breathing photographs, a hypnotising re-figuration of colonial imagery. Breathing photographs. That's Andrea Stultiens' fascinating invention. Stultiens, photographer, artist and researcher, came up with the concept while working on the collection of still images,...
'As an Ethiopian I do not have a duty to focus my lens on suffering alone', the Ethiopian photographer says. Tsegaye graduated in painting from the Addis Ababa University School of Fine Arts and Design in 2002, but gave up painting when he developed an allergy to oil paint. He then found his real passion in photography and has turned this into a profession, and moreover into a way of expressing a very particular voice. 'As a photographer I try as much as possible to escape being pigeonholed. This...
'As an Ethiopian I do not have a duty to focus my lens on suffering alone', the Ethiopian photographer says. Tsegaye graduated in painting from the Addis Ababa University School of Fine Arts and Design in 2002, but gave up painting when he developed an allergy to oil paint. He then...
The Nigerian Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) has a frightening history of brutality, corruption and even killings. SARS officers have been alleged to profile young Nigerians, mostly males, based on fashion choices, tattoos and hairstyles. They were also known to mount illegal road blocks, conduct unwarranted checks and searches, arrest and detain without warrant or trial, rape women, and extort young male Nigerians for driving exotic vehicles and using laptops and iPhones . Nigerians have shared...
The Nigerian Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) has a frightening history of brutality, corruption and even killings. SARS officers have been alleged to profile young Nigerians, mostly males, based on fashion choices, tattoos and hairstyles. They were also known to mount illegal road...
Here are the 25 photographers, selected by a panel of 21 international judges, making the shortlist of the 10 th edition of CAP: Aàdesokan | Yetunde | Ayeni-Babaeko | Thami Benkirane | Marcus Trappaud Bjørn | Nabil Boutros | Katel Delia | Justin Dingwall | Andrew Esiebo | Jason Florio | Pippa Hetherington | Brian Hodges | Eldin Zainab Imad | Matt Kay | Adil Kourkouni | Tamary Kudita | DeLovie Kwagala | Dillon Marsh | Fabrice Monteiro | Claudia Ndebele | Emeke Obanor | Joseph Obanubi | Léonard...
Here are the 25 photographers, selected by a panel of 21 international judges, making the shortlist of the 10 th edition of CAP: Aàdesokan | Yetunde | Ayeni-Babaeko | Thami Benkirane | Marcus Trappaud Bjørn | Nabil Boutros | Katel Delia | Justin Dingwall | Andrew Esiebo | Jason...
How Africa’s ‘new breed’ leaders have become the masters of information warfare. With weeks to go until the Ugandan presidential election on January 14, 2021, Ugandan readers of The Elephant, an online platform published in Nairobi, Kenya, suddenly could not access its site. Typically, at first, they presumed, the site was down, or was experiencing some normal malfunctions associated with the heavy use of such a platform. So, they really were not duly concerned, they knew the site managers would no...
How Africa’s ‘new breed’ leaders have become the masters of information warfare. With weeks to go until the Ugandan presidential election on January 14, 2021, Ugandan readers of The Elephant, an online platform published in Nairobi, Kenya, suddenly could not access its site....
I am writing to give you an update on the process of restoring the property of the University of Cape Town (UCT). After any event as traumatic as the #UCTFire, it is common for people to speculate and even unwittingly spread false reports about the extent of the damage, the cause of the crisis and the long-term outlook for recovery. This is especially common after a fire, because the affected buildings often cannot be entered immediately. Investigators and building professionals need time to assess...
I am writing to give you an update on the process of restoring the property of the University of Cape Town (UCT). After any event as traumatic as the #UCTFire, it is common for people to speculate and even unwittingly spread false reports about the extent of the damage, the cause of...
An official UK report on racism is ‘consistent with the radical historical amnesia and vicious revisionism of Caribbean and African history by the British far right’. It was only when I settled in the United Kingdom that I realised how very different it was to the Netherlands. The genuine fabric of British society had eluded me during the occasional holiday. Both countries qualify as European yet the UK seemed to mirror the United States, its raw and undiluted capitalism, a privatised public...
An official UK report on racism is ‘consistent with the radical historical amnesia and vicious revisionism of Caribbean and African history by the British far right’. It was only when I settled in the United Kingdom that I realised how very different it was to the Netherlands. The...
Today we launch the 1st episode of our #ImagineMandela video series. It features Stephanie Duncan Williams entering the stage of the International Theatre Amsterdam, home of the annual ZAM Nelson Mandela Lecture. “As a young black woman, born and bred in the Netherlands with Ghanaian roots, I have encountered several instances that highlight that Mandela’s fight is still relevant today”, Stephanie says. How does a just world beyond them and us and the many crises threathening people’s livelihoods,...
