But to explain or fathom the reasons why it is so complex. From the cartels who import generators, the contractors who fail to complete power projects, citizens who vandalize power lines and installations, languid attitude of government up to the manufacturers of the generators (in developed countries); all these have a vested interest in the continued failure of power
provision in Nigeria.

Now Nigerians have started a massive online demonstration against this frustrating situation on social media sites, especially on Twitter with the hashtag #lightupnigeria. There's also a Facebook group, with the following description:

Are you tired of the constant excuses being given for the incompetence of PHCN, we are forming this group as a voice for our generation. It is time for something to be done,the 7th oil producing nation is one of the world's worst electicity providers. The time has come, Nigeria belongs to all of us and if we do not speak out now,its the same burden we will all have to bear. So join,tell your friends, family andybody you can, enough is enough. Our voice may be small now but as the group grows and the word is spread, the government will hear our words and something will be done. LIGHT UP NIGERIA so progress in all the other sectors can advance also.

Energy is the engine that drives industrialization, which improves communication, helps innovation in science and Technology, provides sound healthcare delivery system and improves citizens' standard of living. Since energy is the engine that drives industrialization, a sound energy policy would indirectly create jobs even in unexpected sectors.

Archiwiz at To fit or not to fit? commented on the campaign:

The hashtag itself will not do much if the responsible parties don't take notice and do the right thing, but this is a good first step. Awareness is always important when it comes to movements of change […]

So you ask, what is #lightupnigeria? The words that make up the tag are self explanatory to any Nigerian, or anyone that has spent a good two weeks in Nigeria and has experienced firsthand the impact of lack of electricity in Nigeria. I can give you a long laundry list of what we lose because of lack of electricity, but several things surface: money, time & productivity.

[…] This movement needs to get to get to the media and to the ears of our Nigerian leaders. We cannot continue to wink at our lack of electricity.

Here's a selection of some of the things people have been saying on Twitter as part of the #lightupnigeria campaign:

Olufunmike

Nigeria's economy can't change until we #lightupnigeria

imab

#lightupnigeria so that her 140million nigerians can say goodnight and really look forward to having one

Naijanews

the only thing to known to be stable in nigeria is darkness #lightupnigeria

edeanijames

the money we use to buy diesel for a year can pay 10 years light bills, so pls #lightupnigeria

aliceronke

#LightUpNigeria so that people don't go to work on weekends to iron!

drdammie

#lightupNigeria Nigerians leaders love darkness, cos the works of their hands are so dark, it cant stand no light

ricdizzle

#lightupnigeria cos wen there is no light at nite & i need to pee… aiming for that bowl has to be intuitive!! damn!

pheonixforever

have not had power for 4days now… #lightupnigeria pls

Naijanews

i'm planning to relocate to nigeria soon but plans to visit london every week just to charge my phone #lightupnigeria

Ebukalashnikov

It's 11pm, which means it's another night without electricity. Hopefully we can #lightupNigeria so that ‘Goodnights' can actually be good!

ohdichi

#lightupnigeria because that's my country & my country deserves light

lowla360

As we fight 4 dis to work,i know u r all tired, but think about your kids, how much u want them 2 grow in a good environment/nation #lightupnigeria

abiolaalabi

i would be mighty ashamed if in future my kids called me d generator generation & i did nothing #lightupnigeria

edeanijames

it ain't right that at this time and age we dont' have regular power supply #lightupnigeria

damilola

#lightupnigeria cos constant power supply should NOT be a luxury in 2009

archiwiz

The pollution from generators is stunting the brains of Nigeria's youth. Now many of us are no longer imaginative. Please #lightupnigeria!

Olufunmike

Obama's campaign didn't stop until a day before elections. Our #lightupnigeria campaign won't stop until 24/7 electricity. Tell ‘em

Ezeani

#lightupnigeria because we have the resources - both natural & man-made..what are we waiting for??

zpixel

Nobody will listen to #lightupnigeria by just twittering,u hve 2 kill somebody&tell d police u mistaken stabbed the fellow cz it was dark…

bubusn

Our greatest challenge isn't in Abuja. It is in ourselves. It is that voice that says: “This will all amount to nothing” #lightupnigeria

eldeethedon

The idea is to make a video in the dark expressing to the govt “we have had enuff”!! : http://bit.ly/XEDX9 #lightupnigeria

Despite protests from the opposition, election observers said the voting was peaceful, and that voter turnout was low. According to the main opposition, “90 per cent” of the country’s electorate did not go to the polls. Outgoing President Denis Sassou N’Guesso and his Rassemblement de la majorité présidentielle (RMP) is widely tipped to win the elections as the country’s electoral commission prepares to announce the results anytime from Monday evening.

A BBC correspondent reportedly witnessed “money being handed out at a polling station in the south of the capital, to people who later said they had been asked to vote for Mr Sassou-Nguesso.”

One election observer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Agence France Presse, “There are more observers than voters.”

At the French news site France 24, a few commenters from Congo have expressed their opinions on the election. Below is a selection of a few of them:

Maloumbi on voter intimidation:

Dans certain villages et districts, les populations ont vote sassou nguesso suite aux intimidations. mon frere Jean Ibinga dans le district de Nyanga a reçu 1.000.000 Cfa de la part de membre de RMP pour convaincre aux vielles personne d'aller vote moyenant une somme de 2500 cfa. Les elections ne ce sont pas passees d'une maniere convenable et certains prefets, deputes ont intimider la population de voter leur maitre Sassou. Pour moi c'est une election qui avait ete deja jouee a l'avance. Je demande a la communaute internationale d'anuler les elections du 12 juillet et oblige a sassou de faire un gouvernement national pouvant debattre les affaires du pays sinon il y'aurait une guerre dans le futur. l'opposition actuellement se prepare pour une eventuelle guerre.

