Ufahamu Africa

"Few were surprised as, near midnight on August 26, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced incumbent president Emmerson Mnangagwa’s reelection in yet another of Zimbabwe’s tendentious contests," writes David B. Moore. "His inauguration on September 4 sanctified his return to power." In this article by Moore, first published in The Conversation Africa , he explains how the...

Aisha Namugga, Bashiru Koroma, and Louise Tekapso are climate experts from across the continent—Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Cameroon, respectively. We spoke with them about their expertise in climate change and sustainable environments while they were at Cornell University this summer completing the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders (YALI). The fellows discussed their vision fo...

Dede Barpeen, Gibson Mainaon, and Ruth Sulaimon are health professionals from across the continent—Liberia, Kenya, and Guinea-Bissau, respectively. We spoke with them about their expertise in public administration and health while they were at Cornell University this summer completing the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders (YALI).  The fellows speak to their vision for a just...

A three-day protest in Accra, Ghana, in late September addressed the economic strife faced by Ghanaians. Demonstrators were met with large numbers of arrests and pushback from police. In today's episode, - the launch of season 8! - our graduate podcast fellow Ami Tamakloe speaks with three guests who were involved with the protests: Antoinette Boama, Barbara Ntumy, and Benjamin Darko.  Find t...

E. Tendayi Achiume is a professor of law at UCLA and a newly announced 2023 MacArthur Fellow. Her research focuses on international migration, refugee displacement, and especially the role of international law in shaping the way that borders work.  Today's episode is a rerun in celebration of her recent fellowship announcement and  covers a broad scope of Achiume's work, including coloni...

Our student essay competition winner is Wisdom Adediji, an undergraduate student at the University of Ibadan! Wisdom reads his essay, "The Nigeria 2023 Election, Aftermath, and Way Forward to National Development," for this bonus episode.  Find the books, links, and articles we mentioned in this episode on our website, ufahamuafrica.com . 

Apply now to become an Ufahamu Africa non-resident fellow! Working remotely, fellows host and produce 4 unique episodes that are aired on the podcast with the support of a $3,500 stipend. Apply by August 30 on our website: https://www.ufahamuafrica.com/call-for-applications-podcast-fellows .  Find the books, links, and articles we mentioned in this episode on our website, ufahamuafrica.com . 

Our conversation with fellow Bamba Ndiaye and journalist Borso Tall continues this week, picking up where we left off on the sexual assault allegations against Ousmane Sonko and the uprising happening in their wake. In case you missed it, listen to episode 176 and part 1 of the conversation .   Find the books, links, and articles we mentioned in this episode on our website, ufahamuafrica.com . 

In our latest episode from fellow Bamba Ndiaye, Bamba speaks with journalist Borso Tall who has been covering the current socio-political and judicial unrest in Senegal. Today's episode is part 1 of a conversation on what's been happening in the country. Find the books, links, and articles we mentioned in this episode on our website, ufahamuafrica.com . 

Roadblock Politics, The War That Doesn't Say Its Name, and Batman Saves the Congo all examine the seeming perpetual violence in the Congo and dispel misconceptions surrounding Congolese conflicts. These books were reviewed by Laura Seay, who wrote “No, Batman didn’t save the Congo, and other book reviews” for The Monkey Cage as part of the 2022 African Politics Summer Reading Spectacular.  Re...

In our latest from fellow Kamogelo Tinyiko Theledi, we talk about the representation of minority groups in South African art. Mainstream media often tells the story of majority groups and those who don’t fit into those stories are often considered outsiders.  Kamo talks to guests Mpho Tjope, Rhulani Baloyi, and Kamohelo Sebudi for this conversation. Mpho is an author, speaker, founder and managing...

Today's episode from fellow Maseke Rioba is a little different! Maseke interviews guest Njuguna Macharia about the sport of debate as a valuable development tool for African youth.  Macharia is a lawyer, an experienced debater, and debate coach in Kenya. He speaks to the skills learned by debaters and how these tools benefit students beyond school.  Find the books, links, and articles we ment...

From fellow Kamogelo Tinyiko Theledi comes this episode on arts funding and corruption in South Africa. Kamo speaks with multiple guests about South Africa's Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture, a group that announced a relief fund of 150 million rand ($8.3 million) for artists, athletes, and others in these industries. Most of the money, however, was never shared with these workers. In S...

