Episodi
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This year it will be 30 years since Nigerian author and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed by the Nigerian military government for leading protests against environmental pollution caused by oil exploration.
He remains an icon of resistance against environmental degradation beyond Nigeria.
The campaigns he led saw the exploration of crude oil stopped in Ogoniland, in the country’s Niger Delta region, after it became clear oil spills had extensively polluted rivers and farmland, destroying the livelihoods of farmers and fishers.
A report published by the United Nations Environmental Programme in 2011 said cleaning pollution in Ogoniland could take up to 30 years.
Yet president Bola Tinubu recently announced that his government would begin negotiations to resume oil production in Ogoniland.
This sparked protests from environmental rights groups who warned that the region was yet to heal from the damage wrought by decades of oil exploration.
In today’s Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja has been speaking to lawyer and leading environmental activist Celestine Akpobari and Niger-Delta-based journalist Ndume Green.
Producer: Peter Musembi
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“What is the problem if South African investors invest in Congo? Why should it be Rwanda complaining, not the Congolese?” – Retired SANDF Lieutenant General Maomela Motau On Sunday the 26th of January 2025, the M23 rebel group took over the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It followed intense fighting with the country’s main army. Since then, more than 700 people have been killed, with thousands more forced to seek refuge elsewhere. This comes as South Africa and Rwanda have been engaged in a war of words over their interests in the DRC conflict. South Africa says it’s part of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) peacekeeping mission. Rwanda, however, rejects this and accuses President Cyril Ramaphosa’s nation of getting involved purely to benefit from the mineral-rich country. But Rwanda’s own involvement in the DRC has raised eyebrows. Presenter: Alan Kasujja Guests: Retired SANDF Lieutenant General Maomela Motau and Ugandan journalist and international relations expert Raymond Mujuni
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“Growing up in Ogaden, I was surrounded by war - there was massacres and abuses. At a young age, I recall seeing looting and dead bodies everywhere. At the age of 12, I was arrested by government troops and imprisoned along with my whole family.”
Ogaden, or the Somali region, is a remote area of Ethiopia – little known by much of the world. But in 1970s, Ethiopia and Somalia fought a war over it, and at the start of this century a conflict was waged between rebels from the Ogaden National Liberation Front and the central government . A peace agreement was finally reached in 2018 with the ONLF agreeing to give up their arms and the government pledging to allow them pursue their aims politically. But the ONLF now says it’s reassessing the peace agreement, because the government hasn’t fulfilled its side of the bargain. Today on Africa Daily, Alan gets the thoughts of a former rebel who set up a support group for her fellow female fighters, and from an academic who lays out why this dispute has proved so difficult to resolve.
Producer: Mohamed Gabobe.
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Rabies is a disease which is known across Africa, killing thousands of people each year through the bite or lick from an infected animal, usually a dog. However, we have the vaccines to protect dogs against rabies, and we also have the vaccines to protect humans against rabies.
So why haven’t we eliminated rabies from Africa yet?
With the help of two people who are dedicated to ending rabies, we find out what needs to be done to end this deadly disease.
Presenter: Alan KasujjaGuests: Salima Kadaoui, founder of the SFT Animal Sanctuary in Morocco, and Andre Coetzer, Technical Director of the Global Alliance for Rabies Control.
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Ghana’s Dr. Angela Tabiri is the first African to win ‘The Big Internet Math Off’, a global competition where mathematicians make complex ideas easy to understand.
Once set on studying business, she found her true passion in maths, leading to a PhD in quantum algebra.
Now, she’s mentoring girls, breaking STEM stereotypes and shaping Africa’s future in quantum science.
Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja spoke to Dr. Tabiri about her win and the power of numbers.
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In January 2024, Ethiopia made history as the first country in the world to ban the import of petrol and diesel vehicles, aiming to tackle fuel dependence and pollution.
A year on, electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming a common sight in the capital Addis Ababa, but the country still faces major hurdles. There are issues around the high costs of the electric vehicles, limited charging stations, and a shortage of repair services. Despite these challenges, the government is determined to push forward, with plans to import 500,000 EVs by 2030.
Alan Kasujja speaks to BBC correspondent Kalkidan Yibeltal and Hilina Legesse, VP of Ethiopia’s first EV manufacturer, Dodai.
