News That Matters To Africa©️
FRIDAY’S FOCUS EDITION
Good News Africa!
THE FRIDAY QUOTE
“In a caravan, it is the first camel who delays the rest; however…it’s the last one that gets the beating.”
HIGHLIGHTS
Dozens of Africans die this week at sea, in lake and on rivers
UK returns Chagos but keeps Diego Garcia
Ouattara’s party pushes him to run again
Zimbabwe devalues currency by 40% causing panic-buying
Al-Azhar Grand Imam slams world over Israel
Danger of migration via Gulf of Aden.
TOP NEWS
Eastern Africa
Burundi: Electricity from Rusumo Falls saving lives of patients and premature babies
UK cedes Chagos Island sovereignty to Mauritius, retains Diego Garcia airbase
Boat capsizes in Congo’s Lake Kivu, around 78 people found dead
Sex workers find themselves at the center of Congo’s mpox outbreak
Two migrant boats sink off Djibouti, leaving 45 dead
Ethiopians in Lebanon appeal for evacuation
Ethiopian military boosts operations in Amhara region
Impeachment of Kenya’s Deputy President
Blow to DP Gachagua as court declines to halt public participation
Kenya’s deputy president asks court to halt his impeachment
How Kenyans see the Ruto-Gachagua split
Blunt and bold – Kenya’s ‘truth speaker’ faces the sack
France and Madagascar begin ‘historic’ human remains restitution process
Everything you need to know about the Marbug virus outbreak in Rwanda
Sudan’s El Fashar empties as paramilitaries close in
Tanzania joins Lobito Corridor linking Indian Ocean to Atlantic
Tanzania mandates that 20% of gold sales must go to Central Bank
US sanctions four Ugandan police chiefs on rights violation claims
Uganda MP’s Bill seeks to force newly-weds to consummate marriage within 6 months
West Africa
Two men close to Benin’s president jailed after alleged coup plot
Three-day protests begin in Ghana, demanding release of detained activists
Ghana: ‘We’ve nothing to hide’, election chief tells opposition NDC
Ivory Coast president Ouattara’s party pushes him to run again
At least 100 dead after boat caps sizes in Nigeria
Southern Africa
What are the key issues in Mozambique elections?
Outrage in South Africa over farmers accused of feeding slain women to pigs
How a mega dam has caused a mega power crisis for Zambia
Zimbabwe devalues gold-backed currency by 40%
Zimbabwe shops impose limits amid panic-buying after huge official ZiG devaluation
North Africa
Egypt’s Al-Azhar Grand Imam slams world’s hypocrisy when it comes to Israel
Libya: Urgent call to reveal fate of 19 men forcibly disappeared one year ago
Kais Saied’s final assault on democracy
AFRICA-GENERAL NEWS
GOOD NEWS AFRICA
EASTERN AFRICA
BURUNDI
Electricity from Rusumo Falls saving lives of patients and premature babies
Dr Franck Arnaud Ndorukwigira, doctor and deputy director at Gitega regional hospital in Burundi, has unpleasant memories from the time when the facility had to rely on diesel generators for electricity. In order to have sufficient funds for other priority needs, the hospital was compelled to limit spending on diesel and therefore endure protracted periods of power cuts. This problem has been overcome in recent months, thanks to stable and regular supply of electricity from the 80 megawatt Rusumo hydroelectric power station, whose output is shared between Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania. The station was built at a cost of USD 340 million, with the African Development Bank Group (AfDB Group) providing USD 107.11 million, including USD 97.31 million from the Bank Group’s concessional lending window, the African Development Fund, and USD 9.8 million from another AfDB lending vehicle, the Nigeria Trust Fund. The World Bank and the European Union also took part in the financing. The electricity supply from Rusumo means that the Gitega hospital can now devote more resources to upgrading equipment and medical teams can focus on their primary mission of saving lives. The hospital has installed an oxygen production unit that meets its own needs and supplies gas to other regional medical centres. New incubators in the hospital’s neonatal department are permanently connected to the oxygen generator, saving the lives of premature babies. “It has made a huge difference,” Dr Ndorukwigira says. “We took in a mother who gave birth to premature triplets at six months. If these new incubators were not connected to electricity 24 hours a day, we couldn’t have cared for these babies properly and they would probably have died. Now the babies are gradually gaining weight and their mother is very happy.”
CHAGOS
UK cedes Chagos Island sovereignty to Mauritius, retains Diego Garcia airbase
Britain said on Thursday it would give up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a deal that would allow people displaced decades ago to return home while London retained use of the important UK-US military base on Diego Garcia. Britain said that the operation of Diego Garcia, a strategic airbase in the Indian Ocean jointly operated with the United States, was protected by the agreement, which also allows Mauritius to resettle the rest of the islands after its population was displaced. British Foreign Minister David Lammy said that the contested sovereignty of the islands and ongoing legal challenges meant the long-term future of the Diego Garcia site had been under threat. Britain, which has controlled the region since 1814, in the early 1970s evicted almost 2,000 residents to Mauritius and the Seychelles to make way for an airbase on the largest island, Diego Garcia, which it had leased to the United States in 1966. A non-binding resolution in the United Nations General Assembly in 2019 said Britain should give up control of the islands and that it had wrongfully forced the population to leave. In 2016, Britain’s Foreign Ministry extended Diego Garcia’s lease until 2036, and declared the expelled islanders would not be allowed to go back. The deal marks a change of approach to the issue from new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. His Mauritian counterpart PM Pravind Jugnauth said on Thursday that Britain’s decision to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands marked the completion of a push to decolonise the archipelago.
DR CONGO
Boat capsizes in Congo’s Lake Kivu, around 78 people found dead
At least 78 people drowned when a boat carrying 278 passengers capsized in Lake Kivu in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, a provincial governor said. Relatives sobbed on shore as victims were placed in body bags and carried away, a witness said, and video footage shared widely online showed a packed multi-deck vessel listing sideways in calm waters before it overturned and pitched flailing passengers into the lake. It was not clear how many people were still missing and regional officials gave contrasting death tolls. The governor of South Kivu Province said the death toll was 78 and that 278 had been on board. “It’ll take at least three days to get the exact numbers, because not all the bodies have been found yet,” Governor Jean Jacques Purisi told media. Deadly boat accidents are common in Congolese waters, where vessels are frequently loaded beyond capacity. At a local hospital, one survivor said conditions were calm when the crowded boat overturned. As others drowned around him, he struggled to stay afloat until he was rescued by Congolese troops. “I saw people sinking, many went under. I saw women and children sinking in the water, and I myself was on the verge of drowning, but God helped me,” said 51-year-old Alfani Buroko Byamungu from his hospital bed.
