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Justice in Africa: An Overview of Recent Injustice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

A.B. Assensoh
A.B. Assensoh*
Affiliation:
Dillard University
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Extract

“The fact is that detention without trial is not only a punitive act of physical and mental torture of a few patriotic individuals, but it is also a calculated act of psychological terror against the struggling millions. It is a terrorist program for the psychological siege of the whole nation. That is why the practice of detention from the time of arrest to the time of release is deliberately invested with mystifying ritualism. My arrest, for instance.”—Ngugi wa Thiong’o from Detained: A Writer’s Prison Diary.

In the quotation above, Kenya’s Ngugi wa Thiong’o sums up the anguish of many Africans, writers, and non-writers alike. Because they address a national, and sometimes international, audience, writers are particularly prone to detentions without trial.

Type
Insight
Information
African Issues , Volume 15 , 1987 , pp. 91 - 96
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1987 

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References

Notes

1. Thiong’o, Ngugi wa, Detained: A Writer’s Prison Diary (London: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., 1981), p. 14.Google Scholar

2. A.B. Assensoh, “The Plight of African Journalists,” African World News (October 1984), p. 12.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Khuzwayo, Wiseman, “The Rand Daily Mail: Death of a Crusading Paper,” Concord Weekly (London) No. 45, (20 June, 1985), p.13.Google Scholar

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid.

10. Assensoh, op. cit., p. 12.

11. Ibid.

12. Ibid

13. Ibid.

14. Jr.Macauley, Winston Ojukutu, “Private Press Under Pressure,” Concord Weekly (London) No. 45, (20 June 1985), p. 14.Google Scholar

15. Ibid.

16. Ibid.

17. Puri, Shamkal, “The Daily Mengistu,” Concord Weekly (London), No. 45, (20 June, 1985), p. 15.Google Scholar

18. Ibid., p. 11

19. Ibid.

20. Ibid.

21. Assensoh, op. cit., p. 30.

22. Ibid.

23. Editor, “Malawi: Heavy Hand, Africa Confidential, Vol. 22 No. 13 (June 17, 1981), p. 8.

24. Duodu, Cameron, “Africa’s Abused Press,” Concord Weekly (London) No. 45, (20 June, 1985), p. 10.Google Scholar

25. Ngugi, op. cit., p. 14

26. Ibid., xi.

27. Ibid., xv.

28. Awoonor, Kofi, The Ghana Revolution, Background Account From a Personal Perspective (New York: Oases Publishers, 1984), pp. 61–86.Google Scholar

29. Wreh, Tuan, The Love of Liberty... (London: C. Hurst & Company, 1978), xii.Google Scholar

30. Perry, Alison, “The Fight is going One,” West Africa (London, England, 29 July 1985), p. 1544.Google Scholar

31. Ivan-Smith, Edda, “An Outspoken Fighter,” Concord Weekly (London) No. 45, (30 October, 1985), p. 23 Google Scholar

32. Ibid.

33. Ngugi, 22. cit., xv.