BBC Focus on Africa Magazine

Thank you for featuring stories of African monarchs in your last edition. Kudos to well-preserved royal structures like the Moroccan, Lesotho and Swazi kingdoms.

I would also acknowledge the Buganda and Ashanti monarchy for surviving against all odds, partaking in and even influencing regional and national politics.

This traditional system of governance is our African heritage and we should fight tooth and nail to ensure its continuity.

In Cameroonian kingdoms, royalty is a joke. The dignity and glamour associated with local kings is an illusion.

In francophone Cameroon it is worse; kings go about dressed like French colonial administrators.

I think they ought to follow the example of Sultan Njoya of the Bamoum kingdom, who is one of a few I would highly recommend.

Ifang Akofu, Bamenda, Cameroon

A grave mistake

As a Mosotho man born and brought up in Lesotho, I love reading your magazine.

However, your information box on monarchy on page 18 of the July-September issue states that our King Letsie III has 11 wives and the monarchy is elective.

I wish to complain that the information in this noble magazine is far from the truth and is misleading on many fronts.

Our king has one wife and he is not elected by anybody.

For one thing, our monarchy is neither constitutional nor elective but rather it is lineage oriented, hence, by virtue of being born a son in the royal family, one will definitely become a monarch.

This is a serious issue against the Lesotho monarch as well as the Basotho nation.

Reverend Thabang Moloi, Lesotho

Ed's note: Our sincere apologies for the errors

Putting the poor first

I was very impressed by the direct and succinct way in which Peter Singer describes Africa's poverty and his formidable recommendations for tackling the scourge in your latest issue.

As an African from one of the poorest countries in the world, I have noticed the mediocre nature of many development projects, most of them driven by the desire for quick photos to please donors.

But as Singer rightly suggests, the point of giving should not be about making the rich feel good, but rather to improve the condition of the poor.

I also agree that Africa needs many experimental projects and independent evaluations to determine ones that work best.

Joseph Ben Kaifala, Freetown, Sierra Leone

Proud to be black

The article on skin bleaching in your last issue caught my attention.

Though I am an African with a dark skin, I am proud of it.

It is difficult for me to fathom why my fellow African brothers and sisters go to the extent of peeling their skin in the name of beauty and social dignity with such dangerous chemicals.

God in his wisdom knows the environmental and weather conditions in the tropics; that is why he endowed us with a lot of melanin in our skins to prevent skin diseases.

The onus now lies on us to help educate others on the dangers of skin bleaching.

Thompson Daniel Korle-Gonno, Accra, Ghana

Don't turn a blind eye

I shed tears after reading the report on the Ogaden region in your latest edition.

I believe the UN, the so-called AU and the Ethiopian government are not doing the civilians in the Ogaden region justice.

The constant attack on these civilians is unacceptable, barbaric and inhumane.

I blame the international community for not doing enough to address the concerns of the Ogaden people.

William Kokulo, Monrovia, Liberia

Securing the fans

As Africa and the rest of the world get ready to move to South Africa for 2010 to witness another exciting sporting event, as covered in your last issue, I am satisfied that aviation, electricity, stadiums and hotel facilities have been sorted out, but I have concerns about the security issues.

With the increasing crime rate in South Africa, I am now calling on the UN, AU and EU to help the South African government and Fifa to ensure proper security for our players and visitors.

The deaths of the South African reggae star Lucky Dube and a political opposition member during the South African election increases my fear.

Until the issues of security concerns are addressed, my presence in South Africa to see my African team will remain in serious doubt.

William Kokulo, Monrovia, Liberia

Putting the record straight

I am the head of a newly established diaspora forum called the Somali Regional Peace and Development Forum.

Our forum advocates peace, dialogue and development in the Somali inhabited region of Ethiopia.

I am writing to express our deep disappointment about your recent publication of an article on the Somali region of Ethiopia (aka the Ogaden).

Our forum feels that the content of this article flies in the face of the long-standing tradition of the BBC's impartiality.

We also feel that it is poor editorial judgment, as the accounts of the story are fictitious and the contributors have either knowingly or unknowingly allowed themselves to be influenced by groups such as the Ogaden National Liberation Front who advocate violence and terrorist activities in the region.

We believe that the alleged accusations of mass graves, of rape and of widespread human rights abuses by the Ethiopian federal government is unfounded and has no truth to it.

This article also neglects to highlight the massive improvements of the lives of the people of this region brought about by the existing federal dispensation, compared to previous Ethiopian regimes.

Nuur Hassan, London, United Kingdom

This is a selection of letters published in the July - September 2009 edition of Focus on Africa magazine.

Write to 'Letters', BBC Focus on Africa magazine, Bush House, PO Box 76, Strand, London, WC2B 4PH; fill out the form on the top right hand side of this page; or email us at

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