Yoka from Pointe Noire on the low turnout:

je suis congolais et je réside à pointe noire (capitale économique du congo et deuxième ville du pays). Je peux vous dire que les bureaux de vote sont restés vide du matin jusqu' au soir . les habitants de pointe noire sont fatigués, des promesses de mr sassou, alors que de cette ville qu' est tiré le pétrole qui constitue la première richesse du pays. Plus de 95% des congolais n' ont pas voté. c' est une réalité que le régime brutal et absurde de brazza doit reconnaitre. Du coup son régime est illégitime. les congolais du nord, du sud, de l' est et de l' ouest ont dit NON à sassou.

An anonymous commenter from Kinshasa, in the other Congo, wondered:

Peut on frauder avec seulement 15% d'électeurs qui, si nous suivons les différentes interventions, ne seraient que les partisans du Candidat Sassou, les autres ayant opté pour le boycot de l'éléction?

L'Africaniste:

Oui tout n'est parfait ! Oui Sasou garde le pouvoir , Oui , il n'a pas fait du congo un paradis ! Mais qu'a fait l'opposition ? Quel projet ou proposition l'opposition congolaise a t' elle soumis au peuple ? rien sauf le boycott ! qui n'est rien d'autre qu'une ouverture à Sassou pour gagner . Alors merci messieurs les opposants d'avoir aider Sassou à gagner sans difficultés . Arrêtez des bruits pour rien sauf pour distraire le peuple !

brazza-brazza on the peaceful election:

Élection bidon, mais nous avons la paix. La paix des miséreux.
Comme Bongo, Sassou sera au pouvoir pour plus de deux générations. C'est normal; nous avons la paix. La paix des soumis.
Sassou pille le Congo. Mais nous avons la paix. La paix des affamés.
Nous vivons dans le caca. Mais nous avons la paix. La paix a plus de valeur que la dignité.
Vous a l'étranger vous ne savez pas ce que la paix vaut.
Je suis d'accord avec vous que la paix permet a Sassou de piller. Et alors? C'est normal qu'il nous pille. Il es africain et il est dictateur qui fait des élections bidon pour rester dictateur.

At the Libération website Yanice 18 brought up Obama's recent speech in Ghana:

A peine hier, Obama a tenu un très bon discours sur la bonne gouvernance et la démocratie, aujourd'hui un autre autocrate africain se prépare à renouveler son bail au pouvoir pour 7 ans encore malgré ses déboires judiciaires relatifs à ses biens immobiliers en France. A voir la longévité au pouvoir, 25 ans, de ce président tout laisse à penser qu'Obama a prêché dans le désert.

And Saboun added:

Ré-election de Sassou Nguesso, aucune surprise. Je ne sais pas si vous avez remarqué, Obama n'a évoqué aucun pays d'Afrique francophone dans son discours, pure coincidence? J'en doute.

Independence Day was celebrated all throughout the country, but it was in the eastern city of Goma (the capital of North Kivu province) that the official festivities took place with the participation of President Joseph Kabila, as well as the presidents of a number of other countries. Here are a few bloggers' reactions to this historic anniversary, celebrated in a city that not long ago was a war zone.

Photo by Patrick Butsapu

Colette Braeckman [FR], a Belgian journalist specializing in Central Africa, wrote about holding the celebrations in Goma:

Voici moins d’un an, qui aurait cru que l’indépendance du 30 juin, date mythique s’il en est, serait célébrée à Goma ? A l’époque, le chef rebelle Laurent Nkunda recevait toutes les télévisions du monde et devenait une star médiatique, entrant en concurrence avec les deux chefs d’Etat des pays concernés, le président Kabila et son homologue rwandais le président Kagame.

A l’époque, la peur régnait dans de vastes zones du Nord Kivu, à la merci d’attaques du CNDP […]

For Dawn Hurley, an American expat in Goma who blogs at From Congo, the choice was risky:

It is not the most logical place to invite hot shots of all sorts to celebrate this grand holiday. It is an unruly city on the very edge the country. But it precisely this reputation as the Wild west (or rather Wild East) of Congo, that has led the President to choose to celebrate here.

For Colette Braeckman, celebrating the Independence in Goma has a strong significance:

Malgré les peurs des uns, les critiques des autres, il faut reconnaître que célébrer l’indépendance à Goma, hier terrorisée, assiégée et qui se sentait oubliée de Kinshasa, est un symbole fort. Le symbole d’un pays qui a entamé sa reconstruction et récupéré son contrôle sur toutes ses provinces, […] le symbole d’un géant convalescent, qui vacille encore un peu, mais qui, de manière décidée, s’est remis debout…

Dawn of From Congo also commented on the works happening around the city in preparation for the official festivities:

So for the past month Goma has been a giant dust bowl. The roads of Goma, which are perpetually in a ridiculous state of disrepair, have been dug up, marked off, and attacked with a variety of roadwork tools. Road workers have appeared out of nowhere and worked day and night over the past month, to turn Goma into a presentable city.