Sex workers find themselves at the center of Congo’s mpox outbreak
Sex workers are among those hardest-hit by the mpox outbreak in Kamituga, where some 40,000 of them are estimated to reside — many single mothers driven by poverty to this mineral-rich commercial hub where gold miners comprise the majority of the clientele. Doctors estimate 80% of cases here have been contracted sexually, though the virus also spreads through other kinds of skin-to-skin contact…Health officials in Kamituga are advocating for the government to shutter nightclubs and mines and compensate sex workers for lost business. Not everyone agrees. Local officials say they don’t have resources to do more than care for those who are sick, and insist it’s sex workers’ responsibility to protect themselves.
DJIBOUTI
Dozens of migrants still missing off Djibouti’s coast after smugglers forced them out of boats
Rescuers searched Thursday for dozens of migrants from Africa still missing after smugglers apparently forced them out of two boats in the Red Sea off the coast of Djibouti earlier this week, the Djiboutian coast guard said. At least 48 people were earlier reported to have drowned. The boats had departed from Yemen, across the Red Sea on the Arabian Peninsula, carrying 310 people, the International Organization for Migration said. It was not known why the migrants were forced off the boats while still at sea. Initially, the IOM said the two boats with migrants had capsized but later made no mention of that, saying instead that the smugglers forced the people off the boats and told them to swim. Djibouti’s coast guard said the tragedy struck some 150 meters (about 500 feet) off a beach in the East African nation’s northwestern region of Khor Angar. It said 115 survivors had been rescued. On Wednesday, the IOM said 111 people were still missing while the Djiboutian coast guard put the number at 61. “One woman drowned, but her 4-month-old infant survived along with 98 others from the first boat,” said the U.N. agency, which was assisting search and rescue efforts.
ETHIOPIA
Ethiopians in Lebanon appeal for evacuation
Lebanon is home to over 250,000 migrant domestic workers who come from African and Asian countries, most of them women, many of them from Ethiopia. Amid the intense clashes between Israel and militant group Hezbollah, highlighted by the Israeli airstrikes near Beirut that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, some Ethiopians are calling for help to leave the country before the violence comes too close…Selamawit Tesfaye, who has been working in Lebanon as caregiver for the last six years, said that she heard that two Ethiopian women working in southeastern Lebanon were killed as a result of Israeli airstrikes, and fellow Ethiopians are working to identify the victims. Media attempts to reach the Ethiopian Consulate in Beirut and the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry for comment on any assistance being given to Ethiopian workers in Lebanon were unsuccessful. Some Ethiopians in Beirut told press that the Consulate contacted them and told them that Ethiopians who wish to leave the country should register with the Lebanese immigration agency to facilitate their departure. They reported that the consulate urged them to call and register with information of their passport numbers and how many years they have been in Lebanon. They said they were also asked to give their telephone numbers and say how they can be contacted by the Consulate. Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is closely monitoring developments in Lebanon to ensure the safety of Ethiopian residents and diplomatic personnel.
Ethiopian military boosts operations in Amhara region
Ethiopia’s army said it has launched a major operation against Fano rebel groups in the Amhara region, as the conflict continues, despite calls by rights groups and international partners for a peaceful resolution. Army spokesperson Colonel Getnet Adane said Tuesday that the Ethiopian National Defense Force, or the ENDF, in coordination with the region’s security forces, have started a military operation. He claimed continued calls for peace have “fallen on deaf ears.” “The only language they [armed rebel groups] understand is force. From now on we will talk to them in that language,” said Getnet. “For peace to prevail they need to be met with force. They have to be targeted, hit.” He indicated the operation started this past weekend. Federal and regional officials said measures are also being taken against suspected supporters of the rebel group, including members of the business community. The announcement of the operation came on the day human rights group Amnesty International accused Ethiopia’s army of conducting “mass arbitrary detentions” in the Amhara region. Amnesty’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, alleged that hundreds have been detained, including members of the academic community, in major towns across the Amhara region since Sept. 28.
KENYA
Impeachment of Deputy President:
Blow to DP Gachagua as court declines to halt public participation
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has suffered another setback after the High Court declined to issue interim orders to stop Friday’s public participation exercise regarding his impeachment motion by the National Assembly. The application, filed by Fredrick Kiberi, sought to halt the exercise, arguing that public participation should be held at the ward level across the country’s 1,450 wards, rather than at the constituency level. Just hours before the countrywide public participation over the Deputy President’s impeachment motion, Mukurweini MP John Kaguchia conducted a mini-version of the exercise in his constituency. Kaguchia is among the MPs who did not sign the impeachment motion tabled in the National Assembly…As Mukurweini residents voiced their opinions on the DP’s impeachment, Kirinyaga Woman Representative Jane Njeri refused to honour a summons by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over allegations that she planned to hire goons to disrupt the public participation exercise in Kerugoya. She dismissed the allegations of planning disruptions as politically motivated. Njeri, an outspoken legislator, claimed she is among the DP’s allies being targeted by the State for refusing to follow directives on legislative matters.
Kenya’s deputy president asks court to halt his impeachment
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Thursday filed a petition to the high court in Nairobi seeking to halt an impeachment process launched against him by lawmakers earlier this week, documents showed. Allies of Kenyan President William Ruto tabled a motion in parliament on Tuesday to impeach Gachagua, accusing him of stirring ethnic hatred, undermining the government and amassing a large and unexplained property portfolio. Gachagua says he has been sidelined and has denied accusations by Ruto allies that he was behind violent anti-government protests earlier this year. Gachagua said the impeachment motion was based on falsehoods that constituted a “choreographed political lynching designed to defeat the sovereign will of the Kenyan people expressed at the presidential election held August 2022”, according to the petition documents. The impeachment process begins with a programme of public participation on Friday. Gachagua will be allowed to respond to the impeachment allegations in the lower chamber of parliament on Oct. 8. Gachagua said that asking the public to make oral and written submissions before he could defend himself violated his rights to a fair hearing.
