XM Satellite Radio until last winter was the only one of the two satellite radio receivers that carried a channel dedicated to African music, called Ngoma XM. Ngoma is the Swahili word for drum. However, soon after Hurricane Katrina hit and just before Christmas, XM became the grinch and yanked the channel 102 off its lineup of stations on the receiver and consigned it to an online only station.

XM Satellite Radio and its only other competitor in the satellite radio business, Sirius had 9.3 million paying subscribers in the as 2005 closed with XM having the majority of the subscribers at 6 million. Both companies charge $12.95 per month for a subscription. In turn subscribers receive over hundred channels of mostly commercial free programming. The two stations also entered the Canadian market last year with the potential number of subscribers forecasted at 2 million.

As the rescue efforts intensified in the Katrina impacted areas, Ngoma XM was forced to give up its space to the Red Cross and was off the receiver for about a month. After it came back on, there was little warning of the impending changes. A call to the XM customer service while the channel was off the receiver during Katrina yielded little to worry about as the representative said some of the channels were being reassigned channel numbers.

A few weeks before Christmas, channel 102 was now

instead of Ngoma XM. It is a Pop Hits station broadcast in French. When contacted for comment for this article, Judith Pryor, Senior Vice-President for Corporate Affairs at World Space, the operator of Ngoma said the removal of Ngoma from the receivers was XM’s decision and referred all queries to them. Also affected by the reshuffling of channels is WorldZone, which also suffered the same fate as Ngoma by being reduced to a web cast only station. WorldZone played an eclectic mixture of music from all parts of the world.

Anne-Taylor Griffith, Corporate Affairs Manager at XM told Mshale via email that the launching of XM Canada last year required additional programming including the addition of three French language channels. Asked whether the decision to eliminate Ngoma from the receiver was driven in part by the number of listeners to those two channels, Ms. Griffith said “We generally don’t publicly share details about individual channel listenership for competitive reasons”.

The only channel categorized as World that survived the shakeup was The Joint, a reggae station which is still available via the receiver.

Both Ms. Pryor and Ms. Griffith emphasized that Ngoma is still available via the web just not in your car.

Worldspace was founded by Ethiopian immigrant Noah Samara in 1990 and launched its two satellites AsiaStar and AfriStar in 1998. It provides digital audio broadcasts in 130 countries and recently announced it had surpassed 115,000 subscribers in mostly developing countries in Asia, Africa and parts of
Europe
. The company went public last year and is listed on the NASDAQ and is currently valued at over $400 million. Mr. Samara is currently the CEO at WorldSapce. Worldspace being the pioneer in satellite radio technology helped in the launching of XM Satellite Radio and the irony of the African founder having the channel dedicated to his place of origin removed downgraded in such a manner has struck many as very interesting indeed.

One of those disappointed by the removal of Ngoma from the receiver is DJ Top Donn (Donald Owino) who does the exclusive music chart for Mshale. He also compiles some of the selections heard on Ngoma. He is one of the DJs that mix for the popular Moto Mix, a two hour show on weekend evenings that showcases the best of African club music. He said some of the people he knows are already canceling the service as they listen to it mostly in their cars. “Unlike in your car, you have choices when you are on the web so people have to make the decision whether not having it on the receiver makes sense for them”, he said.

Several dozens of African immigrants, mostly Somalis, gathered at a packed basketball court inside Brian Coyle community center near Riverside high-rises in Minneapolis on Sunday, January 16, for a fund-raiser event aimed to help the drought-stricken East Africa, especially
Northeastern Kenya
– a region mostly inhabited by ethnic Somalis.

In just over three hours, $30,000 was collected in an-auction-style fund-raiser.

The event was organized by Generations for Change and Growth – a non-profit organization geared towards eradication of deadly diseases and illiteracy in East Africa, particularly .

“People can do a lot if they work together “said Adam Mohamed, an attorney with Hennepin County and chief organizer of the event “It is not only us who is trying to help Northeastern Kenya; the international community is helping and Kenyan government has declared state of emergency in that region”  

Speaking at the event, Barbara Raye, the executive director of the Center for Policy, Planning and Performance, which maintains an office in
Nairobi,
, said that she is pleased to witness ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things.

Among several religious leaders who reiterated the importance of extending a hand to the-less fortunate Muslims was Imam Hassan Mohamoud (Jaamici), an immigration attorney with Legal Aid Minneapolis and renowned fund-raiser for the Muslim community.

