If you’re stuck for something to do on a Friday night in Dar Es Salaam, look no further than the bingo night at Upanga Club. You heard it here first.
The night is almost exclusively populated by Tanzanians of Indian origin, most of whom live close by in the centre of town, in an area that was first allocated to Indian ‘coolies’ by the British colonial administration.
The Upanga Club is a members club (which you pay a bit to join for the night), an old-fashioned place which also houses a squash court. The proceedings invariably begin with some delicious Indian food; slow to come but some of the best. Then the serious business of bingo must commence.I can confirm that the food is indeed delicious. Sadly I wasn't there on a Friday though. From Measure Mag.
The ruling National Resistance Movement has concluded its primaries, in an exercise that was shambolic and the true antithesis of popular democracy.
Election theft, violence, manipulation, intimidation and avarice are NRM’s “winning” strategy, which saw them they effectively used in the past two elections. Now Uganda is stuck with shameless leaders who will lie and tell cynical jokes at their own rape on democracy.
From the East African, my favourite newspaper in Africa.
An argument I’ve heard Paul Collier make in the past is that small countries don’t have a large enough market for specialised business/economics reporting, and so have weak accountability on economic policy. The East African, part of the Kenyan Nation Media Group, tackles this problem by covering the EAC states Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi, plus bits of Eastern DRC, Somalia, and Southern Sudan, a combined population of about 150 million people.
They also have an awesome cartoonist. Here is Gado on the catholic church. Dark.