How Kenyans see the Ruto-Gachagua split
The move to impeach Rigathi Gachagua, the deputy of President William Ruto, suggests political battle lines are being drawn amid resurfacing ethnic divisions within the ruling elite. Gavhagua’s impeachment is expected to sail through both houses of Parliament, after multiple court bids to stop it failed. He is accused of undermining the government, involvement in corruption, insubordination and practicing ethnically divisive politics, among a slew of other charges. Some 291 members of Parliament, well beyond the 117 minimum required, have backed a motion to remove him from office. Many political analysts believe the spiraling cost of living crisis, deeply unpopular tax hikes and recent deadly youth-led protests were the catalyst for the unprecedented move and the turmoil in President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza coalition. “Politically, it appears these Gen Z demonstrations have generated this heat,” suggests Martin Oloo, a Nairobi-based analyst. “Political knives have been drawn to separate the deputy from the president.”…According to Nerima Wako-Ojiwa, director of Siasa Place, there’s an element of distraction to the timing of this impeachment. “On the same day, Kenyan lawyer and activist David Morara Kebaso was arrested,” she said. Kebaso, known for his activism against corruption and mismanagement of public funds, is accused of tarnishing the reputation of a prominent businessman. “There’s also the ongoing corruption scandal around the Adani takeover of Nairobi’s main international airport. And Kenyans just feel overwhelmed in terms of the mismanagement of public resources within our government,” she said.
Blunt and bold – Kenya’s ‘truth speaker’ faces the sack
Kenya’s embattled Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, calls himself the “truthful man”, attributing his remarkable rise to the fact that he speaks truth to power. But as he faces impeachment proceedings, he says these troubles are also a result of his outspoken nature. Before he was elected MP in 2017, little was known about the man who would, in five short years, rise to become Kenya’s second-in-command. Not many people outside Gachagua’s central Kenya constituency had heard of him or his style of politics. Gachagua captured the limelight in the run-up to the 2022 elections, when he vehemently opposed President Uhuru Kenyatta’s choice of preferred successor. Kenyatta was campaigning heavily for former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. But Gachagua allied himself with William Ruto, Kenyatta’s then deputy, who was angling for the presidency that his boss did not want to bequeath to him. Before he became Kenya’s deputy president, police raided Gachagua’s home and arrested him in relation to a corruption and money-laundering case. The charges were dropped after he and Ruto took power following the 2022 election. He had helped Ruto win by marshalling support in Mount Kenya – the biggest voting bloc in the country. Both Gachagua and Kenyatta come from there.
MADAGASCAR
France and Madagascar begin ‘historic’ human remains restitution process
The culture ministers of France and Madagascar, on Thursday, October 3, took the first step toward repatriating human remains taken from the Indian Ocean island while under French colonial rule. A joint scientific committee will review Madagascar’s request that France return the skull of King Toera, beheaded by troops during the early days of colonization. The review is the first of its kind since France voted in December 2023 to facilitate the restitution of human remains held in its public collections. Madagascar declared independence in 1960 after more than 60 years of French colonial rule. “France wants to respond to this expectation,” Culture Minister Rachida Dati told reporters, hailing a “historic moment” alongside her Madagascan counterpart Volamiranty Donna Mara. These remains are “of crucial importance” to the Malagasy people, Mara said. The committee will issue an opinion to the French government, which will then decide on returning King Toera’s remains and those of two chiefs from Madagascar’s Sakalava ethnic group, all currently held in the country’s natural history museum, in Paris. One-third of the estimated 30,000 biological specimens held in Paris’s anthropological museum, the Musee de l’Homme, are skulls and skeletons.
RWANDA
Everything you need to know about the Marbug virus outbreak in Rwanda
Rwanda’s Ministry of Health confirmed 27 cases of the Marburg virus, as the country is working to curb an ongoing outbreak of the deadly virus. Eighteen people are currently isolated and receiving treatment, while nine others have died. The cases are reported from seven districts, with about 70 percent of them being healthcare workers. In response to the outbreak, the health ministry has laid out guidelines, including limiting the number of people permitted to attend the funeral of people who have passed away from the virus. While the published advisory states that “normal business and other activities continue as usual,” it stresses the need for stronger personal hygiene. Healthcare facilities are required to cater to patients with symptoms of the virus “through the careful application of infection prevention and control measures,” while only one caregiver at a time is allowed for those hospitalized. Marburg virus is a highly fatal disease that causes hemorrhagic fever and has a fatality ratio of up to 88 percent. It spreads through human contact, as well as via surfaces and material contaminated with fluids carrying the virus. Last year, there were outbreaks in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea. Rwanda is widely regarded as having one of the best healthcare systems on the continent, and it is expected to comfortably deal with the Marburg virus outbreak.
SUDAN
El Fashar empties as paramilitaries close in
Aid workers estimate that hundreds of thousands of people have [left El Father in recent months] taking a road that follows a V-shape around the Zamzam refugee camp then runs west to Tawila and beyond. The road is dotted with checkpoints consisting of pieces of wood placed on car tyres and manned by men carrying AK-47s who demand money to let vehicles pass. There is a shorter route directly west out of El Fasher, along smaller roads, that some others have taken, but it is even more dangerous. Bandits and armed groups roam the area, targeting civilian convoys…In the town of Shakra the lorries are met by fighters of the Sudan Liberation Army, the rebel group that – for now at least – remains neutral and controls an area centered on the Marrah mountain range. Every Monday and Friday SLA convoys escort the refugees further west to Tawila. But danger lurks even under the protection of the SLA, as the roads are also used by the RSF and aligned militias.
TANZANIA
Gov’t mandates that 20% of gold sales must go to Central Bank
Tanzania’s mining regulator has directed all mining outfits exporting gold to allocate at least 20% of the commodity to the Central Bank of Tanzania (BoT).
