Africa Daily

"Every one of us has his or her personal mountain to climb. It might not be Everest or it might not be a physical mountain. Yours might be in the boardroom, on a bicycle, in your family, at school... There's always something we need to achieve. Something big, something difficult and something meaningful... And when you get there, remember to be thankful and reach down and pull someone else up with...

On Monday, Egypt’s incumbent president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi won a third term in office with just under 90 % of the vote. This is despite ongoing economic turmoil in the country, caused by high inflation. A former army chief, Mr Sisi has ruled Egypt since overthrowing the democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, a decade ago. He will now be in power until 2029. In this episode of Africa Dai...

The Ubo-aka is one of Africa’s oldest musical instrument and keeping the sound of this ancient instrument alive has been challenging. Musician Gerald Eze says the number of young people playing this instrument has declined and that he wants to make sure this Igbo tradition survives by performing with the Ubo-aka and teaching people how to play it. Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja met Gerald when he was...

This episode discusses difficult issues including sexual violence and suicide. “You have thousands of cases and you have one judge. So every day you go to the court, they say come back tomorrow. The families they just get tired.” Miatta Grey is a woman with a very personal mission. She’s the founder of ‘Sister’s Hand’ - an organisation in Liberia which supports victims of gender-based violence – h...

Millions of people will be voting in elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo this week. President Félix Tshisekedi is seeking a second, and final, five-year term in office. It’s a country the size of Western Europe with an estimated population of more than 100 million people. It’s also a country rich in natural resources- it has 70% of the world's reserves of coltan, a mineral used to make m...

Imagine paying off someone else’s debts from 30 years ago. That’s what the Somali government has been having to do, as it tried to pay off debts built up by governments in the 1990s. Five years ago Somalia was using 64% of its Gross Domestic Product – the value of all the goods and services it produces – to pay off foreign debts. Now it’s only using 6%. It’s come after a process of painful economi...

“Our ancestors, our forefathers and our great grandmothers used to come together and have discussions and sing songs and dance. This is how we would document our lives and our history and this is how we would begin very important and critical conversations” – Masechaba Ndlovu, Rainbow Nation Music Fest ambassador. Thousands of people are expected to attend the Rainbow Nation Festival in South Afri...

“The words ‘fossil fuels’ have never (before) made it into a COP decision. We’re finally naming the elephant in the room. The genie is never going back in the bottle again.” So the talking is over and the weary delegates have headed home. This year’s climate conference, COP28 – when world leaders, activist and lobbyists get together to discuss how to limit global warming - was certainly eventful....

Today, Africa Daily’s Mpho Lakaje talks to Zimbabwean blueberry farmer Stuart Torr. He and his brother studied in the UK, before returning to Africa to farm. Their company is among those exporting blueberries to countries like the Netherlands, Spain, France, Germany, Singapore and Malaysia. They operate in a sector that has seen significant growth in recent years. Fruit industry analysis group, Ea...

Kenya's parliament has banned the wearing of a suit, named after the late Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, within the building. Speaker of Parliament Moses Wetangula said Kaunda suits, as well as traditional African clothes, were not welcome. And Kenya is not alone – African clothes are not permitted in many parliaments across the continent. Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja has been speaking to Senato...

Zanzibar is an island off the coast of Tanzania where more than 99% of the population are Muslim. In a community that places high value on family and marriage, being a divorcee is something that is often looked down upon, especially for women. However, one woman is breaking down those stereotypes through her culinary initiative, Mamas of Zanzibar. BBC Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja speaks to Maskat o...

Since 2013, more than 70,000 Nigerians have crossed into northern Cameroon fleeing Boko Haram attacks. As they settled in Minawao as refugees, they were faced with difficult desert conditions, with nowhere to hide their heads when the sun was scorching. So they opted to join forces to plant trees and have build what is now known as The Green Refugee Camp. In today’s Africa Daily podcast, Alan Kasu...

Artificial Intelligence is playing a growing part in modern life. We’re told it can make things faster, more efficient and cheaper. But people with disabilities can struggle to use machines which use AI because they don’t recognise their special needs and adapt to them. Instructions are often visual – making it impossible for a blind person to use without the assistance of someone else. A number o...

