Spotlight on Africa: Recent Episodes
RFI English
This week on Spotlight on Africa, we're heading to Zambia, where general elections are set to take place on the 13th August. Voters will go to the polls to elect a president, members of the National Assembly, councillors and council chairs. Incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema has already picked up endorsements from within his own camp, the UPND Alliance, the coalition that's held power since 2021. So what's at stake, and who's in the running?
This week on the podcast, we're heading to Zambia, which is gearing up for elections next month and is now in full campaign mode. Two of our RFI colleagues, Yang Mei and Igor Strauss, travelled to Zambia recently for in-depth reporting on four years of Hakainde Hichilema's rule, and his chances of re-election.
In power since August 2021, "HH", as he's most often called, is a businessman, farmer and politician, and the seventh president of Zambia.
General elections are due to be held in the country on 13 August 2026 to elect a president, members of the National Assembly, councillors and council chairs.
The year ahead for African democracy: who is going to the polls in 2026?
Hichilema has received endorsements from some members of the UPND Alliance, including from the leaders of the Party of National Unity and Progress and the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy.
According to an opinion poll conducted by a University of Zambia demographer, Hichilema is set to be re-elected, leading with 60 percent of the vote, while the combined opposition would take 35 percent.
Zambia's Hichilema sworn in, becoming rare opposition president in southern Africa
Our colleagues Yang Mei and Igor Strauss bring us some of the interviews they gathered on the ground, so join us as we hear from ordinary Zambians, as well as from leading journalist Joseph Mwenda, editor-in-chief at News Diggers, who has led multiple investigations into the current government's relations with China; and from Robert Mwale, an economist and Lead Public Finance and Economic Governance Researcher at the Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD).
Among the issues at stake are a lack of freedom of expression, but also a legacy of economic growth, driven in no small part by China's heavy involvement in the economy.
Thanks to our reporters, Igor Strauss and Yang Mei, for their work and insight, and thank you for listening.
This is the last episode of the 2025–26 season. We'll be back in September with another one.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by RFI's English language service. This episode was mixed by Erwan Rome.
This week in Spotlight on Africa, we look at climate change, environmental justice and the challenges of adaptation. While Europe's heatwaves make headlines, temperatures are also climbing across Africa, with parts of the Sahel approaching 50°C. West Africa is also experiencing severe flooding caused by climate change. Yet Africa is also a source of innovation and solutions, as we'll be discussing today.
Heatwaves in Europe are getting a lot of attention from the media, as they break records, but temperatures are also on the rise in Africa, with 50°C reported in the Sahel since March. And West Africa is facing unprecedentedly violent floods, especially in Ghana, parts of Nigeria and in Côte d'Ivoire. All due to global warming and climate change.
Severe flooding leaves a trail of death and destruction in West Africa
But if Africa is often seen as a victim of climate disasters - it’s also the source of solutions.
Climate change is directly linked to oil and other fossil fuel use, which also causes environmental pollution.
In May 2026, Shell and other major oil companies held their annual general meetings, a tense moment for the victims of decades-long pollution by the companies. In the case of Shell, it might be able to shed its duty to clean up the region by selling some of its assets to another group named Renaissance.
Ahead of and after the annual meeting, local communities in Nigeria organised to act, as they see a critical opportunity to amplify scrutiny of Shell's continued fossil fuel expansion. The goal is to show the company's failure on climate accountability and environmental justice.
The pollution also affects other parts of Africa, and many actors, investors and campaigners are organising to make their demands heard.
A month after the Africa Forward summit in Nairobi, and ahead of the 11th Global Summit on Climate Change in Paris on 30-31 July 2026, this week we hear from three people building the future.
Does the Africa Forward summit signal a fresh start?
Emem Okon is the executive director of Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre – a frontline leader on gender, oil pollution and community rights in the Niger Delta. She tells us how the communities are fighting for accountability.
Yuma Sasaki, from Japan, is Dodai's CEO, working from Addis Ababa. Dodai is an electric mobility company based in Ethiopia. They recently raised $13 million (the largest fundraiser ever in Ethiopia) to scale up electric bikes.
Ethiopia, like Kenya, has emerged as a hub for electric vehicles given progressive government policy. It was the first country in the world to ban the import of fuel vehicles.
With abundant and cheap hydropower, Ethiopia could make e-bikes commercially advantageous as well as environmentally beneficial.
Meet the Kenyans on a roll, manufacturing the electric vehicles of the future
And Bim Adisa, CEO of Beacon Power Services, explains how artificial intelligence can help improve the reliability of electricity grids. Lagos-based BPS helps operators stabilise electricity grids – already impacting over 100 million people worldwide, including in West Africa.
This episode was mixed by Erwan Rome.
This week, Spotlight on Africa turns to the Great Lakes region. First, a new Global Witness report reveals how coltan is being smuggled out of the Democratic Republic of Congo, amid the ongoing conflict in the east, through Rwanda and on to companies worldwide. Then, artist Grada Kilomba discusses her journey to create a unique monument for Paris commemorating the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
This month, a new report from the NGO Global Witness has revealed how coltan is being smuggled out of the Democratic Republic of Congo and sold to companies worldwide via Rwanda, amid the devastating conflict in the country's eastern provinces.
Coltan, short for columbite-tantalite, is a mineral from which the metals tantalum and niobium are extracted, both classified as critical raw materials by companies from the United States, the European Union, China and Japan.
The report finds that conflict minerals from the war-torn east of the DRC are present in everyday technology products made by major global companies. It also links the illegal trade to Rwandan firms and to leading international brands including Amazon, Ericsson and Sony, which source minerals from eastern DRC.
The trafficking is linked to the M23 militia, accused of widespread sexual violence, summary executions and torture.
It took the British non-governmental organisation more than a year of documentary and field research to establish the exploitation network.
A separate Global Witness investigation from April 2025 had already revealed that coltan linked to the conflict in eastern DRC had likely entered the European Union market through international commodities trader Traxys. Earlier reports had also implicated companies including Apple, dating back to 2022.
For this latest investigation, the NGO spent months cross-referencing its findings with surveys conducted by the United Nations and other non-governmental organisations.
Alex Kopp, the report's author and an expert at Global Witness, is our first guest.
DRC takes on Apple: can conflict mineral mining be stopped?
Rwanda monument The artist Grada Kilomba was commissioned to create a monument for the city of Paris commemorating the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The monument comprises two black brass steles bearing an engraved tribute to the hundreds of thousands of men, women and children massacred between April and July 1994.
It was unveiled in the heart of Paris on 2 June 2026, in the presence of the two countries' presidents, Emmanuel Macron and Paul Kagame.
France and Rwanda unite to honour genocide victims with Paris monument
Kilomba is a Portuguese artist of African heritage, with roots in São Tomé and Angola.
Raised in Portugal, she has worked in Germany, Brazil, England and beyond, using performance and installation to explore the history of African and black people across centuries and continents, including the slave trade.
She was selected through a rigorous process to design this monument, the first of its kind in France. She travelled to Rwanda to meet survivors and conduct her own research before completing the project, titled "The Archive".
Her creative process led her to reflect on France and Europe's responsibility in the tragic events.
Grada Kilomba is the second guest in this episode.
This episode was mixed by Vincent Pora.
This week, Spotlight on Africa explores cinema and music scoring for African documentary projects with storytellers from Mozambique and Kenya. We will also bring you news from the Cannes Film Festival, along with the African teams selected to take part in the football World Cup.
The next time you watch a nature documentary filmed in Africa, listen carefully to the soundtrack: you might be hearing music composed in the West, a product of "parachute" filmmaking, rather than authentic sounds and locally led stories from the continent.
A group of artists, producers and organisers is working to change that through Africa Refocused, a collaboration between the National Geographic Society and Nature, Environment and Wildlife Filmmakers (NEWF).
NEWF offers mentorship, professional development and laboratories that teach specialised skills such as underwater cinematography and music composition, supporting a community of more than 370 storytellers from over 35 African countries, who have created 27 films and counting.
Their goal is to bring authentic sounds to the screen, so that Africa's nature documentaries reflect the continent's rhythms, sounds and instruments.
Spotlight on Africa spoke to two storytellers leading this movement. Dércio "Muha" Gomate is a National Geographic Explorer and Mozambican composer whose work has featured internationally, including his contribution to "Nkashi: Race for the Okavango", winner of Best Original Music Score at the 2023 Jackson Wild Film Festival.
Labdi Ommes, a NEWF Fellow, is a singer-songwriter and composer from Kenya who plays the orutu, an instrument women were historically forbidden to play.
They discuss their creative process in the field and the studio, how they are reclaiming soundscapes to replace "parachute" scores with local sounds, and how the NEWF Composers Lab is opening doors for African musicians to monetise their work and gain international exposure.
Africa at Cannes 2026
Meanwhile, African films featured at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
Why is African cinema out of the picture at the Cannes Film Festival?
Our culture reporter Ollia Horton met the organisers of a programme supporting women film directors and screenwriters from West Africa.
Mariama Lab is a year-long mentoring programme created by Collectif 50/50, a French organisation for gender equality, and the Mariama Institut, a film-writing residency in Mauritania.
We will hear from Mathy Mendy, a coordinator with Collectif 50/50, and from the actress and director Azata Soro.
And the World Cup!
Finally, you will hear from Paul Myers, our sports reporter, who will be covering the 2026 football World Cup for RFI English.
It starts on 11 June with a game between the co-hosts Mexico and South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Africa's finest: Democratic Republic of Congo return renamed
It is the first tournament to feature 48 teams, 10 of them African, with matches played in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
This episode was mixed by Vincent Pora.
As attacks from jihadist groups allied to Tuaregs continue in Mali, global jihadism threatens Africa like no other region on earth, according to ACLED's latest report. With the organisation's expert on West Africa, Spotlight on Africa explores how jihadist groups are expanding across the continent, controlling territory, targeting civilians and disrupting infrastructure.
Coordinated attacks by Tuareg separatists and jihadists dealt a major new blow to the junta in power in the capital, Bamako, in the last days of April, securing the capture of Kidal, a northern rebel stronghold.
Several strategic towns and areas around the capital Bamako were also targeted in the offensive by Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), which was launched at dawn on Saturday 25 April.
Two days of intense fighting followed between Malian soldiers and the armed groups around Bamako and Kati, a garrison town and junta stronghold about 15 kilometres north of the capital.
Mali's junta has now lost control of key northern areas and still faces a growing insurgent campaign that is tightening pressure around Bamako rather than directly attempting to seize the capital.
Analysts say this could be a turning point for the military in power since a 2020 coup.
Mali plunged into uncertainty following coordinated attacks on junta
Mali has been beset by violence from radical Islamists affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group since 2012, as well as local criminal gangs and pro-independence fighters.
For more than a decade, around 300,000 refugees have fled to eastern Mauritania's desert Hodh Chargui region to escape the violence that has plagued Mali.
Héni Nsaibia is the senior analyst for West Africa at ACLED, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data group. He co-wrote the organisation's latest report, released in mid-May, showing that global jihadism threatens Africa like no other region on earth. It also explores how jihadist groups are expanding across the continent, controlling territory, targeting civilians and disrupting infrastructure.
Héni Nsaibia is Spotlight on Africa's guest this week.
"The whole offensive in Mali really marked a turning point in the conflict," he told RFI.
"It's not a development that arrived overnight; it's a gradual process that has been ongoing for many years. However, in the past few years, and especially since the military regimes in the region came to power, we have seen a degradation of the security situation in all three countries that form the alliance of Sahel states, where military officers have taken power on promises to deliver on security."
JNIM is likely to maintain military pressure on the Malian regime as it attempts to isolate the capital and ultimately bring down the government, thereby posing an existential threat to Bamako, according to Nsaibia.
The report also shows that West Africa has become the world's most active zone of Islamist militancy, with groups now combining improved tactics with greater coordination and the use of technologies such as armed drones.
Why the Sahel is now the world’s deadliest region for terrorism
As the security landscape across the Central Sahel and Lake Chad Basin shifts rapidly, the latest ACLED report reveals that jihadist activity is no longer just a series of localised insurgencies but a coordinated effort to challenge state authority across the region, with Islamic State activity in Africa hitting a record high of 86 per cent in early 2026.
Since early 2025, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has also changed tactics and conducted more complex attacks carried out in succession over a short period of time.
With Héni Nsaibia, we will also discuss how jihadism has evolved across the rest of the continent.
The problem is now affecting not only the three Sahelian states of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, but is spreading rapidly across West Africa and beyond, including Somalia, Mozambique and the Great Lakes region.
This episode was mixed by Erwan Rome.
This week, Spotlight on Africa takes you to the Africa Forward summit hosted by France and Kenya in Nairobi on 11 and 12 May. It marks the first time France has staged such an event in an English-speaking African country, and comes at a moment of change and challenges.