Boubol, the Goma correspondent for the popular Congoblog [FR], also wrote about Goma's makeover for the celebration (including some photos of the works):

« Je n’ai jamais vécu une telle situation à Goma, qui donne l’impression de se trouver dans une cité industrielle » s’exclame Mzee Paul, un sexagénaire, rencontré le long du boulevard Kanyamuhanga. Ce tronçon, sur lequel s’effectuera le défilé, revêt une nouvelle couche de bitume. C’est depuis la dernière éruption survenue en 2002 qu’il était dénué.

Nombreux sont le badauds qui passent leurs temps admirer les pylônes qui poussent depuis peu sur les routes de la capitale touristique. Au total, 600 réverbères éclaireront Goma d’ici le 30 juin, à en croire un des superviseurs des travaux: « La ville de Goma sera la ville la plus éclairée, après la ville de Kinshasa qui compte seulement 300 pylônes en bon état » a-t-il ajouté.

Photo by Yvez Zihundula

However, Boboul wonders about the long-term permanence of the makeover:

S’ils se réjouissent en voyant ces travaux, les habitants de Goma ne se font pas d’illusion. Il faut attendre de voir s’il s’agit bien d’un élan de reconstruction ou si ce n’est qu’un embelissement temporaire, le temps de la fête.

Apparently the Independence festivities included some fireworks, which some people mistook for shooting as shown by this story at From Congo:

Argentine and Mapendo (two of the SHONA women) spent last night trying to decide where to hide. They heard shooting and assumed the town was being attacked. […]

In fact it was fireworks. Yesterday was Independence Day in Congo and a fireworks display ran for at least half an hour last night. I couldn't see the fireworks from my house, and apparently Argentine and Mapendo couldn't see them from their hiding spots. But we could all hear the explosions, and I have to say that it was as long and impressive sounding a display as I have ever heard.

I, for one, am not suprised the a fireworks display in a region which is still a war-zone, would scare the living daylights out of people. They announced it on the radio beforehand but many people, like Argentine and Mapendo, didn't hear the warnings and were left to assume the worst.

Goma-based journalist Yves Zihindula [FR], who also noted the impressive works happening in his city, offers a bit of a pessimistic reflection about the Congo after 49 years of indepence:

Ceux qui ont vécu les années après le 30 juin 1960, parlent des bonnes choses du Congo et disent par exemple qu’un zaïre (monnaie locale de l’époque) équivalait à plus d’un dollar américain. Normal qu’un jeune de mon âge ait difficile à les comprendre. Pas de système d’éducation fiable, pas d’eau potable, pas d’électricité, pas de routes dans la plupart des localités… voilà ce que nous vivons depuis notre enfance.

49 ans après l’indépendance, quel bilan faire ? Qu’est ce qu’il faut que je réponde ? Je n’ai rien vécu jusque là. J’attends vivre… et ferais un bilan le moment venu.

In a similar vein, Espérance-Francois Bulayumi at Mbokamosika [FR] wonders:

Devrions-nous organiser ce mardi 30 juin 2009 une fête pompeuse pour célébrer la journée commémorative du 30 juin dans la situation où se trouve le pays actuellement?

John Passou offered this reflection at the blog Aujourd'hui c'est Aujourd'hui [FR]:

L’indépendance du Congo est à reconquérir. Corriger aujourd’hui les vices du régime Mobutu, ce n’est pas, comme d’aucuns s’imaginent, l’œuvre d’un jour. Ce doit être l’œuvre d’une politique de longue haleine, habile et circonspecte. La domination néocoloniale a plongé la société congolaise dans un pourrissement tel qu’il nous faudra des années pour la purifier.

When Omar Bongo was admitted in Barcelona's Quirón clinic earlier in May, a comment by Akin a the African Loft predicted his death away from his subjects:

The greatest indictment of his lamentable regime of 42 years is that Gabon does not have hospitals that could treat either himself or his wife.

What kind of leadership is one that cannot bring any appreciable benefits to its people whilst the leaders jet off to foreign lands for the slightest sign of discomfort?

This is an indictment that applies to probably the whole of African leadership, the inability to raise the standards of infrastructure, education, health and opportunity.

When would we be able to make all leadership really accountable for their years of disservice?

[…] The morale of this sordid tale is unAfrican in its context, the king shall not die in his palace surrounded by his subjects who “adore” him but in a non-descript expensive hospital room surrounded by strangers.

A king that fails to rule with probity will die in a distance in disgrace with everyone breathing a long sigh of relief - Good riddance! To them all.

Togolese blogger Rodrigue Kopgli, of Jeunesse Unie pour la Démocratie en Afrique [Fr], called Bongo “one of the last crocodiles of Françafrique“:

Ami de tous les gouvernements français depuis De Gaulle, Albert-Bernard Bongo devenu El Hadj Omar Bongo puis Ondimba (le peuple lui réclame du changement démocratique, il lui offre des changements de nom personnel), n’a jamais cessé d’être l’Agent des Services secrets français qu’il était à sa prise du pouvoir. Fort de sa longévité et de la fortune amassée au sommet du Gabon, Le Hadj s’octroie le luxe de financer des campagnes électorales en France notamment celle de François Mitterrand comme l’a écrit Pierre Péan dans « Affaires africaines ». Il laisse aussi un gigantesque parc mobilier et immobilier en France et des comptes bancaires secrets qui bien évidemment font et feront le bonheur des paradis fiscaux qui les hébergent. Le peuple gabonais pendant ce temps manque de tout. Avec un tel bilan, la terre ne lui sera pas légère du tout. Et les Africains qu’il prétendait cyniquement représenter ne se mettront pas en deuil, non plus.

