Africa Daily has now come to an end. But do listen to Focus on Africa for all the big stories and for the African perspective on major global news. Hosted by Audrey Brown and ready by late afternoon every weekday. Search for Focus on Africa, wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
More than 25 million people live with HIV in Africa – and the region continues to be most affected in the world, according to the World Health Organisation. But a recent report by UN AIDS says the spread of HIV can be eradicated globally by 2030. For Africa Daily, @kasujja looks at how this ambitious target can be achieved on the continent.
This week the BBC’s James Copnall has been in Calabria, southern Italy, to report on the rising number of migrants arriving by sea. The number of people arriving has more than doubled compared to this time last year. Sadly, not everyone makes it to European shores. There have been a string of disasters with hundreds of people dying in the Mediterranean this year alone. And politicians in Europe are struggling to come up with a solution. So, why are people still taking the risky journey across th...
“They’re some of the best footballers and athletes that I’ve ever played alongside.” The Women’s World Cup kicks off today. Zambia, Morocco, South Africa and Nigeria will represent the continent in Australia and New Zealand. They’ll all be hoping to get to the final in four weeks’ time. While women’s football has developed at a dramatic pace in the last few years, it’s still a way behind the men’s game - with players sometimes struggling for resources… and respect. So what will it take for an Af...
The 2026 Commonwealth Games are in doubt after the Australian state of Victoria cancelled its plans to host due to budget blowouts. The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) struggled to find a host before Victoria volunteered in April 2022. And Durban, which was meant to be hosting the event in 2022, had the games taken off them after the South African government said they were struggling to meet deadlines. But are the Commonwealth Games still relevant to the continent? And what does it mean if t...
South Africa has started preparing to host the BRICS summit next month. This is a gathering of a political and economic bloc compromised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. China, in particular, is expected to expand its influence. Over 30% of all major building projects in Africa are led by Chinese firms while the West makes up just 12%, according to consultancy company, Deloitte. Africa Daily's Alan Kasujja has been hearing about China’s involvement in both small and large scale ...
This week the biggest women’s football tournament on the planet kicks off. Teams from 32 countries will be playing in Australia and New Zealand to win the coveted Fifa World Cup. Africa isn’t just going to be represented by the teams competing on the pitch but also by the teams of officials refereeing at the tournament. One of those officials is Rwandan referee Salima Mukansanga. As well as being among the first women referees to work in a men’s world cup in its 92 year history, she was also the...
Nigeria's state-owned oil company says an oil tanker capable of carrying 800,000 litres of smuggled crude has been intercepted offshore while heading to Cameroon. Nigeria's state-owned oil firm said the oil had been stolen from a well in the south-western state of Ondo. As dramatic as this finding was, it is just a fraction of the oil being stolen in Nigeria. So, what is behind it?
This week the continent welcomed Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi for a three country visit. It’s a rare visit, it’s the first by an Iranian president to Africa in ten years. President Raisi’s trip began in Kenya where he was welcomed by President William Ruto and a military parade. This week President Raisi heads to Uganda and then to Zimbabwe. In recent years, western countries have imposed sanctions to make Iran’s leaders agree to limit its nuclear activities and have severely damaged Iran’s ec...
The Children in Freedom School - which is based in Nakuru, Kenya – takes a slightly different approach to education. It prides itself on being the first “Afrocentric” school on the continent. Basically, they put African culture, identity and enrichment at the heart of everything they do in the classroom. They were recently shortlisted for the World's Best School Prize, putting them among the top 10 schools worldwide in the 'overcoming adversity' category. So, what does an Afrocentric education l...
Kenya’s President, William Ruto, said recently that he will lift a ban on logging in the country. He said that mature trees in Kenya’s forests can now be cut down and that this will help to boost the timber industry. The ban has been in place since 2018, with the aim of protecting Kenya’s natural forests. So, what impact will change of direction have?
The stated aim of the global charity International Justice Mission is commendable: rescue millions of people from being trafficked into forced labour by the year 2030. But in the Volta Lake region of Ghana, families claimed their children had been taken from them at gun point.. BBC Africa Eye, prompted by tip offs from local sources, decided to investigate and went undercover.
Riots spread from Paris to many French cities after the killing by police of Nahel M, a 17-year-old boy of Algerian origin. The unrest has been described as unprecedented in terms of scale and intensity. While the riots were sparked by the death of Nahel, it has also raised questions about race and poverty in France. So, what can the past two weeks tell us about life in the country?
“I just wish the governments of South Africa and Lesotho would come together and help us to get the bodies” In May, 31 people believed to be illegal miners died in a gas explosion at an abandoned shaft in the Free State province of South Africa. The authorities have been trying to retrieve their remains, but high levels of methane gas is making it difficult to get them. Their relatives, who are from Lesotho, have been waiting in South Africa for two months, hoping to get an update on their loved...
Should there be a ban on the importation of the body parts of wild animals, like lion pelts, elephant tusks or zebra hides into Britain? That’s a question currently being considered by British lawmakers. Cases like Cecil the Lion - killed by an American dentist in Zimbabwe - have raised concern about the practice worldwide – and the image of white foreigners killing African wildlife disturbs many people. But the leaders of some African countries argue that trophy hunting can be GOOD for the envi...
Across Africa there are moves afoot to toughen laws against the gay community. In May, President Yoweri Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill – giving Uganda some of the harshest anti-LGBTQ laws in the world. But now Ghana’s and Kenya’s parliaments are due to soon start debating even tougher legislation. Just after the Ugandan bill was passed, MPs from a number of countries across the continent attended a networking conference in Entebbe sponsored by the socially conservative US Mormon pre...