Joining Kenyan President William Ruto at the summit, French President Emmanuel Macron is accompanied by some 30 heads of state, as well as between 1,500 and 2,000 French and African business leaders and stakeholders. Young people, artists and athletes are also among those invited.
Entitled Africa Forward: Partnerships between Africa and France for Innovation and Growth, according to the Élysée its aim is to forge closer ties with East African economies in the wake of a series of diplomatic crises across the Sahel.
France to host African summit in Kenya, in bid to ‘diversify alliances'
Also on the agenda are discussions on creative and cultural industries as economic drivers, and sport as an emerging frontier for investment and job creation. The energy transition, infrastructure development, regional connectivity and agriculture and food systems are also on the agenda.
A new era? According to XN Ikari of the University of Nairobi, France appears to be looking to East Africa after failing to support its partners in West Africa. New investors, he adds, are always welcome in Kenya.
For Roland Marchal, a senior research fellow at Sciences Po Paris covering Africa, the significance of the summit remains to be seen, depending on whether its promises on investment and climate justice materialise.
"The simple fact that the conference will pay attention to these issues is positive in itself," he told RFI. "Macron may rhetorically commit some money for new climate initiatives, [but] this could be heard with some scepticism, as African leaders know very well that France is facing its own internal issues."
He adds that Ruto has been a strong advocate for new environmental policies, and that the choice of Kenya to host the summit could therefore lend credibility to Macron's promises.
"It's always good to have conferences move around and test what the audience wants," infrastructure investment expert Bowale Odumade told RFI.
A central hub for transport and logistics, Nairobi also boasts a thriving financial industry and a technology start-up environment, she adds.
We also speak to Kenyan entrepreneurs, as well as Phil Clark, a professor at London's School of Oriental and African Studies on the greatest challenges facing the French if they want to be seen as equal and respectful partners.
This podcast was edited by Melissa Chemam and Erwan Rome, mixed by Erwan Rome.
As a major exhibition retracing how music from Africa, the Caribbean and North America merged to make a distinctly British sound opens in London, Spotlight on Africa looks at a century of black music in the diaspora.
V&A East, the latest offshoot of the world-renowned Victoria & Albert Museum, opened in Stratford – the area regenerated by London's 2012 Olympic Games – on 18 April.
Its inaugural exhibition, entitled "The Music is Black: A British Story", charts the rise of black music in the UK, from early drumbeats brought over from Africa to the present day, in which African and Afro-Caribbean music reflect British multiculturalism.
Black British music takes centre stage as London's V&A East opens doors
From Africa via the Caribbean and North America, the contribution of musicians of African descent still resonates in the United Kingdom – from reggae to rap and grime, a contemporary black British musical genre born in East London, which has allowed young people to create a sense of belonging, while connecting to a global audience.
V&A East director Gus Casely-Hayford talks to RFI about how he imagined a space that would attract visitors from all over the world, as well as from across London.
We also hear from curator of the exhibition Jacqueline Springer, a former music journalist, about how her team planned a display that spans centuries of history.
Cathartic rhythms for West African band born in 'black London'
Looking outside London, Bristol rapper and producer Tricky – whose family has roots in Jamaica, Africa and England – talks about how his city invented its own distinctive sound in the 1990s: trip hop.
And we hear how producer Tim Norfolk, of the duo The Insects, is releasing a record produced in Bristol in 1994 by the late Zimbabwean singer-songwriter Biggie Tembo, leader of the Bhundu Boys.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by RFI's English language service. Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
This week in Spotlight on Africa: Sudan’s war enters its fourth year, with no sign of easing since fighting erupted on 15 April 2023. The conflict is intensifying, amid fresh accusations of foreign interference – most recently involving Ethiopia.
The conflict, now nearing its three-year mark, has already killed tens of thousands, displaced more than eleven million people and created what the UN describes as the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.
International summits and negotiations have done little so far to put an end to the fighting, which has been marked by violations on both sides.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), Sudanese civilians continue to bear the brunt of the atrocities.
The NGO’s latest report has found that forces affiliated with the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) have arbitrarily detained, tortured, and ill-treated civilians in areas under their control, denying them any due process for their rights.
Sudan is also directly affected by the US-Israeli war against Iran and Tehran’s retaliation in the Persian Gulf, reducing the supply of medicines to Africa – a sector already severely impacted by funding cuts.
Sudan: rebels using sexual violence in Darfur as 'war weapon', says MSF
In this episode, you'll here from the newly appointed advisor to the Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC) chairman in Sudan, Amgad Fareid Eltayeb, on the line fromKhartoum, then Omar Digna in Cairo, Egypt – a Sudanese author and analyst – who fled the country four months after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took over Khartoum.
Ethiopia's involvement Meanwhile, the RSF have been accused by the Sudanese military of launching drone attacks "from inside Ethiopian territory" since March. This constitutes the first public allegation of Ethiopian involvement in the conflict.
Ethiopia has denied the claim and has also rejected allegations that it is hosting RSF camps.
But the Yale School of Public Health's Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) said analysis of satellite imagery and open-source data shows activity "consistent with military assistance to the RSF" at an Ethiopian base in Asosa, in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, between late December 2025 and late March 2026.
To discuss Ethiopia’s involvement in favour of the RSF, and the recent changes on the conflict, we speak to Christy Cooney, Chief of the Sudan team for the NGO Avaaz, who is regular contact with its staff in Sudan.
"What the Yale team have been able to conclude with a high degree of confidence is that these vehicles are then being fitted at this Ethiopian military base, fitted with these mounted machine guns, and then being used in attacks that are where the RSF are crossing the border and launching attacks inside Sudan," Cooney said.
"So there you have the Ethiopian military colluding with the RSF to launch these attacks in Blue Nile. They're colluding with an organisation that has been credibly accused of of genocide in Darfur."
Chad relocates refugees amid rising tensions at border with Sudan
Saving Sudan's cultural legacy One aspect that is less obvious to outsiders is the impact the war has had on the country’s culture and heritage.
Important public buildings such as the Sudan National Museum have been ransacked since the fighting broke out, putting precious historical artefacts at risk of damage, theft and trafficking.
RFI's Ollia Horton looks into how Sudanese cultural institutions like the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM) and the Louvre museum in France have been working together to preserve the country's heritage for future generations.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by RFI's English language service. Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
In Kenya, charities are working with landlords to fight gender-based violence – in particular the domestic violence experienced by women living in overcrowded, impoverished areas.
In Kibera, one of the largest informal settlements in Africa, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the NGO CFK Africa has begun helping landlords to spot and respond to domestic violence and sexual assault.
Siama Yusuf, senior programme officer for girls empowerment at CFK Africa, told RFI: "Kibera faces a persistent high level of gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy and sexual abuse."
And this reflects broader national trends, she adds, with the situation intensified by poverty and overcrowding in informal settlements such as Kibera.
"Violence often happens behind closed doors and goes unreported due to stigma, fear of retaliation, lack of trust in institutions and the belief that such issues are private family matters," she explained.
Little by little, however, thanks to the way the charity is supporting landlords, some parts of Kenya are becoming safer places for women, as awareness on how to address the violence grows.
Stigma and sisterhood: how one Kenyan woman knitted a healthcare revolution
Lessons for improvement In 2025, landlords working with the charity made 92 referrals to the authorities, helping survivors of violence with life-saving support services.
While landlords might once have dismissed signs of domestic violence in the homes of their tenants as a private matter, CFK Africa's training teaches them how to intervene.
One owner said that after this training, he knew that he was entitled to go and investigate upon hearing cries from inside one of his properties – where he found a father sexually assaulting his four-year-old daughter. Thanks to the landlord’s intervention, she survived.
Childcare solution springs up for Nairobi's market trader mothers
Geoffrey Wesonga is a landlord in Kibera who is involved in the training.
"When I first heard of the programme, I was really happy because handling gender-based violence cases in Kibera was becoming something very hard to do, because we didn't have anywhere to report them," he told RFI.
"The police tend to tell the perpetrator who reported the matter to them," Wesonga continues. "So, when I heard of the programme CFK was rolling out, I felt that in my capacity as a landlord, I would help many households."
Kenya: The accidental librarian keeping Kibera's kids in books
CFK Africa says its programme could be replicated around the globe. It quotes the work of researcher Meg Warren from Western Washington University in the United States, who conducted a study in 2024 with academics in the Democratic Republic of Congo that suggested the most powerful allies often aren't outsiders, but local leaders.
It also showed male allyship was key to lasting changes.
"In the past, most landlords didn't know the power they hold in preventing and reporting cases of gender-based violence," said Yusuf.
"But, because the landlords usually live within or near the compounds they oversee, they frequently hear or see warning signs before anyone else, so positioning them as critical gatekeepers in prevention and response is crucial."
Spotlight on Africa is produced by RFI's English language service. Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
US and Israeli attacks on Iran are raising concerns across Africa, from security risks in the Horn of Africa to economic pressures and fears for migrant workers in the Gulf. They also come as West African countries step up cooperation against spreading jihadist violence. In this week’s Spotlight on Africa podcast, we speak to Nigeria’s presidential adviser Sunday Dare and Africa analyst Heni Nsaibia about the risks.
As the conflict spreads across West Asia, the Gulf and the Red Sea, worries are growing about how it could affect the African continent.
American military bases in Djibouti and Somalia lie within range of Iranian-aligned groups, while US deployments in Nigeria and Kenya further extend potential exposure.
Israel also maintains military assets in Eritrea, vulnerable to missile attacks launched across the Red Sea. Such attacks could also threaten Egypt if missiles pass through its airspace.
Some African countries fear security risks from the United States, Israel, Iran or Houthi forces in Yemen. Others are already suffering from rising oil prices, related food insecurity and concerns for migrant workers.
More than 700,000 African workers remain in Gulf states as missile strikes continue in the region.
Fearful African migrants warily work on through Gulf missile strikes
Ladd Serwat, an analyst on Africa at the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED – a conflict data organisation), writes regular analyses on Iran’s regional reach and the security implications of the war for Africa.
He said direct military action by Israel or the United States against Iranian allies in Africa remains unlikely, but cannot be ruled out.
Nigeria and jihadist insecurity Meanwhile, West Africa is facing a rise in jihadist attacks in the Sahel.
Violence has increasingly spread south to coastal countries such as Benin, Togo and Côte d'Ivoire, prompting governments to seek stronger cross-border cooperation.
Authorities in Benin and Nigeria announced this week plans for a joint security operation along their shared border.
The move aims to combat militant groups operating in the area.
In the podcast, Sunday Dare, senior adviser to Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, discusses security challenges facing the country, including the Islamist insurgency and the need for regional and international cooperation.
And Heni Nsaibia, ACLED’s West Africa senior analyst, who's done extensive research on jihadism, explores the relevance of this partnership.
Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
African Heads of State convened for the 2026 African Union Summit last month at a critical time for the continent, amid escalating conflicts and democratic backsliding. This episode examines the AU's relationship with the United Nations, the European Union and the United States, and its place within a fractured global order.
At the 39th African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital and home to the headquarters of the organisation, leaders held debates on conflicts, institutional reform, financial sovereignty, critical minerals, artificial intelligence and Africa’s place in the emerging new geopolitical order.
Giorgia Meloni was a guest of honour, invited to co-host the second Italy-Africa Summit and to consider a strategy to tackle the root causes of migration.
United Nations secretary-general António Guterreswas also in attendance, and called again for two permanent seats for Africa on the UN Security Council.
The rotational chair passed from Angola to Burundi, putting leadership of the AU for 2026 with the latter's President Évariste Ndayishimiye.
Outgoing chair João Lourenço, president of Angola, parted with the warning that: "Normalising coup-makers who retake power through elections cannot become standard practice."
With 10 military coups having taken place on the continent since 2020 and elections held in a climate of repression, plus wars in Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and insurgency in the Sahel region, observers agree that Africa needs stronger institutions and leadership.
We spoke with Liesl Louw-Vaudran, senior advisor for the AU at the International Crisis Group (ICG), and Désiré Assogbavi, an international development strategist with more than two decades of experience in policy analysis.
African Union summit opens, as continent faces conflict and climate extremes
Imprints of violence Also in this episode, we meet South African photographer Jo Ractliffe, whose images focus on the residues of violence left by apartheid, regional conflict and population displacement.
South African photographer Jo Ractliffe captures imprints of violence
RFI's Isabelle Martinetti met her in Paris, where her latest exhibition "Out of Place" is showing at the Jeu de Paume, displaying work from the past four decades.
With photographs taken in South Africa and Angola, several of which are being shown in France for the first time, the exhibition explores places marked by history and trauma.
Episode edited by Melissa Chemam and mixed by Erwan Rome. Spotlight on Africa is produced by RFI's English service.
In this episode of Spotlight on Africa, we're looking at the race for critical minerals on the continent. In the first week of February, around forty African delegations were invited to Washington DC for a summit dedicated to the issue. The leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo appear keen to sign deals, but much of the rest of Africa has been calling for better proposals and more robust mechanisms to ensure accountability. So what is happening?