His fund-raising tactics seemed to be resonating well with the audience who were responsive to his often super-ambitious quest for a big donation. First five people raised hands to pledge $1,000 each and 10 more people for $500 each. Imam Mohamoud was, in turn, going for a smaller amount as he collects more, until almost everyone in the audience seemed to have pledged at the-$100 category.

An estimated 2.5 million people in
alone are affected by the “worst drought” in years according to the World Food Program (WFP). In an appeal issued mid January, WFP says that total of 5.5 million people throughout the region are at “risk of humanitarian catastrophe” if 59,000 tons of food is not delivered expeditiously.

Efforts to provide aid for the needy in the region were severely hampered by a recent upsurge in piracy. WFP and other humanitarian agencies have been transporting food and medicine by land – a process that is very slow and very pricey.

The disaster is expected only to worsen, according WFP, which itself is drying out of assistance in February if it is not replenished by international donors.

Organizers of the event say they hope to raise the awareness of the community so that they can entice others for support.

That ‘others’ may have already been enticed. Susan, a-13-year-old student at South High was solicited by her friend and classmate, Najma, also 13 years old. At a mini-fund-raiser at their school, the pair successfully collected over $300.

Another head-covered unnamed woman also said that she and two other teenage volunteers were busy knocking doors at
Riverside
high-rises and going door-to-door at the Village Mall, a nearby bazaar mainly occupied by Somali merchants.

Economic Impact

’s Central Bank warned that the drought hitting
Northeastern Kenya
may collaterally slow the economy and prompt inflation. But Kenyan government anticipates economic growth of about six percent this year.

The East African region has been suffering from civil wars and abject poverty for over two decades.

may well be known as a land of numerous philanthropists, welcoming and compassionate people, but one has be aware of who he or she is dealing with. The case in point is that of Liberian born Mai Jones who lives in the Twin Cities and found herself answering charges of a felony of wrongfully receiving public assistance.

According to Bill Lubov, an attorney in the Twin Cities who handled Mai Jones case, the accused was an innocent hard-working Liberian woman who was wrongly advised that she could receive reduced child care support from the government if she allowed an agency known as Smile handle her paper work at a fee. Mai obliged and signed papers which she did not read in order to have government assistance to support her young son.

The Smile agency was, however filing false information which enabled Mai to receive public assistance which she did not deserve. Mai was subsequently charged with a felony and could have been deported if found guilty. Reportedly, Mai’s other family members had been killed in , and her life was at risk is she was forced to return to her native country.

The Office of the Hennepin County Attorney, despite extensive discussions between Mai’s attorney and their office, wanted Mai to plead guilty to a felony. If she had consented, she

would be facing deportation. She declined to have her picture taken for this story.

Mai was led into a trap by the bogus agency that was an unlicensed, non-governmental

third party money laundering scheme that may have been preying on many unsuspecting

immigrants. There are genuine government agencies that provide government assistance to

the needy, but usually they do not process paper work at a fee.

Mai was charged with “wrongfully obtaining public assistance” and ended up hiring William L.H. Lubov and Karen Terese Kugler of Lubov and Associates, LLCC. Bill and Karen prepared defense grounds for this case arguing that Mai should be found not guilty for two reasons: That she did not know that she was not entitled to the amount she received for child support because she did not read the documents; and that the false representations to the government were made by this agency and not by Mai.

Mai was working through an agency that legally did not exist, and she signed papers without

reading them. Many immigrant communities fall into such a trap with serious consequences of deportation once proved guilty. The successful intervention of Bill and Karen enabled Mai Jones

to walk out of court innocent of the charges raised against her.

Immigrants who are unfamiliar with government practices in processing benefits should

go directly to government agencies or get help from experts. Bill and Karen have provided the

ground rules for other immigrants who may find themselves in similar situations.

It is a hexagon of principles that will ensure that you stay out of trouble:

• Contact the government to see if you are eligible for benefits.

• Be cautious of agencies that charge a fee to fill out government forms (accountants and lawyers are an exception)

• Read everything that you sign

• Do not sign anything that is incorrect or that you do not agree with

• If you do want an agency to help you, investigate them thoroughly

• Contact a lawyer if you need legal help or information.

Immigrants in Minnesota may access a variety of services from government, non-profits and faith-based agencies that have mushroomed all over the state but must watch out for con-men who want to manipulate the situation for temporary gain. Some of those rosy agencies are not legal.

These fake agencies are an insult to the compassionate and welcoming Americans to whom giving is an integral part of their culture. On the other hand, the hardworking immigrants who wish to realize the American Dream, they should learn how to stay out of trouble.