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“What makes this case more than difficult, what makes this case bitterly sad and bitterly frustrating, is that this didn’t have to happen” – Odette Geldenhuys, South African lawyer. In the mid 1990s, the South African government set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It was aimed at looking into human rights violations and to promote dialogue between victims and perpetrators of political violence. At the end of its work in 2003, the commission recommended that 300 cases needed to be prosecuted, but this did not happen. Now, 25 families of those who lost their loved ones during apartheid, have taken president Cyril Ramaphosa to court, urging him to look into these cases. They allege that there were no prosecutions because there was political interference. Presenter: Mpho Lakaje Guests: Buyisiwe Njoko, Yasmin Sooka, Odette Geldenhuys
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There are now many more stock markets in Africa than there were forty years ago. Ethiopia is the latest country to join the club after re-starting its stock market this month.
But what role do they play in the economy of our countries, and how exactly do they work? The companies, the shareholders, the risks and the rewards are all explained as we look into whether stock markets are an engine of economic growth on the African continent. Presenter: Mpho Lakaje
Guests: Abena Amoah, the Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange and Japhet Imhanzenobe, financial lecturer at the Pan-Atlantic University in Nigeria.
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Life in remote villages without electricity can be challenging: it’s difficult to power phones, to run businesses, work or study at night, and to keep food fresh. Food needs to be cooked using firewood or expensive and polluting generators. Yet that is the reality for 600 million African people living south of the Sahara who make up 83% of the world’s population without access to electricity. This week in Dar Es Salaam, several heads of states will be meeting with private sector leaders and international partners to discuss an ambitious plan called ‘Mission 300’ – aimed at powering up half those people within the next six years. Presenter: Peter Musembi.
Guests: Miriam Hamisi or ‘Mama Shaban’ a food kiosk owner who was recently given access to electricity, and Joseph Nganga from Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet and the special envoy for Mission 300 at the conference.
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US President Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office raises pressing questions about how his policies will impact Africa.
From trade and aid to health programs and climate policies, Trump’s first term saw cuts to foreign aid, shifts in trade priorities and the controversial Prosper Africa initiative.
With his withdrawal from the WHO and the Paris Agreement, there are growing concerns about how these decisions will affect Africa’s health systems and climate change efforts.
Africa Daily's Mpho Lakaje speaks with the BBC’s Samuel Lando in Nairobi and the BBC’s reporter in Abuja, Chris Ewokor to explore the potential ripple effects of Trump’s re-election on the continent.
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Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community in the United States, but for many Somali refugees finding stability and employment has been a struggle.
So Mariam Mohamed, a Somali woman living in Minnesota, co-founded Hoyo in 2015. It’s a business that provides empowerment and jobs to refugee women through the shared tradition of making sambusas, a popular Somali delicacy.
This savoury snack has now become a hit in school cafeterias across the state.
In today's episode, Alan Kasujja speaks to Mariam Mohamed and Hoyo co-founder Ghita Worcester about how sambusas have become a source of pride for Somali families and a culinary discovery for Minnesotans.
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Today Africa Daily’s Mpho Lakaje sits down with firebrand South African politician Julius Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). They discuss a variety of topics ranging from the party’s ideology, its policy on immigration to its stance on nation building. The EFF lost its position as South Africa’s third biggest political party, following the May 2024 election. “There was a phenomenon that arose in South Africa of MK (Umkhonto Wesizwe Party) which we underestimated and never thought would have the impact it did”, Mr. Malema says of his party’s election performance. He also opens up about the recent departures of key EFF leaders, including the party’s co-founder and deputy president Floyd Shivambu.
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Robert Katende is a man with a mission to use chess to bring about social change.
In his home country of Uganda he works with thousands of disadvantaged children, those with disabilities, and even prisoners, to use chess as a means to provide useful skills for life. He’s even had his story portrayed in a film made by Disney, the 'Queen of Katwe'.
Alan Kasujja talks to Robert to hear how this ancient game can be a catalyst for changing lives. Guests: Robert Katende and ‘Coach’ Julius
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“She was buried in the same place where she was murdered, at the field in the crops.”
Today on the podcast we hear about the life and death of Swedish-Somali journalist Amun Abdullahi Mohamed, who also worked to advocate for the advancement of women in Somalia.
She was shot multiple times in the head by gunmen as she walked to her sorghum and watermelon farm in a rural part of Somalia, 40 kilometres from Mogadishu.
