Kimani wa Wanjiru interviews Professor Abdilatif Abdalla, a writer jailed by the Kenyatta regime after he questioned the direction in which it was guiding Kenya in a political pamphlet. Ironically the anthology of poems Abdalla wrote while in prison won the 1974 Jomo Kenyatta Award for Literature, which was named after the very man who incarcerated him.

A new addition to the African murder mystery genre, Ghanaian Yaba Badoe explores the mystery – literal and symbolic – of coming of age outside Africa.

Nnimmo Bassey examines how minority rights are still not protected in oil-rich regions of Nigeria. Oil companies and the national government could contribute to improving infrastructure and services for communities that are paying the environmental and social price of oil extraction, Bassey argues.

In Rio de Janeiro, soccer players concluded the Homeless World Cup in late September. Hundreds of homeless men and women from dozens countries participated in this year’s tournament, drawing crowds of thousands. But the event wasn’t just about soccer, it was about changing lives. Vusumzi Shushu is quick and agile on the soccer field. He has to be. That’s what a life on the streets will teach you. 'I spent eight years on the streets, also done some drugs and I’ve been in prison,' he says. 'And I’ve realized in three years that god gave me a gift so why don’t I use that to make a living instead of doing all the crazy things that I do.'

Tutu Alicante of EG Justice calls for support 'to cancel definitively the UNESCO-Obiang Prize'.

Gado considers reactions were Mugabe to die.

Ratepayers could end up paying for Cape Town stadium's operating costs after Sail Stadefrance walked out on a 30-year lease to manage the property. The city will take over management of the R4,4-billion stadium. Sail Stadefrance said it had projected 'substantial losses' if it took up the project.

Freedom House recently joined Global Witness, The Center for Economic and Social Rights, EG Justice, Human Rights Watch, The Open Society Justice Initiative, and Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos de España in calling on UNESCO to cancel the UNESCO-Obiang Nguema Mbasogo International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences. The prize is named for, and funded by, President Obiang of Equatorial Guinea, whose highly corrupt regime led Freedom House to list the country as one of the world’s worst human rights abusers.

Under one per cent of poetry books published in the UK are by black or Asian poets. 'This is, quite simply, not fair,' says Bernardine Evaristo, one of the editors of Ten, a poetry anthology published by Bloodaxe Books. A week before the launch of Ten, Jeremy Hunt, the secretary of state for culture, Olympics, media and sport told delegates at the Media Festival Arts that he is firmly in favour of 'broadening participation' in the arts and is 'very ashamed' that we still live in a country 'where many, many people don't get a chance to access the arts'. Unfortunately, writes Lara Pawson in the London Guardian, what he said next was not as hopeful: 'The debate has got to move on from the kind of box-ticking targets approach that says that in return for your grant from the Arts Council, you will get so many people from particular ethnic or social backgrounds.'

Kenya must intervene immediately in Uganda's arrest of Muslim Human Rights Forum director Al Amin Kimathi, who was arrested and jailed on his way to observe the trials of eight Kenyans suspected of plotting the bomb attacks in Kampala during the World Cup final. Not only is Kimathi’s arrest unlawful, Muthoni Wanyeki writes, but the treatment of the Kenyan suspects also contravenes human rights.

Rwanda President Paul Kagame and security…

Directed and edited by Kagendo Murungi,‘Taking Freedom Home’ celebrates the creativity and vibrance of diverse LGBTGNC (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Gender Non Conforming) movements and particularly the historical initiatives of trans and gender nonconforming people of colour in New York and throughout the US from the Stonewall Uprising in 1969 to the Critical Resistance (CR10) conference in 2008.

Although Nigerian authors no longer have to rely on European publishers to have their work disseminated, Nigerian publishing houses still control much of the access to readership for emerging authors, Emmanuel Iduma, publisher of the online literary journal ‘Saraba’, tells Sokari Ekine. Online journals like ‘Saraba’ can help young writers develop confidence and publish their work regardless of their experience level.

Featuring a rich representation of African poetic and musical voices, Poetry Africa on Tour kicks off at the Cape Town ICC on Sunday 26th September. Further satellite programmes take place in Harare, Zimbabwe, on 28th and 29th, then Blantyre, Malawi, on 1st October before culminating at the main Poetry Africa festival in Durban from4th to 9th October.

Attempts to measure the tangible and intangible benefits left by the World Cup suggest that while expenditure on infrastructure and stadiums significantly boosted the economy and had some impact on job creation, overall gains were skewed in favour of the economic and political elite. Justin Sylvester and Daniel Harju of the Political Information & Monitoring Service (PIMS) at Idasa also argue that the disproportionate influence exerted by external actors such as FIFA and the international community reflect the ongoing poor levels of accountability and transparency enjoyed by our own citizens.

Gado's latest cartoon depicts Goodluck Jonathan's intentions for the Nigerian presidential race.

Poets from around South Africa, Africa and the world will descend on Durban for an exhilarating rollercoaster of words, rhythms and ideas at the 14th Poetry Africa international poetry festival, which takes place from 4 to 9 October. Organised by the Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal), and with principal support from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, Poetry Africa’s exciting week-long programme is preceded by a three-stop Poetry Africa tour to Cape Town, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

The Nigerian cartoonist shares his perspective on the issues of the day, from politics and the media to population emergencies.

Gijsbert Oonk’s history of the Karimjee Jeevanjis, a prominent South Asian family in the East Coast of Africa, speaks ‘volumes on the era of migration and issues of identity’, writes Fatma Alloo. Part of a wave of new writing ‘from Asian-African perspectives’, ‘it could be that now is the beginning of coming of age of a community which so far has engaged in life in East Africa, but has not put down in a concerted way from its own perspective what that life is and how they feel about it’, says Alloo.

Congolese-Brazilian artist Mbiya 'Papy' Kabengele – whose work can be found at – displays a selection of his illustrations and cartoons.