Afleveringen
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Male circumcision is deeply rooted in tradition and culture across many African communities but there’s a lot of controversy around the method that is used to remove the foreskin.
Some initiatives that promote voluntary medical male circumcision for the prevention of HIV and sexually transmitted infections have been successful, in Zambia in particular.
But the question remains, is this something that should be done on baby boys or in early adolescence, or is it something that should be left as a personal choice you make in adulthood?
Presenter: Alan Kasujja. Guests: Anthony Natif and Michael Aboneka.
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“The irony and the tragedy at once is that all this happened while the international community are watching it. So I think this is the time to prevent the atrocities that happened in El Geneina from repeating itself in El Fasher.”
Last week a 216 page Human Rights Watch report said it had found evidence that a genocide may have been committed in the city of El Geneina in Darfur – and that ethnic cleansing had occurred. It said thousands of members of African ethnic groups – particularly the Massalit – had been killed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces or RSF in door to door raids and as they tried to flee the city. The vast majority of Massalits have now fled western Darfur.
But now there’s grave concern that a similar massacre could happen in the city of El Fasher – the only city in Darfur not under RSF control. Thousands of internally displaced people are living in the city after fleeing RSF attacks elsewhere. Our guest today describes this as jumping from 'hot water to hot oil' as the group’s fighters have completely cut off all roads and fighting is underway within the city.
The UN has called the situation “gravely concerning”, while the United States has warned of a large scale massacre if the RSF takes the city. But is anyone able or willing to stop it?
For today’s Africa Daily podcast, Alan @Kasujja talks to a resident of El Fasher and to Adeeb Yousif, the former governor of Central Darfur.
The audio for this episode was updated at 1500 BST on 16 May 2024
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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The Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values bill, drafted in 2021, was passed by parliamentarians in Ghana earlier this year. It imposes a prison sentence on anyone identifying as being LGBTQ+. This bill still needs to be signed by President Nana Akuffo Addo to become law.
He's waiting for the verdict of the Supreme Court who will hear two cases challenging the constitutionality of the law.
In today’s episode, Alan Kasujja speaks to Ghanaian film director Joewackle J Kusi about the challenges of making his film Nyame Mma which means Children of God.
It tells the story of Kwamena a young man who goes back to his home town for his father’s funeral. It leads him to revisit the romantic relationship he had with another man, Maroof.
Joewackle says the film had a screening at the beginning of March in Accra but since the new law was passed in parliament all plans to show the film are on hold and he doesn’t know when it will be seen again in Ghana.
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“We’re creating a new generation of digital entrepreneurs that we like to call digital warriors… And this new generation they’re passionate about technology – they’re going to be the ones driving innovation in our country.”
Throughout its history, the island nation of Cape Verde has seen heavy emigration – especially at times of drought and shortages. It means that now there are many more Cape Verdeans living abroad than on the islands themselves.
And while the government acknowledges the benefits that have come with that – with its diaspora sending back much-needed foreign currency – it now wants to encourage young people to find opportunities on the islands by developing the country as a ‘digital hub for West Africa’.
On today’s Africa Daily Alan @Kasujja speaks with Pedro Lopes, Cape Verde’s minister for digital economy, as well as entrepreneurs Óscar Borges and Jael Alves Monteiro.
With special thanks to producer Anne Marie Borges.
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Even though they see it as something that would benefit them… they would rather put that dollar into fertiliser which they really need to boost their yields.”
Recently on Africa Daily we’ve heard about different insurance schemes for farmers and whole countries to insure themselves against natural disasters. With an increase in extreme weather events due to climate change it’s become an area of growth.
But what are the limitations and difficulties? And can subsistence farmers, who already struggle to earn enough for their basic needs, really be expected to find money to insure themselves?
Alan @Kasujja speaks with Dr Saint Kuttu, a Senior Lecturer in Finance and Risk Management at the University of Ghana Business School, and Dr Betty Chinyamunyamu, CEO of the National Smallholder Farmers' Association of Malawi - NASFAM - which represents 130,000 farmers.
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“My wish is that we hold free and transparent elections, so that the voice of the people can be heard for peace. Because governing a country with weapons is not normal.” – voter, Chad.
Interim president, General Mahamat Déby, has been declared the winner of this week’s presidential election with 61% of the vote. His nearest rival, former Prime Minister Succes Masra, came second with just 18.5% - and alleged the vote was rigged.
Deby took over from his father, President Idriss Déby in 2021,who had been in power for more than 30 years.
In conversations recorded before the winner was announced, Alan Kasujja discusses whether this election was a step towards a functioning democracy – or whether it was simply a way for the Déby family to keep hold of power.
