Journalist at RFI (ex-DW, BBC, CBC, F24...), writer (on art, music, culture...), I work in radio, podcasting, online, on films.
As a writer, I also contributed to the New Arab, Art UK, Byline Times, the i Paper...
Born in Paris, I was based in Prague, Miami, London, Nairobi (covering East Africa), Bangui, and in Bristol, UK. I also reported from Italy, Germany, Haiti, Tunisia, Liberia, Senegal, India, Mexico, Iraq, South Africa...
This blog is to share my work, news and cultural discoveries.
En Ouganda, plusieurs suspects ont été arrêtés dans le cadre de l'enquête sur l'assassinat de la procureure chargée du dossier d'attentats islamistes en 2010, le le 30 mars à Kampala. L'un des suspects est un ancien détenu de la prison américaine de Guantanamo.
L'endroit où la procureure Joan Kagezi a été tuée par des hommes à moto, le 31 mars 2015 dans la banlieue de Kampala.AFP PHOTO/ ISAAC KASAMANI
Les Etats-Unis ont participé à l'interpellation de plusieurs des suspects ; l'un est en effet un ancien détenu de Guantanamo.
La porte-parole du département d'Etat, Marie Harf a confirmé "que des membres du gouvernement américain ont apporté leur soutien à une opération de l'Ouganda qui a permis d'appréhender plusieurs individus soupçonnés d'être impliqués dans l'assassinat de la procureure". Elle a également précisé que l'ancien détenu de la prison de Guantanamo "avait été libéré en 2006".
Il s'agit de Jamal KIYEMBA, ancien résidant au Royaume-Uni de nationalité ougandaise, arrêté au Pakistan en 2002 pour lien supposé avec Al Qaeda puis transféré à la prison de Guatanamo. Il avait été libéré en 2006 sans être inculpé. Il avait alors été renvoyé en Ouganda.
Au moins six personnes ont été arrêtées ces derniers jours, selon les autorités ougandaises, deux femmes et quatre hommes.
Fin mars, la police ougandaise indiquait n'avoir encore arrêté aucun suspect et ne privilégier aucune piste dans l'assassinat de Joan Kagezi, directrice adjointe du ministère public ougandais.
Elle avait été tué par des hommes armés et à moto le 30 mars à Kiwatule alors qu'elle faisait des courses.
Cette n°2 du Parquet dirigeait les poursuites dans de nombreuses affaires criminelles d'importance, dont le dossier du double attentat du 11 juillet 2010 à Kampala qui avait fait 76 morts. Une attaque revendiquée par mes islamistes somaliens al shebab.
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Le procès lié à cet attentat avait commencé le 17 mars dernier à Kampala et impliquait 13 accusés : sept Kényans, cinq Ougandais et un Tanzanien, poursuivis pour de nombreux chefs d'inculpation, dont ceux de terrorisme et de meurtres.
Il devait reprendre le 31 mars mais après le meurtre de la procureure, il a été reporté sine die.
1:54 NY Contemporary African Art Fair Reveals Lineup Of 70+ Artists
What do you think?
London’s 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair is crossing the Atlantic next month for its US debut during New York’s Frieze Week. Dubbed 1:54 NY, this satellite edition of the growing art gathering will set up shop at Brooklyn’s Pioneer Works from May 15-17. Yesterday, 1:54’s creator and director Touria El Glaoui revealed the lineup of artists and galleries exhibiting at the New York presentation. “Contemporary African art is continuing its rise to the fore as it is granted the attention it duly deserved,” El Glaoui said about expanding the fair. “In light of this, it seems only right that 1:54 would spread its wings to land in New York, where established and emerging African artists and artists of the African Diaspora are leading a burgeoning contemporary art scene that communicates across international geographies. The New York edition will retain the intimacy and charm that the setting of London’s Somerset House has made possible, and as always, will showcase the highest caliber of art to date, in an unrivaled setting.”
What do you think?
1:54 NY’s participating galleries, which come from Abidjan, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos, London, Marrakech, Milan and Paris, will feature works from 70+ African artists, including Gabonese painter Boris Nzebo, British-Nigerian draftswoman ruby onyinyechi amanze, legendary Malian portrait photographers Malick Sidibé andSeydou Keita, Senegalese fashion and fine arts photographer Omar Victor Diop, Kenyan visual artist Jim Chuchu, Beninese mixed-media artist Romuald Hazoumè, iconic Nigerian photographer J.D. Okhai Ojeikere, Mozambican sculptor Gonçalo Mabunda, Belgian-Beninese photographer Fabrice Monteiro, and Tunisian artist and researcher Nidhal Chamekh, among others. For more on the upcoming 1:54 NY fair head to their official website, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and see below for the full list of participating exhibitors and artists.
