300 episodes

One question to wake up to every weekday morning. One story from Africa, for Africa. Alan Kasujja takes a deep dive into the news shaping the continent. Ready by early morning, five days a week, Monday to Friday.

Africa Daily BBC World Service

    • News

One question to wake up to every weekday morning. One story from Africa, for Africa. Alan Kasujja takes a deep dive into the news shaping the continent. Ready by early morning, five days a week, Monday to Friday.

    Nigeria: What’s it like when your child is kidnapped?

    Nigeria: What’s it like when your child is kidnapped?

    This month there have been six mass abductions in the north of Nigeria, many involving children.
    One school that was attacked by armed men was in the town of Kuriga in the North West. There, the parents of 137 children had to wait, helpless, for the next 16 days, not knowing where their children were, or how they were being treated by the kidnappers.
    The Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, took a tough line, saying there would be no ransom paid.
    But then, on Sunday, there was relief after it was announced they'd been released. It’s not clear how this happened, but all the children are believed to have survived. There was one fatality, a teacher called Abubakar Issa, who had been kidnapped with the children.
    For today's Africa Daily, Mpho Lakaje speaks to Dahiru Abdulahi, the parent of one of the students who was taken.

    • 15 min
    Can President Joseph Boakai make Liberia’s government more honest?

    Can President Joseph Boakai make Liberia’s government more honest?

    “Everybody wants to see you – everybody thinks this is an opportunity for employment…. a lot of people come into government believing they are there to enrich themselves.”
    It’s nearly three months since Joseph Boakai started work as Liberia’s new president. But in an interview with the Africa Daily podcast he tells Alan Kasujja that he’s still fielding enquiries from people wanting government jobs every working day from early in the morning.
    The 79-year-old, who was Vice President from 2006 to 2018 under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, narrowly defeated George Weah in November last year – after campaigning on an anti-corruption ticket. But he says while he’s spoken constantly about the need to clean up politics, many people ‘still haven’t grasped’ the concept that politics is about service and not about financial security for themselves and their family.
    In a wide-ranging and frank interview, he also tells Alan Kasujja how poverty and badly paid jobs like rubber tapping helped prepare him for leadership, his plans for a war crimes court to work for justice and reconciliation after the country’s two brutal civil wars, and how he wants to sort out Liberia’s awful roads within his first 100 days in office.
    And he and Alan discover a shared love of Arsenal Football Club…

    • 21 min
    What happened to South Africa’s promise of low-cost housing?

    What happened to South Africa’s promise of low-cost housing?

    “Life here is difficult. You have to be a resilient person to survive. There’s no electricity. The roads are almost non-existent. In sunny days, the shack gets too hot. You can’t stay inside. When it’s cold, it gets very cold. When it’s raining, it gets flooded” – Lala Maria Sebetlele, a resident of a Johannesburg shanty town

    When Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress took over in 1994, it introduced the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). It’s a policy that aims to build low-cost homes for the poor, thus reversing the legacy of apartheid.

    More than three million such houses have since been built, but many people still live in shanty towns due to a variety of reasons. They include internal migration and rapid urbanization.

    The University of Johannesburg has now come up with an initiative to use 3D printing technology to construct low-cost houses to help ease the accommodation burden. How exactly does it work? And will it make a difference?

    Presenter: Alan Kasujja

    Guests: Lala Maria Sebetlele, Dr. Alec Moemi and Professor Jeffrey Mahachi

    • 20 min
    How have some Rwandans overcome the trauma of genocide, 30 years later?

    How have some Rwandans overcome the trauma of genocide, 30 years later?

    It’s been 30 years since one of the worst atrocities in recent African history - the Rwandan genocide.
    In 1994, between 800,000 and one million ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in 100 days.
    Some Rwandans have worked hard to move on from the tragic events of 1994, but many - both in and out of the country - are still living with the trauma.
    Jean Paul Samputu was already an established musician in Rwanda at the time.
    He was living abroad during the genocide, but he lost his parents, two brothers and a sister, all killed by a neighbour and his childhood friend.
    Now a global peace ambassador, Jean Paul says he has found healing in forgiving his family’s killer.
    The Kora Awards winner tells Alan Kasujja what role music has played in his peace campaigns.

    • 18 min
    Can there be a peaceful transition to power in Senegal?

    Can there be a peaceful transition to power in Senegal?

    After a turbulent few years of disputes and protests, and accusations that President Macky Sall was trying to hang on to office, Senegal is holding its presidential election on March 24.
    Speaking to the BBC this week, the president refused to apologise for his attempt in February to postpone the vote by several months - saying he'd always acted according to the constitution and that he 'did nothing wrong'.
    He decision led to violent protests, but was reversed after Senegal’s top court blocked the postponement.
    So, will these elections be a turning point for Senegal and can the country have a peaceful transition of power?
    Presenter: Alan Kasujja
    Guests: James Copnall and Professor Mamadou Bodian

    • 16 min
    Why is FGM proving so contentious in The Gambia?

    Why is FGM proving so contentious in The Gambia?

    Female Genital Mutilation or FGM is a practice that divides people. In the countries where it’s common – it’s usually carried out for cultural or religious reasons - but in recent years many African countries have banned the practice saying it’s a violation of the rights of women and girls. It can cause serious health problems – including infection and complications in childbirth – and girls have died when the procedure has gone wrong.
    But now in The Gambia – a bill has been introduced that would reverse a ban brought in under former President Yahya Jammeh in 2015. This week, the bill passed its latest parliamentary stage and will now go to a committee of MPs for further consideration.
    For Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja speaks to Jaha Marie Dukureh, the founder for Safe Hands for Girls - an organization focused on ending FGM in The Gambia, and UN women regional goodwill ambassador for Africa.

    • 19 min

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