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Kush is being sold all across Sierra Leone.
It’s a psychoactive blend of addictive substances and has been prevalent in the country for years.
Sierra Leone's president - Julius Maada Bio - has called Kush a “death trap" and said it poses an "existential crisis" in the country. And due to its notoriety and impact, the government has declared a national emergency over rampant drug abuse.
In today's episode, our reporter based in Sierra Leone Umaru Fofana talks to a man who became addicted to the drug and hears more about what the government are doing.
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Today we’re in Burkina Faso where there's been a serious crackdown on foreign media. There have been several reports alleging that the army massacred hundreds of civilians in northern villages in February 2024 and the government's not happy about it. They’ve taken some pretty strict measures on outlets like The Guardian, Le Monde and Deutsche Welle. The government, led by Ibrahim Traoré, say these reports are just attempts to smear the military's reputation. Africa Daily’s Peter Musembi has been hearing more about what it’s like to be a journalist in Burkina Faso.
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Liberia, along with several other African nations, receives donated medications from international organisations such as The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
The World Health Organisation says that Africa accounts for 94% of global malaria cases and had over 400,000 tuberculosis-related deaths in 2022.
USAid discovered that a staggering 90% of pharmacies in Liberia are involved in the illicit sale of stolen medications meant for those in dire need. So, why are medicines that should be free being sold in Liberia? And how big of a problem is this in Africa? Guests: Joyce Kilikpo and Dr. Betha Igbinosun. Presenter: Alan Kasujja.
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Today, we're shining a light on a topic that keeps many African nations in the dark – the struggle for stable electricity supply. Africa has the lowest access to electricity in the world. Roughly half a billion people lack access to a stable power supply, including two of the continent's biggest economies — Nigeria and South Africa. Recently in Sierra Leone, people faced longer than average blackouts in the capital city Freetown and other main cities across the country. The reason behind these power cuts was because Sierra Leone owed $48 million to the Turkish energy company, Karpowership. Some of that debt has since been settled and electricity has been restored. In today’s Africa Daily, Mpho Lakaje has been looking at how frequent black outs impact life on the continent and what should be done to fix the problem.
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Regular attacks by men on motorbikes wielding AK-47 rifles have become a common occurrence in Plateau State in central Nigeria.
People in the state are still reeling from the trauma of Christmas Eve attacks just over four months ago, when gunmen attacked 25 villages killing over 150 people.
Over the years, the clashes have mostly been between Muslim Fulani herders from the north and Christian farmers in the state.
The conflict however seems to have morphed into a complicated situation, with the authorities claiming there are some ‘political forces’ fuelling it.
The region is fertile and regarded as Nigeria’s bread basket but insecurity has meant low food production with farmers not being able to go to the farms. In this episode of the Africa Daily podcast, Peter Musembi talks to Plateau State's Governor Caleb Mutfwang about what the authorities are doing and why the killings have persisted for so long.
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Federalism in Africa is the topic of today’s episode.
Depending on how you define the term, there are only around six countries in Africa that use the federal model, with Nigeria and Ethiopia among them.
But what is federalism and what does it look like in practice? How does it function and differ from a system where power is centralised under one authority?
Mpho Lakaje has been looking into all of this and examining whether this is a form of government that suits Africa.
He is in conversation with Dr Bizuneh Yimenu, a teaching fellow at Birmingham University in the UK.
He has also been talking to Dr Dele Babalola, a senior lecturer in International Relations at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK and author of `The political economy of Federalism in Nigeria`.
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“We should also harvest the water, store it in the soil. Grow our crops and grow our trees. Because the storage in the soil is much, much bigger than any store we can ever put on the surface. God has already given us a huge reservoir where we can put our water.” Kenya has been ravaged by flooding this month: dozens have died – specifically after a dam burst and a passenger ferry capsized – and thousands more have been made homeless. Schools were closed and farmers have seen their crops destroyed. But in a few months, many of the areas now under water will be struggling with drought. So what can be done to conserve flood waters and build up resilience? And how can small farmers manage their land better? For today’s Africa Daily, Peter Musembi speaks with Professor John Gathenya a Hydrologist from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
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We’ve spoken many times on Africa Daily about mining and whether natural resources are actually a blessing or a curse for the continent.
It’s led to decades of conflict in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and the neighbouring Central African Republic - and reports from Human Rights organisations about the appalling conditions miners - including children - often work in.
But we rarely get a real sense of what it’s like for people living in these areas.
The BBC’s new Global China Unit has been looking inside the mines owned by Chinese companies in the DR Congo, Indonesia and Argentina.
Africa Daily’s Mpho Lakaje talked to the BBC’s Wanqing Zhang about a mine near Lubumbashi, a place often referred to as the mining capital of the country, and learned more about the lives of the communities living near the mine.