The African continent is rich in resources that are critical to the energy transition, as well as to the electronics and high-tech industries. Africa holds vast reserves of coltan, gallium, cobalt, tantalum, lithium, nickel, and many other strategic minerals that sit at the heart of this global competition.
The Trump administration is seeking to counter China's growing dominance over the continent's metals and mining sectors.
DR Congo weighs price of security in minerals deal with US
For the moment, Trump is focused on a US - DRC agreement, which would prioritise American interests in the central African country's supply chain. The DRC sits on vast mineral wealth and is currently engaged in a peace process with Rwanda, brokered by the United States.
DRC takes on Apple: can conflict mineral mining be stopped?
To help us analyse the context of these deals, we are joined today by three guests.
First, Clionadh Raleigh, head of ACLED - the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. We also have Akin Adegoke, Chief Digital Officer at Lotus Bank, who brings experience in driving technology-led, inclusive banking.
And finally, Frédéric Mousseau, Policy Director at the California-based Oakland Institute, who argues that, that under the guise of peace and development, the US–DRC Strategic Partnership Agreement rewrote Congo's laws to favour American mining interests."
Delegates also gathered at the Cape Town International Convention Centre for the 32nd edition of the African Mining Indaba, the continent's largest conference on the sector.
You'll also hear reactions from people on the ground in the DRC, as well as from leaders in South Africa and Zambia, on what has already been dubbed the new scramble for Africa.
Episode edited by Melissa Chemam and mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
In the episode, we examine recent US strikes in northern Nigeria and explore the experiences of the US African diaspora in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Nigeria has endured years of violence from extremist groups such as Boko Haram, but there is growing debate over whether a US intervention is the appropriate response. Meanwhile, in the US, many immigrants say they feel under threat as enforcement actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intensify.
This week, we discuss recent US airstrikes in northern Nigeria and the fact that many people of African descent feel threatened by the recent enforcement actions by ICE in many US cities.
The United States launched airstrikes in northern Nigeria in late December, saying it had targeted Islamic State jihadists - at Abuja’s request - to halt the killing of Christians. However, experts have challenged Washington’s claims that Christians are being massacred in Nigeria, arguing that the narrative, promoted by sections of the American right, oversimplifies far more complex conflicts.
US strikes on Nigeria set 'deeply troubling precedent' for African governance
First, we talk to Isa Sanusi, from Amnesty International Nigeria, to discuss the aftermath of the US strikes and of US President Donald Trump's invasive strategy to fight jihadism in West Africa.
US to increase cooperation with Nigeria to pursue Islamic State militants
US African diaspora in Minneapolis Meanwhile, within the United States, anti-immigration policies have intensified since the Trump administration took office a year ago, affecting even some people who are living in the country legally.
In Minneapolis in January 2026, two people were killed in shootings involving US federal immigration agents. On 7 January, 37‑year‑old Renée Nicole Macklin Good, an American woman, was fatally shot by an agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a federal enforcement operation.
Then, on 24 January, 37‑year‑old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a United States citizen and intensive care unit nurse, was shot and killed by officers from United States Customs and Border Protection in a separate incident in Minneapolis.
US immigration agent's fatal shooting of woman leaves Minneapolis in shock
Others were killed without making the headlines. Human rights lawyers have cited at least nine such cases, and possibly more, including Keith Porter, Parady La, Heber Sanchaz Domínguez, Víctor Manuel Díaz, Luis Beltrán Yáñez-Cruz, Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres, and Geraldo Lunas Campos.
Anti-immigration policies have particularly targeted Somali migrants and Somali Americans, among other immigrant communities.
Minneapolis is also the city where George Floyd, a Black American man, was killed by police in 2020, an event that sparked the global Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
Dr Rashad Shabazz joins us from the United States. He is a historical geographer specialising in race, culture and the built environment at Arizona State University.
He has recently published a series of studies on the diversity of Minneapolis, undertaken while working on a new book about one of the city’s most famous residents, the musician and singer Prince.
Music from us Finally you'll also hear music from the Cameroonian French duo, OKALI.
The song Gathering celebrates gathering and sharing; Traveler explores travel and cultural exchange.
Episode edited by Melissa Chemam and mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
In this first episode of Spotlight on Africa for 2026, we look back at a very eventful first three weeks of January. We focus on the recent general elections in Uganda, Israel's recognition of Somaliland, and how both could have implications for the entire East Africa region and beyond.
Over 21 million Ugandan citizens were called to the polls last Thursday in the country's general elections.
Incumbent President Yoweri Museveni, 81, stood for a seventh term following 40 years in power. He faced seven challengers, including Robert Kyagulanyi, known to most as Bobi Wine, who garnered substantial support but fell short of unseating the veteran leader. Museveni was declared the winner on Saturday 17 January, securing over 76 per cent of the vote.
In this edition of Spotlight on Africa, you'll hear from Bobi Wine's international lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, about the formidable obstacles facing opposition candidates during the campaign.
'He represents a population desperate for change’, Bobi Wine’s lawyer tells RFI
Jeffrey Smith, executive director of the think tank Vanguard Africa, joins us to examine the aftermath of these elections and the future of politics in Uganda, and more broadly across East Africa and other parts of the continent where democracy is severely undermined.
Somaliland, Israel and the Horn of Africa The state of Israel recognised the independence of Somaliland from Somalia in the final days of December, prompting widespread concern and questions in an already turbulent region, and drawing largely condemnatory responses.
The risky calculations behind Israel's recognition of Somaliland
Faisal Ali is a Somali British independent journalist. He looks with us at the motivations behind this move for every state involved.
Episode edited by Melissa Chemam and mixed Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
In this new episode of Spotlight on Africa, we explore different perspectives on African history – from Unesco, which has just released the final three volumes of its General History of Africa, and from the Congo through the insights of artist and filmmaker Sammy Baloji.
For this final episode of 2025, we look back at the full sweep of the African continent’s history.
Sixty years after launching its ambitious project to recover, document and narrate Africa’s past from prehistory to the present day, Unesco has announced the completion of the last three volumes of the General History of Africa.
Relaunched in 2018, the project seeks to translate this body of knowledge into educational resources for teaching the continent’s history. Three new volumes - IX, X and XI - have now been published, introducing fresh material and innovative approaches.
Our special guest reflects on the project and on African history more broadly: UNESCO’s assistant director-general for social and human sciences, Lidia Brito, who discusses these three new volumes.
In the second part of this episode, we also welcome the Congolese artist and filmmaker Sammy Baloji, who discusses his new film The Tree of Authenticity, recently screened at Film Africa in London and now available on the website of the Franco-German television channel ARTE.
Rapper and sorcerer-poet, Baloji, works his magic on new album
The documentary begins in Yangambi, in the Congo, in search of the remnants of a former research centre for tropical agriculture, bearing witness to the country’s colonial past at the heart of the continent.
In doing so, it highlights the links between colonisation and the climate crisis, adopting an unusual perspective: that of the “tree of authenticity”, which plays a decisive role in regulating the climate.
Congolese filmmaker Baloji mixes magic with biting social commentary
Episode edited and mixed by Melissa Chemam and Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
In this new episode of Spotlight on Africa, we hear from Sudanese people fleeing the atrocities in El Fasher. We also reflect on a year of South Africa’s presidency of the G20, which held its final major summit of the year this weekend in Johannesburg. And, in the final segment of the episode, we turn to the world of the arts.
In Sudan, the UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said last week that atrocities in Darfur – where the rebellious RSF are fiercely battling the regular army and targeting civilians – have been met with indifference and “complete impunity”.
He made the remarks following a visit to the devastated Sudanese region.
Chad has consequently become a refuge for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the conflict in Sudan – and as violence against civilians intensifies in Darfur, even more are crossing the border. The influx is placing severe pressure on already scarce resources in one of Africa’s poorest countries.
Meanwhile, Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council, travelled to eastern Chad recently and spoke to us while on the ground visiting refugee camps. She said that the escalating humanitarian crisis urgently requires the world’s attention and that she expects more people to flee Sudan in search of safety and basic survival.
As thousands flee, Sudan's war spills over into humanitarian crisis in Chad
Last weekend in South Africa, the final event of the country’s G20 South African presidency - the heads of state summit - took place in Johannesburg, aiming to secure commitments on debt relief for developing countries and to address global inequalities.
World leaders signed a declaration reflecting a “renewed commitment to multilateral cooperation”, according to South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa.
We have two guests reflecting on this significant year for Africa:
- Désiré Assogbavi, Adviser for Africa at the Open Society Foundations, a lawyer and international development expert in African institutions, policy, and politics, who took part in many of this year’s meetings in South Africa, including the Heads of State Summit in Johannesburg this weekend;
- Ivor Ichikowitz, founder and director of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation, which has produced the comprehensive African Youth Survey G20 Briefing to better understand what young Africans expect from this moment of leadership.
South Africa closes G20 year framed as ‘presidency for all of Africa’
Finally, we’ll hear from my colleague Ollia Horton, who recently met in Paris with the Ghanaian artist Emmanuel Aggrey Tieku, a civil engineer by profession and an artist at heart.
A stitch in time: the Ghanaian artist sewing trash into treasure
He has found an innovative way to raise awareness of the problem of textile waste in his native Ghana.
His installations are stitched together from hundreds of pieces of used clothing, collected from cities around the world as part of a project that has spanned decades.
Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
In this week’s edition of Spotlight on Africa, we look back at the recent elections in Tanzania. We’ll then head to London and Paris for a look at some outstanding African film festivals. You’ll also hear from South Sudan’s blind football team, who have just won a crucial match. Finally, we have an interview with Angélique Kidjo, introducing her brand-new song Chica de Favela, inspired by Brazil!
Tanzanians were called to the polls on 29 October, but instead of a free and fair election, they were met with severe repression. Demonstrations have been banned, protesters arrested, and members of the opposition detained.
Tanzania’s authorities have also charged more than 200 people with treason — an offence that carries the death penalty.
The incumbent president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, was eventually declared the winner of the election with 98 percent of the vote. However, the opposition – which had been barred from participating – condemned the results as fraudulent.
To explore the deep-rooted causes of this repression, and to consider how the situation could shape the political future not only of Tanzania but of the entire East African region, we are joined by a special guest: Prince Charles Dickson, a Nigerian peace and policy analyst with a PhD from Georgetown University and decades of experience in public policy and development practice.
Films from Africa The cinema festival Film Africa 2025 (14–23 November 2025) opens in London, UK. To mark the event we have Stella Okuzu, interim director of the festival, with us to explain what's happening.
Meanwhile in France, the Festival du Cinéma Franco-Arabe de Noisy-le-Sec is coming to an end just outside Paris (7–13 November). The festival has placed a special focus on Tunisian cinema. Mathilde Rouxel, its cultural director and programmer, tells us more.
Sudan's blind football team success Also this week we take a look at South Sudan's blind football team which recently played its first major match in Kampala, Uganda, thanks to the help and support of the charity Light For The World. And they won!
We have their coach and players on the line to tell us how football changed their life and why it is so important for people with visual impairment.
Angélique Kidjo and La Chica de Favela Finally, "La Chica de Favela" is an initiative from 'Beyond Music', a song featuring a Congolese man, a Latin American, a Swiss citizen, and a Beninese woman, Angélique Kidjo.
"The African continent is predominant on this song", Angélique told Spotlight on Africa, "and it tells a story through this song."
It tells the story of a young girl in a favela "who doesn't want to be defined by her gender". She is free and independent. "In a patriarchal world that doesn't necessarily give women much space," Angélique told us. "And that's what made the subject interesting to me."
Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
Ivorians voted on Saturday to choose their next president, in what is being seen as the most important election in West Africa. Côte d’Ivoire remains the region’s most stable and economically prosperous nation, and the last close ally of its former colonial power, France. Yet despite recent economic growth, the vast majority of people continue to struggle. In this episode, we speak to Ivorians about their hopes for the future.
In Spotlight on Africa this week, you’ll hear from the people RFI met and interviewed in Abidjan - the main economic hub of Côte d’Ivoire and its administrative capital - located in the south of the country on the Atlantic coast.
Although Yamoussoukro is the official capital, Abidjan remains home to most embassies, the National Assembly, and one of the presidential palaces.
Côte d'Ivoire's recent economic growth depends heavily on its cocoa and coffee producers as well as on the mining sector. Abidjan is also recognised as a cultural hub for the whole of West Africa.
In this episode, you’ll hear from campaign supporters - particularly young people and women - about their expectations for the post-election period and its outcome.
We’ll then head to the Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny to hear from students and their lecturer, Wise Bogny.
In Cocody, we also take you to the shop of Axel Emmanuel Gbaou, Le Chocolatier Ivoirien, the first Ivorian chocolate maker.
We then head to the Maison de l'Art, in Grand Bassam, which opened in late September and which now hosts the first museum of African contemporary art in Côte d'Ivoire.