E. Tendayi Achiume is a professor of law at UCLA. Her research focuses on international migration, refugee displacement, and especially the role of international law in shaping the way that borders work. Today's episode covers a broad scope of Achiume's work, including colonialism, human rights, and migration. This episode is a podcast mashup between Ufahamu Africa and Migrations: A Worl...

On April 15, fighting broke out in Sudan between the army and a powerful para-military group known as the RSF. Khartoum is the site of much of this fighting and its citizens have been fleeing amid a humanitarian crisis. Three scholars speak about the crisis for this episode, which first aired as a webinar called " Sudan: Insight into Current Events ." You'll hear from Mai Hassan, as...

Ami Tamakloe, our graduate podcast fellow, is today's host! Ami speaks with activist Fatima Derby about Uganda's anti-gay bill, passed by its parliament on March 21. The bill criminalizes people who identify as LGBTQ and compels citizens to report those who do to authorities.  Find the books, links, and articles we mentioned in this episode on our website, ufahamuafrica.com . 

“ War, Women, and Post-conflict Empowerment: Lessons from Sierra Leone  depicts the everyday struggles of women trying to improve their lives, while illuminating the political, legal and economic conditions of Sierra Leoneans after civil war," writes Miriam Anderson. This week's episode is Anderson's full review of the book, originally published in The Monkey Cage.  Review read by A...

Carolyn E. Holmes writes for The Monkey Cage about two books that take different roads to understand South Africa: The Inheritors: An Intimate Portrait of South Africa’s Racial Awakening by Eve Fairbanks and Until We Have Won Our Liberty: South Africa after Apartheid by Evan Lieberman.   "It is not that Fairbanks’s account of the New South Africa is pessimistic while Lieberman’s is optimistic...

Today's episode is a roundtable discussion with Rachel and guests Oumar Ba, Marame Gueye, and Bamba Ndiaye who shed light on the state of Senegalese politics and democracy.  We discuss Senegalese president Macky Sall and his unwillingness to say whether or not he will run again, leading opposition politician Ousmane Sonko's rape and defamation cases, and the role of civic mobilizations i...

Laura Seay writes for The Monkey Cage that These Are Not Gentle People takes a deep look at community fear and mistrust. “Harding explores questions of fear, race and equality in post-apartheid South Africa, drawing a portrait of a community in which individuals of different racial groups are still very much afraid of one another," writes Seay. "This lack of connection, trust and knowled...

Takondwa Priscilla Semphere, one of our non-resident fellows , brings us a conversation about what it is like to be an African student and eventually a teacher. Takondwa is now a secondary school teacher in South Africa and she invites fellow teacher Keith Mundangepfupfu into a conversation about their own experiences in school and about school culture. Keith Mundangepfupfu is a Zimbabwean ethics...

It's a mashup! We join up with the Governance Uncovered podcast from Jeffrey Paller and the Governance and Local Development Policy Institute to talk to Prince Guma, Astrid Haas, and Patience Mususa. Each is an expert on the urbanization of the continent.  We respond to Jeffrey's recent article in This Week in Africa, " Five Trends that will Shape Urban Africa in 2023 ," which...

Fellow Bamba Ndiaye explores the policing of protest in Africa and the mechanisms used by African governments to repress social movements and activists, alongside guest and Ugandan activist Bwesigye Bwa Mwesigire.  Mwesigire teaches at Emory University's Institute of African Studies and is completing a PhD in English at Cornell University. He is also a member of the Ubuntu Reading Group Publi...

Social media has an undeniable influence on politics and elections across the globe. Today, fellow Kamogelo Tinyiko Theledi speaks with expert guests Solly Moeng and Sthembiso Sithole about the use of social media by politicians and its effects on voters and elections.  Solly Moeng is a brand reputation management expert and Sthembiso Sithole is a social media and digital specialist. Find the book...

Diakhoumba Gassama is a human rights lawyer and program officer for the Hewlett Foundation's Gender Equity and Governance Program. She speaks with Ufahamu Africa fellow Maseke Rioba this week about the practice of FGM, or female genital mutilation. Listen for a conversation that incorporates both personal experience and the cultural and legal context surrounding FGM across the continent. We a...