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harinjaka displays random note on topical issue between 20° 00' South latitude and 47° 00' East longitude, often tying together different strands of observations, pictures, videos and anecdotes.


harinjaka by Andriankoto Ratozamanana is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence © Copyright 2009.


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An Evening with one of the most inspiring young photographer from Africa.

Yesterday, I spent  the evening with one of the finest and most promising young photographer from Africa.

Boniface Mwangi is an award winning photojournalist based in Kenya. His work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Sunday Times, International Herald Tribune and BBC Focus in Africa Magazine among other International publications. He is the first Kenyan to be named the CNN Africa Photojournalist of the Year 2008.
In his words:

"I see myself as a visual artiste using photography as the vehicle for social change in my country, which has experienced a lot of impunity, the latest manifestation being 2007 December's political convulsions that left over 1000 dead and half a million displaced."

Boniface was the eye of Kenyans during the post-election violence and showed courage and compassion to capture the images across the country that made newspaper headlines all over the world.

"Boniface images are crucial for the healing of our nation, his ability to stay focus and inject a sense of artistry into his work is a testimony to the spirit of professional journalism" wrote Jackson Biko after Boniface was voted Kenya Photojournalist of the year by the Adam magazine readers. He holds very strong opinions on leadership and governance issues.


He has worked on assignments in Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, China, Somalia, Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa, and France and covered the election of President Barack Obama in the USA. His work has been exhibited in French Cultural Centre Nairobi, Goethe Institue, the national Museums of Kenya, The Godown Art Centre and New York at the Tank Art Studio.

via bonifacemwangi.com

Check out his Conversation and profile at Snapped
In Photos: Kenya Election Violence by Boniface Mwangy

Check www.pichamtaani.com

         
Click here to download:
An_Evening_with_one_of_the_mos.zip (3369 KB)

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Filed under  //  Democracy   Elections   Kenya   Leadership   My Hero   Photo   Politics  
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Posted 2 months ago by Andriankoto Ratozamanana 

Tension mounts after Gabon presidential elections - CNN.com

(CNN) -- Security forces patrolled deserted streets in Gabon's capital as citizens of the west African nation awaited official presidential results amid growing fears of violence, witnesses told CNN on Thursday.

Manifestation du 7/8/9 à Libreville, Gabon

Voters in the oil-rich nation went to the polls Sunday to elect a successor to President Omar Bongo, who died in June after more than four decades in office.

Bongo, 73, was Africa's longest-serving ruler. His son, Ali Bongo, a candidate for the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party, was one of the main contenders.

Local media reports indicated that the younger Bongo had won, but CNN was unable to confirm those results.

"The Gabonese have come out of 42 years of dictatorship; they don't care who will be the next president, as long as it is not Bongo," Andriankoto Ratozamanana told CNN by phone from the capital, Libreville. "They want change. They don't want Bongo, because he is his dad's son."

Libreville was deserted because residents had fled to villages for fear of post-election violence, Ratozamanana said.

"The citizens won't accept if Ali Bongo wins, because that will mean the government stole the vote," Ratozamanana said.

The younger Bongo, a former defense minister, was one of 23 politicians originally in the ballot. Several candidates pulled out a few days before the vote to support the opposition, said Archippe Yepmou, a media activist.

Bongo, main opposition leader Pierre Mamboundou and former interior minister Andre Mba Obame have all claimed victory.

The elder Bongo took power in 1967, seven years after the country's independence from France.

He imposed one-party rule a year after succeeding the country's first president, who died in office. He allowed multiparty elections after a new constitution in 1991, but his party retained its grip on the government despite that.

The nation of about 1.5 million has a per capita income four times that of most sub-Saharan African nations, according to the CIA World Factbook.

Despite its wealth, which also comes from timber exports, a large percentage of its population lives in poverty because of poor financial management and a huge gap between the rich and the poor.

via edition.cnn.com

 

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Filed under  //  Africa   Democracy   Elections   Gabon   Leadership  
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Posted 2 months ago by Andriankoto Ratozamanana 

Ali Bongo declared winner, but will opposition admit defeat? | The Observers

via flickr.com

Ali Bongo has just been declared winner of Sunday's presidential election. But his 41.73% majority is unlikely to go unchallenged. Yesterday, our Observer ANdriankoto Harinjaka Ratozamanana spoke to Bongo's biggest opponent, Pierre Mamboundou, who said that he would not recognise the victory of late president Omar Bongo's son, who he considers "fraudulent".

This post was updated after it was published, at 2pm Paris time.

“The figures given are figures fiddled with”

 

Andriankoto's interview with Pierre Mamboundou, filmed at Peace Square yesterday.

"The result that the electoral committee will give is not a result of the vote," he says. "Mr Ali Bongo can't have got 52%. The figures given are figures fiddled with. The Gabonese people are protesting their discontent."

When asked if he fears the worst, Mamboundou replies: "What do you think, that people with bare hands can kill policemen?"

Ali Bongo opponents already dancing round his "coffin"

Andriankoto also sent us this video, filmed last night at Democracy Place, Peace Square, where opponents of Ali Ben Bongo gathered to protest his forecast victory.

 

Quotes from protesters in the video:
“The Gabonese don't want Ali anymore.”
“For us Ali is dead, we don't want him in power.”
“The Gabonese people want Mamboundou.”

via observers.france24.com

 

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Filed under  //  Africa   Democracy   Elections   Gabon  
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Posted 2 months ago by Andriankoto Ratozamanana