Finally, in the last part of this episode, you'll hear from the AKAA, (Also Known As Africa) the African contemporary art fair in Paris, which closed on Sunday, with our arts journalist Ollia Horton.
Paris fair celebrates modern African artists reinventing traditional crafts
Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
Côte d'Ivoire's presidential election campaign is taking shape, with four challengers hoping to defeat longtime incumbent Alassane Ouattara in the 25 October vote, but no candidates from the country's two main opposition parties. For Spotlight on Africa, analyst Paul Melly underlines that the run-up has so far been peaceful, but that voters could be disengaging from politics, in response to the lack of alternatives and forward-looking change.
The presidential campaign officially began on Friday 10 October.
President Alassane Ouattara has led the country since April 2011, and is seeking a fourth term.
He managed to establish himself as a heavyweight in Ivorian politics over the past thirty years, and is credited with keeping Côte d'Ivoire prosperous and economically dynamic. But Ouattara's Côte d'Ivoire is also seen as "France's last bastion".
Now 83, he can run after changing the constitution in 2016 to remove presidential term limits, which has angered most of the opposition in Côte d'Ivoire.
Four candidates are standing against the incumbent president, the only ones having been ruled eligible by the country's constitutional court: former ministers Jean-Louis Billon, Ahoua Don Mello and Henriette Lagou, and Simone Gbagbo, ex-wife of president Laurent Gbagbo and therefore a former first lady.
But neither of the main opposition parties - PDCI and PPA-CI - have been able to secure a candidate, as the court disqualified many, including former president Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam, a businessman and former minister of development.
Why Côte d’Ivoire’s election could be more complex than it seems
The election campaign will end on 23 October, two days before voting begins.
Provisional results will be published at the national level by the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) between Sunday 26 October and Thursday 30 October 2025.
To be elected in the first round, a candidate must obtain an absolute majority of the votes cast. If none does, a second round of the presidential election could take place on Saturday 29 November.
Our guest this week is Paul Melly, researcher on West Africa and consulting fellow with the Chatham House think tank in London, UK.
Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
With more than two million Algerians and people of Algerian heritage living in France – the country’s former colonial power in North Africa – a smaller community of roughly 35,000 has made its home in the United Kingdom. In 2022, Rachida Lamri founded the DZ Fest, a cultural festival designed to celebrate and showcase Algerian traditions in English. RFI was present at this year's event.
DZ Fest is the only festival focused on Algerian culture outside the country. It has been run every year since 2022 in the United Kingdom.
This year the festival took place in the latter half of September with events in both London and Nottingham.
Spotlight on Africa travelled to London to talk to the organisers and guests of DZ Fest, and to some Algerians living in the UK
Founder and creative director Rachida Lamri - an artist, musician and member of the London-based Arabo-Andalusian orchestra - curated a programme showcasing Algerian music, traditions, and cuisine.
We also met:
- The Algerian chef Djamel Ait Idir, who runs couscous workshop in his restaurant, Khamsa, in Brixton, South London
- Fayssal Bensalah, an Algerian-born novelist and a lecturer teaching creative writing in Cardiff, Wales
- Comedian Mehdi Walker, also born in Algeria, who lives in France but performs his comedy sketches in English
- Artist and filmmaker Leila Gamaz, who lives between Bristol and Morocco.
Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Nicolas Doreau.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
In this episode of Spotlight in Africa, we discuss the forthcoming presidential election in Cameroon, before turning our attention to Nigeria. We also explore ways to strengthen relations between South Africa and the United States, with a particular focus on improving conditions for seasonal migrant workers.
Cameroonians are set to go to the polls for the presidential election on 12 October, but the opposition remains fragmented, despite efforts to unite behind a single candidate to challenge President Paul Biya, who, at 92, is seeking an eighth term.
In the first week of September, the United Nations raised concerns over whether rising tensions in the country could jeopardise the possibility of free and fair elections.
According to Enrica Picco, Central Africa director for the International Crisis Group(ICG), this lack of unity, combined with the perception of an absent or weak opposition, could lead to low voter turnout. The ICG also warns that ongoing instability in the country may further depress participation.
On Saturday, Issa Tchiroma Bakary was named the opposition’s “consensus candidate” for the October vote. But will this be enough to galvanise voters?
The 10 other opposition candidates, who remain officially in the race, have yet to comment on Tchiroma Bakary’s appointment.
We have Enrica Picco on the line to discuss the potential flashpoints and the ICG’s recommendations ahead of the election.
Fears over divided opposition and instability, as Cameroon heads to the polls
Oil pollution in Nigeria In Nigeria, major oil companies are facing allegations that they have abandoned decades of pollution in the Niger Delta without addressing the environmental damage.
A UN-appointed panel of experts has written to Shell, Eni, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies, warning that the firms cannot simply sell off their assets to evade their responsibilities to local communities.
We'll hear the reaction of community member Celestine AkpoBari, an Ogoni-born activist who coordinates the Ogoni Solidarity Forum and leads the Miideekor Environmental Development Initiative (MEDI).
Oil giants accused of dodging Niger Delta clean-up as UN panel intervenes
South Africa and the US Finally, in South Africa, since Donald Trump assumed office in the United States, companies, business leaders and diplomats have been working behind the scenes to strengthen relations, particularly for the hundreds of South African seasonal farmers who spend a few months each year in the US to supplement their income.
One prominent advocate for these farmers is Neil Diamond, president of the South African Chamber of Commerce in the US, based in Atlanta.
We discuss the importance of these work opportunities in the US for South Africans, as well as the final three months of South Africa’s G20 presidency — a historic first for an African nation.
Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
Spotlight on Africa returns after the summer break. In this episode, we travel first to Rwanda and then on to Malawi. We begin by examining how the United States, along with some European powers, is looking to third countries in Africa to take in illegal migrants, with particular focus on Rwanda. We then move to Malawi to explore how one village is now running entirely on solar energy.
Rwanda received seven people from the United States in the last week of August, as part of a deportation deal with the Trump administration, which has sought to send foreigners to third countries including Eswatini, South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda.
Authorities in Kigali announced at the beginning of August that they had reached an agreement with the United States to take in up to 250 migrants.
The move has raised fresh concerns over human rights, legality, and the growing trend of wealthier nations paying others to accept deportees.
To understand the implications for migrants, for Africa, and for human rights, we spoke to Phil Clark, Professor of International Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. A specialist on Rwanda, the Great Lakes region, and conflict and post-conflict issues in Africa, he has conducted field research in Rwanda and beyond every year for the past 20 years
Rwanda agrees to take migrants from US in deal that includes cash grant
Kasakula: The first solar-powered village in Malawi Meanwhile, in southern Africa, a community of nearly 9,000 households in rural Malawi became the country’s first village to achieve universal access to solar power at the end of August.
Kasakula town, where off-grid families have until now relied on lamps and candles, has reached this milestone, according to Brave Mhonie, general manager of the charity SolarAid Malawi and president of the Renewable Energy Industries Association of Malawi.
SolarAid is a small international charity, and chose the remote and low-income village of Kasakula to pilot itsmodel called Energy-as-a-Service.
Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
This season of Spotlight on Africa concludes ahead of the summer break with a focus on Frantz Fanon in the year of his centenary. It also highlights a groundbreaking new report by UNESCO on the state of the publishing industry across the continent.
This week, we begin in Harlem, New York City, USA, with Rico Speight, a film and theatre director.
His film, Rediscovering Fanon, was screened in Paris on 5 July in partnership with the Frantz-Fanon Foundation, as this year marks the centenary of one of the inspirational figures of the anti-colonial movement. The film will also be screened acorss France and in Martinque later in the year.
According to Speight, Frantz Omar Fanon (1925–1961), whose ideas have stirred the hearts of progressives since the 1950s, continues to inspire even decades after his death.
With Speight's latest documentary, the filmmaker said he "aims to reveal the man behind the legend and analyse the relevance of his prolific theories in a globalised, post-racial millennium."
Biopic explores the life and legacy of Frantz Fanon, a century after his birth
We also head to Unesco in Paris, where Spotlight on Africa spoke to Caroline Munier about the UN agency's new report on the state of the publishing industry on the African continent.
Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
In this episode, Spotlight on Africa reviews the origins of protests in Kenya against police brutality. And you'll also hear from the co-founders of the Africa Basel contemporary art fair, in Switzerland, the newest event of its kind.
This week, we go to East Africa where Kenyans are protesting to denounce police brutality, exactly a year after a wave of protests organised against an unjust tax, that led to police violence.
This year's protests were triggered by the killing by the police of a teacher and blogger in his cell. Albert Ojwang, 31, had been arrested for criticising a policeman online.
On Monday (23 June), Kenyan prosecutors said they were charging six people, including three police officers, with murder over his death.
To better understand the issues surrounding this incident, Spotlight on Africa podcast spoke to Douglas Lucas Kivoi, Principal Policy Analyst, Governance Department, Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA).
Africa Basel We also head to Switzerland for a new artistic event known as Africa Basel.
This first edition of a contemporary African art fair was created to coincide with the largest fair in the world, Art Basel, in Switzerland. It was held from 17 to 22 June, with over 30 galleries and dozens of artists.
Spotlight on Africa spoke with the two co-founders of the event, as they opened the first days of the event in Basel: Benjamin Füglister, artist and cultural entrepreneur born in Switzerland, and now the director of the Africa Basel and Sarah Hachi-Duchêne, curator at unx.art.
Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Cecile Pompeani.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
In East Africa, politicians and civil society members are increasingly alarmed by political arrests, as opposition figure Tundu Lissu remains imprisoned in Tanzania, facing the death penalty in a trial that continues to be repeatedly postponed. In this week's Spotlight on Africa podcast, we hear from Robert Amsterdam, legal counsel to Lissu and other prominent figures. We also look at the first commemoration of the genocide perpetrated by German colonial rulers over a century ago in Namibia.
Tundu Lissu is the leader of Tanzania’s main opposition Party for Democracy and Progress (Chadema). He was arrested on 9 April.
Treason charges were brought against him on 10 April, and he could receive the death penalty.
Amnesty International’s regional director for east and southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, reacted by saying that the Tanzanian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Tundu Lissu, whose arbitrary arrest and detention comes amid a growing crackdown on opposition leaders ahead of the October 2025 general election.
He added, “The authorities’ campaign of repression saw four government critics forcibly disappeared and one unlawfully killed in 2024. The police have also prevented opposition members from holding meetings and other political gatherings, subjecting them to mass arrest, arbitrary detention, and unlawful use of force."
Tanzanian politician's lawyers ask UN to declare his detention arbitrary
However, the opposition leader has not been released, nor have the charges been dropped. On the contrary, other members of his party have since been arrested and even subjected to torture.
Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire were detained in Tanzania’s economic capital, Dar es Salaam, between 19 and 23 May, after attempting to attend the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
The crisis extends beyond Tanzania to neighbouring Uganda and Kenya, where activists from a rights coalition in Kenya also accused police officers of sexually torturing Kenyan and Ugandan activists last month.
In this context, this week on Spotlight on Africa, RFI speaks to Tundu Lissu’s international lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, who has lodged a complaint with the UN Working Group as part of a broader campaign of pressure.
This month, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Lissu’s arrest as politically motivated. Amsterdam also stated that he intends to petition the US State Department to impose sanctions.
Meanwhile, in Namibia, the first national commemoration was held on 28 May for the victims of mass killings by colonial-era German troops, in what is widely recognised as the first genocide of the 20th century.
When first the Herero and then the Nama revolted against the colonial administration, the response from Germany was brutal. An extermination order was sent by the Second Reich, and several concentration camps were built across the country.
Namibia holds controversial first commemoration of German colonial-era genocide
Some organisations representing victims' descendants have declined to take part.
To discuss what is at stake with this commemoration, for Namibia but also for other former African colonies, we talk to the German historian Henning Melber, of the Nordic Africa Institute, who is also affiliated to the University of Pretoria and the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein in South Africa.
He says that while the announcement of an official Namibian Genocide Memorial Day has been long overdue, the chosen date of 28 May remains controversial, and that communities of descendants were excluded.
Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
As relations between South Africa and the US hit their lowest point since apartheid’s end, President Cyril Ramaphosa heads to Washington to mend fences after years of frosty ties and dwindling aid under Trump-era policies. In this week's Spotlight on Africa we unpack what’s at stake - and what was said behind closed doors.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met with Donald Trump in Washington last Wednesday.
The meeting took place amid tensions over several issues, including the United States’ resettlement of white Afrikaners - whom President Trump has controversially described as victims of "genocide" - and South Africa’s ongoing land reform.
South Africa's Ramaphosa to meet Trump on high-stakes White House visit
However, the US President defied all expectations of diplomacy by repeating allegations against Ramaphosa and accusing South Africa of the alleged killing of white farmers.
