DISCLAIMER: This episode originally aired on 18 July 2022 In July Alan Kasujja went on the road with Africa Daily and his first stop was Johannesburg. Alan wanted to hear from people, out and about, and - as luck would have it – he’d arrived just in time for a special day: Nelson Mandela’s birthday, when the legacy of the former President and anti-apartheid hero is celebrated in South Africa. As the country’s new President in 1994, Mandela faced the massive challenge of bringing black and white ...
Dec 26, 2022•20 min
Anglophone Cameroon has been ravaged by more than 5 years of conflict pitting separatist militants and the government. Naturally, it is civilians suffering the most. Many people from the Anglophone region have been displaced and are living in the French speaking regions where it’s safer or there is more work. It means some families have been separated by hundreds of miles, which makes being together at this time of year even more important. So how are people in Cameroon coming together to celebr...
Dec 23, 2022•20 min
Many people across South Africa are getting ready to celebrate Christmas and New Year with friends and family. But there might not be so much to look forward to for people living on the streets. In the city of Durban, officials say there are 4000 people living without a permanent home and some NGOs believe the figure is much higher. So, what is the holiday season like for those living on the street? And how are people trying to help them? #AfricaDaily
Dec 22, 2022•17 min
Another global summit - COP15 – has concluded in Canada. It focused on biodiversity, which is the variety of all living things on earth. Activists, charities and ministers came together hoping to find solutions to protect and save forests, wetlands and water bodies before it’s too late. Recent studies have suggested that nearly a third of all species are currently endangered due to human activities such as logging, climate change and farming. And scientists are warning that the biodiversity cloc...
Dec 21, 2022•13 min
Tunisia held parliamentary elections over the weekend. Reports show that 11.2% of the nine-million-strong electorate turned out to vote. Opposition parties accuse Tunisian President Kais Saied of reversing the democratic progress made since the 2011 Arab Spring. This has all come at a time when Tunisia has been dealing with high unemployment and shortages of basic goods like milk, cooking oil and sugar. President Saied rejected complaints about the low turnout and the legitimacy of the elections...
Dec 20, 2022•14 min
Young Maasai recently came together during a sports competition with a goal to preserve wildlife. Hundreds played in various games in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, including spear throwing, athletics and high jump. It is part of a new tradition – the Maasai Olympics founded by their elders in 2008. Prior to this, young warriors took part in lion hunts as a rite of passage when coming of age. But as the number of large cats began to plummet in Africa, Maasai elders and environmentalists cam...
Dec 19, 2022•20 min
President Cyril Ramaphosa is hoping to hold on to power in South Africa as his party gathers to pick a new leader. The winner will not only lead the party, but also become its presidential candidate, come 2024 general elections. He is being challenged by Dr. Zweli Mkhize – the president’s former ally and health minister, who helped him steer the country through the pandemic. Mr Ramaphosa has been caught up in an escalating political scandal over recent months. He is accused of concealing the the...
Dec 16, 2022•18 min
Heads of state from 49 African countries have been invited to Washington DC this week for a three-day US Africa summit hosted by President Joe Biden. The meeting’s agenda includes strengthening relations with the continent, the climate crisis, good governance, food security, global health and trade. In his speech to the gathering, President Biden said the shared benefits of closer cooperation and economic activity would be significant. So what does Africa gain from its relationship with the US? ...
Dec 15, 2022•14 min
Hadizatou Mani spent a decade as a slave, having been sold aged just 12 to a tribal chief in Nigeria, She has told BBC 100 Women that it was a terrible life: “I had no rights; not to rest, not to food, not even to my own life”. In 2005, Hadizatou was granted her freedom, but was still pressured to return and legally harassed by a man who considered himself to be her master. She was jailed for bigamy a year after she became free, because the man claimed that she was still married to him However, ...
Dec 14, 2022•18 min
Whether you're in South Africa, Nigeria or Egypt, power outages are a frequent inconvenience. As energy demands rise across the continent, generating enough power to keep the lights on is an ongoing challenge. Eswatini is one of the countries trying a new approach - a method called cogeneration. Most of the time, cogeneration uses gas or biofuels but in Eswatini, they're burning waste products from sugar production to generate power. Could it be one of the solutions to energy sustainability? #Af...
