* Philip Gourevitch, of The New Yorker, probably still healing from the mauling he got over his admiration for Paul Kagame (and probably regretting losing his cool), decides it’s may be better to write about Rwanda’s national cycling team for the magazine. (Hint: It’s Tour de France month so let’s publish a piece about Africans and cycling.) Read it here. And here listen to Gourevitch talking about it.

* Rapper 50 Cent gets ambitious.

*  You know of the Zambian reality show for ‘former prostitutes’, aimed at teaching them baking and general cookery, so that they can find a husband? Winner has wedding paid for. Seriously.

* People get book deals for this kind of nonsense: First World Problems. Remember Stuff White People Like?

* “Four elderly Kenyans who say they were tortured by the British during the Mau Mau uprising have won the right to sue the Government. The decision is expected to encourage people around world to seek compensation claims against Britain for atrocities carried out under colonial rule.” And spare me the talk about reconciliation.

* Black people apparently don’t  go to Museums, tip, see a therapist or agree on what black people don’t do.  Apparently.

* The New York Times tries its hand at reporting cricket. Good publicity for new film, “Fire in Babylon,” about the victorious West Indies cricket team that dominated test and one day cricket between the mid to late 1970s and the mid-1990s.  The obligatory Joseph O’Neill quotes. But then the illustrations. That’s not Viv Richards in the picture.  I’ve been having a back and forth with fellow South Africans Jonathan Faull and Tony Karon about this and we agree that’s someone else.  I think it is Gordon Greenidge but they disagree. Cricket people?

* On film itself, this is what a Bajan told me: “…  On one hand it was great to see all that classic footage of West Indies cricket domination and I’m so happy that someone captured that remarkable time…I loved the segment on West Indies tour to Australia in 1976 and the [Kerry[ Packer years and the new team that emerged. That stuff was gripping. But most of it felt surface and obvious and I’m not sure if that’s because I know so much of the material already or because it was surface and obvious. There wasn’t really a problem to explore and it’s convenient how the history of the team ends before the abysmal plummet that any current fan of West Indies cricket is grappling with. There’s definitely a Part 2 that begs the question What the Hell Happened Next (“Who Killed King Cricket?”) which is what really consumes West Indians, the few who still care. I mean we couldn’t even get anyone to go see India play in Barbados this current test series.”

* If you don’t already, sign up for alerts from the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Africa researcher Mohamed Keita.  Here

* “Who’s created Mofongo?”:

* The “development-induced” displacement of the Ogiek people in Kenya (from Survivor International):

* The documentary film, “War Don Don,” about the trial before the International Criminal Court of an infamous Sierra Leonean rebel soldier has been nominated for two Emmys: For “Outstanding Continuous Coverage of a New Story–Long Form” and for “Outstanding Editing.”

Remember the trailer:

H/T: Our Stories, Neelika Jayawardane, Tony Karon, Jonathan Faull, and many others.

Further Reading

Kenya’s vibe shift

From aesthetic cool to political confusion, a new generation in Kenya is navigating broken promises, borrowed styles, and the blurred lines between irony and ideology.

Africa and the AI race

At summits and in speeches, African leaders promise to harness AI for development. But without investment in power, connectivity, and people, the continent risks replaying old failures in new code.

After the uprising

Years into Cameroon’s Anglophone conflict, the rebellion faces internal fractures, waning support, and military pressure—raising the question of what future, if any, lies ahead for Ambazonian aspirations.

In search of Saadia

Who was Saadia, and why has she been forgotten? A search for one woman’s story opens up bigger questions about race, migration, belonging, and the gaps history leaves behind.

Binti, revisited

More than two decades after its release, Lady Jaydee’s debut album still resonates—offering a window into Tanzanian pop, gender politics, and the sound of a generation coming into its own.

The bones beneath our feet

A powerful new documentary follows Evelyn Wanjugu Kimathi’s personal and political journey to recover her father’s remains—and to reckon with Kenya’s unfinished struggle for land, justice, and historical memory.

What comes after liberation?

In this wide-ranging conversation, the freedom fighter and former Constitutional Court justice Albie Sachs reflects on law, liberation, and the unfinished work of building a just South Africa.