What do you think?
1:54 NY Selected Exhibitors
What do you think?
A Palazzo Gallery, Brescia / Afronova, Johannesburg / Art Twenty One, Lagos / ARTCO Gallery, Aachen / Axis Gallery, New York / Bennett Contemporary, Cape Town / CIRCA Gallery, Johannesburg / Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, Abidjan / Jack Bell Gallery, London / Magnin-A, Paris / Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Seattle / NOMAD Gallery, Brussels / Primo Marella Gallery, Milan / SMAC Gallery, Cape Town / VOICE Gallery, Marrakech
1:54 NY Selected Artists
What do you think?
Aboudia Leonce Raphael Agbodjelou Leila Alaoui ruby onyinyechi amanze Olu Amoda Joël Andrianomearisoa Younes Baba-Ali Sammy Baloji Steve Bandoma Wayne Barker Rim Battal Daniel Blom Conrad Botes Armand Boua Frédéric Bruly Bouabré Nathalie Boutté Edson Chagas Nidhal Chamekh Jim Chuchu Soly Cissé Bruce Clarke Peter Clarke Barend de Wet Calixte Dakpogan Omar Victor Diop Bright Ugochukwu Eke Theo Eshetu François-Xavier Gbré John Goba Maïmouna Guerresi Romuald Hazoumè Ayana V. Jackson Seydou Keïta Lebohang Kganye Abdoulaye Konaté Lawrence Lemaoana Toyin Loye Gonçalo Mabunda Ibrahim Mahama Abu Bakarr Mansaray Megumi Matsubara Vincent Michéa Jean-Paul Mika Bobson Sukhdeo Mohanlall Shula Monsengo Fabrice Monteiro Jean-Claude Moschetti Richard Mudariki Lavar Munroe Vitshois Mwilambwe Bondo Cheikh Ndiaye Boris Nzebo J.D.’Okhai Ojeikere Gérard Quenum Chéri Samba Amadou Sanogo Kura Shomali Malick Sidibé Ransome Stanley Pathy Tshindele Eric van Hove Billie Zangewa Asha Zero
The insider's cultural guide to Nairobi: Tusker beer, urban slang and 'writivism'
From Lupita Nyong’o street art to occupied playgrounds and poking fun at socialites, let Josephine Opar guide you round Kenya’s capital
Nairobi culture in five words
Beeps from security wands and metal detector machines are the norm in Nairobi, because of the compulsory security checks at every major building, mall, event locations and some buses in the city. In short, security checks are everywhere. Individuals are required to put their bags and phones in trays while they walk through the metal detector machine and in some places security guards also frisk people.
Everyone’s tuning into …
The Trend, NTV’s hit show, chats with popular and polarising personalities that people in Kenya are talking about on Twitter: from pop stars to skin-bleaching socialites.
The look on the street
Nairobians are all about mixing local and international trends. Local accessories are popular, while clothes are often sourced from markets (mtumba), or from vendors who select pieces from overseas. Designers and tailors are increasingly becoming a popular choice for producing original attire.
Kuona Trust is a vibrant and accessible arts space in the Hurlingham district of the city. It’s a great place for discovering local painters, glass artists, visual artists, sculptors and photographers, who showcase their work there at regular exhibitions and installations, events, workshops and community outreach programmes.
Kuona markets many Nairobi-based artists. Recently, director Sylvia Gichia spoke out about the Venice Biennale scandal, which sees Chinese and Italian artists representing Kenya instead of local artists, for the second time.
What’s the big talking point?
Digital migration – three leading private TV stations operating on analogue platforms were switched off for three weeks in February for failing to migrate to digital. The conflict caused Kenyans on social media to swap memes making fun of the situation. Now that all the stations are back on air, Kenyans are required to purchase set-top boxes to watch local channels, unless they already have satellite TV.
Fena is a solo singer-songwriter whose take on the urban-soul genre is swaggy and relatable. She is proudly African, from her dreads to her lyrics she stands out as a positive, “fena-menal” woman. The artist recently shared a stage with the legendary South African singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka.
What Nairobi does better than anyone else …
Tusker beer is made in Nairobi, and is popular with Kenyans and tourists alike. Locals often drink it with nyama choma (barbecued meat). Now that police are on the look-out for drunk drivers, Kenyans are doing their best to enjoy their alcoholic beverages responsibly and avoid failing the “alco-blow” tests.