This move is geared towards supporting the bank’s efforts in diversifying its foreign reserves. The country’s central bank started acquiring gold from local traders and miners in the previous fiscal year, which ended in June, to enhance its reserves as the local currency, the shilling, depreciated. The the apex bank, during the year ending June, managed to purchase around 418 kg of gold to strengthen its reserves and subsequently, the bank is looking to up the purchase to 6 metric tons of gold. Tanzania’s Mining Commission, on Friday, declared that a new mining regulation, starting October 1, will obligate gold merchants to provide 20% of their gold to two approved refineries: Eye of Africa Ltd in Dodoma and Mwanza Precious Metals Refinery Ltd in Mwanza. “All payments will be done according to the Bank of Tanzania arrangements,” the statement relayed. Tanzania is a significant gold market in East Africa, having a solid trade relationship with its neighbors. The gold trade accounts for around 4% of its GDP. Gold mining is also a significant source of employment and foreign exchange revenue for the country.
Tanzania joins Lobito Corridor linking Indian Ocean to Atlantic
The African Finance Corporation (AFC), the lead developer of the Zambia-Lobito railway, signed a concession agreement with the governments of Zambia and Angola to develop and operate the raillink on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York City. The 780km greenfield railway is to connect the Lobito rail line in Luacano, Angola, to the existing railway line in Chingola, Zambia. During the ceremony attended by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the official joining of Tanzania in the project. “The Lobito Corridor – connecting Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo – is one of our biggest projects. The ultimate goal is infrastructure connecting the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean,” Mr Blinken said. “Today, Tanzania is also joining conversations about the Lobito Corridor for the first time – something we very much welcome.” The expansion of the Lobito Corridor to include Tanzania is meant to allow the project to run all the way to the Indian Ocean to facilitate transportation of nickel and other minerals. Blinken said that so far, the United States and its partners have committed over $4 billion to Lobito Corridor projects. USTDA Director Enoh T. Ebong said the project would facilitate economic activity, trade and critical minerals development between the Port of Lobito in Angola and Zambia’s Copperbelt. “This project will help reshape the economic landscape of Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and it will foster trade while uplifting the people whose livelihoods will be tied to economic activity along the corridor,” Dr Ebong said.
UGANDA
US sanctions four Ugandan police chiefs on rights violation claims
The US Department of State on Wednesday announced travel sanctions on four officers of the Uganda Police Force (UPF) on allegations of gross violation of human rights, including torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment. Matthew Miller, Department of State spokesperson, identified the designated individuals as Bob Kagarura, former Wamala Regional Police Commander, and Alex Mwine, former District Police Commander for Mitanya District. Others are Elly Womanya, who at the time of the alleged human violation was Senior Commissioner and Deputy Director of UPF’s Criminal Investigations Division in charge of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), and Hamdani Twesigye, previously Deputy Inspector of Police assigned to the SIU. “As a result of today’s action, Kagarura, Mwine, Womanya, Twesigye and their immediate family members are generally ineligible for entry into the United States,” the statement said. Kagarura, Mwine, Twesigye, and Womanya were allegedly involved in “serious and credible” gross violations of human rights, as documented by Ugandan civil court documents, civil society organisations and independent journalists. Some of the officers designated have since retired from the force or transferred and appointed to new roles. The statement did not mention when the alleged human rights violations were committed.
Parliamentary Bill seeks to force newly weds to consummate marriage within 6 months
A Ugandan Member of Parliament has tabled a Bill that may invalidate a marriage if newly-wedded couples do not consummate it within six months. The Marriage Bill 2024 tabled by Tororo District Women MP Sarah Opendi will give newly-weds a six-month ultimatum to have sex, failure to which their union will be declared null and void. In the 61-page document, the lawmaker defines a voidable marriage as a union where parties are unable to consummate it within six months after celebrating the marriage. The MP lists reasons as to why a marriage may be deemed nullified, among them impotence of one or both spouses at the time of contraction, lack of consent of any party, or whether one of the parties fails to fulfil marital obligations among other reasons. According to the Bill, “an aggrieved party may petition the court for a declaration that his or her marriage is void.”… “A marriage shall be celebrated within three months, of the lapse of the twenty-one days’ notice published by the registrar of marriage…” adds the document.
WEST AFRICA
BENIN
Two men close to Benin’s president jailed after alleged coup plot
Olivier Boko — a businessman and longtime friend of President Patrice Talon — and Oswald Homeky — a former sports minister — were charged with “conspiracy against state security, corruption of public funds and money laundering,” [their lawyer, Ayodele Ahounou, said Tuesday.] Both men were arrested after being accused of bribing the commander in charge of the president’s security to carry out a coup. Homeky was caught while allegedly handing over six bags of money to the head of the Republican Guard, according to Elonm Mario Metonou, the special prosecutor at Benin’s court for financial crimes and terrorism. Boko, often seen as Talon’s “right-hand man,” is accused of being the mastermind behind the coup attempt and was arrested separately in Benin’s capital Cotonou. He had recently expressed interest in being a candidate in the country’s 2026 presidential election…Benin has been among the most stable democracies in Africa, but President Patrice Talon is accused of using the justice system to attack his political opponents after taking office in 2016 and changing electoral rules to enable him to consolidate power in 2021.
GHANA
Three-day protests begin in Ghana, demanding release of detained activists
Demonstrations rocked the streets of Accra on Thursday, with protesters calling for the release of 53 activists who were arrested last week during an anti-galamsey demonstration. This marks the beginning of protests that are scheduled to continue until Saturday. The key organizer of the ‘StopGalamseyNow’ protest, Oliver Mawuse Barker Vormawor, along with 11 other protesters, was remanded in custody until October 8 by the court. Reports indicate that Oliver is ill while in detention. The recent protests aim to highlight the ongoing environmental destruction caused by illegal mining, locally known as galamsey. The protests have also gained significant traction on social media, with the hashtags “FreeTheCitizens” and “SayNoToGalamsey” being used to rally more support. The three-day protests are also intended to increase pressure on the government to end the illegal mining occurring across Ghana.
Ghana: ‘We’ve nothing to hide’, election chief tells opposition NDC
Ghana’s electoral management body allowed the media to cover its meeting with political parties, for the first time since 1992, in a bid to engender transparency and trust. As Ghana heads toward its general elections in December, tensions are still high between the Electoral Commission (EC) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), with the latter casting doubt on the integrity of the provisional voters register (PVR). Despite the opposition’s concerns, EC chairperson Jean Mensa has assured the public that the commission is committed to transparency, noting that “there is nothing to hide”…In an unprecedented move, the EC live-telecasted its Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting on Tuesday, showcasing the commission’s efforts to address the concerns of political parties. The primary focus of the meeting was the disputed provisional voters register, with both ruling and opposition parties presenting their views…In response to the NDC’s concerns, Mensa announced that the EC would re-exhibit the provisional voters register and provide an online platform for voters to check their details and report any discrepancies.
