March - 2001

EDITORIAL

This month, all eyes were focused on the just ended Uganda presidential election which saw Yoweri Kaguta Museveni recapture his seat for another five year term. Reports from the local and regional media say that many independent observers cited widespread election theft and violence especially in parts of the west like Mbarara, Kabale and Rukungiri. AFRICANEWS Managing editor, Cathy Mytenji, spent a couple days in Uganda during the election period. She files a telling report on the anomalies that marred the otherwise peaceful poll.

From Dr Congo, our Correspondent Linda Frommer reports that the war in the Great Lakes region has led to over five million people fleeing the country and thousands others internally displaced. She further reports that most of the internally displaced are said to be living in the country s dense forests, away from their homes, with no means of sustenance. In total, about 16 million people have been displaced by the two-year-old conflict pitting armies from half a dozen countries and various militia groups.

This war, she reports, continues as the world watches the foreign troops invade and steal the wealth of the Congo "for reasons of security".

The story of Sudan continues to hit the headlines. This time again, warnings of a looming famine are all over. Our staff writer, Matthias Muindi reports that prolonged draught and factional fighting are key contributors to this worsening situation. Muindi reports that Relief agencies have indicated that that unless the international community respond immediately millions of people will perish.

It is a new dawn for the media in Ghana. During his tenure as president, Rawlings and his ministers openly attacked the private media at the least opportunity. One of Jerry's major legacies is the brutalisation and jailing of journalists who dared to question certain government deals. Our Correspondent Amos Safo says that the new government of President John Kufuor is giving indications that it will repeal Ghana's criminal libel laws that criminalise freedom of expression.

After years of steadfast fight against corruption, the Zimbabwean media has finally succumbed to the menace, which has crippled top government officials and some business executives. Stephen Tsoroti, reports that media practitioners in the southern Africa country have also become distinctively uneasy over allegations that many of them are deeply engrossed in corrupt tendencies.