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"When I came to Northern Ireland, when I was walking on the streets of Derry, I could hardly see a black person. At that time, I think there were only three Kenyans, with me being the fourth person."
Lilian Seenoi-Barr is about to make history by becoming Northern Ireland's first black mayor. Ms Seenoi-Barr was selected by the SDLP party to become the next first citizen of Derry City and Strabane District Council but despite the support she received, she has also faced some backlash and racist abuse.
She was born in Kenya and left in 2010 to start a new life in Northern Ireland. She proudly comes from the Maasai tribe but since moving to Derry, she has been focused on building community and support for other immigrants.
Africa Daily's Alan Kasujja spoke to her about her journey and why she decided to become a politician.

Presenter: Alan Kasujja. Guest: Lilian Seenoi-Barr.

Are South Africans ready for Wednesday’s national election?

“Since hearing that political parties will be launching their election manifestos, I decided to attend these events. I wanted to hear for myself which president would address our needs as college students. It’s my first time voting” – Thembeka Dliwako, South African voter

In today’s podcast, Mpho Lakaje sits down with 21-year-old Thembeka Dliwako, who will be voting for the very first time in her life.

In her country, she’s popularly known as “Nomarally”, loosely translated as, “The lady of the rallies”.

That’s because, in recent months she’s been doing something rather unusual.

She’s been traveling to different parts of the country, attending the political rallies of various parties, wanting to hear for herself what leaders have to offer.

Mpho also visits Johannesburg attorney, Oatlhotse Thupayatlase who voted for the first time back in 1994, in an election that marked the end of apartheid.

Is he still as excited about casting his ballot as he was 30 years ago?

Approximately 27 million South Africans are eligible to vote in the watershed general election on Wednesday.

For years, teachers and students at the Dandora Secondary School in Kenya’s capital Nairobi have complained of respiratory illnesses. They say they are caused by the toxic fumes given off by East Africa's largest dump site, the Dandora landfill, which is next to the school.
Despite being declared full in 1996, the landfill continues to receive approximately 2,000 tonnes of waste each day.
But now the head teacher of the school has decided to tackle the issue, and with students has been planting bamboo in order to combat the air pollution.
Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja spoke to school Principal Eutychus Maina who initiated this innovative solution when he fell ill soon after joining the school.

“Without the public outcry, the mass marriage would have gone on as planned.”
There’s been a lot of debate, claim and counter-claim in Nigeria this week over a proposed mass wedding of 100 couples in Niger state in the north of the country.
Concerns were raised that some of the girls involved were under the legal age for marriage, and a petition was quickly launched. The Women's Affairs Minister, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye filed a court injunction to stop the ceremony. She’s since said that the wedding can go ahead but only after an investigation has taken place – and has offered the girls scholarships as well as gifts including sewing machines and rice. She said the girls would be closely monitored in their new homes after their marriages.

Child marriages are common in the predominantly Muslim north, where poverty is higher than in the largely Christian south.
Alan Kasujja unpicks the controversy – and asks what it tells us about the marriage of young people in Nigeria.
Presenter: Alan Kasujja.
Guests: BBC reporter, Azeezat Olaoluwa and gender and child advocate, Ayotomiwa Ayodele.
Updated 24th May to reflect Minister Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye’s latest statement.

Kenyan President William Ruto is on a state visit to the US, the first by an African leader since Ghana’s John Kufour in 2008 and only the 6th state visit Biden has hosted since taking office in 2020
A state visit is the highest level of international visit, and its purpose is to confirm the good relationship between the countries concerned.
For President Ruto it's a significant display of his emergence as leading voice for Africa - particularly in the eyes of the West.
But some observers say that Washington is now playing catch up to Russia and China - which have both grown in influence on the continent in recent years - as well as newer entrants like Turkey, India, and Saudi Arabia.
In this episode of Africa Daily podcast, Alan Kasujja talks to Ambassador Martin Kimani, an international affairs expert and former Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations.

It’s expected to be a bruising election, with 70 political parties contesting for power.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s African National Congress, and the official opposition, Democratic Alliance, are seen as the frontrunners.

Former president Jacob Zuma’s Umkhonto we Sizwe Party (MKP), are expected to give the ANC a run for their money, particularly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.

But on Monday, South Africa's Constitutional Court barred Mr. Zuma from running for parliament, ruling that his 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court disqualified him.

Mr Zuma was convicted in 2021 for refusing to testify at an inquiry investigating corruption during his presidency which ended in 2018.

But he remains the face of the MKP and will continue to campaign.

Presenter: Mpho Lakaje
Guests: Dr. Bandile Masuku, Solly Malatsi and Adv. Dwight Snyman