IVORY COAST
Ivory Coast president Ouattara’s party pushes him to run again
Ivory Coast’s ruling party has expressed its support for President Alassane Ouattara seeking a fourth term in 2025, making it more likely that the 82-year-old will run again. Ouattara, who was re-elected for a contested third term in 2020, has said he would like to step down, but also suggested he would need old rivals to commit to withdrawing from politics too. On Monday, top officials of Ouattara’s party, the Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP), passed a motion expressing their desire to do everything possible to ensure that the RHDP, under Ouattara’s leadership, was “the undisputed winner of the next presidential election in 2025″…Ouattara, who has governed since 2011, said in 2020 that he would not run again. But his preferred successor, prime minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, died several months later…Ouattara did stand once more after his candidacy was cleared by the Constitutional Court, but his opponents nevertheless boycotted the election. He has argued that a new constitution approved in 2016 reset his two-term limit in 2020, although opposition parties disagree.
NIGERIA
More than 100 people missing after Nigeria boat carrying 300 sinks
More than 100 people are missing in Nigeria after a boat carrying mostly women and children capsized in Niger State in the country’s north, authorities have said. The locally made wooden boat, with a capacity of 100 passengers, had about 300 people on board when it overturned in the rural Mokwa district, an emergency official said on Wednesday. The vessel sank in the Niger River on Tuesday night at about 8:30pm (19:30 GMT), said Abdullahi Baba-Arah, the director general of Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA). The passengers were returning from an Islamic religious festival when the incident occurred. Rescue workers and volunteers from Mokwa local government area had rescued 150 people, Babah-Arah said early on Wednesday. The boat had been travelling from Mundi to Gbajibo for the Annual Maulud celebration when the accident happened, both the local government and NSEMA officials said. Ismaila Umar, who leads an association of boat skippers in Mokwa, told the Reuters news agency that chances of finding survivors were slim. This would be the second such major disaster in Niger State in 18 months after more than 100 people were killed in another boat accident.
Search for dozens of shipwrecked migrants near Spain’s Canaries called off
Spanish authorities have called off the search for dozens of passengers on a migrant boat that sank near the island of El Hierro in the Canary Islands over the weekend, killing at least nine people, the maritime rescue service said on Wednesday. The boat sank in the early hours of Saturday. While 27 people were rescued, at least 48 passengers are missing and hopes of retrieving their remains from sea have waned. If the missing are confirmed dead, it would make this the deadliest such incident in 30 years of crossings from Africa to the Canary Islands. The deadliest recorded to date occurred in 2009 off the island of Lanzarote, when 25 people died.
SOUTHERN AFRICA
MOZAMBIQUE
What are the key issues in Mozambique elections?
Mozambicans will vote in presidential and legislative elections on Oct. 9 that are almost certain to extend the ruling Frelimo party’s half century in power, as it battles a long-running Islamist insurgency in one of Africa’s largest gas fields…[Islamist] militants launched an insurgency in the northern gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado in 2017, killing thousands of civilians, destroying livelihoods and internally displacing hundreds of thousands, aid agencies say. The insurgency has disrupted multi-billion-dollar energy projects…Before the wave of insurgent attacks, gas projects worth over $50 billion were earmarked for development. The projects were aimed at turning the country into a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer…Mozambique is still reeling from a $1.5 billion-plus “tuna bond” scandal in which money lent to state-run firms for fishing fleets, funded in part by Credit Suisse, went missing…Mozambique is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, vulnerable to extreme climate shocks like droughts, cyclones and floods…Shortly after independence, a 16-year civil war between Frelimo and former guerilla movement Renamo – now the country’s main opposition – killed around 1 million people before a truce in 1992 ended the worst of the bloodshed. However, violence has flared up periodically, around elections.
SOUTH AFRICA
Outrage in South Africa over farmers accused of feeding slain women to pigs
Two Black women ventured onto a farm several weeks ago and never made it back. The farm owner and two of his workers are accused of fatally shooting the two women and then dumping them in a pigsty, where, the police say, they found the bodies decomposed and partly eaten.
The episode in Limpopo Province, northeast of Johannesburg, has sparked widespread outrage and ignited debate over some of South Africa’s most explosive issues: race, gender-based violence and the ongoing tensions over land between commercial farmers, who are often white, and their Black neighbors — which have sometimes resulted in bloodshed. The victims trespassed on the farm in search of food in mid-August after a truck from a dairy company dumped expiring goods there, according to prosecutors. The farm owner and the farm supervisor, both white, had planned to shoot any trespassers who came onto the property, prosecutors said. A 45-year-old Black worker at the farm, William Musora, is accused of helping to dump the bodies of the two women. Black residents have held protests outside the courthouse, and politicians are issuing angry statements… Many Black South Africans in rural areas continue to live in poverty, resorting to scavenging for food on farms. At the same time, many white farmers say that they have been the targets of persistent attacks by intruders, making some of them jittery about anyone perceived as a threat. Some on the extreme right have used those attacks to adopt outlandish rhetoric claiming a “white genocide.”
ZAMBIA
How a mega dam has caused a mega power crisis for Zambia
Despite having the mighty Zambezi River and the massive hydro-powered Kariba Dam, Zambia is currently grappling with the worst electricity blackouts in living memory…Located on the Zambezi, the fourth-longest river in Africa, Kariba was built in the 1950s and is the reservoir for the country’s largest underground power station, Kariba North Bank Power Station. A power station on the other bank serves Zimbabwe. But because of the drought that has led to parts of the river drying up, only one of the six turbines at Zambia’s power station is operating, resulting in the generation of a paltry 7% of the 1,080 MW installed at Kariba. The dam retains the water of the Zambezi with a curving wall that is 128m (420ft) high, 579m (1,900ft) long and 21m (69ft) thick. Engineer Cephas Museba – who has been working for Zesco for 19 years – says he has never seen water levels so low at Kariba.
