Africa Daily BBC World Service

During the recent floods in East Africa it became quickly apparent just how ill-prepared most cities across the region are in the face of heavy rains.
Some of the continent's major cities are located on the coast, and therefore at risk of flooding due to rising sea levels. And meanwhile, a quarter of African cities are exposed to a high risk of drought.
The continent is home to 86 of the world’s 100 fastest growing cities, with 7 billion people expected to be living in urban areas by 2030.
In this episode of Africa Daily podcast, Alan Kasujja talks to Benin’s former minister for Environment and Urban Planning, Luc Gnacadja, who's currently a consultant with the World Bank, about the capacity of African cities to withstand worsening and more frequent extreme weather events.

During Liberia’s two civil wars, it became normal for children to be abducted by armed groups, often drugged, and forced to fight. 250,000 people are estimated to have died in the conflict which continued between 1989-2003.
In 2006, former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission - known as ‘TRC’ - to identity individuals linked to war crimes, but as of yet, no-one has been prosecuted.

So after President Joseph Boakai recently signed an agreement to establish a war crimes court, people started asking whether the victims of war could finally get justice.

For Africa Daily Alan Kasujja speaks to Adama Dempster, a human rights advocate who’s campaigned for the court to be set up, and the BBC’s reporter in Monrovia, Moses Garzeawu.

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.

“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

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.

“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.