President Ramaphosa remained composed, however, and the visit continued the following day with further discussions on bilateral relations and trade.
To discuss, the recent evolution of the relations between the two countries, Spotlight on Africa has two guests this week:
- Cameron Hudson, senior fellow at the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in Washington DC
- Ivor Ichikowitz, founding director of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation and keen observer of South Africa's foreign affairs.
We also visit the Paris Noir exhibition, currently on display at the Pompidou Centre in central Paris. It showcases the largest collection ever assembled of works by Black artists who created art in the French capital from the 1950s onwards.
Paris Noir is at the Pompidou Centre in Paris until 30 June, 2025.
'Paris Noir' exhibition showcases work made in French capital by black artists
Finally, we go on a tour with the black British photographer, writer and broadcaster Johny Pitts, who has himself documented the black and Afropean communities all over Europe for over ten years.
Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
Amnesty International’s 2025 annual report reviews a broad range of human rights issues, highlighting concerns in 150 countries and linking global and regional trends with an eye on the future. In Africa, the organisation says the so-called “Trump effect” in the US and beyond has led to an unprecedented neglect of human rights.
According to Amnesty International, Donald Trump's rise to the presidency has hastened trends already unfolding over the past decade.
Just one hundred days into his second term, President Trump has demonstrated a complete disregard for universal human rights, making the world both less safe and less just, the organisation's latest report claims.
"His all-out assault on the very concepts of multilateralism, asylum, racial and gender justice, global health and life-saving climate action is exacerbating the significant damage those principles and institutions have already sustained and is further emboldening other anti-rights leaders and movements to join his onslaught,” Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, wrote.
While Africa's armed conflicts caused relentless civilian suffering, including increasing levels of sexual and gender-based violence, and death on a massive scale, international and regional responses remained woefully inadequate.
The NGO also denounces global failures in addressing inequalities, climate collapse, and tech transformations that imperil future generations, especially in fragile zones.
To discuss the implications for Africa in detail, this week, Spotlight on Africa's first guest is Deprose Muchena, senior director for regional human rights impact at Amnesty International.
Meanwhile, in South Africa, experts reflect on a recent visit from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as the country leads the G20 this year and tries to become a platform for peace talk.
Did Zelensky's South Africa visit signal a diplomatic pivot by Pretoria?
We talked to the French business and veteran diplomat, Jean-Yves Ollivier, founder of the Brazzaville Foundation, who was a key actor in organising Zelensky's meeting with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Finally, we hear from Djiby Kebe, one of the founders of Air Afrique magazine, created by and for young members of the African diaspora in Paris and Abidjan. Inspired by the once-successful Pan-African airline of the same name, the publication centres on culture and travel.
Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by a devastating war between the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo—known as Hemedti. In just two years, the conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced over 13 million people, and sparked what many are calling the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded.
The two rivals were once allies, having jointly overthrown Sudan’s long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir in 2019 after nearly 30 years in power. However, their alliance fractured in 2021 amid growing tensions over how to transition the country towards civilian-led democratic rule.
Most recently, on 25 March, the Sudanese armed forces announced the recapture of the capital, Khartoum. But fighting continues south and west of the capital, where pockets dominated by the RSF remain.
'No one else will': Sudan's journalists risk all to report the war
This week, Spotlight on Africa's first guest is Assadullah Nasrullah, spokesperson and communications officer for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Sudan. He had been working in the country for two years prior to the outbreak of war and now focuses on supporting those displaced within Sudan by the ongoing conflict.
Meanwhile, Philippe Dam, European Union director at Human Rights Watch, outlines for Spotlight on Africa how the EU could exert influence on multiple levels in the conflict — and why it must act.
Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
This week on Spotlight on Africa, we explore the growing movement among African musicians to produce their music on home soil rather than relying on studios and opportunities abroad, particularly in Europe.
For decades, many African artists have found that success often hinges on recording, producing, and touring overseas. However, a new generation of musicians is working to shift this dynamic, striving to develop a sustainable music industry within Africa while also supporting fellow artists in doing the same.
The conversation around this shift was a key focus at the AfriCapitales festival in Paris on 28 March.
At the event, academics from the revue Volume! presented their research on global phonographic production, examining how major recording hubs have historically shaped the music industry.
A roundtable discussion brought together scholars and professionals from Africa’s music sector to explore how digital technology and evolving industry structures are reshaping the landscape.
In a world that is increasingly interconnected yet diversely globalised, these discussions underscored the potential for African artists to reclaim their creative processes and redefine the future of music production on the continent.
Our first guest to expand on the research is the Cameroonian singer songwriter Blick Bassy.
Cameroon's Blick Bassy seeks to unite new generation of African music makers
Drawing on his experience as an African artist who has found international success, Bassy put in place a festival in Cameroon for other young music makers. The first edition took place in November 2024.
Billed as the first festival in Africa to offer training in production, Africa Prod Fest aims to encourage those starting out in the music industry to move forward with their own projects.
"The idea of the festival in Cameroon came from the process I went through myself to understand the structures of the music business," Bassy told RFI. "And now I would like to share this experience with my people in Africa."
You will also hear from the sound engineer Bey-K, who is part of the organisation of the Jambulance, a moving recording studio traveling between Senegal and Guinea, and from the Nigeria singer Cill.
Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
This week, Spotlight on Africa explores critical questions about the future of aid, featuring a humanitarian worker, a columnist, and an analyst, each from different parts of Africa. As the United States and Europe prioritise funding for arms and domestic affairs, we ask whether the current aid model can endure, if it must evolve, and how that change might take shape.
Since the start of the year, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, has moved to drastically cut the country’s long-term aid commitments, aiming to save approximately $60 billion on overseas development and humanitarian assistance programmes.
The United Kingdom has also announced a deep cut in its budget for emergency and development aid, which it says it needs to do to develop its defence strategy. Other European countries have indicated that they might do the same.
France launches commission to evaluate overseas aid, amid far-right criticism
These decisions are already impacting emergency aid systems in many countries, including Sudan and Congo, as well as public health initiatives in nations such as Kenya and South Africa.
Sudan reels as US suspends aid amid ongoing war
Spotlight on Africa reached out to three experts involved in rethinking the future of aid.
Jeffrey Okoro is the executive director of the NGO CFK Africa in Kenya. He said that since the decision of the US government to freeze US Agency for International Development (USAID) spending in January, Kenyans working in healthcare have been hit hard. The decision has already disrupted efforts to stop the spread of diseases like HIV and tuberculosis.
"A sizeable portion of the Kenyan government funding for health counselling comes from international organisations from foreign governments," Okoro told RFI from his office in Kenya.
US grant cuts could affect two million worldwide, disrupt HIV aid in Kenya
Meanwhile, Ivor Ichikowitz, chairman of the philanthropic Ichikowitz Family Foundation, based in Johannesburg, which focuses on growth and development across the African continent, says that the decrease in aid and the rise of European investment, as discussed at a conference in South Africa recently, could, in fact, have positive results.
EU flags stronger partnership with South Africa with €4.7bn investment
We also talk to Patrick Gathara, a Kenyan columnist and senior editor at The New Humanitarian, a website covering conflicts and humanitarian issues. He argues that the aid industry has long reinforced imperial domination, and its collapse could create an opportunity to establish a new order. He explains how.
Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
This week, Spotlight on Africa highlights women's empowerment across the continent, as March marks the beginning of Women's History Month, and International Women's Day on 8 March.
Officially recognised by the United Nations in 1977, International Women's Day (IWD) originated from the labour movements of the early twentieth century.
On 8 March, women around the world – and throughout the month in some countries – are celebrated and recognised for their social, cultural, economic and political achievements.
The day also serves as a call to action to accelerate progress towards gender parity.
In 2025, the United Nations will mark International Women’s Day under the theme: “For All Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.”
While the situation for women in parts of Africa is undeniably influenced by conflicts, disasters, and insecurity, this episode focuses on progress and empowerment.
EmpoweringSpotlight on Africa's first guest is Magalie Lebreton Traoré, an expert in digital transitions across the African continent at the United Nation's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).
As Unesco leads training for women in AI across Africa’s five regions, Magalie joins us to discuss how women are taking the lead in shaping high-tech industries, particularly artificial intelligence. This technological leap presents significant opportunities for women's leadership and innovation.
Moreover, a study published in Nature revealed that 79 percent of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could be improved or achieved through AI.
To tackle gender and geographical inequalities in AI, Unesco has made these issues a priority in its Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence – the first global standard-setting framework in this field, unanimously adopted by Unesco Member States in November 2021.
CelebratingAnd to broaden the conversation, we also talk to a curator and two artists from Johannesburg in South Africa, who are organising a special exhibition to highlight the work of artist-mothers and women artists caring for families.
Lara Koseff is a curator at INCCA, the Independent Network for Contemporary Culture & Art in Johannesburg. She has established the second edition of 'Art After Baby', with the support of the National Arts Council South Africa.
These female artists and mothers have been selected to receive support and mentorship in order to complete and exhibit a body of work in solo exhibitions at Victoria Yards in Johannesburg until the end of March.
Lara Koseff, Siviwe James and Phumelele Kunene join us on the line from South Africa.
Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
As fighting continues in South Kivu between M23 rebels and Congolese forces in the eastern regions bordering Rwanda, uncertainty surrounding the future of the Democratic Republic of Congo grows. This week, we discuss how the African Union can assist with an International Crisis Group expert and address humanitarian risks with a UNICEF worker.
The conflict in the eastern DRC has experienced a dramatic escalation recently.
Djibouti's Mahmoud Ali Youssouf elected as AU commission chairman
The city of Goma, capital of the North Kivu province, fell to M23 fighters at the end of January.
The rebels are being supported by Rwandan soldiers, a claim that the government in Kigali continues to deny, despite evidence and reports of casualties among Rwandan troops.
Fighting resumes in DRC's South Kivu ahead of crisis talks
The city has come to symbolise the conflict that has torn apart eastern DRC for more than three decades.
The M23 has launched additional attacks in South Kivu, and despite talks in Tanzania earlier in February and a brief ceasefire, the fighting persists. As a result, millions of Congolese have been displaced, with nearly 3,000 lives lost.
To explore the role of diplomacy in the country, as well as in other violent crises across the continent, my first guest is Liesl Louw-Vaudran from the International Crisis Group.
She joins us from Addis Ababa, where the African Union's headquarters are located, following the release of the group’s annual report outlining the eight priorities the AU should focus on.
We will also hear from civilians fleeing Goma and from Paulin Nkwosseu, the Chief of Field Offices at UNICEF for the DRC.
Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
This week, Spotlight on Africa takes us to Marrakech, Morocco. RFI English was on the ground to cover the Moroccan edition of the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, which first launched in London in 2013, followed by New York in 2015, and Marrakech in 2018. Through conversations with a range of guests, we explore how Morocco has become a key platform connecting the African continent with the wider world.
Since its launch in 2013, and even more so since 2018, the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair has grown into one of the most significant cultural events for African art, drawing gallery owners and artists from across the continent and beyond.
The galleries represent artists from all over the continent, from Ghana to South Africa, Tunisia to Angola.
The fair took place in the iconic events' venue La Mamounia, in the heart of Marrakesh.
Since 2024, the art fair has also had exhibition spaces for younger artists in Dada, a gathering space for art, food and music near La Medina.
This year's fair was held from 30 January to 2 February, during which the entire city hosted various art events, including exhibitions at the El Badi Palace and MACAAL, a museum dedicated to contemporary African art and artists from the African diaspora.
To understand how the fair built a platform for African art, RFI spoke to the fair's founder and director, Touria El Glaoui on the opening day in Marrakesh.
El Glaoui shared how she frequently travels to African countries to discover new artists, events, and galleries. She also noted that new participants from across the African continent—and now even from Japan and Korea—are coming to the fair seeking representation.
We also visited other sites that make the event special, including art galleries, like Loft.
“We opened the gallery sixteen years ago and we are a Moroccan gallery based in Morocco but with a real openness to the international scene," Yasmine Berrada, co-founder of the gallery, told RFI.
"We’re open to Africa. We represent African artists from its diaspora. We’ve also worked with European artists," she added. "We’re not closed off at all because, for me, there shouldn’t be any separation in art. I think that, on the contrary, we need to open up perspectives and integrate the Moroccan art market into the international stage."
Our guests this week:
-Touria El Glaoui, founder and director of the 1:54 contemporary African art fair;
-Mous Lamrabat, Moroccan-Belgian artist;
-Yasmine Berrada, co-founder of the Loft art gallery.
Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
In this edition of the Spotlight on Africa podcast, experts and analysts delve into Africa's evolving diplomacy as the continent approaches 2025. Topics include South Africa's G20 leadership, the division within the West African bloc ECOWAS, and emerging partnerships with the US and China.
How will 2025 shape up for African nations and their global partnerships? Will Africa secure a more central role in the global diplomatic landscape?
To understand what's at stake on the continent, the Spotlight on Africa podcast consulted three experts in African politics and diplomacy.