ZIMBABWE
Gold-backed currency devalued by 40%
Zimbabwe’s central bank has devalued its gold-backed currency, the Zig, by over 40% against the US dollar, raising concerns about the country’s ongoing economic challenges. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) reduced the exchange rate to 24 Zig per US dollar due to increased demand for the US currency, which also serves as legal tender in the southern African country. The decision follows warnings from major retailers about potential store closures if the rate remained unchanged. Introduced just over six months ago, the Zig was meant to stabilize Zimbabwe’s economy. However, it has struggled, particularly in the black market, where its value has more than halved. The RBZ stated that the devaluation aims to address exchange rate risks, control inflation expectations, and stabilize prices. Zimbabweans, however, remain skeptical of the central bank due to past economic mismanagement, especially the hyperinflation crisis of 2008.
Zimbabwe shops impose limits amid panic-buying after huge official ZiG devaluation
Some shops across Zimbabwe have imposed “one item per person” rules for products such as milk to fend off panic-buying triggered by a new loss of faith in the country’s latest currency. Last week, formal retailers warned the government they would go out of business if they were forced to continue selling at the artificially high official rate for Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency. Now retailers such as Pick n Pay, and OK Supermarket have warned they may have to close shops after the shock official devaluation of ZiG. The latest approach to the currency supposedly backed by physical gold – which hit an all-time high price last week – has further confused consumers, and the broader market…While formal shops are required to accept ZiG, tuck shops and informal vendors simply refuse. As a result, runners now intermediate between some in those two groups, with the informal traders effectively acting as outlets for their bigger peers. Some retailers switch off their point-of-sale machines to avoid the electronic-only ZiG. The upheaval has left many people a lot poorer, on paper.
NORTH AFRICA
EGYPT
Al-Azhar Grand Imam slams world’s hypocrisy when it comes to Israel
The grand Imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb, criticised world powers over their silence and hypocrisy about Israel’s devastating war against Lebanon and the Gaza Strip which has claimed the lives of tens of thousands and described it as “political schizophrenia”. This came during a meeting with the President of the Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches, Reverend Andre Zaki, and a delegation from the South Africa Council of Churches and American churches. Al-Tayeb said the most prominent features of this “political schizophrenia” are the global hypocrisy practised by major countries which demand an end to Israel aggression on Gaza while continuing to provide Tel Aviv with weapons to kill more innocent people. He pointed out that politicians who practise this global hypocrisy do not want to achieve a just peace, or to support the oppressed in Gaza and Lebanon, stressing that they have lost their moral compass and morality. The modern world, he added, is trying to exclude divine religions and distance it from everyday life and blamed the Arab and Islamic world for not preparing itself to confront these contemporary challenges, and instead became preoccupied with sectarian challenges and strife.
LIBYA
What’s the fate of 19 men forcibly disappeared one year ago?
A year after 19 men were forcibly disappeared in Libya, their fate and whereabouts remains unknown, raising serious concerns about ongoing human rights abuses and impunity in the war-torn nation. Families of the disappeared, alongside human rights organisations, are urgently calling on Libyan authorities to reveal the status of their loved ones, hold those responsible accountable and take immediate steps to address enforced disappearances across the country. The men, who were reportedly abducted by armed groups, were taken from different parts of the country, including Tripoli, Benghazi and other regions, during various operations allegedly carried out by government-aligned factions and militias. Families and witnesses claim the disappearances were politically motivated, tied to ongoing clashes and power struggles among Libya’s various armed groups and political factions. Despite pleas to local authorities and international human rights bodies, no credible investigations have been launched into these cases. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have expressed concern over the rise in enforced disappearances across Libya in recent years, particularly since the outbreak of renewed conflict in 2019. The UN Human Rights Council has also condemned the practice as a violation of international law, urging Libya to adhere to its obligations under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
TUNISIA
Kais Saied’s final assault on democracy
Tunisia holds a presidential election on Oct. 6 that is expected to be the final nail in the coffin of the first democracy to emerge from the 2011 Arab Spring protests. As the vote approaches, President Kais Saied has used the country’s legal system to imprison or arrest at least a dozen potential election candidates and ban others from running. Foreign election monitors have been banned from observing an election that’s expected to be boycotted by a majority of the public. Only two candidates have been approved to run against Saied: Zouhair Magzhaoui, who is seen as close to the president, and Ayachi Zammel, who on Tuesday was jailed for 12 years on charges of fraudulent voter endorsements. He has been in jail since last month when he was sentenced to a total of more than two years in prison in separate cases. Zammel has had 37 prosecutions launched against him. It will be the first election held under the country’s new constitution, which was drafted by Saied and passed in July 2022, in a referendum largely boycotted by voters. The constitution gives the president the right to hire and fire the prime minister and parliamentary ministers. The new laws also established a bicameral parliamentary system for the first time, by creating the National Council of Regions and Districts as a second chamber—but only 12 percent of Tunisians turned out to vote for new members. Saied came to office in 2019, backed by young voters in a process considered free and fair by international observers.
AFRICA-GENERAL NEWS
Dozens of Africans die after forced-off ships and into open waters
Dozens of Africans died and dozens of others were missing after smugglers forced them off two boats near the coast of Djibouti, making 2024 the deadliest year for migrants crossing between Africa and Yemen, the International Organization for Migration said on Wednesday. The boats were traveling from Yemen to Djibouti on Tuesday, one carrying 100 migrants and the other 220 migrants, when the vessels’ Yemeni operators ordered those onboard to leave the boats in the open sea and swim, the organization said in a statement. There were at least 197 survivors, the organization added, but at least 48 others died and 75 were still missing. Although the two migrant ships were traveling from Yemen to Djibouti, many more African migrants travel in the opposite direction — largely heading for Saudi Arabia — in search of better lives. Many migrants on the route are from Ethiopia and Somalia, the International Organization for Migration said. Even if they survive the boat voyage, migrants can face hostilities on land. Last year, Human Rights Watch said that Saudi Arabian border guards had regularly opened fire on Africans trying to cross into the kingdom from Yemen.