Dec 13, 2022•13 min
The Atlas Lions have made history to become the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final. They will play world champions France in that semi-final game on Wednesday. Morocco were one of five African teams to qualify for the World Cup and for the first time all of the teams were led by African coaches. Although Morocco were the only African team to make it to the quarter finals, there were some historic wins for the continent. Cameroon beat Brazil and Tunisia won their game against Fran...
Dec 12, 2022•18 min
This week, a group of NGOs took TOTAL – the lead investor in a new pipeline between Uganda and Tanzania - to court. They’re asking a French court to protect local people and the environment from the adverse impacts of the project. TOTAL refutes all allegations and says they are protecting the rights of local communities and will make sure the project has a positive impact. Meanwhile, people in Uganda are divided over whether the project is an economic opportunity, or a recipe for disaster. #Afri...
Dec 09, 2022•22 min
Kenya and athletics are synonymous to one another. In November the country came close to being banned from the sport it loves and excels in the most. There is no doubt that the sports is huge to the country’s image and great effort goes into it - 34 of Kenya’s 35 Olympic gold medals have come from track and field events. But with 17 Kenyan athletes suspended just this year by the Athletics Integrity Unit for a range of violations, joining another 55 who are already serving bans, the threat of a ...
Dec 08, 2022•15 min
Malawi is not short of scandal, especially when it comes to claims of corruption. If you look back over the years, you will find different cases. And last year the country ranked 110th out of 180 countries in Transparency Internationals Corruptions Perceptions Index. So what is happening in Malawi now and how is so much of its politics caught up in it? Those claims of corruptions have been followed by charges against some of the most senior people in the country. Which in turn have been followed...
Dec 07, 2022•16 min
In November Uganda and Zimbabwe launched their first satellites – PearlAfricaSat-1 and ZimSat-1, respectively - into space. Space engineers from both countries worked and trained with their counterparts in Japan to make it possible. The two countries said the satellites would capture and send back images from space to help with advancing mineral exploration and monitoring weather patterns to help manage the impact of floods and droughts. But in Zimbabwe particularly, the launch kicked off a bit ...
Dec 06, 2022•17 min
After days of political pressure, South Africa’s President Ramaphosa has said that he does not intend to resign. The row centres on claims he kept large sums of cash on his property then covered up its theft. A panel of legal experts concluded that he has a case to answer. The top leadership of his party - the African National Congress - are meeting on Sunday and Monday to see what steps to take next. But Mr Ramaphosa’s spokesperson has said he will not resign based on a “false report”. And sugg...
Dec 05, 2022•18 min
This week a major conference organised by the UK government called The Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative took place in London. Delegates, policy makers, politicians and survivors from around the world listened to discussions on justice, reparations, accountability and ending sexual violence. Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja spoke to a survivor of the 2007 election violence in Kenya on what justice looks like for her. This episode contains reference to sexual violence which you may fin...
Dec 02, 2022•21 min
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the newest member of The East African Community, a regional group made up of seven countries. With a population of nearly 100 million people, vast agricultural land, and rich mineral reserves, DRC has great potential for business but an endless conflict spanning decades is threatening the region's stability. The M23 rebel group has escalated its attacks, leading the East Africa Community to sanction a regional force to help DRC forces to repel the rebels. Keny...
Dec 01, 2022•17 min
Nowadays premature babies – born at 24 or 28 weeks - can go on to live long happy lives. But a baby’s chance of survival rests a great deal on where they’re born, the quality of medical care they’ll receive and how quickly they get it. Unicef says that in South Sudan, 40 babies for every 1000 will die within 28 days of birth. That compares with 20 in Kenya, 27 in Ethiopia and 29 in Sudan. But despite the challenges of ongoing conflict, floods and no equipment, staff at the Médecins Sans Frontièr...
Nov 30, 2022•14 min
According to the United Nations, over 900,000 South Africans were living overseas, by the end of 2020. Many chose countries like England, the US, Australia and New Zealand for their new homes. Data from FNB, one of the country’s leading banks, reveals that 18% of homes which were sold three years ago were due to relocations. That number went down to 14% this year. While hundreds of thousands remain outside the country, other figures show that about 400,000 South Africans returned home in the las...