“Women are not used to being open to being 100% themselves and doing what they love…. We’re still building an industry” What are the main challenges facing female Hip Hop artists on the continent? Today Africa Daily heads to Senegal to speak to two artists – Aida Sock and Sister LB (Selbe Diouf) – about the challenges they’ve faced and their hopes for the future of the industry. They also talk about their willingness to take risks in speaking truth to power.
For young people lucky enough to go into higher education, long hours of study are put in with the anticipation of a better job and life prospects. But finding work after leaving university isn’t guaranteed. In South Africa, graduate unemployment stands at 32%. Julius Malema, leader of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters, has suggested a stipend for unemployed graduates. And in Namibia, where more than 20% of graduates are out of work, one university is teaching courses to encourage entrepr...
The Uganda Wildlife Court began its work in 2017 because of concerns that crimes against wild animals weren’t getting the attention they deserved in the country’s criminal courts. Uganda has historically been known as trading hub for wildlife and its products in east Africa. But is the court achieving what it set out to? Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja spoke to it’s Chief Magistrate Gladys Kamasanya to find out more about the court’s work and why safeguarding Uganda’s wild animals is so important to...
The term black tax is used to describe the financial burden borne by many black people who have achieved a noticeable level of success and find themselves providing support to less secure family members. It’s a dynamic that can play out between people in the same city, or between family living on different continents. It’s a topic that divides opinion. Is it a way to give an opportunity to those still trying to find their feet? Or is it a burden on young people trying to make their way in the wo...
“The next building block should have been economic freedom. However, it is not his (Mandela’s) fault that it was not done. It is the fault of the generation that followed him” In today’s episode, Alan Kasujja sits down with Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter, Ndileka Mandela. They discuss a variety of issues including things the world probably doesn’t know about the global icon, his political thinking and how he felt about the state of South Africa. They also interrogate claims that Mandela ‘sold ou...
“The thoughts, the theories, the ideas are there. But how to reach them, we have to come up with our own method and strategy. And I think one of them is that we badly need consensus on what needs to be done. The time now is for consensus building.” In today’s episode, Alan Kasujja sits down with Samia Nkrumah, the daughter of legendary Ghanaian politician, Kwame Nkrumah. They will be discussing the political icon’s leadership style, his philosophy and personal life. They will also be drawing par...
This weekend eligible voters in Sierra Leone will be casting their ballots up and down the country to decide whether to re-elect President Maada Bio or elect a new president. President Bio’s main challenger is Samura Kamara from the opposition APC party once again. He came a very close second in 2018’s presidential election. It’s an election which comes at a time when Sierra Leone has been dealing with economic challenges which have made life almost unbearable for so many there. The campaign sea...
Nigeria is set to introduce a new student loan scheme, intended to help more young people access higher education. The loans, which will be interest free, will be targeted at the poorest families, who may struggle to pay tuition fees. But some people are questioning if it’s the right policy and how graduates will be able to pay the the loans back, especially if they struggle to find work.
In 2003, Darfur hit the international news – and the world grew used to seeing images of burning villages and people fleeing for their lives. Hundreds of thousands died and millions were displaced. But now the people there are again suffering a horror of an eye-watering scale. With the whole of Sudan at war and the Sudanese Army pulling out of much of the region, armed militias have sprung up and villages have again been razed to the ground. But this time the city of El Geneina has also become a...
On Saturday morning, Ugandans woke to unsettling news of a militant attack on a boarding school in the west of the country. Authorities say 37 students were killed. Five others, including a security guard who tried to stop the violence, also died. The militant Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) are thought to be responsible for the killing. The group originated in Uganda in the 1990s, but now conduct operations from across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo. So, who exactly are these mil...
On a recent visit to Kenya, Colombian Vice President, Francia Márquez, announced that Swahili will soon be offered as a foreign language option in schools. The scheme will also see teachers from African countries get the chance to teach in Colombia, as well as Colombians teaching Spanish on the continent. It is rare for African languages to be learnt by people overseas. On today’s episode Alan speaks to Colombian Javier Aranzales. For him, learning Swahili as an adult changed the whole trajector...
“People come here as asylum seekers and their intention is not to stay as asylum seekers. They are actually here to run small businesses, and that’s illegal” In recent years, Malawi and South Africa have been facing similar challenges relating to asylum seekers. People are flocking into Malawi to seek refuge, fleeing conflict in the DRC and other troubled parts of the continent. In May, the government of that country arrested nearly a thousand refugees and sent them back to a camp specifically s...
“My father used to tell me that in one night when they went out fishing they used to come back with 70 or 80 kilos of fish, but at the moment they’re doing the same but coming back with one kilo or half a kilo.” Mida Creek, on Kenya’s coastline about two hours north of Mombasa, rightly has a reputation for being a birdwatcher’s paradise. Surrounded by mangrove forests, its beaches teem with crabs and other crustaceans – which in turn bring in migratory birds from around the world. Juvenile sea t...
The wearing of Niqabs and Burkas– garments worn by some Muslim women- has been a hotly debated topic around the world. The niqab is a veil for the face that leaves the area around the eyes clear and a burqa, the most concealing of all Islamic veils, is a one-piece veil that covers the face and body, often leaving just a mesh screen to see through. Niqabs and Burkas have been banned in several countries and the debate around them has centred around religious freedom, women’s rights and even secur...
Morocco has announced that it will begin teaching Tamazight in primary schools. The language of the Amazigh people, who live in many north African countries, dates back more than 2500 years. Morocco will also recognise Amazigh New Year as a public holiday. The country is home to the largest population of the Amazigh people and has been for hundreds of years. So, why are the government recognising their culture now? #AfricaDaily
