Africa Daily

Content warning: This podcast includes vivid descriptions of the sinking of the Joola which some listeners might find distressing. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Twenty years ago, news of terrible event began to spread throughout the city of Ziguinchor in the south of Senegal. A passenger ferry – carrying more than 1,800 people from Casamance to the capital Dakar in t...

Within ten days of being sworn in as Kenya’s 5th president, William Ruto found himself attending two of the largest global events this year with other heads of state - Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and the UN General Assembly (UNGA) - a gathering of leaders and NGOs and activists alike in the US state of New York. Away from the glitzy streets of New York and the UN, loads await the new president ba...

Mahmood Mattan was born in 1923 and was a young man when he left his home in Hargeisa, in what later became Somaliland, to live in Cardiff in Wales. He settled in a community called Tiger Bay, worked as a seaman, got married and had three children. In 1952 he was accused of murdering Lily Volpert, a local businesswoman. He was found guilty and executed by hanging in prison. For years Mahmood Matta...

When former journalist, Joseph Bayanga, witnessed the death of three generations of a family on a Kampala road - a mother, daughter and grandchild – he decided enough was enough. More people die on Uganda’s roads – 14 every day – than anywhere else in East Africa. Kampala’s Mulago National Referral Hospital even has a special ward just for the drivers of boda bodas who account for the highest numb...

Tanzania’s Information Minister Nape Nnauye has warned against the dissemination of online messages, cartoons and short videos which he claims promote same-sex relationships. He said anyone posting such messages risked prosecution. And it’s not just Tanzania. In Kenya and Uganda gay people have been harassed, bullied and threatened online. In today’s Africa Daily, Ferdinand Omondi speaks to James,...

Across Africa, if you ask people how they plan to improve the lives of their children, the answer is often ‘through education’. But what about if the school system isn’t set up for how their brain works? We now know that dyslexic brains work differently to those of other people – with more activity in the frontal lobe and less in other areas. This means people with the condition can struggle with...

Later today world leaders will gather at Westminster Abbey in London for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, who died peacefully on Thursday the 8th of September. Last week on this podcast, Alan held robust discussions with different guests and interrogated the queen’s legacy in Africa. He also heard – in passing – about the very special relationship she shared with the former South African preside...

Last month Emirates Airlines announced it was halting flights to Nigeria – saying it was owed millions of dollars. The plight of passengers suddenly forced to find creative and expensive ways to travel thousands of miles grabbed the world’s attention – and within days of the crisis, Nigeria said it would release some of the money owed to foreign airlines: $265 million. But the reason WHY the airli...

It’s been a big week for Kenya’s new president William Ruto. On Tuesday he was sworn in and immediately started reversing some of his predecessor’s policies. Straight after the ceremony he appointed six new judges – who’d been rejected by the former president Uhuru Kenyatta. He also announced that operations would revert back to the port of Mombasa. So what will his presidency mean for Kenyans and...

Tanzania’s government is now preparing to build a Liquefied Natural Gas plant to process its vast natural gas. This comes after President Samia Suluhu Hassan said her administration had attracted $30 billion in foreign investment. Once it’s been liquified, the gas which forms naturally underground over many years, is expected to be exported to countries in Europe and Asia. The government say this...

After the death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96, African leaders lined up to pay tribute. After all, her passion for the continent, and dedication to the Commonwealth were both clear to see. But because of her role as a figurehead of a former colonial power, many Africans have found the tributes difficult. For them, processing her death is far more complicated. So how is the legacy of Queen...

Queen Elizabeth II was actually Princess Elizabeth when she first visited Africa with her parents. And she was in Kenya – staying in the famous Treetops hotel – when the news of her father’s death arrived and she became queen. During the 70 years that followed she visited the continent many times and shook the hands of countless African leaders. But what was it like to actually meet the queen in p...

Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96. Her 70- year reign ran parallel with significant events in Africa. At the time of her coronation, she became the ruler of 14 territories across Africa, as part of the British Empire. And her decades on the throne were a period of immense change. One after another, each African country became independent and took their own path in the world. So, who was...

Edward Enninful is the editor in chief of British Vogue, a magazine which is revered in the world of fashion. He was appointed in 2017 and became the first black man to do the job. He sits in the front row of catwalk shows from the world’s biggest designers – Dolce and Gabbana, Versace and Armani. Beyonce, Rihanna and Oprah Winfrey are close friends. But despite the glitz and glamour of the circle...

Africa is the most entrepreneurial continent according to the African Development Bank. And sometimes it seems like everyone is talking about starting a business or a side hustle. But starting a business and having it succeed are two separate things. As many as 80% of new businesses fail due to lack of funding according to investment advisors Shikana Group. So, are new businesses getting the fundi...

Kenya’s election process has concluded with the Supreme Court declaring that William Ruto was duly elected as the country’s 5th president. Mr Ruto will be sworn in on 13th January after the Supreme Court dismissed the election petition submitted by his main opponent, Raila Odinga. Raila lost even though he was backed by the outgoing president Uhuru Kenyatta, who has promised a smooth transition to...

One year ago Guineans poured into the street to celebrate the ousting of Alpha Conde in a military coup. The increasingly unpopular president had changed the constitution to allow himself a third term – and had put down protests against him with a heavy hand. So many members of the main opposition grouping which had organised the protests – the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution, o...

Many people across the continent rely on generators when the electricity supply is unreliable in their countries. Blackouts or planned loadshedding have become common in Zimbabwe and South Africa, leaving families without power for hours at a time. But neighbouring Botswana is hoping to change all of that. Botswana Power Corporation – the state owned energy provider – has been working to generate...

Correction: We re-uploaded this episode to clarify the $1.5 trillion mentioned in the conversation was China's global loans, not just to Africa. At a recent summit attended by African officials, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced that China would be forgiving 23 of its loans to 17 African countries. But it’s worth pointing out that these were debts that were at zero interest. According to...

More than 21,000 members have graduated into a united armed forces in South Sudan. Many of the troops previously belonged to rival factions, but on Tuesday they pledged allegiance to their country rather than a single leader. The peace agreement signed in 2018 required all fighters to lay down their arms and join a united state army. But the deadline for this has been extended many times. A joint...

Since March this year there’s been a humanitarian truce in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia - and so the 22-month conflict has slipped down the international news agenda. But for those who have relatives within the region it’s been a painful time due to lack of access to their loved ones or news about their welfare. Financial services have been blocked – and an internet and phone blackout im...

A single dose of vaccine can give children strong protection against Measles. But low vaccination rates in Manicaland in eastern Zimbabwe has led to an outbreak there in which nearly 160 children have died – and many more have become seriously ill. The government and medical experts say they believe the source of the outbreak may have been a mass gathering of a local religious sect which discourag...

Africa has had more UN peacekeeping missions than any other region in the world. Today more than fifty thousand troops are deployed with UN operations on the continent. Despite this, violence still continues in some of these areas and in some places, there is anger over the UN's continued presence. Just last month, anti-UN protests erupted in Goma and Butembo, in the east of the Democratic Republi...

“It’s quite challenging, because some people have been here and they were not going home…. And there are no jobs in Zimbabwe.” Yesterday Africa Daily spoke to some of the Zimbabweans affected by a decision to end the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit scheme by December this year. The permits allowed nearly 180,000 migrants to live, work and study in South Africa – but from now on they will need to prove t...

“The future now doesn’t look so bright for us.” Thousands of Zimbabweans – many who’ve lived in South Africa for the last decade – are facing mass deportation when the government ends a special permit scheme at the end of this year. Nearly 180,000 people are legally working or studying in the country thanks to their Zimbabwe Exemption Permits. But the documents are now being terminated – with migr...