Citing Togo's experience, Kopgli doubts Bongo's death will bring change:

La mort de Bongo n’apportera rien de salutaire au peuple gabonais, car les héritiers Ali et Pascaline Bongo sont déjà positionnés et portés par Bolloré – ami personnel de Sarkozy – et de Christophe de Margerie de TotalFinaElf et de bien d’autres vampires pour capter le pouvoir, comme ce fut le cas du Togo où les fils du défunt Gnassingbe ont été portés au pouvoir sous le double poids du viol et des violences.

Ivorian blogger Théophile Kouamouo [Fr], who also mentions Togo, ponders about what will happen after Bongo's death and wonders about the future of the Françafrique:

Maintenant que le “patriarche” n'est plus, l'on entre dans l'ère des incertitudes et des questionnements. Le schéma constitutionnel - remise du pouvoir à la présidente du Sénat puis élections - sera-t-il respecté ? Va-t-on vers un schéma de bataille fratricide à la togolaise […]? L'armée gabonaise, totalement invisible, entrera-t-elle en scène ?

Puis profondément, quel est le bilan d'Omar Bongo Ondimba ? Après sa mort, la Françafrique, dont il était le pilier, s'affaiblira-t-elle ? Pour ma part, je pense que oui - mais peut-être que je m'avance trop. Ce système-là était trop centré sur un certain nombre d'hommes, de petits secrets, de règles de départ qui n'existent plus, pour perdurer éternellement.[…]

La Françafrique s'affaiblira, mais la démocratie avancera-t-elle ? L'Afrique se retrouvera bientôt face à son destin et aux contradictions de son Histoire. Personne ne l'aidera à en démêler les noeuds. Mais observons d'abord ce qui se passera dans les prochains jours au Gabon.

Emmanuel Bellart of Cameroon [Fr] expressed his relief:

Dieu merci, car un autre est parti, l'afrique commence à respirer petit à petit, il ne fallait plus que ça pour que l'afrique puisse finalement ouvrir les yeux, monsieur omar bongo qui a mit 41 ans au pouvoir, ce qui est iraisonnable nous a montré combien ces vieux de la france voulaient vraiment detruire l'afrique, c'est claire que personne ne doit souhaiter la mort d'un être humain, mais d'un côté, c'est un soulagement pour le peuple gabonais, sauf qu'il y'avait une chose que monsieur bongo devait faire, c'est organiser le pouvoir et non de le preparer pour ses enfants […]

adieu le doyen, laissons le pouvoir au peuple et non à une personne, quand tu t'accapare du pouvoir , tu meurs et on t'oublit

At the newsportal Gaboneco [Fr], a Gabonese reader named Ogwera left a comment asking for democratic elections:

Je suis un citoyen gabonais et j'exige des élections dans le strict respect de la constitution de La République!!!! et je dis non à ceux qui appelle la france à se mêler de la politique gabonaise notamment BEN MOUMBAMBA qu'on ne connait pas et qui pourrait être un pion de cette france! Les gabonais doivent s'unir et rester vigilants!

Refugees International, a Washington based advocacy organization specialized on refugee issues, released a report in March on the situation in the Kivus. Their conclusions about the joint RDF-FARDC military operation against the FDLR were:

The attempted military solution to the FDLR appears far from having succeeded in crippling the rebel group, despite the recent disarmament of over 400 combatants by MONUC. Instead, the operations led to serious consequences for the Congolese in North and South Kivu, including significant new displacements.

The blog Stop the War in North Kivu commented on the report:

Not many organizations say publicly that the joint military operation has not been a success. I agree 100% with their analysis.

Refugees International also makes the point on the importance of dialogue as the only path for a durable solution to the FDLR presence in the DRC. Eurac expressed the same opinion a few weeks ago. Military solutions to political problems are, in most of the cases, a recipe for disaster.

The FDLR is a militia formed by the defeated Hutu refugees in the DR Congo, that allegedly counts among its ranks some members of the Interahamwe that carried out the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. According to the Wikipedia, during the 1998-2003 war it received extensive backing from the Congolese government who used the FDLR as a proxy force against the foreign armies operating in the country, in particular the Rwandan Patriotic Army and Rwanda-backed Rally for Congolese Democracy. Following several days of talks with Congolese government representatives held in Rome, in March 2005 the FDLR announced that they were abandoning their armed struggle and returning to Rwanda as a political party. However, the Rwandan government stated that any returning genocidaires would face justice, most probably through the gacaca court system.

Mattew Hugo of the blog Why won't they just go home questions Rwanda's position regarding the FDLR:

Historically, the Rwandan government has sought to implicate the entirety of the FDLR in the genocide. In 2004, the International Crisis Group estimated that the number of genocidaires amongst the rebels was roughly ten percent, with the vast majority having been small children in 1994. However in 2008, the Rwandan government provided the Congolese government with a list of suspected FDLR genocidaires containing 6,974 names, coincidentally the common estimate for the total number of rebels.

