The Africa Blogging Podcast

Kenya has seen a deadly wave of street protests over the rising cost of living. The demos that often turned deadly were called by the opposition movement - Azimio Coalition over what they claimed was the government's high-handedness and insensitivity to the cost of living in the country. While we did not extensively cover these protests on Africa Blogging, I appeared on several international m...

Senegalese opposition politician Ousman Sonko has risen fast to be a force to reckon with in the country's political landscape, drawing a huge support base from cities across the country with the capital Dakar as the bedrock of his cult-like following. Two weeks ago, Dakar witnessed an unprecedented spate of violence after Sonko was put on house arrest following a two-year prison sentence hand...

According to the RSF 2023 Free Press Index , journalism overall has become more difficult in Africa and the situation is now classified as “bad” in nearly 40% of its countries (compared to 33% in 2022).  Several journalists have also been murdered in Africa, including Martinez Zongo in  Cameroon  ( which ranked 138th). In  Eritrea  ( which ranks 174th), the media remain under President  Issaias Af...

President William Ruto's 2023/2024 budget proposals as contained in the 2023 Finance Bill have come under sharp criticism for being unresponsive to the current high cost of living in the country and the state of the economy. The increase in VAT on petroleum products from 8% to 16%, the introduction of a mandatory 3% housing levy for all salaried workers and the introduction of a digital servic...

Last week most parts of the continent observed Africa Day, a commemoration of the founding of the Organization for Africa Unity (OAU) which later was transformed to the current Africa Union (AU). In this episode, I am joined by Pru Nyamishana from Uganda and Paidamoyo Muzulu from Uganda. We use the continent's recent events like the inauguration of Bola Tinubu as president in Nigeria, the sign...

In this episode, we speak with David Weda, lead actor in the Netflix film Bangarang, about the ongoing protests in Kenya and the country's long-standing social issues. From electoral justice to police brutality, unemployment, and negative ethnicity, we examine the root causes of Kenya's political unrest and social struggles. Join us as we delve into the insights shared by David Weda and ex...

We are back in demonstration and protests season in Kenya following the disputed 2022 presidential election which we may have assumed was resolved when the Supreme Court made a pronouncement on the issue. Far from it, the matter is at the centre for new calls and pronouncement of illegitimacy on president William Ruto's administration by opposition leader Raila Odinga. In this episode, we speak to...

For the first time since the return of democracy in Nigeria, there is excitement among young voters regarding Saturday's election. While there are a number of other seats being contested in this poll, the attention is largely skewed towards the presidential race which has been styled as a race between the old political establishment gainst a new political order.  In this episode, we speak to...

The media plays a pivotal role in preserving and protecting democracy. As Nigerians go to the poll to elect the next president, we look into how Nigerian media have been covering the campaigns and the plans they are putting together to cover Saturday's election and events in the following days. In this episode, I speak to Nigerian journalist Frankline Ebuka, a news editor and radio presenter with...

Tomorrow, Saturday 25th February 2023, Nigerians go to the polls in an election that has been described as the most significant since the return of democracy in 1999. Eighteen candidates are on the balot with any of the top three - Atiku Abubakar, Bola Tinobu and Peter Obi, likely to emerge as the the winner of the contest.  We speak to Jerome Sunday Salami, a Nigerian student studying public...

A power crisis and an imploding ANC are just but the few issues Cyril Ramaphosa is having to deal with ahead of the 2022 election. The youthful generation has also lost trust in the independence party...is this the beginning of the end for ANC? South African political commentator, Andile Zulu and Zimbabwean Journalist, Paidamoyo Muzulu, join Daniel Ominde in yet another episode discussing South Af...

An attempt on his life that left him for dead with 16 bullet wounds led Tundu Lissu to life in exile . On Wednesday he returned to the country to a rapturous welcome from supporters, signifying an end to Tanzania's dark past. Is it really an end and how does the country protect the gains to its civic space that it has made during the Samia Suluhu administration? In this episode, Daniel Ominde spea...

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga has vowed not to recognize William Ruto as president following fresh election rigging claims by his Azimio-One-Kenya coalition. The new allegations come in the wake of an unknown whistleblower who claims he works for the electoral management body IEBC and that he has details showing how the August 2022 election results were altered to favour President Ruto. M...

In this episode of the Africa Blogging podcast, we unpack South Africa's energy crisis which has now resulted in the nationwide stage-six load shedding . What does this mean for day-to-day life in South Africa and how did the nation get here to start with? South African political commentator and writer Andile Zulu is our guest for this episode which is co-hosted by Zimbabwean journalist Paidamoyo...

Today, three IEBC commissioners retire after quite an interesting journey running Kenya's election agency. Their retirement brings back to focus the events of August 15th when state security agencies allegedly almost succeeded in intimidating the commission into declaring a state-supported candidate, the winner of the presidential election. This episode takes us back to August 15th, 2022 as we tra...

Early this week the Constitutional Court in Uganda delivered a big blow to the state's efforts at curtailing freedom of speech and stifling government criticism by nullifying section 25 of the Computer Misuse Act . The Computer Misuse law, in particular section 25, has been a preferred tool for prosecutorial abuse of the freedom of expression, and digital and media rights. Chapter 4 Uganda, a civi...

In this episode, we speak to Paidamoyo Muzulu , a journalist, blogger and political commentator. Our conversation revolves around the state of the Zimbabwean economy, democratic space under Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration and the coming 2023 general elections.  Muzulu writes for Newsday Zimbabwe , The Standard and The Independent - all published by Alpha Media Holdings in Zimbabwe. He is...

In this episode, we speak to Paul Shalala , an award-winning Zambian journalist who works with the national broadcaster ZNBC and contributes to the Zambian Analyst and Africa Blogging . Our conversation reflects on Hakainde's one year in office; his popularity, the opening of democratic space in the country and Zambia's economic resilience.   This podcast is hosted by Africa Blogging Lead Edi...

A platform that offers insight into political conversations from around the continent. We talk to journalists, bloggers and opinion leaders from the breadth and width of Africa adding context and nuances to stories and events that make headlines from the continent, exploring angles that you probably did not realize existed from where you consume your news. 

In this episode, I speak to Ghanaian political scientist and Africa Blogging author Immanuel Obeng-Akrofi about the worrying economic situation in Ghana, and the coming Nigerian elections - specifically the rising popularity of the Labour Party candidate Peter Obi. We also discuss what this election means for Ghanaians watching it from across the border. The insecurity situation in the Sahel regio...

In this episode, I speak to Pru Nyamishana a founding member of Africa Blogging, a blogger, podcaster and human rights defender from Kampala, Uganda. We talk about Uganda's politics...Museveni's three decades of stay in power that's now turning into a dictatorship. The possibility of a crowning Museveni's son as the preferred heir to the presidency and the deteriorating human rights situation in U...