Westmoreland House (left) opened in 1966, while the Carriageworks was built in 1862
A derelict listed building at risk of being lost could finally be redeveloped, but hundreds of people have objected to the plans that will be debated later.
Developing the Carriageworks would provide much-needed housing in Bristol and rid the Stokes Croft community of an "eyesore". But, would it destroy the soul of an area famed for street art by the likes of Banksy?
"He's arguably the most significant artist ever to come out of Bristol," says Chris Chalkley, chairman of community group the Peoples Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC).
"That building, which was the first carriage showroom anywhere, deserves better than to be turned into luxury flats."
Mr Chalkley is not talking about artist Banksy, who painted his famed mural The Mild Mild West further along Stokes Croft.
He is talking about architect EW Godwin, who built the Grade II* listed Carriageworks in 1862, for horse carriage manufacturers John Perry and Sons.
The Mild Mild West, on Stokes Croft, is one of the most loved and known Banksy artworks in Bristol
But, both buildings have been empty for three decades, and their deterioration largely contributed to English Heritage classifying the entire Stokes Croft Conservation Area as "at risk".
Now, a planning application for Westmoreland House to be demolished and for the Carriageworks to be turned into 118 flats has been recommended for approval at a Bristol City Council meeting later.
The report for the council's planning committee also acknowledges 1361 objections from the public, while there have been just 21 responses in support.
Many people, including the PRSC, fear the gentrification of the area.
"If this development goes ahead it will irrevocably change the nature of the area," said Mr Chalkley.
"Stokes Croft is an area that's always had an independent spirit. It's an area that's become a beacon of alternative thinking."
He remembers Stokes Croft being "shunned" through decades of neglect by people in power, but says the community turned the area around for itself.
People now come from all over the world to see the street art and experience being in an "outdoor gallery", he says.
"We now find ourselves where after 30 years of dereliction, and the community having developed within that, all of that can be swept away because some developers from elsewhere deem that might be a good thing," says Mr Chalkley.
"In 2011, this community had Tesco forced upon it and we saw what happened."
A protest march is also planned against the Carriageworks development, to coincide with the council meeting.
English Heritage, which has since been succeeded by Historic England, has backed the council in support of the application.
The site has been on the Heritage At Risk Register since 1998, and is one of Historic England's risk priority sites in the South West.
In his letter to the council Simon Ramsden, principal inspector of historic buildings and areas, said he hoped the proposals "can be delivered in the near future in order to prevent any further damage" to the important building.
The Carriageworks Action Group (CAG), an alliance of residents and businesses, agrees the building needs developing, but says the proposals are not good enough.
"What's proposed is bland, boring and a pastiche, what you would find in any boring high street in any clone town in the country," says Lori Streich, who chairs the group.
The group wants an "innovative and interesting design" that befits the "iconic and fantastic" design of the Carriageworks.
CAG, supported by the council, had been working on its own proposals with a housing association called Knightstone, but these were put on hold following the planning application by Fifth Capital London.
The community had wanted a mix of affordable housing and units for small businesses.
"What we want and what the community desperately needs is affordable housing, and the Fifth Capital proposals are for only eight out of 118 to be affordable," says Ms Streich.
The city's mayor, George Ferguson, says the council remains "committed to the regeneration of this eyesore site", and will continue to consider options for a compulsory purchase order should the owner either fail to secure planning consent or to develop the site.
Bristol Civic Society supported the work of CAG and Knightstone, but also supports the current planning application.
It has wanted the Carriageworks to be developed for years, although it has opposed all previous planning applications.
"The current application is a pretty attractive one," says chairman Simon Birch.
"The quality of the architecture is good and if it gets built in the way that is proposed it will look fantastic."
He believes the 1960s building is "a horror" and welcomes its demolition.
Fifth Capital London director Marc Pennick sounds surprised by the opposition he has encountered in Bristol.
"People say they want investment but it seems that certain factions of the area don't want change," he says.
Fifth Capital London does not own the property, but Mr Pennick says he has agreed to buy it from Comer Homes if planning permission is given.
He likes the Carriageworks because it is a listed building, and he sees it as "a great opportunity to put something back into the area".
Mr Pennick estimates between £15m and £20m is needed to develop it, and the only way to raise this "serious amount of money" is by building and selling flats.
The decision is now in the hands of councillors, but Mr Pennick says he will "find a way forward" even if they refuse permission.
