Africa Daily

“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 abo...

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...

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 t...

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 s...

“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...

“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 th...

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...

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...

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...

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 spe...

“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 govern...

“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...

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 coun...

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...

“I stand to be corrected but I think I’m the only hearing person who went to a deaf school. Don’t ask me why because even I want to know why. I did my Maths and Biology and Science in sign language” In May of this year, South Africa passed a law which will officially make sign language the 12th official language. This follows intense lobbying by activists over many years. Estimates vary greatly on...

When fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces in mid April, there were just over 360 children - including many infants - living in the Mygoma orphanage in Khartoum. Like most of the population, they were trapped. In the time since, 67 of the children have died of malnourishment or illness. Those caring for them couldn’t get enough food. Some of their regular carers cou...

* After this episode was recorded, mobile internet was reinstated in Senegal, although access to some social media platforms may still be restricted. Last week, protesters took to the streets in Senegal after opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was sentenced to two years in prison. The sentence could rule him out of running for president in next year’s elections. At the same time, suggestions that Pre...

Some people may find the issues discussed in this episode upsetting. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Official estimates suggest that around 1,500 people took their own lives in Ghana last year… but actual deaths may be much higher – because many people will try to cover up a suicide in the family. And experts say that for every suicide...

“The level of crime in our province is completely unacceptable. It can’t even be compared to the warzone in Ukraine. We have to stop this. If we don’t, it will swallow all of us. We can’t have so many people being murdered” Violent crime has long been a problem in South Africa. Statistics released by the police recently show that over 6 200 people were murdered in the country in just three months....

A week ago, Bola Tinubu was sworn in as President of Nigeria. Amid his inauguration ceremony he announced that the country's 'fuel subsidy is gone'. His statement caught people’s attention and many people headed to gas stations to stock up on fuel. People waited for hours in queues, often finding filling stations closed or charging much higher prices. The decades-long subsidy has kept down the pri...

“I just have love for my people… I put myself in their shoes and I’m like, 'let me reach those people'. I feel their pain.” This week Africa Daily has been looking at what it means to be a nurse in Africa. We’ve heard from those who want to leave to find work – but have been banned from working abroad by their governments. We’ve also heard from those who’ve left the continent with high hopes – onl...

In March this year, the W-H-O identified 55 countries as facing the “most pressing health workforce challenges”. Basically, nations where there are less than 49 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10,000 people – the global average. Forty-one of them are in Africa. In response, some of the main destinations for emigrating heath workers – like the UK’s National Health Service – said they had stopped a...

“If people die in hospitals because there are no nurses and doctors and somebody who has been so irresponsible for not training their own nationals, but wanting poor countries to train for them, it’s a crime that must be taken seriously” Zimbabwe’s Vice President Constantino Chiwenga wants to make it a criminal offense for recruitment agencies to poach health workers from Zimbabwe. He says his cou...

The price of sugar is on the rise in Kenya and it’s really hitting people’s pockets. It’s partly due to a shortage of sugarcane in the country. In April, it was reported that some sugar mills were closing their operations, due to the lack of the raw material. Amid a dispute with millers, some farmers are moving away from sugar to other crops. So, what’s behind it all? And why are Kenyan’s paying m...