Cameron Hudson from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CISC) in Washington DC discusses priorities for South Africa as it takes on the rotating presidency of the G20 group, and in particular its relationship to the United States.
Michael Dillon from King's College, London, UK, looks at China's new strategy that aims to deepen its influence in Africa.
Thierry Vircoulon from IFRI in France analyses the legacy of France in Africa, notably in the Sahel where French troops have been pushed out by military juntas of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
These countries have since established their own Alliance of Sahel States and made the decision to withdraw from the West African bloc Ecowas. Set to take effect on 29 January, security experts and members of the diaspora have voiced concern over what lies ahead.
Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale's English language service.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is launching an unprecedented case against the American tech giant Apple over conflict minerals. To explore the issues at hand, RFI talked to a former UN expert to discuss whether any progress has been made in curbing illegal mining.
This week, we focus on the fight against the exploitation of 'blood minerals' or 'conflict minerals' in Central Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Conflict minerals is the term used by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to describe minerals sourced from conflict-affected and high-risk areas, such as tantalum, tin, tungsten (referred to as the '3Ts'), gold, cobalt, coltan, and lithium.
These minerals are essential for high-tech applications, including smartphones, electric batteries, and other advanced technology such as appliances, cars, and even wind turbines. They are predominantly found in the African Great Lakes region, especially in eastern DRC.
In an effort to combat the illegal and exploitative trade of these minerals, the NGO Global Witness established a transition team several years ago.
The May 2022 a report from Global Witness revealed that these minerals are used in products by international brands such as Apple, Intel, Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, and Tesla.
Now, with a trial underway in France and Belgium accusing Apple, many observers are hopeful that it could bring about meaningful change.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed a criminal case against European subsidiaries of the tech giant Apple, alleging the company has illicitly used conflict minerals in its supply chain.
The American company claims it no longer sources conflict minerals from Central Africa, but is it doing enough?
DRC case against Apple brings new hope in conflict minerals crisis
The complaints filed against Apple have been described by lawyers involved as a matter of significant public interest.
European countries, consumers, and non-governmental organisations are increasingly scrutinising the international supply chains of minerals, with calls for highly profitable companies to be held accountable.
This complaint could mark the beginning of a broader wave of legal actions targeting technology companies linked to the sourcing of conflict minerals.
To examine the implications of this trial, this week's guest is Gregory Mthembu-Salter, a researcher specialising in Africa's political economy and a former consultant to the UN Group of Experts on the DRC on due diligence regarding conflict minerals. He is based in South Africa.
Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
During Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s visit to France in November, he brought a delegation of young leaders to strengthen ties and attract investment in Africa’s largest economy. RFI caught up with some of them.
Kolawole Osinowo, CEO of Baobab Plus in Nigeria – a French-Nigerian energy distribution company – highlighted the challenges of energy access in the country.
"A lot of people in Nigeria don't have access to electricity, so we're supporting the government by bridging the gap," Osinowo told RFI.
"There’s a connection in terms of technological and financial support that is key."
Osinowo said he hopes to shift Africa-Europe relations from being aid-driven to investment-focused, aiming to boost Nigeria’s economy and create jobs.
“This is essential so that people don’t have to migrate and cause different migration issues around the world,” he said.
Creative partnershipsUchenna Pedro, founder of the lifestyle platform Bella Naija and named one of Forbes Africa's 50 Most Influential Women, emphasised France’s potential as a partner in Nigeria’s creative industries.
“French industries in my domains bring high value, and France’s belief in the arts makes it a great partnership,” said Pedro. Her platform already collaborates with French companies like L'Oréal in the beauty and fashion sectors.
Pedro is also a member of the French Africa Foundation’s young leaders group, which supports initiatives connecting France with African nations.
Nigerian businesses court French investors during Tinubu's landmark visit
France as a cultural hubSinger-songwriter and activist Chioma Ogbonna, known as Cill, also praised France’s prioritisation of the arts and its thriving creative industry.
"Because of how the arts and the creative industry thrive here in France and how it is prioritised, it is an important destination for Africans and Nigerians especially," she said.
Tinubu’s visit underscored the potential for deeper collaboration between Nigerian businesses and French investors, particularly in energy, culture, and creative sectors.
Episode recorded and mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
Harmful stereotypes about Africa in the global media are costing the continent billions each year and shaping damaging perceptions, campaigners are warning. A recent report explored the economic impact of biased media narratives, linking them to lost investment opportunities and higher borrowing costs for African nations.
“Negative narratives about Africa have real consequences for people’s lives and futures,” said Abimbola Ogundairo, campaign lead for the NGO Africa No Filter, which produced the report and works to promote balanced storytelling about the continent.
The organisation's latest research found these biases cost African economies $4.2 billion annually in lost investment opportunities.
It found that persistent portrayals of poverty, conflict and corruption have far-reaching consequences, from deterring investment to increasing borrowing costs for African nations.
Stories of success, innovation, and resilience were overlooked.
Investors deterredUsing case studies and data analysis, the report examined how media narratives influence investment, particularly during election periods. It compared African countries to their global peers and quantified the costs of misrepresentation.
The report also quantified how biased media coverage correlates with sovereign bond yields – a critical financial indicator.
It found that even nations with strong democratic institutions are often framed through lenses of instability and corruption – reinforcing negative stereotypes and overshadowing progress.
The Spotlight on Africa podcast explores this issue, featuring interviews with both Ogundairo, who is from Nigeria, and the acclaimed filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako, from Mauritania.
Both emphasise the need for African voices to take control of the continent’s narrative.
Episode mixed by Vincent Pora.
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
This week's Spotlight on Africa dives into Cop29’s critical discussions on climate change – focusing on food systems, green energy funding and who should pay for climate disasters. With talks underway in Baku, Azerbaijan, negotiators and experts are grappling with solutions to the growing crisis.
Zitouni Ould Dada, representing the FAIRR Initiative – a network raising awareness of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks in the food sector – underscores the need to transform global food systems.
“Since Cop15 in Paris and Cop26 in Glasgow, good progress has been made towards building sustainable and resilient agri-food systems,” he said. “Cop29 is a key moment to accelerate the transformation of food production.”
He calls on policymakers to strengthen climate commitments, integrate agriculture into national plans, and create policies to attract sustainable investment.
Financing green energy and addressing climate disasters are key issues at this year’s summit.
Seyni Nafo, spokesperson for the African negotiators group and chair of the Green Climate Fund, coordinates the African Union Adaptation Initiative. He shared his perspective with RFI’s Christophe Boisbouvier.
Speaking from Baku, Nafo explored the question of responsibility for funding climate recovery in the most affected regions.
The negotiations come during what is expected to be the hottest year on record, underscoring the urgency of Cop29’s agenda.
Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
African contemporary arts are attracting increasing interest thanks to a packed season stretching from Europe to Africa. Artists and curators from across the continent and the diaspora reflect on the impact of cultural exchanges beyond their borders – from London to Paris, Luanda to Dakar.
October and November are set to host a series of events celebrating African art across the continent, in Europe and even farther afield.
Spotlight on Africa dives into perspectives from diverse African cultures, focusing on the voices and visions of the diaspora.
RFI journalists Ollia Horton and Melissa Chemam take us to the heart of two major art fairs: Paris’s Also Known As Africa (AKAA) and London’s 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair.
Listeners will hear from Victoria Mann, founder and director of AKAA, and founder of La Maison Gaston gallery, Christelle Clairville, whose work brings Caribbean influences to the dialogue around African identity.
French-Belgo-Congolese artist Tiffanie Delune, exhibiting in London, shares her journey through the art world.
Curators Grada Kilomba and Helio Menezes weigh in from the Sao Paulo Biennial in Brazil. Meanwhile, ahead of the Dakar Biennale, French-Algerian artist Dalila Dalleas Bouzar discusses her preparation and the importance of the event to her work.
Episode mixed by Hadrien Touraud and Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
This week's podcast focuses on textile waste from fast fashion. As cheap clothes from China, Asia and Europe increasingly end up in West Africa, pollution is rising – particularly in Ghana. RFI spoke to Greenpeace Africa investigators to understand the scale of the issue and how to combat it.
Ghana is being swamped by millions of unwanted clothes from the West, creating an environmental disaster as textile waste piles up across the country.
The scale of damage to public health and the environment has been laid bare in a new Greenpeace report that exposes the devastating impact of discarded clothing on communities and ecosystems in Ghana.
About 15 million items of second-hand clothing arrive in Ghana each week. Nearly half cannot be resold.
The unsellable clothes end up in informal dumps or are burned in public washhouses, contaminating the air, soil and water.
"The situation is catastrophic. These clothes are literally poisoning our communities," said Sam Quashie-Idun from Greenpeace Africa, speaking to RFI.
The report shows how Ghana has become a dumping ground for the world's unwanted textiles, with devastating consequences for local ecosystems.
"What we're seeing is environmental racism. The Global North is using Ghana as its trash can," said Hellen Dena of Greenpeace Africa.
The flood of cheap, disposable fashion reflects broader problems with global waste management and environmental justice.
To explore this issue further, RFI spoke to Sam Quashie-Idun and Hellen Dena from Greenpeace Africa.
Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
Following a month filled with key summits and continued trade negotiations across Africa, this week's edition of Spotlight on Africa examines the growing rivalry between China and Western nations as they vie for business opportunities on the continent.
This week, our focus shifts to the dynamics of Chinese-African-Western relations.
In September, as the United States pursued investments in nuclear energy projects in Ghana and Kenya, the China-Africa forum concluded with a series of new agreements between China and a number of African countries. These deals spanned key sectors, including industry, agriculture, natural resources, and renewable energy.
China’s new strategy in Africa: is the continent getting a fair deal?
Chinese President Xi Jinping also announced that Beijing will allocate $50 billion (€45 billion euros) to Africa over the next three years.
However, China's overall investments in the continent have declined over the past year, creating an opening for both the US and Europe, who are both eager to re-establish their economic presence in Africa.
Russia has also entered the picture.
But what does Africa realy need?
To explore this, Jan van der Made and Melissa Chemam spoke with experts, including historians Daniel Large and Michael Dillon, as well as Igor Ichikovitz from the Ichikowitz Family Foundation.
Episode mixed by Erwan Rome
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale
With a prolonged drought affecting the supply of hydroelectricity all over southern Africa, a growing number of people are turning to solar to fill the energy gap. Spotlight on Africa focuses this week on progress made in Zambia.
While floods are devastating West Africa, about 68 million people in southern Africa are suffering the effects of an El Nino-induced drought which has wiped out crops across the region.
Nearly 68 million suffering from drought in southern Africa
Zimbabwe, Malawi, Lesotho, Namibia, and Zambia are facing severe drought conditions, leading to widespread devastation. The impact is stalling economic growth and raising serious concerns about food security in the region.
Zimbabwe to cull elephants to tackle drought, food shortages
In Zambia, the drought that has gripped southern Africa since early this year has led to rolling power cuts in a country that relies heavily on hydropower.
Some inhabitants, however, have already turned to solar power as an alternative.
To discuss how it can help, we speak this week with John Keane, CEO of the UK-based charity SolarAid, from the Zambian capital Lusaka.
He explains how sales of solar products have increased by more than 540 percent since the beginning of 2024, and what the social enterprises are doing to spread awareness among Zambians and avoid the use of charcoal or candles.
Episode mixed by Nicolas Doreau
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale
Some 24 million Algerians vote on Saturday to elect their next president, with incumbent Abdelmadjid Tebboune the clear favourite of only three candidates. If Algeria has enjoyed economic and social stability during his five years in power, human rights organisations warn of a decrease of freedom and rights.
This week, we focus on the presidential election in Algeria, scheduled for 7 September, with a potential second round two weeks later, if none of the candidate reaches 51 percent in the first round.
The campaign ended on Tuesday, 3 September. Most experts expect incumbent Abdelmadjid Tebboune to win again, while only two challengers have been allowed to run: Abdelaali Hassani of the moderate Islamist party, the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), and Youcef Aouchiche of the centre-left Socialist Forces Front (FFS).
- Few surprises in store as Algeria's presidential election nears
The opposition has, however, complained of intimidation with dozens of people arrested last month over alleged election fraud.
Opposition leader Fethi Ghares was even detained during the last week of the campaign, accused of "insulting the president" and spreading disinformation online.
Meanwhile, Algerian officials are tightening restrictions on civil liberties, Amnesty International reports. The human rights group says that the authorities' actions aim to limit citizens' rights to free speech, peaceful protest, and form associations.
To understand how opponents, political parties and civil society navigate the civic space, RFI spoke to Nadège Lahmar, the consultant on Algeria for Amnesty.
Episode mixed by Nicolas Doreau.
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
Decolonising Beauty is a campaign designed by the production company Zikora Media to educate the public and celebrate the rich tapestry of indigenous and local beauty customs across Africa. This week we speak with its founder, Chika Oduah.