Bill Lubov and Karen Krugler have enabled us see through some of the troubling situations caused by an ever-growing empire of middle-men who are bent on making an extra buck without

sweating for it. Those who give in assistance in , and especially in
Minnesota
, are upright individuals who care about their less fortunate next door neighbors. Their satisfaction is to

see that the intended recipients of their help are the beneficiaries of this friendly gesture, not some unscrupulous crooks.

The American philanthropic spirit is a hallmark of our American ways!

’s ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), recorded a series of landslide victories in the united republic’s third multiparty elections December 14. CCM’s Jakaya Kikwete won the presidency with over 9.1 million votes, more than 80% of the total vote.

Among the nine other candidates, only the Civic United Front’s (CUF) Professor Ibrahim Lipumba amassed more than 10% of the vote coming in at a distant second with some 1.3 million votes.

Tanzanians voted in predominantly peaceful atmosphere with some outbreaks of violence on the semi-autonomous archipelago of
Zanzibar
where CCM and CUF supporters clashed. On October 30,
Zanzibar
held its own elections, which were also followed by skirmishes, after it was announced that the CCM incumbent president, Amani Abeid Karume, won decisively. CUF continues to reject those results even though official observers reported that the elections were overall free and fair. Preliminary observer reports of the union elections also recorded them as free and fair. 

While Kikwete’s victory had been long considered a sure thing, some political analysts and journalists had predicted that opposition parties would gain political strength in the parliamentary elections and overall presidential vote. As ballots were counted over the week, however, it was clear that the opposition would not make any major gains and, in fact, some opposition incumbents lost their seats. 

CCM won some 206 of 232 parliamentary seats up for election, ousting such stalwarts as CUF’s Wilfred Lwakatare in Bukoba and winning in districts in the  Kilimanjaro region home to formidable presidential candidates, Augustine Mrema of the Tanzanian Labor Party (TLP) and Freeman Mbowe of Chadema.

Coming in third and fourth respectively in the presidential elections, both Mbowe and Mrema fall far short of the vote totals they expected, results particularly troubling for Mbowe, who, as Chadema’s first-ever presidential candidate, had been trumpeted as a rising political star. Kikwete’s resounding victory far surpassed that of his predecessor, Benjamin Mkapa, who won over 71% of the total vote in the 2000 elections.

At the time this issue of Mshale went to print, the newly elected president had yet to nominate the 37 seats in parliament reserved for women. Five other seats are reserved for representatives from
Zanzibar
’s legislature. Ultimately, the opposition stands to make only a nominal gain in total seats. 

The elections came after the most heated and hyped presidential and parliamentary campaigns in ’s history. Originally to be held alongside
Zanzibar
’s elections on October 30, the union elections were postponed for 45 days after the death of Chadema’s vice-presidential candidate, Jumbe Rajab Jumbe. Some analysts have already credited that delay for CCM’s stronger than expected showing, as most opposition candidates lacked the massive financial resources of the ruling party. 

A former socialist one-party state, first held multiparty elections in 1995. Former president Benjamin Mkapa won that election and the subsequent on in 2000. He left his legacy by increasing liberalization of the economy and foreign investment. From 1995-2000, the newly elected president, Jakaya Kikwete, served in Mkapa’s cabinet as the minister for foreign affairs.

The first lady of Zambia told an audience in Oakland, California that her nation’s economic and political development will ultimately depend on investment by Zambians themselves, including those living and working in the U.S. and other foreign countries, far more than multinational corporations or western nations.

Maureen Mwanawasa told a crowd of more than 100 at the Marriott Hotel, mostly Zambians, some of whom traveled from as far away as Atlanta that the country was especially in dire need of their help to care for children whose parents died of AIDS related diseases. She also asked them to return to Zambia and invest in small businesses.

“Come back home,” Mwanawasa pleaded with the audience in a sweltering meeting room.

Nearly 64 percent of Zambia’s 10.5 million people live on less than $1 a day and 87.4 percent live under $2 a day, according to the United Nations Human Development Reports. Eight-three percent of the rural population and 56 percent of urban dwellers are poor.

Prior to 1970 Zambia had one of the strongest economies in Africa, with its per capita income second only to South Africa. The economy began to decline later in the decade when the prices of copper, the backbone of its economy, fell sharply and oil prices soared.

The rate of poverty has tremendously increased because of AIDS, which has lowered the country’s life expectancy below 38 years. Only two percent of the world’s population resides in Southern Africa but the region accounts for 30 percent of people living with HIV worldwide. There are 920, 000 people infected with HIV in Zambia—almost as many as the number of cases in the U.S, which is just over a million, according to Centers for Disease Control. Zambia’s 630,000 AIDS orphans are left in the hands of grandparents and other volunteers who have little or no source of income.

Mwanawasa outlined a few successful income-generating programs that she said took very little to fund and has helped ease the burden on those caring for orphans. They include The Goat Project, where her non-profit organization, Maureen Mwanawasa Community Initiative gives 25 goats to community clubs on condition that they pass on to another club the first 25 goats born. They then sell descendants of the remaining goats to meat companies.

The project, which started with 17 clubs funded by grants from Zambia’s Food and Agriculture Organization and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), has 166 clubs, Mwanawasa said. This approach works because it does not require members to put security deposits for the loans, she said.

“The only collateral these people have is poverty and trust,” she said. “All they need is a little push.”

Mwanawasa asked Zambians abroad to be “good ambassadors” of their country, and to be optimistic about the future. Zambia’s economy was growing rapidly and the government was working hard to decrease poverty, she said. The country had also increased its food production to a point where it could export the surplus, she said.

While acknowledging that corporations create jobs for people that have no source of income, Mwanawasa said their main objective is to make profits. Only Zambians can make their country what they want it to be, she said.

Though ambitious, Mwanawasa’s plan is likely to be impeded by the fact that the number of Zambians abroad may not be enough to make a significant economic difference. The 2000 census does not indicate how many Zambians live in the U.S, but immigration statistics show that 945 Zambians became U.S citizens or permanent residents in 2003 and 2004.

In response to the first lady’s speech, many in the audience said they were pleased with her commitment to ending poverty in Zambia.

“It is good to see a first lady involved in grassroots organization,” said Patrice Binaisa, a Berkeley resident from Uganda. “She seems to be in touch with Zambia.”

Malawi-born Leya Kamwambe, who spent four years of her childhood in the 1980s in Zambia, said Mwanawasa portrayed a different country than the one she knew then.

“I have been assuming things were getting worse,” she said.

Kamwambe said in the 1980s Zambians relied on food purchased from stores, unlike Malawians who grew most of their food. It was good to see them change that tendency, she said.

Macdonald Longwe, the president of ASOZA, an Atlanta-based support group for Zambian orphans, said he agreed with Mwanawasa that Zambians abroad were capable of ending poverty. But he said that because of opportunities that exist in the U.S, Zambia would be better off if its citizens stayed and sent money home.

“We still want people here.”

Lul Ibrahim, a 34 year old mother of two was severely wounded in the head while trying to prevent a thief from stealing her sister’s car. The incident occurred on Thursday December 8, in front of Village Market – a Somali mall located in south Minneapolis. The victim died four days later of injuries sustained from the accident.

Ibrahim and her husband, Ahmed Aden, who was out of the country for business at the time of the incident, co-own clothing store at the mall.

According to eyewitnesses, Ibrahim’s sister, Hawa Hassan, left her car running to warm it up. She soon spotted a young man in the driver seat trying to steal the car. When she rushed to stop him, he drove off, knocking her down to the ground. Her sister, Ibrahim, then rushed to help her out. The suspect hits her down, too. Ibrahim reached out to a cell phone that fell from her, but the suspect, perhaps fearing that she makes an emergency call, drives back crushing her against another vehicle. This second hit was the deadly one, says one eyewitness.

The next day, Minneapolis police found 1996 Mitsubishi, abandoned, just few blocks away.

Dozens of family, friends and supporters gathered at the family’s Eden Prairie home on Friday to mourn the lost. Among them were Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and Police Chief William McManus.

“I miss my beautiful wife” says the victim’s husband, Aden “I need justice as soon as possible”. But that justice may have happened earlier on Friday, when Minneapolis police arrested Keith Allen Bruce, an 18-year-old suspect. Police say that he had juvenile warrants that included, among other things, one for auto theft.  Police especially give credit to tips received from members of the Somali community in identifying the suspect.

Despite the tragic shock, Mr. Aden is turning his loss into an action. He has agreed to spearhead a new community task force against crime that will be working with Minneapolis police.

Autopsy Objection

Family members demanded that Ibrahim’s body turned to them the nigh of her death. But hospital officials were already planning an autopsy, since she died of hit-and-run and State law requires that all unnatural deaths be reported at the Medical Examiner’s office.

Autopsy is not a common practice in and may be in odds with an Islamic decree, some Somalis believe. But other Islamic scholars have allowed an autopsy so long it produces credible evidence against suspects.