Stop the War in North Kivu quotes an article written by Nicolás Dorronsoro for the IECAH (Instituto de Estudios sobre Conflictos y Accion Humanitaria) [Es], that explains how political negotiation with the FDLR is taboo in Rwanda (translation from Spanish by Stop the War in North Kivu):

Desde que la ofensiva diplomática de los Estados Unidos y el Reino Unido propiciara el acercamiento entre la RDC y Ruanda, el único discurso con respecto al FDLR ha sido el del abandono inmediato de las armas y la completa derrota militar. Nadie osa hablar de la posibilidad de una negociación, por limitada que sea, con este grupo. Esto resulta sorprendente si tenemos en cuenta que el país al que los integrantes del FDLR aspiran a volver adolece de un extraordinario déficit democrático.

El pasado 19 de marzo, la experta norteamericana Ruth Wedgwood afirmaba ante el Comité de Derechos Humanos de Naciones Unidas que, a día de hoy, formar un partido político en Ruanda parece virtualmente imposible. Wedgwood hizo una reflexión interesante: recordó que las facciones hutu responsables del genocidio habían sido capaces de fomentar la masacre precisamente porque habían alimentado el miedo de que la población hutu sería oprimida y marginada. Lamentablemente, y con independencia de su indudable desarrollo económico, ese temido escenario se asemeja a la realidad actual de Ruanda, según muchos expertos. Filip Reyntjens, catedrático de la universidad de Amberes y uno de los mayores expertos en la región de los Grandes Lagos, afirmaba recientemente que no sólo las últimas elecciones locales ruandesas fueron manipuladas, sino incluso el informe mismo de los observadores electorales de la UE, que las consideró como válidas. Dado este déficit democrático, organizaciones como el European Network for Central Africa (EURAC), han abogado por una negociación política con el FDLR. Sin embargo, la cuestión continúa siendo tabú.

Congolese diaspora blogger Colored Opinions, quoted a former Force Commander of MONUC (UN peacekeeping in the DRC) that was also advocating for a political solution to the FDLR problem:

Former MONUC Force Commander, General Patrick Cammaert, was interviewed recently on dutch tv concerning the war in Congo. He said: “The problems have to be solved politicallly. That is true also concerning the genocidal hutus. President Kagame is strongly (involved) in that. The president of Rwanda sees the genocide-hutus as a threat to his country, I don't agree with that, I don't think that those genocide-hutus represent a threat to his country at all […]”

A young FDLR combatant wishing to demobilize speaking with Amani from South Kivu (picture by Steve Hege)

Matthew Hugo, who has worked in the Great Lakes region for a few years, illustrates the taboo that the FDLR issue is in Rwanda and the difficulties of the return and reintegration programs of FDLR combattants, with the story of former FDLR General Seraphin Bizimungu, known as Amani Amahoro, that he followed first-hand:

I first met Gen. Amani while I was conducting research on Rwandan refugees in 2005. He was the widely celebrated leader of an internal mutiny within the FDLR. Just five months prior, the FDLR’s political leadership surprisingly declared that they would unilaterally disarm and return en masse to Rwanda.

[…]
Amani emerged with the support of the Congolese government, and promised to lead the return movement despite the lack of security guarantees. In a press conference, he accused the group’s leadership of sabotaging the historic opportunity to remove themselves from the military equation of the region. The pretext of the rebel threat is what permitted the Rwandan government to continue to wage a proxy war against the Congo according to him.

By all accounts, including the Rwandan government itself, Amani was not suspected of any participation in the genocide and was widely considered a political moderate. During an interview I had with him, he claimed that fighting non-violently for political opening from within Rwanda was the only path to truly sustainable peace for the region.

[…] in December [2005] Amani fulfilled his promise and returned to Rwanda with over 150 loyal soldiers, one of the largest groups of ex-combatants since the inception of the UN’s demobilization and repatriation program (DDRRR). […]

Following his departure, Gen. Amani was rapidly transformed into the poster child of the UN’s sensitization efforts to promote future desertion amongst the FDLR. He was featured prominently in numerous pamphlets distributed to rebels throughout remote mountains and jungles as the quintessential example of how warmly Rwanda welcomed its brethren who chose to return home.

[…]
So compelling was Amani’s message that when I began working with DDRRR, I frequently put FDLR combatants in touch with him directly by Satellite phone from isolated areas of the Congolese jungle. His personal testimony was often enough to put to rest their fears of reprisals and incarcerations in Rwanda which were widely shared amongst the young rebels. Amani always sounded quite eager to respond to these calls and he often reiterated to the FDLR that real political change could only be achieved from within Rwanda.

And so compelling was Amani's message that, according to Matthew Hugo, Amani was featured in numerous DDRRR pamphlets distributed to rebels throughout remote mountains and jungles “as the quintessential example of how warmly Rwanda welcomed its brethren who chose to return home” and became “the poster child of the UN’s sensitization efforts to promote future desertion amongst the FDLR”. However, and in spite of the good example Amani set, genocide charges were brought against him in late 2008 and he was then summoned before the traditional Gacaca courts conducted by village elders. On January 22nd, two days after the Rwandan army began its joint military operations against the FDLR in the eastern Congo, the Gacaca elders condemned Amani to life in prison.

Matthew Hugo concludes his story expressing frustration at the seemingly permanent stalemate on the FDLR issue:

Thanks to this strategy of associating all political opposition with the genocide, the RPF’s Ugandan clique has managed to systematically tighten their stranglehold over power in Kigali. Not only did informal EU electoral observer reports suggest that they might have won as much as 98% of the vote in recent local elections, but even the U.S.’s legal expert on the UN Human Rights Committee stated that it is “virtually impossible to set up a political party in Rwanda“.

