Society catergory

Imagine a food market, almost anywhere in Uganda. Often it will have a section for matooke (green bananas). Usually, it is a beehive of calling out to customers, haggling, exchanging money, and carrying bunches of matooke about on bicycles, the head, shoulder, or arms. By Dominic Muwanguzi Now imagine a …

Three members of the Dawoodi Bohra sect of Islam were recently indicted on charges of “female genital mutilation” (FGM) in the U.S. state of Michigan. In Norway, meanwhile, one of the major political parties has backed a measure to ban childhood male circumcision. By Rebecca Steinfeld & Brian D Earp …

World Health Organisation confirms several dead in DR Congo The World Health Organization has confirmed an Ebola outbreak in a remote forested part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the first in that country since 2014. By May 12, at least nine people were suspected of being infected, and three …

Artist uses art to depict beauty, struggles, generosity By Joseph Ondiek On a recent visit to Abien Arts Center in Kigali, we found the proprietor and resident artist, Fabien Akizimana busy on pieces he hoped to present to the panel of The East Africa Art Biennale association (EASTAFAB), from where …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | An unlicensed Ebola vaccine could soon be tested in a remote region of the Democratic Republic of Congo hit by an outbreak of the virus, the World Health Organization said Thursday. There is no licensed vaccine for the Ebola virus, but a promising candidate vaccine …

Paris, France | AFP |  Weight-loss balloons swallowed rather than surgically inserted in the stomach were shown to be safe and effective in preliminary trials, according to findings unveiled Thursday at a medical conference. So-called intragastric balloons have been used for decades to help obese patients shed unwanted kilos. Inflated …

Cape Town, South Africa | AFP |  When an emergency call comes in from one of South Africa’s most crime-ridden neighbourhoods, ambulances do not rush straight to the scene but to a police station first to request an armed escort. A surge in attacks on ambulance workers has led to …

The Hague, Netherlands | AFP |  An 11-year-old “cyber ninja” stunned an audience of security experts Tuesday by hacking into a teddy bear via bluetooth to show how interconnected smart toys “can be weaponised”. American wunderkind Reuben Paul may be still only in 5th grade at his school in Austin, …

  What Uganda’s current and future politicians can learn from the life and character of Mzee Byanyima Although I knew he was old (at 96) and was aware of his declining health I was still shocked when I heard the news of the death of Mzee Boniface Byanyima. I have …

His barkcloth paper gives old material new image Dominic Muwanguzi How does someone in Uganda with limited formal education end up collaborating with a top British university on a groundbreaking innovation? That is the questions that Ugandan artist Mathias Tusiime’s collaboration with Newcastle University in England on the subject of …