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“Before pronouncing sentence on Bobrisky, the judge asked, ‘are you male or female?’. For me this was a red flag. Bobrisky’s gender has nothing to do with whether he (or she) abused the Naira.” Money spraying is part of Nigerian culture: throwing bank notes or putting them on a person’s forehead to congratulate them at weddings, birthdays or other big social events. But since 2007, it’s technically been illegal – as those bank notes can fall to the ground and be trodden on - and the maximum punishment is six months in jail. But until recently, prosecutions were rare. So there was much consternation earlier this month when Nigerian internet personality and transgender woman, Bobrisky - who has 5 million followers on Instagram - was sentenced to spend 6 months in a male prison for ‘Naira abuse’ after spraying banknotes at a film premier. The government says it’s just clamping down on the practice. But others argue that Bobrisky has been targeted because of her gender identity.
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“If I have my money, I have my assets, I have my farms, my houses, my cars, I have everything I need, I don’t need to be friendly with any white person” – Sandile Swana, former freedom fighter.
In 1948, the National Party came into power in South Africa and introduced apartheid, a system that segregated society along racial lines. Black people were not allowed to share toilets, beaches, theatres and other public facilities with their white counterparts.
In the decades that followed, the black majority rose up against the system and engaged in various political campaigns. Many activists - including Nelson Mandela, Robert Sobukwe, Walter Sisulu and Ahmed Kathrada - were incarcerated, while others fled to neighbouring countries. But after years of pressure on the National Party government, which included sanctions and international sports boycotts, apartheid collapsed. On the 27th of April 1994, the nation voted in its first democratic election.
So 30 years since independence, our presenter Mpho Lakaje sits down with two people who were on either side of the political divide: former freedom fighter Sandie Swana and apartheid-era policeman Lourens Groenewald.
So have black and white South Africans truly forgiven each other since those ugly days?
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“It feels like a black man deserves the worst. The poor are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer. I don’t know how things will change” – Alexandra resident, Vusi Mbeye. On the 27th of April 1994, millions of South Africans voted in their country’s very first democratic election. During white minority rule, black people were not allowed to vote.
Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress won that election and then introduced policies like Affirmative Action and Black Economic Empowerment. In addition, many black students received financial aid from the government and private companies, to further their university or college studies. All these measures were meant to correct the economic injustices of the past. But 30 years after the fall of apartheid, have black South Africans experienced meaningful economic freedom?
Africa Daily presenter Mpho Lakaje, who is himself a black South African, sits down with two men who were both born in Alexandra township: street vendor Vusi Mbeye and Theo Baloyi, a wealthy businessman. He also visits political analyst Khaya Sithole.
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Togo's President Faure Gnassingbé's proposal to change the constitution has ignited a fierce debate in the country. Some say it's a power grab disguised as reform, while others insist it's a step towards a more democratic future.
The reforms aim to switch Togo from a presidential to a parliamentary system, but critics worry it will only prolong the Gnassingbé family's rule. Helping to keep him in power until 2031 and potentially beyond. President Gnassingbé came to power in 2005 after the death of his father, who had been president since 1967.
Protests have been banned and elections postponed- they are now set to take place on Monday 29th April. It’s all led to heightened tension and concerns about the country's political future.
Africa Daily’s Mpho Lakaje spoke to the BBC’s Nicolas Negoce about the future of politics in Togo.
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Earlier this month we marked the 10th anniversary of the kidnapping of the Chibok girls.
It was one of the first mass kidnappings of children witnessed in Nigeria. In 2014, 276 girls were abducted from their school by militants from Chibok, a town in the country’s north east.
Over the past 10 years, mass abductions and kidnappings have become a common occurrence in Nigeria.
So what is the government doing to get a handle on security?
In today’s Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja speaks to Mohammed Idris, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation.
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“Development is all about leadership. You can get all the resources in the world, you can get all the best human capital… but if the leadership is not there you can’t make the best of the resources you have and eventually move your country forward.”
Ibrahima Cheikh Diong is UN-Assistant Secretary General and Director General of the African Union specialized agency “the African Risk Capacity Group” or ARC, which works with governments to help them deal with climate related disasters.
But in a varied career, he’s also been a member of the Senegalese government and worked for the World Bank, as a senior banker and in management consultancy. And he even speaks Mandarin as well as French and English thanks to his student days in China.
But he says if he had to best describe himself he’d say he was ‘an African who cares about Africa and wants to make a difference in Africa’.
This is Alan’s second conversation with people included – like himself – in New African Magazine’s 100 Influential Africans list for this year.
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