Nevertheless, despite resounding support for peace processes with the ruthless rebel groups in the region like the LRA and the FNL, the mere notion of political dialogue between Rwanda and the FDLR remains utterly inconceivable.

The blog Mo’dernity, Mo’problems recently commented on an article written by the director of Human Rights Watch on the 15th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide:

In memory of the Rwanda genocide, Ken Roth keeps up the quality of Human Rights Watch Rwanda analysis after Allison Des Forge’s passing and writes:

[…] “The best way to prevent another genocide is to insist that Kagame stop manipulating the last one”.

As memories of the genocide turn 15, it seems like Rwanda is facing a tumultuous media anniversary. Recent coverage of the anniversary have attacked the ways in which the current Rwandan administration abuses the genocide as a form of political repression and a justification of warmongering.

le blog aboumashimango [Fr], a Rwandese diaspora blogger, calls for an end to civil and political rights violations in Rwanda :

Le génocide des Tutsi et massacres des Hutus démocrates (opposants politiques, défenseurs des droits de l'homme, journalistes… et populations civiles innocentes) de 1994 trouvent leur racines dans l'histoire politico-ethnique du pays, la fracture sociale, l'angoisse et la terreur, ainsi que la mauvaise gestion politique de la question ethnique. A cela s'ajoute l'absence de l'espace démocratique et de la culture des droits de l'homme.

[…] En ces moments où nous commémorons le 15ème anniversaire de Génocide des Tutsi et massacres des Hutus démocrates, j'appelle à la conscience de la Communauté internationale de faire preuve de courage pour mettre fin à des situations des violations flagrantes des droits civils et politiques que connaît le Rwanda, notamment le droit d'avoir une justice équitable…

Rwandan blogger Negrita's Chronicles asked her readers to join the nation-wide candlelight vigil for the victims through her blog:

It has been 15 years since the Genocide forever changed my home and my people.

The world stood silent as cries for help went unheeded.

Please join us in lighting a candle in memory of those whose lives were taken and in hope for a future of peace, justice, and true reconciliation.

In succesive posts, Negrita posted a video for the campaign Candles for Rwanda, and the song ‘Never Again' written and recorded in commemoration of the Genocide. The song was composed by Rwanda's gospel singer Jean Paul Samputu in Kinyanrwanda, but its choruses are sung in different languages (English, French, Swahili, Kirundi and Kiganda) by various popular regional musicians.

Pictures of children victims of genocide at the Kigali Memorial Center (Photo by Elia Varela Serra)

Martin Leach, the head of the DFID (British Department for International Development) in Rwanda attended the ceremonies in Nyanza, which he describes in his blog:

Hundreds of people trudged up the long hill to Nyanza, many of them wearing something purple, a neckscarf, a wrap, even a purple wristband. The colour purple is the colour of mourning in Rwanda and yesterday, 7th April, was the 15th Anniversary of the Genocide. At the top of the hill I joined the large crowd at the Commemoration Ceremony. Wedged between two ambassadors, I heard heart breaking accounts from survivors of the massacre which took place on the site where we were seated, with no one to protect them against the brutal attacks of the militia.

But it was the young people who moved me most: girls dressed in purple and white reciting poems in Kinyarwandan about the need to take courage for the future in spite of the sorrow and grief, and a youth choir with ‘Never Again' emblazoned on their T-shirts and headbands, singing with emotion about the importance of never forgetting the genocide. And it was emotional. Even the Government Ministers were shedding tears, remembering their experiences and lost loved ones. I can't imagine it - one million people killed in 100 days: as the Lady Mayor of Kigali said ‘an unspeakable evil' had gripped the country.

Michael Abramowitz of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum was in Kigali for the ceremonies. In the blog World is Witness, Abramovitz recounts the testimony of a genocide survivor called Venuste that moved the audience with his story during the ceremony:

Venuste, who looked to be in his 50s or 60s, with a dignified bearing, proceeded to tell the hushed crowd how his family and neighbors decided to take refuge at the nearby L’Ecole Technique Officielle, thinking that might be a safe refuge because of the small contingent of Belgian United Nations soldiers stationed there. But four days later, to their great shock, the small U.N. force departed, telling those gathered on the school grounds that “gendarmes” would rescue them. The U.N. soldiers ignored their desperate pleas not to leave them at the mercy of a menacing crowd of government soldiers and armed militia that surrounded them outside the gates of the school.
After the departure of the last U.N. soldier, Venuste and some 5,000 others who were gathered on the school grounds were forced to walk a jeering gauntlet of Hutu militiamen, soldiers and civilians wielding machetes, guns and other weapons. Some of those who survived described it as a “death walk.” Venuste lost his right arm, hacked off by one of the tormentors. The walkers came to this unremarkable hill, where they were encircled by a gang of killers and set upon with grenades, machetes and clubs. Within a few hours, Venuste said, “We were lying in pools of blood.”

Of the 5,000 or so who sought refuge from the U.N. near here, roughly 100 survived, according to Venuste. He lived only because he laid still under dead bodies, overlooked by the killers searching the carnage for signs of life.