Nov 29, 2022•15 min
President George Weah left Liberia on November 1 and was meant to return this month, but has since extended his return to December 18. In his travels, President Weah’s visited a number of countries; including Morocco, Egypt, France and in early December he’s planned a trip to the US. Along the way the former footballer and Ballon d’Or winner stopped in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, where he’s been since the start of the tournament and had the chance to see his son, Timothy Weah, play for the Uni...
Nov 28, 2022•16 min
For children across Uganda, Friday is the last day in school this year. They are closing their doors two weeks early in an effort to stop the spread of Ebola. The latest outbreak of the virus was identified late September and has become the deadliest in the country for more than a decade. But there are signs that the number of cases may be declining. So, is Uganda bringing its Ebola outbreak under control? #AfricaDaily
Nov 25, 2022•17 min
In August this year, Cameroon’s Minister of Public Health announced that there would be a ban on harmful skin lightening products. Many of them contain harmful ingredients which alter skin pigmentation and cause other health risks like skin cancer. Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja has been looking at whether bans on skin lightening products actually work.
Nov 24, 2022•21 min
Earlier this year, cases of malaria began to rapidly increase in the Ethiopian city of Dire Dawa. There were ten times the number of cases in the first half of the year, than the whole of 2019. And unlike usual, the spike was happening outside the rainy season which allows the disease to flourish. It was also spreading in urban areas, rather than mainly in the countryside. Scientists have since uncovered it was due to an invasive species of malaria-carrying mosquito from Asia. So far it’s been f...
Nov 23, 2022•14 min
Whether or not a child gets treated for clubfoot – when a baby is born with twisted feet - varies across Africa. In some countries, like Senegal, only a minority of cases get treated – about 20% - though the authorities are now making a push to change this. In others countries, like South Africa, the majority of children with clubfoot will be treated. But campaigners say the ‘gold standard’ treatment is actually relatively simple and low cost – no longer involving surgery. It’s named the Ponseti...
Nov 22, 2022•14 min
There was weary applause at the close of COP27– as the environment conference was FINALLY wrapped up in Sharm el-Sheikh with a deal at 4.15am on Sunday morning. The global agreement was meant to have been signed on Friday. African delegates had lobbied heavily for a ‘loss and damage’ fund – to compensate countries suffering climate related disasters - and this did make the final text. But efforts to set tougher targets for cutting fossil fuels failed. So was this a victory for Africa – on paper ...
Nov 21, 2022•14 min
The football World Cup is set to kick off in Qatar on Sunday. Africa will be represented by teams from five countries – Cameroon, Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal and Ghana. On Thursday it was confirmed that Sadio Mane, Senegal’s star forward, would miss the tournament due to injury. It’s a blow to their chances in Qatar. But what about the rest of the African teams? Can they triumph at the 2022 World Cup? #AfricaDaily
Nov 18, 2022•20 min
Health experts recommend vasectomy as one of the approved family planning methods. The surgical procedure permanently seals the tubes carrying a man’s sperm – making conception impossible. Around the world, vasectomy is much less common than surgical procedures to prevent women from having children. And whereas as many as 21% of men have had a vasectomy in some countries – across Africa that figure stands at less than 1%. So, why do so few men see vasectomy as an option? #AfricaDaily...
Nov 17, 2022•16 min
Today Africa Daily meets the peace-makers: Betty Bigombe walked alone into the jungle to meet the notorious warlord Joseph Kony of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) – who had a reputation for cutting off the limbs or lips of his victims. Paul Nantulya worked alongside Nelson Mandela on the Arusha process – which ended the civil war in the country. He describes watching the South African president berate both leaders and rebels for being an ‘embarrassment to Africa’. So with ongoing talks happenin...
Nov 16, 2022•21 min
In 2009, Morgan Tsvangirai was inaugurated as Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister, following a controversial election. Robert Mugabe remained president. Their parties, the MDC and Zanu-PF formed what came to be known as the Government of National Unity. Although it brought a sense of stability to the troubled nation, it never lasted long. South Africa is another country that has, in recent years, been testing coalition governments in various cities nationwide. But these political arrangements don’t appear...
Nov 15, 2022•17 min