Today we launch the 1st episode of our #ImagineMandela video series. It features Stephanie Duncan Williams entering the stage of the International Theatre Amsterdam, home of the annual ZAM Nelson Mandela Lecture. “As a young black woman, born and bred in the Netherlands with...
Despite having to flee after the state raided their offices, members of LGBT+ Rights Ghana vow to continue to work for legal recognition in a country pushing for even more repressive laws. More than two months after fleeing “unprecedented” threats of violence, members of the queer rights organisation LGBT+ Rights Ghana are still in hiding. “It is very challenging. It takes a lot of toll,” says Alex Kofi Donkor, founder and director of the organisation. “The experiences of the past weeks haven’t...
Despite having to flee after the state raided their offices, members of LGBT+ Rights Ghana vow to continue to work for legal recognition in a country pushing for even more repressive laws. More than two months after fleeing “unprecedented” threats of violence, members of the queer...
The investigative journalism platform, a partner of ZAM Magazine, is a breeding ground for many talented journalists. They did it again. Africa Uncensored (AU), the Nairobi based investigative in-depth collective, collected prizes at the 9th Annual Journalism Excellence Awards (#AJEA2021) early May 2021. Ever since its co-founder, John Allan Namu, traded his secure job as editor and news anchor at a major Kenyan media house for the adventure of starting his own media collective, Africa Uncensored...
The investigative journalism platform, a partner of ZAM Magazine, is a breeding ground for many talented journalists. They did it again. Africa Uncensored (AU), the Nairobi based investigative in-depth collective, collected prizes at the 9th Annual Journalism Excellence Awards...
In conversation with Dr. Divine Fuh about the recent burning down of the University of Cape Town’s library. In an online Studio ZAM lunch time on Monday 26 April, 2021, the social anthropologist and director of the Institute for Humanities in Africa at UCT spoke about loss and solidarity with efforts to build what has been destroyed. Fuh has also been a visiting fellow at the Africa Study Centre and was involved in Langa Research and Publishing as well as the African Boon Collective. That Day “On...
In conversation with Dr. Divine Fuh about the recent burning down of the University of Cape Town’s library. In an online Studio ZAM lunch time on Monday 26 April, 2021, the social anthropologist and director of the Institute for Humanities in Africa at UCT spoke about loss and...
No one goes to Paradise to return from it. There is a pivotal moment in the great Mandé epic Sundiata , when Sundiata Keita, alias The Lion King, is forced to leave, to migrate. At this point, he is a young man, full of unbridled ambitions and possibilities. For the first time in his life, despite his obvious limp and speech difficulties, despite all the obstacles stacked against him, he is fully aware of his own powers. This event takes place sometime in the 13 th century and the world as we know...
No one goes to Paradise to return from it. There is a pivotal moment in the great Mandé epic Sundiata , when Sundiata Keita, alias The Lion King, is forced to leave, to migrate. At this point, he is a young man, full of unbridled ambitions and possibilities. For the first time in...
Reports from the University of Cape Town have revealed that the entire contents of the Jagger Reading Room, along with six other buildings, were destroyed by the fire that swept through Table Mountain last week. According to a statement released by UCT, the fire destroyed the galleries, adjacent stores, and offices and gutted the roof of the Jagger Reading Room. The archival and published collections stored in the Reading Room were destroyed. This includes most of the African Studies published...
Reports from the University of Cape Town have revealed that the entire contents of the Jagger Reading Room, along with six other buildings, were destroyed by the fire that swept through Table Mountain last week. According to a statement released by UCT, the fire destroyed the...
This group show investigates everyday objects and aspects of our daily lives that inspire the emergence of creativity —as well as the unexpected mediums that serve as canvases. Including artworks that are derived from, or stand in place of, everyday utilitarian objects, the exhibition includes such unlikely mediums as walking-sticks, motorbikes, ceramic tableware, and unique couture. Featuring Nyambo MasaMara, Laylaa Jacobs, Kevin Collins, Razia Myers, Hanna Noor Mohamed, Jeanius Exchange, Petrus...
This group show investigates everyday objects and aspects of our daily lives that inspire the emergence of creativity —as well as the unexpected mediums that serve as canvases. Including artworks that are derived from, or stand in place of, everyday utilitarian objects, the...
In her first solo exhibition, Lola Keyezua (1988, Angola) explores the sexuality of the elderly by focusing on social, cultural and religious influences. After showing one of the photographs in the Amsterdam Galerie Bart group exhibition The Great Photography Special , last year, it was decided to present the whole series of ‘Never Too Old To Cut The Banana When Erected’ in the gallery. After graduating at the Royal Academy in The Hague in 2014, Keyezua returned to Luanda, where she lived from 2015...
In her first solo exhibition, Lola Keyezua (1988, Angola) explores the sexuality of the elderly by focusing on social, cultural and religious influences. After showing one of the photographs in the Amsterdam Galerie Bart group exhibition The Great Photography Special , last year, it...