Impressed by the economic development of Rwanda, Abramowitz sees no traces of the atrocities experienced 15 years ago:

As I first-time visitor to Rwanda, it’s hard not to be mystified by the mismatch between the ferocious events of just 15 years ago and apparent calm and prosperity in Rwanda, which aspires to be the hub of an economically vibrant East Africa. As we drove out of town to one of the churches where you can still see the skulls and belongings of murdered Tutsi, we passed by workers digging up ditches on the side of the road to lay down new fiber optic lines. A newcomer thinks: How can this beautiful country, routinely described by Africa hands as one of the better functioning countries on the continent, have experienced such savagery?

Ugandan fishermen pulling bodies out of Lake Victoria that had traveled hundreds of miles by river from Rwanda (Photo by Dave Blumenkrantz, used under a Creative Commons license)

Colette Braeckman [Fr], a Belgian journalist and author of several books about Central Africa, was also present at the anniversary ceremony in Kigali of which she writes:

Depuis la foule amassée devant le « jardin de la mémoire » et le monument consacré au génocide, des cris jaillissent, perturbent les discours officiels. A tout moment, des corps convulsés ou immobilisés par les syncopes sont emportés par des ambulances. Lorsque Venuste Kasirika s’empare du micro et raconte son calvaire, son récit est ponctué par les sanglots qui secouent l’auditoire.

Walking around modern-day Kigali, Braeckman makes a similar observation as Abramowitz about the disconnect with the horrible past:

Dans cette cité moderne, ambitieuse, dont les quartiers populaires ont été rasés et les habitants transplantés plus loin, au milieu de ces immeubles abritant des banques, des commerces et des bureaux, au vu de ces parterres taillés au ciseau et de ces espaces verts qui ressemblent à des jardins anglais, comment croire que, voici quinze ans, les bennes de la voirie ramassaient les cadavres à la pelle et les déversaient devant l’hôpital, comme des tas d’immondices ? Au vu de ces gens bien habillés, portant tous des chaussures de ville (les nu pieds sont interdits) comment se souvenir de ces tueurs au regard halluciné, ivres de bière, de chanvre et de haine, ceints d’amulettes, qui brandissaient fusils et longues machettes et traquaient, comme du gibier, leurs voisins tutsis débusqués dans les faux plafonds, les fossés et les fourrés de haies vives ?

Yves Zihindula [Fr], a Congolese blogger based in Goma, remembers the genocide as seen from the other side of the border:

Voici 15 ans jour pour jour, que des centaines de milliers de gens (réfugiés) se sont déversés en République démocratique du Congo. Cette date me rappelle les images abominables des femmes et enfants affaiblis par la faim dans les rues de Goma. Je me souviens avoir vu des cadavres d’homme dans le lac Kivu, jetés depuis la partie rwandaise du lac et emmener par la vague vers les bords du côté congolais. J’ai vu à l’époque des camions à benne transporter des corps humains et déposer dans des fosses communes.

Des souvenirs pas du tout bons. Ça me fait toujours bizarre de réaliser cette tragédie. Des humains s’entretuer. Quand bien même chez les animaux, ces genre des situations arrivent rarement. J’ose espérer que ça ne se répétera plus jamais et que l’Afrique entière (pourquoi pas le monde entier) en a tiré les leçons.

In a recent roundup, El Oso recently recommended exploring African music:

If you’re looking for ways to cut down on the budget this year, stop downloading from iTunes and start exploring the world of African music. But be ethical. You should use at least half the money you save to support African music, arts, and culture. Calabash Music is an excellent resource for fair-trade music.

Tambour d'Afrique is a weekly radio show entirely devoted to Congolese music on Radio Triomphe in Haiti, and also a blog where the show can be heard as a podcast. For example, the one for January 4th. Occasionally, Tambour d'Afrique also shares music videos, such as the rap below against AIDS:

Ambiance Congo is another radio program entirely devoted to Congolese music on WRIR 97.3 FM Richmond Virginia, USA. And it is also a blog about the music of the show, such as the one of December 21 featuring the music of Les Bantous de la Capitale, or the most recent one which is a selection of 2008 Congolese music:

There has been a lot of talk about the style and quality of Congolese music released during 2008. A lot of that talk has been pretty negative, but I submit here that there were some very good CDs released despite all the flap. […] Even with the general opinion that there were a lot of less-than-stellar releases, on many CDs there were a number of really good songs. Hopefully you will hear something in this program that will make you smile!

The US National Public Radio (NPR) doesn't seem to agree with the negative talk about Congolese music released during 2008, since their Top 10 African music albums of the year are headed by a Congolese band - Kasai Allstars. For NPR, the trends of the year have been:

This has been a strong year for African music, with two big trends emerging. The first is the continuing integration of African music into the U.S. and European mainstream. Nigerian Afrobeat is played in virtually every major Western city these days. Africanized blues and rock acts continue to emerge in the U.S. and the U.K., while African-inspired riffs have turned up in the hands of indie-rock outfits like Vampire Weekend and jam bands like Toubab Krewe. Hip-hop is surging in Africa, but now African rappers in London (Emmanuel Jal) and Toronto (K'Naan) seem to be figuring out how to translate it successfully to the international stage.

The other trend is the ongoing unearthing of treasures from Afropop's “golden era,” particularly the '70s.