The dangers of migration in the Gulf of Aden
Known as ‘tahriib’, they are clandestine travellers seeking to escape conflict, poverty and the effects of climate change. Over the past decade, their journeys across the Gulf of Aden have become increasingly chaotic, a microcosm of the forces driving worldwide flows of human traffic. Between the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, this stretch of water separates the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. No other place on earth has witnessed more cycles of conflict, forcing so many people into successive rotations in such a small space. Today, contraflows of migrants and refugees move through a labyrinth of ever-more-dangerous routes, exchanging insecurities, jumping between continents, from one battlefield to another. They criss-cross Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Yemen and Saudi Arabia, a human shuffle in which the odds are never favourable. A generation of young men and women has been seduced by a growing network of middlemen, promising jobs and a better future elsewhere. Promises that have, in turn, fuelled a new model of people trafficking, drawing the tahriib into a world in which there is often complete disregard for life.
GOOD NEWS AFRICA
Nigerians gather to mobilize hope amid growing burden of childhood cancers
Hundreds gathered in Abuja, Nigeria for the 2024 Childhood Cancer Awareness Walk, raising awareness and support for pediatric cancer. Despite progress in cancer care, Nigerian children face high costs and delayed diagnoses, which the walk aims to address. year-old son Shittu, diagnosed with leukemia at age 5. With support from the Okapi Children Cancer Foundation, Shittu is now cancer-free. Among the walkers was Izuyor Tobi. He brought his daughter Hope, who battled neuroblastoma. Treatment costs nearly drained the family’s finances until Okapi intervened. Today, Hope is healthy. Tobi believes that spreading awareness about pediatric cancer will save lives. Kemi Adekanye founded the Okapi Children Cancer Foundation in 2017 and has been mobilizing community awareness and support. Funded by friends and family, the foundation has helped over 200 children access treatment, despite costs starting at $180…
Lake Victoria countries working to fight crime, improve community relations
Officials from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are meeting for the fourth time in less than two years to find ways to more effectively fight transnational crimes around the Lake Victoria area. Some of the crimes are nature-related, such as illegal fishing, tree cutting and charcoal production. In other cases, criminals take advantage of porous borders to sell drugs and conduct human trafficking. In 2021, the police organization Interpol rescued 121 people trafficked in and around Lake Victoria. The world’s second-largest freshwater lake covers 60,000 square kilometers and is a source of livelihood for at least 40 million people in East Africa. Authorities have documented illegal fishing in the lake, driven by rising demand for Nile perch, as well as charcoal harvesting and timber smuggling.
African Nations in talks for first ever joint Debt-for-Nature Swap
At least five African countries are working on what could be the world’s first joint “debt-for-nature” swap to raise at least $2 billion to protect a coral-rich swathe of Indian Ocean, according to a global conservation group. Debt-for-nature deals are becoming increasingly popular for poorer nations to pay for conservation. Bonds or loans are bought and replaced with cheaper debt, with savings used for environmental protection. Ecuador, Barbados, Belize, Gabon and Seychelles have all made such swaps in recent years, but the African initiative would be the first to involve multiple countries sharing a distinct ecosystem…Key details such as how much of each country’s debt is brought up and who decides and monitors how and where the conservation money is spent, all require lengthy negotiation… discussions were also being held with some of the main multilateral development banks in the region about offering credit guarantees and insurance policies for the swap.
Farmers in Kenya deploying AI to increase productivity
In [Kenya], AI-powered tools have become increasingly popular among small-scale farmers seeking to improve the quality and quantity of their produce. Pests, diseases and a lack of technical knowhow mean farmers have become accustomed to suffering crop losses on a large scale. They used to rely on advice from agricultural extension officers – professionals deployed by local governments to provide educational services to farmers – but their numbers have declined in recent years due to inadequate funding…[PlantVillage and Virtual Agronomist] work by training AI models on images and data. Researchers at PlantVillage fed their model thousands of images of healthy and diseased crops to help it learn how to identify pests, while for Virtual Agronomist researchers trained a model to predict PH and other soil properties using continent-wide satellite data…
Sahara Desert is turning green amid unusual rains in North Africa
Bountiful rains are greening parts of the Sahara that haven’t had a good soak in years. An extratropical cyclone pushed across the northwestern Sahara on September 7th and 8th and drenched large, treeless swaths of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. At the same time, the Intertropical Convergence Zone, a line of rainfall that floats between a few degrees latitude on either side of the equator between July and September, has pushed farther north than normal, soaking Niger, Chad, and Sudan according to data from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. a result, these portions of the Sahara Desert are anywhere from twice as wet to more than six times wetter than they normally are…Images from NASA’s MODIS Satellite have revealed some of this greening, while at the same time showing that lakes which have long been dry are now filling up, such as one in Morocco’s Iriqui National Park. 11,000 years ago and beyond, the Sahara looked a lot more like the savannah of Kenya and Tanzania than the world’s largest non-polar desert that we see today.
Model makers in Madagascar are bringing history’s long-lost ships back to life
A French trading ship that sank in the 17th century with treasure onboard is being brought back to life in a workshop in Madagascar with every stroke of Rafah Ralahy’s small wood sander. Ralahy, eyes sparkling behind his glasses, has learned in 30 years as a craftsman at the Le Village model ship making company that recreating history in miniature form can’t be rushed. It’ll take time to get the shape of the hull just right on this model, to get it just as it was on the 1,000-ton original. The ship in question was called the Soleil d’Orient — the Eastern Sun — and it was one of the best in the French East India company. It sank in 1681 while carrying ambassadors and treasure sent by the King of Siam (now Thailand) to King Louis XIV of France. Anyone wanting an exact wooden replica from Le Village, albeit a few feet long, can get it for just over $2,500. That excludes the shipping costs. “My job is to be as faithful as possible to the plan,” said 50-year-old Ralahy, referring to copies of the ships’ original building plans that Le Village acquires from maritime museums or other sources. “At each stage we check so that the model we create is identical to the ship designed centuries ago.” Le Village has been making models of history’s most famous vessels since 1993 and sending them to collectors across the world, some of them eminent. Prince Albert of Monaco has several models displayed in his palace, said Le Village co-owner Grégory Postel. The Spanish royal family also own Le Village creations. Pope Francis was gifted a model by Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina.
Using dance to provoke, delight and tell South Africa’s stories
Growing up in an impoverished Black township near Johannesburg in the 1980s, the boy, Vusi Mdoyi, loved watching his father dance with friends, in a style known as pantsula, in the dirt yards of their staid four-room bungalows. It was a sprinkle of joy in the dark days of apartheid. At about 7 years old, Mr. Mdoyi began mimicking the dance form. By 10, he was dancing in school festivals. By 14, he had created his own dance crew with neighborhood friends. Now 44, Mr. Mdoyi is a celebrated dancer and choreographer who has helped to achieve what felt unimaginable during apartheid: turning the street art of pantsula into a high art that attracts global praise, and audiences…Mr. Mdoyi’s latest work is in some ways a full circle moment to what originally vaulted his career from South African festivals to stages across the world: He choreographed and danced in a piece performed in Soweto this month, during the 30th anniversary celebration of Step Afrika! His new piece, titled, “The Tattered Soul of a Worker,” tells the story of South African migrant workers who were forced to travel from their homes to find jobs, and it offers a critique of a capitalist system that has left the working class struggling.
’Scenes from the street’, African photographers share their worlds
Works by street photographers from Kenya, South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria come together as part of the International Center of Photography’s latest exhibition in New York. Like street photography, the subject of the center’s latest exhibition. In We Are Here: Scenes from the Street, the ICP hopes to encourage a re-framing of how we view the street and everything that takes place on it. Bringing together the work of 30 photographers, the exhibition includes well-known African artists who’ve used the street and public space to directly confront issues of power and privilege. By asking who has traditionally had permission to produce images of our shared public spaces, and following the ways in which this privilege has shifted, the exhibition succeeds in refocusing our collective attention on what street photography can be—and what it certainly has become.
Reasons to love being Nigerian
Despite the country’s current socio-economic challenges, there is still much to celebrate as Nigeria marks 64 years of independence. Nigeria’s history of celebrating her Independence Day typically features nationwide parades, a public holiday, loud music, commemorative events and an unmistakable sense of national pride. Although there is still a public holiday each year, and some parades happen in select parts of the country, the overarching sense of pride, the celebratory air of having wrestled freedom away from the British and established a country rich in natural resources, culture and talent, is pretty much gone. In place of that is a looming dread directly brought on by the problematic state of the nation. With an inflation rate of 33.4 percent as recent as July, the weakening national currency is falling so badly that if a Nigerian earned N1 every day for a year, they still couldn’t make the equivalent of $1. The country is also going through one of its worst economic crises, adding extra dampness to an already demoralized event. Despite all of this, Nigerians have always managed to survive and thrive. Subcultures and prominent socio-cultural movements have found room to grow and have been exported to other parts of the world, and Afrobeats continues to thrive in music scenes around the globe. Despite all of the issues the country faces, there are still many things to be proud of.
With new podcast, Lupita Nyong’o finds ‘sense of purpose’ in amplifying African stories
Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o discusses merging her artistic vision with her African identity in her new podcast, ‘Mind Your Own.’ For multiple award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, it’s been a five-year labor of love, marked by several starts and stops, in the journey to launching her Mind Your Own podcast. The podcast is a 10-part series where Nyong’o will spotlight the personal stories of the African diaspora.
Female coach breaking male barriers in African football
Jackline Juma made history last month when she became the first female coach to lead a professional men’s team in the top tier of a major African league.The fact that she got her first win with FC Talanta, a 1-0 victory over Sofapaka in the Kenyan Premier League, was almost secondary. At the final whistle, her opposite number Robert Matano, one of the country’s most experienced and famous coaches, seemed to take the loss badly. “After the match, he did not say anything or shake hands. On social media, people were saying that it was because he lost against a female coach.” It remains a rarity to see a female head coach on the sidelines, setting out tactics, making substitutions and shouting instructions.
Malagasy boy who got life-saving surgery returns to same Hospital Ship a decade on–wanting to be a Doctor
A boy who was given life-changing leg surgery as a toddler has returned to the same hospital ship a decade later, declaring he wants to become a doctor himself. Romino developed bowed legs in early childhood which prevented him from walking properly. Doctors in his Madagascar hometown suggested leg massages to correct the issue, but nothing seemed to work. Then, in 2015, his worried mother Claudia brought her three-year-old to a charity hospital ship called Africa Mercy, while it was docked nearby. Doctors on board performed surgery on the little lad, so he could grow up running, walking, and playing football just like his friends. This year, Africa Mercy returned to Madagascar—and Romino stepped aboard again, in an emotional return. He told the staff that he wants to become a doctor himself, inspired by the Mercy Ships surgeons that saved his legs nine years ago.
VIDEOS:
Confronting colonial-era names in Africa
As Uganda marks 62 years of independence from Britain, one citizen petitions to remove colonial administrators’ names from streets, saying they evoke anger and bitterness among Ugandans. Historians highlight their roles in mass killings and discrimination
Maasai woman brings sustainable change to her home
Born into a marginalized community clinging to age-old traditions, Selina Nkoile’s life could have followed a very different path. But with the eco-village Bomanoma, she’s taken sustainability to another level.
Illuminating the path to African design
Candice Lawrence’s fusion of traditional African artistry and contemporary flair has seen her lamps featured in the 2022 superhero film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Kenyan farmers invest in camels to beat the drought
Known for their ability to survive in the desert, camels seem like a natural choice for Kenya’s drought-stricken regions. A growing number of farmers are trading in their cows for camels. Their new livestock offer a number of advantages.
Refugees in the U.S. turn to farming for new beginnings
Refugees from African nations, including Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, are finding new livelihoods through farming in the United States. Many of these refugees, who fled war and persecution, are now growing and selling vegetables as a means of earning an income and reconnecting with their agricultural roots.
Gambia’s female basketballers take to the court
A growing number of girls and women are taking their place in Gambia’s sports world, though some of those who have made it on to the basketball court are still having to jump through a few hoops. But others are now well-placed to inspire the next generation of girls in sports in the West African country.
Nigerian artist weaving waste into stunning portrait
Chibuike Ifedilichukwu produces colorful life-size portraits of amazing quality, using old tin cans or plastic waste. His artworks are a powerful statement: Waste is not just a problem, it’s also a valuable resource.
Eating on camera becoming a growing trend in Africa
Egusi and okra soup with fufu has become popular in international “mukbang” circles, where people engage in self-indulgent eating for an online audience. And more and more, Africans are also getting into the business. There’s plenty of food, incredible clout and gifts to be had. But what are the drawbacks of this social media trend?
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