The largest ransom ever has been paid for the release of a ship off East Africa. Andrew Mwangura, a Somali living in Kenya was the negotiator of the deal.
Andrew Mwangura has the underground world of African piracy wired. Somali pirates trust him. Warlords respect him. And human-rights activists admire him for putting his neck on the line to keep sailors safe on the lawless high seas
Read his interview on the Daily Beast.
Also, check on AfricanLoft to read about the two groups of pirates operating off the Somali coast: one group blogs to the seven pirate clans in Somalia, but the other does not. They are foreigners, and they don’t hijack ships, they loot Somali coastal waters of its fish stock, and pollute the water in return.
Some Happenings in my Neck of the Woods:
What is America agenda in Somalia? Peace? Fight terrorism? Strategic relevance?
“Washington backed the warlords in their losing battle against the Islamists. And it tacitly approved Ethiopia’s military intervention to support the TFG. It has even been passing aerial surveillance reports to Addis Ababa, according to US news reports. Preoccupied with the spectre of Islamic terrorism, the White House is thus party to an attempt by a repressive regime in Ethiopia to replace a popular de facto government in Somalia with a widely reviled official one. It is a dangerous gamble.”
Check Ethan Zuckerman’s …My heart’s in Accra for some insight.
Is Uganda Africa’s Newest Investment Darling?
“In the African context, if we are talking about recent economic growth amidst large hurdles, it is difficult to disregard Uganda. This is a country that has endured some major trials and has slowly over time edged it’s way back into a period of sustained economic growth. Does this make Uganda a role model for other developing economies wishing to grow foreign direct investment?”
Benin “Mwangi” on Business News from Africa has the facts
Continue reading…
Still grumpy from the sour taste the Blood Diamonds movie left in my mouth last night, I woke up to read about the war between Somalia and Ethiopia. What a way to celebrate theYuletide!
The hand-writings of the war mongers have been very clear on the wall, and events in the last couple of weeks have strongly suggested the region is going to explode; however, I had hopes that somehow, a reasonable and peaceful resolution would be achieved well before the rivers of tears and blood begin to flow, yet again on another African battlefront.
From Sudan/Darfur, then Chad, now to Somalia/Ethiopia.
Nuts!
Check the facts and more stories here:
Wikipedia: Ethiopian Involvement in Somalia
EthioBlog: Ethiopia Hits Somali Targets, Declaring War
Global Voices Online: Somali-Ethiopia Conflict Looms Over Ethiopian Blogosphere