Fader Magazine described Kasai Allstars as follows, including the video of a rehearsing session in Kinshasa seen above:

A couple of years ago, music nerds (FADER employees) went nuts for the likembé jam sessions of Konono No 1, the first in Crammed Discs' Congotronics series and an intro to the DIY trance joints that we still put on when we need to totally divest ourselves from 3-minute pop songs. The newest Congotronics release, coming in September, is from Kinshasa's twenty-five strong supergroup the Kasai Allstars. Allstars is not a rhetorical device intended to make them sound awesome (they sound awesome), they are the best of five different bands from five different ethnic groups in the Kasai region who've decided that the world is mentally ready for overwhelmingly shredding electric guitar/thumb piano/lokole/likembe/xylophone/resonator drum/mult-vocalist dance numbers. We are ready. You are ready.

African Music Treasures is a blog that features rarities from the Voice of America (VOA) African music collection. A few months ago one of its authors, Matthew LaVoie, explained described his fascination with the band Konono No 1 in a post about Bakongo music:

One afternoon a friend-and fellow music enthusiast- came in to browse through whatever new releases had arrived that day, and as he made his way through our large collection of African music, he pulled out a CD called ‘Musiques Urbaines à Kinshasa'. […] I listened to it for the next four hours straight, turning up the volume every twenty minutes. By closing time it felt like ‘Le Tout Puissant Konono # 1′ had replaced my brain; the bass-Likembe runs rippled through my nervous system, every cymbal crash soothed the muscles in my neck, and the rhythmic accents of the whistle made my ears prick up like a hunting dog's.

When I finally made it to Kinshasa, in November of 2003, I hassled my hosts, and everyone else I spoke with, until I found a cassette vendor who could scratch my itch for more ‘urban' roots music from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. My obsessive-and I imagine, annoying- behavior led me first to a market stall in Matonge (the neighborhood that has long been Kinshasa's musical heart) with shelves full of cassettes, mostly of religious recordings.

Following the aforementioned trend of “unearthing treasures from Afropop's golden era”, there are several blogs devoted to sharing digitized versions of old tapes or vinyl records of vastly undiscovered African music recordings. A very popular French blog entirely devoted to Congolese music is Mbokamosika, that recently posted some classic songs by one of the pioneers of Congolese music, Léon Bukasa (born in 1925).

Another such blog is Matsuli Music, that in this post shared a double CD retrospective of Franco Luambo Makiadi, the “king of Congolese rumba”. Another such blog is Likembe, that takes the name of a traditional musical instrument consisting of a wooden board to which staggered metal keys have been attached. A while back, the blog also paid tribute to Franco with about a dozen of old recordings, saying:

In his day he strode the scene like an elephant, or more like a Brontosaurus, really - pretty much defining modern African music, not only in his native Congo, but throughout the continent.

Freddy Mulongo of Réveil-FM [Fr] features Michelino Mavatiku Visi, a famous rumba guitarist that played in Franco's orchestra, and posts a video of a recent French documentary about him titled “Michelino, star de la rumba” [Fr]:

In a different post, Likembe put up several 45s of classic music from the Congo (then known as Zaïre), all issued in Kenya in the early '80s.

Another blog that occasionally puts up digitized 45s is Sea Never Dry. In a post where you can hear a recording by Orchestre Veve Star, he explains how he found many of those records:

A while ago, Jontwa had called and said he'd found an mzee (Swahili for old man) with a big box of records. After several missed meetings, we finally managed to visit the old man, Janepaa (Jean-Pierre), quite a character: born in Mbandaka, Equator Province in Congo, sometime after WWI, adventured to Tanganyika after WWII, worked as a airplane/helicopter mechanic, and was also connected with Orchestre Makassy in some shape or form. […]

The big box of records had about 300 45s, some in plastic sleeves (as well as a bible in braille!). Lots of Congolese stuff and Kenyan-Congolese bands like Les Mangelepa. Most are in need of a very thorough cleaning but not all.

Kenyan blogger Steve Ntwiga, who is an occasional Global Voices contributor about music, reports that Congolese singer Samba Mapangala begins 2009 with a new digital album release and a series of high-profile performances:

Samba and his U.S.-based Virunga contingent have been invited to play at one of the Presidential Inauguration Balls in Washington DC on Jan. 20. And not just any one, this is the invitation-only black-tie gala “Africa on the Potomac: The Pan-African Inaugural Celebration of President Barack Obama,” co-hosted by the Government of the Republic of Kenya, African Diplomatic Corps, African Union, African Professionals in Washington DC, and the Corporate Council on Africa.

Other interesting blogs devoted to African music archaeology are Awesome Tapes from Africa, Analog Africa, Africolombia [Es] (that is focused on Afro-Caribeean music), Global Groove or African Sound System, among others.

If we speak about current Congolese music, one of the most interesting blogs is probably Ndule2Kin that showcases Congolese hip-hop artists such as Al Resis in the video below:

Some Congolese hip-hop artists have their own blogs, such as Kaysha, Marshall Dixon [Fr] or Baloji [Fr], among others. These are a few verses [Fr] from the song by Baloji in the video below:

Même si l'Occident a bon dos
Ça ne vous rendra pas le Congo
Le pillage de nos mineraux, de nos lingots
Ça ne vous rendra pas le Congo
Reproduire les schémas coloniaux
Ça ne vous rendra pas le Congo
Car la terreur vue d'ici c'est comme la terre vue du ciel
Ça paraît loin de nous, ça paraît irréel

And to close this post, something completely different: a video about the Kinshasa Symphony Orchestra -seen at the blog Africa is a country: