East Africa roundup

• The hand grenade: weapon of choice in Burundi? Esdras Ndikumana for AFP:

  In post-conflict Burundi, hand grenades go for around one dollar (about R10) on the black market and have become the weapon of choice for everybody, from petty criminals to disgruntled lovers.
  

• The khat menace in D.C. From Phillip Smith at Alternet:

  Last fall, at the urging of DC US Attorney Jeffrey Taylor, Mayor Adrian Fenty (D) introduced a proposal to criminalize fresh khat as a Schedule I drug, as it is under federal law. The DC City council is currently considering the proposal as part of its 2009 Omnibus Crime Bill and is likely to act on the measure before its session ends July 15. "It's sad that they want to put the resources of crime fighting against individuals from a different culture who don't have anybody except their community and try to punish them for doing what they have always done," said Abdul Aziz Kamus of the DC-based African Resource Center. "It seems like DC wants to punish hard-working immigrant taxi drivers who are law-abiding citizens."