She’d moved back to Somalia after years of threats and intimidation in Sweden because of her investigation into Al Shabaab’s recruitment of Somali youths in Stockholm in 2009. Presenter: Alan @Kasujja Guests: Abdulaziz Ahmed, Amun’s husband, and Abdalle Mumin, secretary general of the Somali Journalists Syndicate Producer: Layla Mahmood
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In Lagos, some tenants are starting the year with a harsh ultimatum; pay double your rent or move out.
With inflation at 34.8% and housing already consuming up to 60% of household income, many are struggling to keep up.
Meanwhile, landlords report 80% of their tenants are defaulting and investors are abandoning the buy-to-let market due to poor returns.
What’s driving this rental crisis and how is it impacting everyday Nigerians? BBC Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja spoke to BBC journalist Bisi Adebayo who’s been following the story and Deyo, a tenant in Lagos navigating the fallout first hand.
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It has become a worrying trend in Kenya. Out of nowhere, hooded men appear in unmarked vehicles wielding guns with the aim of kidnapping someone.
Victims are then blindfolded and taken to places that are not officially recognised police stations to be interrogated.
Foreign nationals have not been spared.
Tanzanian human rights activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai says she was abducted by armed men in Nairobi last Sunday afternoon but released hours later. She’d fled to Kenya in 2020 seeking asylum after facing increasing threats.
And last year, Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was reportedly kidnapped and taken to Uganda where he is currently facing a military court.
In today’s episode, Alan Kasujja hears from a father whose son was abducted, and speaks to an investigative journalist about what’s behind this spate of kidnappings.
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"I have seen presidents come and go, one after the other, but there’s no change. Poverty continues. So, I hope and pray that things change” - Armdando Sthole, Mozambican economic migrant in South Africa Today Mozambique’s president-elect Daniel Chapo will be inaugurated at a ceremony in the country’s capital, Maputo. It comes as the nation has been rocked by violence which has so far claimed the lives of more than 300 people. It all started on the 9th of October 2024, when the citizens of Mozambique voted in a national election. Daniel Chapo, the candidate of the ruling Frelimo, was subsequently declared winner over opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane, who rejected the election results. Since then, thousands of people have crossed the border into countries like Malawi and Eswatini. So, does the unrest in Mozambique threaten to destabilize southern Africa?
Presenter: Mpho Lakaje
Guests: Mozambican journalist Fernando Goncalves, Hilda Katema from Malawi’s Department for Refugees and Mozambican expat Armdando Sthole
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The latest offensive happened last week when the M23 rebels took Masisi, the administrative centre of the Masisi territory, in North Kivu. Days before, they’d captured another town Katale. Thousands of people have fled and been displaced by the fighting.
The Congolese army fought back and reclaimed Masisi but the rebels have since regained control of the town.
The M23 has held control over large parts of territory in the east since starting a renewed offensive late last year following the breakdown of peace talks between the presidents of DRCongo and Rwanda, who have been accused of supporting and arming the rebel group.
In today’s Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja looks at M23’s advance, the response from the army and the humanitarian situation for those displaced by the fighting.
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Snakes… they send a shiver down the spines of a lot of people… especially in Africa where their bites kill tens of thousands every year – mostly In rural areas – with farmworkers and children particularly affected. Many more are left permanently disabled.
And yet these numbers may not actually represent the scale of the problem. It’s estimated that 70% of incidents go unreported, because people don’t always know the cause of death, many can’t get to health centres, and even when they can, health workers often don’t have access to anti-venom.
In today's episode, Alan Kasujja speaks to Dr Blessing Kasenge, who’s campaigning for better access to antivenoms, and Rudo Nalondwa, a Zambian student who has first-hand experience of surviving a snakebite late last year.
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On Wednesday, opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane returned to Mozambique after a two month self-imposed exile.
He was greeted by thousands of his supporters at the main airport in the capital Maputo. Video shared on social media shows him kneeling with a hand on a bible declaring himself president-elect of Mozambique.
This latest twist in the country’s post-election drama comes amidst heightened tensions and tight security.
Deadly protests kicked off soon after the October 2024 elections which the country’s opposition have described as rigged in favour of Frelimo, a party which has governed since independence in 1975.
Hundreds of people have been killed, property damaged and shops looted.
In today’s Africa Daily Victoria Uwonkunda looks at the protests and what Venâncio Mondlane’s return means for Mozambique.
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