“Families who have young brothers and sister or sons being killed didn’t even know they were in criminal environments. It caught politicians off guard. It caught everyone off guard.” Sweden’s police chief has described a spike in gang violence – including shootings and bomb attacks - as “unprecedented”. The police force in the capital Stockholm have said they are overwhelmed and Prime Minister Ulf...

“Look at the Middle East right now, Israel and Palestine. They could have come to terms with each other a long time ago. We were fortunate that we had a Mandela” – Roelf Meyer, former South African cabinet minister. South Africa’s first democratically elected president Nelson Mandela died on this day, a decade ago. So today, Africa Daily’s Mpho Lakaje sits down with two of his former ministers, Sy...

In November this year, 221 Malawians flew to Israel to start working on farms there. The Malawian government has a labour export deal with Israel, and says it is eventually aiming for a total of 5000 people to travel there for work. According to the World Bank, Malawi is the fourth poorest country in the world. But the deal has provoked debate in Malawi because of the current conflict in Israel. T...

Across Africa, the impact of climate change is becoming more and more apparent. This year alone, multiple countries across the continent have been hit with an array of severe natural disasters – ranging from floods to excruciatingly high temperatures. As the United Nations Climate Change Conference - or COP28 - kicked of this week, delegates agreed to launch the long-awaited 'loss and damage' fund...

The Horn of Africa region is experiencing torrential rainfall and floods linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon, claiming dozens of lives and causing large-scale displacement. In Somalia the number of those killed by the floods has surpassed 100, and more than 700,000 have been displaced. The rains are forecast to continue battering East Africa till the end of the year. It comes as the region em...

Brain drain is an issue across the continent but has become closely associated with Nigeria. Several surveys have found that the country has the highest proportion of young people wanting to move overseas. The tendency even has its own term – Japa – meaning to run, flee, or escape, in the Yoruba language. But does this tell the whole story? On a recent trip to Lagos, Alan Kasujja brought together...

“The water is dirty. You can see it with your own eyes. It looks muddy. When you pour it in a glass and leave it overnight, the following day you start seeing small things swimming in the water” – Kamogelo Stock, South African citizen In this episode, we hear from people who’ve gone through the agony of losing their loved ones to cholera in South Africa. The disease is currently wreaking havoc in...

Some people may find the issues discussed in this episode upsetting. _____________________________________________________________________ “Some of the children that I talk to who attempted suicide would simply tell me that: 'I think I’m a burden to my parents. They want me to pass, I don’t pass. I think if I die I would solve their problems.'” - Tsepiso Siseoana, Lesotho psychotherapist. Recently...

Last week the Malian army seized the town of Kidal, in the country's north - weeks after the United Nations stabilisation mission, MINUSMA, withdrew from its base there. For the past decade, Kidal has been a stronghold of the Tuareg rebel group - and so its capture was a symbolic success for Mali’s military leaders, who seized power in 2020. They have made the restoration of territorial sovereignt...

It’s an astonishing story of political intrigue: a man called Sengezo Tshabangu, who claims to be the Secretary General of Zimbabwe’s opposition party – the Citizens Coalition for Change, or the CCC, has been issuing recall letters, which say they are no longer members of the party – and getting opposition MPs barred from parliament. At the time of recording, 32 MPs have lost their seats. Some alr...

12 countries in Africa will receive 18 million doses of the RTS,S malaria vaccine in the coming days. The roll out will begin in the new year. The doses are injections for children between 5 months and 2 years old. Kenya, Ghana and Malawi have already been using the vaccine in a pilot programme since 2019, but in other countries - including Uganda, Mozambique and Cameroon - this will be new. So to...

The South African singer and pianist Thandi Ntuli was surrounded by music as a child – her grandfather was a key part of the musical scene in Sophiatown, a suburb in Johannesburg known for its music. She now has a new album out called ‘Rainbow Revisited’ – referring to the term coined by the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu “Rainbow Nation” to describe post-apartheid South Africa – a nation where its...