Insight Africa

Wisdom, finally I have found you while rekindling my love in Africa’s bosom. Remembering the time my mind dwelled in utter confusion, and my heart played possum. This man made system demands absolute submission, but this soul will never willingly seek damnation. I refuse hypocrisy to use me; something forces me to swim against the currents of constructed lies, laid out bare by my people’s tearful eyes. They say the world has plenty; sweet rhetoric to deceive me, rose lips and the velvet nudity of democracy, lady liberty seeks to seduce me, such vanity only tickles the weak minds fancy. I never trust the promise of those who wish to enslave me, played the fool and ended up with my hands damaged, scared and empty. Taken was my land and sovereignty but now I am wise, it took me centuries to see beyond your suited disguise.   From morning to sundown patiently I await, knowing that once again I am to face your impending hate. If the mothers of Gaza can withstand the opp...

During the colonisation of the African continent and the subsequent years that followed the heinous enslavement and pillaging of our people and natural resources, Africans knew the difference between enemy and friend. It was this knowledge that lead to the fight for independence cross the entire continent. As a person who only knows of that time through history books, elder’s tales and documentaries, I reflect fondly on the resolve of my ancestors. Their bravery, wisdom and their undying determination to overcome and abolish the white mans rule was undeniable. They struggled and gave their lives to fight a system that was created not only to destroy them physically but also to engrave the will of the slave on their hearts, minds and their unborn children. The world is a different place today, yet I have no doubt in my heart that if our ancestors did not fight and lay down their lives for our futures, we would all be a shackled slave working the plantations. Even worse wou...

#KenyaImNotATerrorist is the controversial campaign and brainchild of Hamza Egal and Muna Ismail. We had a brief chat with Hamza Egal ,a lawyer, father and Kenyan Somali, about the deeper issues that face not just our nation but the continent at large. Where are you from and where were you born? I was born in Saudi Arabia to Kenyan Somali parents but raised in the United Kingdom from age 1. Kenya has always been home as we spent every vacation here up until mother’s passing in 1996, when we decided to move back to the country permanently. Were you personally affected either by the Eastleigh attacks or the Mass detention of Somali’s at Kasarani Stadium? I was not directly affected by either. But in the aftermath, I did have an unfortunate encounter with the police who knocked on my door late one night when my family was asleep. They very forcefully demanded to conduct a search. I did not protest, for the sake of my family’s safety, but told them they were welcome to ent...

Often while I was still residing in Britain, my like-minded peers and I used to discuss why Africa found itself in abject poverty. The debates would go on for hours on end, I Pads and laptops at the ready to extract figures and other relevant information from the Internet. The topics would range from authority, corruption, education, politics, food security, natural resources and many others. In these discussions we would try a new approach, instead of focusing on the negatives, our aim was to militate against the problems our continent faced through innovation. This in away helped us to focus our energy on productive avenues and to think outside of the box without getting frustrated or demoralised by the on going situation back home. I would frequently argue that the causes of Africa’s major ailments came from one source “inequality”. I was adamant that a continent with such vast natural resources could give its population the opportunities to develop. If a person could fe...