"I've started this," he says. "I'm not going to stop."
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My pictures from Stokes Croft, taken in February 2015:
Banksy's famous "Mild Mild West" at the Hamilton House on Stokes Croft:
Medical staff console a woman after she viewed the body of a relative killed in the attack at Garissa University. Photograph: Khalil Senosi/AP
Fighter jets have bombed two al-Shabaab camps in southern Somalia, Kenyan officials said on Monday, as more details emerged of the model-student-turned-jihadi who took part in a massacre that left 148 dead.
In the first major military response to last week’s attack by the militant group on Garissa University, jets hit what were described as al-Shabaab camps in two villages in the Gedo region of southern Somalia, close to the border with Kenya.
A spokesman for the Kenyan military, Colonel David Obonyo, said the al-Shabab camps which were used to store weapons and for logistical support were destroyed, but it was not possible to determine the number of casualties because of poor visibility.
The bombings, which followed President Uhuru Kenyatta’s promise to retaliate in “the severest way possible” to the attack, in which dozens of cowering students were lined up and shot in the head at close range, came as a government source told Reuters that governors, members of parliament and security officials from regions bordering Somalia would compile a list of people suspected to have joined al-Shabaab or been radicalised by Islamists.
“The message is very clear: we have to deal with this problem once and for all,” said the official, adding that regional governors had discussed the idea with Kenyatta on Monday.
Hawa Yusuf, who lives in a village near the town of Beledhawa that is close to the Kenyan-Somali border, said the Kenyan warplanes “were hovering around for a few minutes, then started bombing.” She didn’t know if there were any casualties, she said by phone. Another resident of the village, Ali Hussein, said the airstrikes hit a grassland “where nomads often take their animals for grazing.”
As Kenya began the second of three days of national mourning, meanwhile, people digested the shock identity of one of the gunmen.
Abdirahim Abdullahi – whose name was first revealed by the Kenyan journalist Yassin Juma on his blog and later confirmed by Kenyan authorities – was described by friends as a “brilliant, upcoming lawyer” and an A-grade student who took a mysterious turn to radical Islam at some point between school and university.
Abdullahi was the son of a chief – a Kenyan government official whose job includes identifying criminals to the police and arbitrating in local disputes.
Friends described the gunman, who had secured an internship at a major bank that recruits many Muslim graduates, as a bright student who began to show signs of radicalisation during his college studies, even as he gave motivational lectures to high-school pupils.
“He used to make the students laugh with his words, quoting wise people and motivate them to do the best they can. He was the perfect lawyer. He had his way with people,” a former student said.
One student described a conversation with Abdullahi and another of his former schoolmates Mohamed Atom, who is the only Kenyan known to have joined Islamic State in Syria, after one of its motivational lectures.
He told the Sahan Journal website that the lawyer-turned-jihadi and his friend spoke of the futility of western education and repeatedly brought up the question of dying to advance the cause of religion.
“After the lecture, they kept talking about how secular education was not useful,” said a previous student who engaged him afterwards. “He kept saying: ‘We need to strengthen our connection with Allah. It is the knowledge of Islam that will only be useful to you today and in the hereafter.’”
Alarmed by the prospect of more Kenyans returning from jihadi training camps to take part in terror atrocities, the authorities urged relatives whose children had disappeared to come forward.
“It is indeed very necessary and critical that parents whose children go missing or show tendencies of having been exposed to violent extremism report to authorities to help prevent further escalation of radicalisation”, Mwenda Njoka, an interior ministry spokesman, told the Standard newspaper.
The Garissa attack came amid a debate about Kenya’s involvement in a UN-backed, African Union troop mission to tackle al-Shabaab in Somalia.
Although the Kenyan military has enjoyed considerable success on the battlefield, taking few casualties and pushing the terror group from most populated centres in southern Somalia, the mission has come at the cost of more than 400 Kenyan lives.
Al-Shabaab, which at one point controlled most of Somalia, has lost swaths of territory in recent years but diplomats have repeatedly warned this has not diminished its ability to stage guerrilla-style attacks at home and abroad.
It has threatened to turn Kenyan cities “red with blood” and police have stepped up security at shopping malls and public buildings in the capital, Nairobi, and in the eastern coastal region, which is popular with tourists and has been prone to attacks.
L'endroit où la procureure Joan Kagezi a été tuée par des hommes à moto, le 31 mars 2015 dans la banlieue de Kampala.AFP PHOTO/ ISAAC KASAMANI