In a world increasingly dominated by Western beauty standards promoted through pop culture and the global beauty industry, the Decolonising Beauty campaign seeks to challenge narrow perceptions and showcase the multifaceted beauty traditions in Africa.
The campaign uses a multi-platform approach to reach a broad audience of English and French speakers in Africa and around the world.
A series of initiatives from the campaign will be announced until the end of the year involving photographers, artists, poets, media makers and content creators.
Zikora Media & Arts founder Chika Oduah tells us more.
- Read also: French lawmakers vote in favour of bill to ban hair discrimination
Episode mixed by Cécile Pompéani
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale
RFI's Spotlight on Africa met with artist Gavin Jantjes to chat about his To Be Free! A Retrospective 1970-2023. The exhibition traces his journey as "a creative agent of change" from South Africa to Europe, celebrating his multifaceted roles as painter, printmaker, writer, curator and activist.
In this episode we hear from the artist and from Hoor Al-Qasimi, director of the Sharjah Art Foundation and the president of the Africa Institute, Sharjah, UAE, who helped organise the London retrospective.
Jantjes's formative years in Cape Town coincided with the early years of South African apartheid, and his journey has since embodied a quest for artistic emancipation, with a freedom not bound by the Eurocentric gaze or expectations of black creativity.
For Jantjes, this quest has meant a life of itinerant exile manifesting in multiple careers.
Structured into chapters, To Be Free! explores his engagement with anti-apartheid activism from the 1970s to the mid-1980s, his transformative role at art institutions in Europe, his compelling figurative portrayals of the global black struggle for freedom, and his recent transition to non-figurative painting.
This retrospective also provides insights into Jantjes’ curatorial initiatives, written contributions, and wider advocacy, which had a significant impact on both African and African diaspora art on the global contemporary art scene.
It coincides with the 30th anniversary of the end of apartheid in South Africa.
The exhibition is at the Whitechapel Gallery, London (12 June – 1 September 2024), after opening at the Sharjah Art Foundation from 18 November 2023 to 10 March 2024, and was organised in collaboration with The Africa Institute, Sharjah.
Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
The Paris Olympics are officially open, and athletes from Africa are competing in a broad range of disciplines. In this episode of the podcast, we look at what to expect from the African teams.
In total, more than 200 delegations and 10,000 athletes are participating in 36 sports at the Paris Games.
RFI's sport editor Paul Myers discusses how African athletes from all over the continent are likely to perform.
Who are the African athletes to watch out for at Paris Olympics?
Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
2024 is a big election year for the world and especially for Africa, and in July all eyes are on Rwanda.
Rwandans will cast their ballots on Monday in an election where President Paul Kagame is expected to secure another term, facing the same opponents he defeated in 2017.
Kagame, who has effectively led Rwanda since the 1994 genocide, confronts challenges from two other candidates: Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda (DGPR) and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana.
The 66-year-old incumbent is lauded for steering Rwanda's economic resurgence post-genocide, with GDP growth averaging 7.2 percent from 2012 to 2022. However, his administration faces criticism for suppressing political dissent domestically and alleged involvement in neighboring Congo's conflicts.
Kagame's previous electoral victories have been overwhelming, securing over 93 percent of votes in 2003, 2010, and 2017, with his last win nearing an unprecedented 99 percent.
In contrast, his current rivals Habineza and Mpayimana garnered less than one percent each in the previous election.
Rwanda's National Electoral Commission received a total of nine presidential candidacy applications.
Phil Clark, Professor of International Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, SOAS University of London talks to Spotlight on Africa about what's at stake in the election.
Episode mixed by Nicolas Doreau.
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
Displacement takes many forms, from refugees forced into exile to returnees who find themselves strangers what was once home. In this episode, we speak to aid workers about the very different experiences of refugees in Sudan and Mauritania, and hear from an artist who draws on his own migrations between France, Algeria and beyond for inspiration.
According to the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, more than 120 million people are forcibly displaced today by war, violence and persecution.
It is an unprecedented number, one the organisation calls a "terrible indictment on the state of the world".
Sudan alone has 9.9 million internally displaced people, as well as South Sudanese refugees who escaped civil war and now find themselves caught up in conflict once again. Aaron Adkins of the International Organisation for Migration discusses the complex needs of people repeatedly forced to flee.
Meanwhile Maribeth Black from the UN's World Food Programme describes how Mauritania has successfully managed to integrate refugees, providing an example for other countries in Africa and beyond.
Finally, we head to the Mo.Co museum of modern art in Montpellier, in the south of France, to meet the French-Algerian artist Kader Attia at his new exhibition, "Descent into Paradise".
He is inspired by his own story of migration, multiple identities, and his main theme: how to repair past traumas through art.
Episode mixed by Nicolas Doreau.
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
This week, we are addressing the issue of reparations for historical injustices, including slavery, colonial violence, and war crimes. Calls for compensation are gaining momentum, particularly in the Global South, with a strong focus on the Caribbean and Africa.
These reparations could take various forms, primarily financial compensation.
Activists argue that former colonisers should compensate former colonies and that different perpetrators should provide reparations to various victims. This includes compensation for slavery and addressing losses and damages related to climate injustice.
In light of the recent European elections and the upcoming parliamentary elections in France and the UK, these questions could soon be reframed and gain prominence in public debate and international negotiations. Additionally, the African Union has designated reparations as a key issue for 2025.
To learn more about the feasibility and types of reparations being demanded, I spoke with Nasim Salad, a senior associate at The Advocacy Team, a public affairs consultancy.
The group has collaborated with think tanks like The One Campaign and Development Reimagined, and it has recently produced a report to suggest how to come up with concrete financial plans for potential reparations.
Nasim Salad has insight into the different forms of financial plans for reparations.
Episode mixed by Nicolas Doreau.
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
In this episode of Spotlight on Africa, Melissa Chemam discusses the recent elections in South Africa and the possibility of the ruling ANC losing its overall majority, potentially forcing it into a coalition government.
On 29 May, South Africans participated in parliamentary and provincial elections in the most fiercely contested vote since the end of apartheid in 1994.
After 30 years in power, the African National Congress, once led by Nelson Mandela, could lose its majority.
With Tchepo Moloi, a lecturer at the University of Johannesburg, Gareth Stevens, vice-chancellor of the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, and William Gumede, political analyst, also at the University of Witwatersrand, we examine how the past 30 years have led to this pivotal moment and how a coalition government could transform South Africa's political landscape.
We will also hear from curator Aude Leveau Mac Elhone, who has organised the exhibition Brazil and Africa, a Shared History in Gorée, Dakar, Senegal, along with the artist Aline Motta.
Episode mixed by Vincent Pora.
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
South Africa is holding general and provincial elections on 29 May. In this episode of Spotlight on Africa, we look at young people and the elections and how the country has changed since the end of apartheid in 1994.
First, we talked to the director of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation, Ivor Ichikowitz, who outlines the impact of corruption in South Africa and why the youth vote will be important.
We also talked to Mary Paccard and Vincent Jackson, two South Africans living in France, who discuss how and why they campaigned for the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, from abroad.
Episode mixed by Vincent Pora.
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
South Africa is holding general and provincial elections on 29 May. In this episode of Spotlight on Africa, we look at young people and the elections and how the country has changed since the end of apartheid in 1994. First, we talked to the director of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation, Ivor Ichikowitz, who outlines the impact of corruption in South Africa and why the youth vote will be important. We also talked to Mary Paccard and Vincent Jackson, two South Africans living in France, who discuss how and why they campaigned for the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, from abroad. Episode mixed by Vincent Pora.Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
The delayed March presidential vote in Senegal confirmed the country remains a beacon of democracy in a region facing increasing instability. RFI looks at how the peaceful victory of Bassirou Diomaye Faye and mentor Ousmane Sonko stands to influence the politics of neighbouring Sahel nations.
This edition of Spotlight on Africa looks at the vast and diverse West Africa region, from Senegal to Benin to Niger and Mali.
It's a big election year for Africa in general, with no fewer than 16 countries heading to the polls.
These include a complicated parliamentary vote in Togo on 19 April, general elections on South Africa on 29 May, presidential elections in Algeria in September, and presidential elections in Ghana in December.
But for Sahel nations Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, elections appear a distant dream as the military juntas in power delay processes for a return to civilian rule.
Many hope the inspiring outcome of the Senegalese election can galvanise the region.
Speaking to RFI about the polls are former Senegalese diplomat Babacar Ndiaye and Nigerien researcher Seidik Abba.
Meanwhile Yvonne Ndege, of the International Organisation for Migration, looks at the issue of migration on the continent.
And finally Azu Nwagbogu, curator of the Benin pavilion for the Venice Biennale, speaks to RFI's Ollia Horton ahead of the event's opening on Saturday.
Read also:
- Senegal sets March date for delayed presidential election
- Insecurity erodes chances of return to civilian rule in Niger and Mali
Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.
Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
The delayed March presidential vote in Senegal confirmed the country remains a beacon of democracy in a region facing increasing instability. RFI looks at how the peaceful victory of Bassirou Diomaye Faye and mentor Ousmane Sonko stands to influence the politics of neighbouring Sahel nations. This edition of Spotlight on Africa looks at the vast and diverse West Africa region, from Senegal to Benin to Niger and Mali.It's a big election year for Africa in general, with no fewer than 16 countries heading to the polls.These include a complicated parliamentary vote in Togo on 19 April, general elections on South Africa on 29 May, presidential elections in Algeria in September, and presidential elections in Ghana in December.But for Sahel nations Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, elections appear a distant dream as the military juntas in power delay processes for a return to civilian rule.Many hope the inspiring outcome of the Senegalese election can galvanise the region.Speaking to RFI about the polls are former Senegalese diplomat Babacar Ndiaye and Nigerien researcher Seidik Abba.Meanwhile Yvonne Ndege, of the International Organisation for Migration, looks at the issue of migration on the continent.And finally Azu Nwagbogu, curator of the Benin pavilion for the Venice Biennale, speaks to RFI's Ollia Horton ahead of the event's opening on Saturday.Read also:Senegal sets March date for delayed presidential election Insecurity erodes chances of return to civilian rule in Niger and MaliEpisode mixed by Erwan Rome.Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
This is a big election year for Africa, with 16 countries heading to the polls. Close attention is being paid to the delayed presidential vote in Senegal – a West African beacon of democracy that is facing increasing instability. RFI spoke to author and economist Ndongo Samba Sylla in the capital Dakar. RFI is renewing its Spotlight on Africa podcast, and the first episode zeroes in on one of the continent's biggest news stories.Senegal was plunged into political crisis when President Macky Sall unexpectedly postponed elections that had been due to take place by the end of February.Protests erupted from those supporting opposition candidates, as well as from all corners of civil society. The polls were finally rescheduled for 24 March.Voters say they're worried about unemployment and a lack of opportunities for young people – many of whom are quitting the country in search of a better life elsewhere.Ndongo Samba Sylla helps us to better understand where the unrest has taken the heaviest toll – and what's really at stake in Sunday's election.Also read:Senegal sets March date for delayed presidential election Senegal president calls off February 25 election Episode mixed by Guillaume Buffet. Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.
Ethiopia is currently battling one of its worst locust invasions since 1958. But since then, the country has rolled out a defence system to make sure damage is minimal across the country. Find out more in this edition of Spotlight on Africa.
Read more on Ethiopia's efforts to control the locust invasion
In Accra, a new documentary out this January sheds light on the 2005 murders of 56 West Africans in The Gambia – most of them Ghanaians. In I cannot Bury My Father, director Nana-Jo Ndow explores the lack of closure – and the lack of information – the families of the victims were given. RFI speaks to Ndow and Isaac Mensah, one of the sons of the victims, who are looking for the remains of their parents – and looking for answers.
The Paris Peace Forum is now underway with around 30 heads of state and leaders of civil society meeting to promote global peace. French President Emmanuel Macron opened the forum on Tuesday by saying that the global political system was in "unprecedented crisis", and called for new kinds of alliances to help solve problems.
United Nations General Assembly President Tijani Muhammad-Bande spoke to RFI on the sidelines of the forum in Paris, and he expressed similiar sentiments, calling for respect of diversity while promoting shared universal values.
The time to invest in Africa is now. That was the message hammered home at last week’s France-Africa business summit, which saw the French government position itself as a new investment hub for the continent. Yet, many French companies still shy away from African markets and bilateral trade has fallen. Can France make up for lost time with China and reclaim its status as Africa’s main European trading partner? And if so, on what terms? RFI’s Christina Okello reports.
To listen to this report, just click the 'Play' button below or above.
To get the full story, click on the article version below: SMEs are key to reviving French business ties to Africa
In August, America marked 400 years since the arrival of the first Africans in 1619, which started the institution of slavery. In France, observers are questioning whether there are lessons to be learned for France’s African community.
In a brightly lit room of the American library in Paris, members of the public pour in for a conference exploring the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first Africans to the British colony of Virginia. The guest speaker, a civil rights expert and playwright, is yet to arrive.
When she does, Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, apologises profusely, blaming her lateness on her taxi driver who got lost and then wanted to overcharge her.
Her humour dispels the mood of the topic she’s come to discuss. But from the get go, she insists upon celebration and not defeat.
“I want to thank my ancestors. Without their perseverance, I wouldn’t be here,” she tells the audience.
Ongoing struggle
In August of 1619, some 20 indentured Africans arrived in the colony of Jamestown, Virginia, after being kidnapped from their villages in present-day Angola.
“They arrive and they learn the economy, the language, culture, and they actually progress, and then once the law takes effect and they’re enslaved, from there we have this fight, this ongoing fight for 400 years, so there’s a lot to commemorate.”
Browne-Marshall, a professor of constitutional law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, had just returned from a trip to Angola.
“I went back to Angola. I wanted to know more about these first Africans, and I discovered Queen Nzinga. Not only did she rule but she went to battle and stood up to Portuguese slave traders,” she comments.
Choose to fight
By highlighting the brave achievements of the Angolan warrior queen and others like her, Browne-Marshall attempts to reclaim some of the dignity lost during the slavery era, which she has documented on extensively.
“We all have choices. Are we going to go on with the programme even if it is oppressive to others, or are we going to stand our ground and fight? Queen Nzinga did, and that really inspired me.”
Her research has also focused on recent battles for equal rights, including that of Mum Bett, the first enslaved African American to file and win a freedom suit in Massachusetts.
“Just as Mum Bett became Elizabeth Freeman by pushing against those that would oppress her, we have to continue pushing forward. We can’t sit down and believe that the battle is over.”
Same battle
Yet the battle may be more difficult depending on what side of the Atlantic you’re on.
“I’ve been in the same company for over twenty years and have never been promoted,” a female engineer from Martinique tells the audience.
“I think the US has enabled black people to have more opportunities than here in France,” she says.
To which Browne-Marshall replies “Are you demanding the freedom and that you be treated fairly?” echoing the words of former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
Another female member points out differences between slavery in the United States and France.
If the enslavement of Africans began in 1619 in the US, it would not begin in France until 1642. Moreover, it would eventually be abolished here in 1848, after initially being reinstated in 1802, while America would follow suit in 1865.
For Browne-Marshall, both countries have similar undertones. “In both, you see protests every day. People are protesting for higher wages, they are protesting for other things. Why aren’t people of African descent protesting for full inclusion?”
Identity conundrum
Such identity politics hit a raw nerve in France where the notion of "Frenchness" is associated with a common set of values as opposed to colour or origin.
Furthermore, critics point out that flagging up the differences between communities runs the risk of forging a common identity between them at the expense of a national identity, and thereby legitimising racial divisions that activists want to abolish.
“Assimilation doesn’t mean giving up your soul,” argues Browne-Marshall.
“The French, of all people are the ones everyone knows will stand up for their culture. So, why can’t people in the African diaspora stand up and say I am proud of my heritage as an African in this country, and I’m French?”
The issue of French identity came to the fore during last year’s World Cup, where some commentators joked that the tournament had been won by an African team, due to the fact that 19 of its 23 players were of African descent.
Civil rights in France
The debate is a complex one, but for Browne-Marshall it should not distract from the legacy of slavery, which still lingers in enduring inequities in opportunity for the children of migrants or whose family generation emigrated to France.
"I think that France needs to have a civil rights movement,” she reckons, referring to the decades-long struggle for equal rights for African-Americans led by figures such as Martin Luther King.
“Fighting for your freedom and not waiting for it to be handed down to you, is something so powerful for the spirit and so necessary,” she said.
This is the third part of RFI's series on France's diasporas. Subscribe on iTunes or Google podcasts.
To listen to this episode, hit the Play button above
A recent Paris exhibition honouring forgotten black models of modern art has shone a spotlight on black identity in a society where race remains a controversial subject.
France has been multicultural "since the 19th and 20th century", says Denise Murrell, co-curator of Le Modèle Noir or Black Models.
The landmark exhibition on modern art’s forgotten black models ran from March to July at Paris’ Orsay museum. On Friday 13 September, it was due to premiere at Pointe à Pitre in Guadeloupe.
The lavish show, portraying people of colour in French art from the country’s final abolition of slavery in 1848 until the 1950s, “shows without question that there was a black presence in the heart of cultural activity in the 19th century,” mirroring “today’s diverse, contemporary society”, Murrell told RFI.
Yet these figures were left out of history. The four-month long exhibition sought to give them back their identity, by renaming leading paintings in the models’ names. Portrait of a Negress thus became Portrait of Madeleine and Edouard Manet’s Olympia, showing a reclining nude prostitute, has been renamed Laure, in honour of the black maid in the background.
Being ignored
“Madeleine, the black woman in the painting, has been subject to a silencing or obliteration of her identity by a generic title…so being able to rename her was important,” continues Murrell.
Similarly, Laure, who inspired one of Manet’s most important works, is barely noticed, and extensive scholarship on the work has focused more on the cat than the servant stooping down to offer flowers to the white woman.
“Laure was emblematic of the condition of the diaspora, being invisible even though one is in plain view. I wanted to do something about it,” comments Murrell.
Revealing the maid’s identity became the foundation of the curator’s doctoral dissertation, Seeing Laure, Race and Modernity from Manet’s Olympia to Matisse, Bearden and Beyond, and an earlier exhibition of Le Modèle Noir in New York that Murrell curated called, Posing Modernity: The Black Model from Manet and Matisse to Today.
Black studies
Over 400,000 visitors flocked to the Orsay museum to see Laure and many of the other Black figures in French art such as Haitian model Joseph, who was the central figure of Gericault’s famous painting the Raft of the Medusa.
Joseph was portrayed as the hero in the artwork – the one who called for rescue for the other stricken crewmembers. In an era where slavery was still rampant, such a favourable portrayal was a clear call for abolition.
For Murrell, the success of Le Modèle Noir is a clear sign of the "hunger" in France for information on the subject, which has "historically not been widely discussed”, she says.
While the representation of black people has become a topic in the history of art on both sides of the Atlantic, research in black studies is relatively new in France. Breaking the mould of mental slavery Le Modèle Noir exhibition was the first of its kind in Paris, while London and the Netherlands have already drawn crowds to shows such as Black Chronicles at the National Portrait Gallery and Black Is Beautiful at Amsterdam’s Newe Dirk museum.
Republican values
The term "race" remains controversial in France.
Advocates of strict secularism are against defining society in racial terms, saying it undermines the French Republican value that “everyone is equal".
Last year in June, the government removed the word from the constitution, arguing it was a "made-up social construct". Former president François Hollande, in his 2012 election campaign, said the term “has no place in the Republic”.
Collecting statistics based on race remains illegal.
Critics say that such apparently lofty ideals conceal the extent of racial discrimination in France.
Murrell believes embracing black identity in France could, in fact, reinforce the foundations of the Republic.
“I think recognition of France’s multiple heritage and the contribution of people of colour to French society can only strengthen Republican ideals,” she says, “because it creates a sense of belonging for populations who may perhaps feel they have been ignored.
“I think that part of the ability to improve the condition of the diaspora is to hear the voices of people from the diaspora.”
To hear more stories like this, subscribe to RFI's diaspora series on iTunes or Google podcasts.
France has recently made overtures to the African diaspora, inviting them to be the bridge between France and their countries of origin. Critics say it's a move to regain a foothold in the former colonies. But France's African community could leverage its influence to ask for recognition at home.
In France, there are no statistics on "race" or ethnicity. Racial categories that are commonplace in the US and UK such as white, black or Asian don’t exist.
The logic is simple: to avoid racism, avoid categorising people by race and instead treat everyone equally. This is the Republican egalitarian ethos. It is held up in France as a powerful rebuke of the racist ideology propagated by the Nazi regime.
In World War Two, the former collaborationist regime enabled the roundup of thousands of Jews, based on their race and ethnicity.
However, the experience of discrimination felt by some in France's African community has led to growing calls for more visibility of ethnic minorities.
Today, the French government is reaching out to Africans in the diaspora to help it foster greater connections with the African continent.
Paris has lost ground to countries like China in a scramble for influence in this new Eldorado.
President Emmanuel Macron has said that if Africa fails then all of Europe will fail, and wants the diaspora to serve as a buffer. If they play their cards right, France's African community could leverage their influence to ask for more recognition at home.
So who are they? What are their aspirations? And what effect can the diaspora have on French society? In the coming weeks, RFI's Christina Okello will take you on a journey to explore the rich diversity in France, starting with its African diaspora.
Subscribe to the series on iTunes or Google podcasts.
And to listen to this first episode, just hit the Play button above
A group of 20 teenagers are set to make aviation history when they fly a light aircraft from Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo in Egypt on 15 June.
Together they will fly the length of the continent, covering over 10,000 kilometres in a plane they assembled themselves.
Seventeen-year-old Megan Werner was behind the initiative, and founded U-Dream Global, an aviation outreach initiative that fosters “visionary thinking” to inspire young people to pursue their dreams.
Speaking from Johannesburg, Megan explains more about this project to RFI.
In the 25 years since the Rwandan genocide, the country has emerged to become one of Africa’s success stories. Its remarkable recovery has stemmed from efforts towards nation-building. But some critics argue this bid for ethnic reconciliation is far from complete. In this week’s Spotlight on Africa, RFI's Christina Okello travels to Kigali to explore how Rwanda has dealt with the trauma of its past.
Tucked away in a courtyard away from the main commercial area in Kigali, is a small memorial site dominated by an imposing building of red bricks and white panels. The building is the Sainte Famille church, the largest Catholic Church in Rwanda. It is also where more than 2,000 people were massacred during the 1994 genocide.
“We still remember those people who was killed, who are called Abatutsi [or Tutsi] people,” recounts 19-year-old Nadine Ouwiduhaye, pointing to the names of the victims engraved on a black marble wall.
When violence broke out on 7 April following the assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana, many residents from troubled districts of Kigali fled to Sainte Famille church to seek refuge, only to be handed over to Hutu militias by the priest in charge there.
“I’m just looking at these people; they’re too many. This is something like inhumanity. How can people take something like a knife and put to the neck of others, how they can kill their people, kill their child, how people can kill his mother? Just too many questions,” Ouwiduhaye told RFI.
Is God listening?
Up to one million Tutsis and Hutus were killed in a brutal one-hundred-day massacre that has led some to question whether God exists. In his commemoration speech to mark the 25th anniversary since the killings, President Paul Kagame reiterated the poem of a young girl who once said: “Where was God on those dark nights of genocide?”
“People say he was absent, no he wasn’t,” responds Ouwiduhaye.
“Something bad happened, it doesn’t mean God forgot us. He is trying to teach us how we can treat each other, how we can be together. Before, they didn’t have a unit, they just had something like Tutsi, Hutu, Twa. But right now, we are just Rwandan, all of us we are just Rwandan,” she said.
One Rwanda
Today, ethnic labels in Rwanda have been erased, and most children like Ouwiduhaye have grown up with the idea of “Rwandaness,” inculcated into them in education camps, known as ingando that try to minimize ethnic differences.
“Many people don’t understand how we have made this reconciliation,” comments Rwandan author Jean-Marie Vianney Rurangwa, who was invited to discuss his work in preserving the memory of the genocide.
Author of four books on the topic, including Au Sortir De l’Enfer (Out of Hell), Rurangwa explains how writing about the genocide can “teach the youth about all those atrocities so that they cannot be repeated.”
Roots of Genocide
Explaining the racist ideology that sowed the roots of hatred between Hutus and Tutsis is a start. Traditionally, Hutus were people who farmed crops, while a Tutsi minority made up Rwanda’s cattle-keeping aristocracy. Because cattle were more valuable than crops, the minority Tutsis became the local elite. Gradually, these class divisions became ethnic distinctions, which were later exploited by German and Belgian colonisers. When in 1959, a Hutu elite toppled the Tutsi royal family, the regime that followed took a staunch nationalist turn, forcing thousands of Tutsis to flee.
“The genocide didn’t just start in 1994,” says Rurangwa. “There were episodes of violence even in 1961,” after the Hutu majority won the country’s first elections; and “right up until 1990,” he said.
“Forgetting would be a mistake,” he adds, saying how writing about his experience and the identity battle he’s faced since, has been “cathartic” not just for him but for others. “Sharing pain can be a kind of healing.”
Accusations of genocide denial
Yet officials accuse critics of trying to create an alternative truth. In their crosshairs are people like Hutu opposition leader Victoire Ingabire. The government has long accused her of inciting “divisionist” (i.e. Hutu v Tutsi) rebellion, an allegation she has always denied.
Last September, Ingabire was freed from prison after eight years in detention, following a decision by Kagame to pardon over 2,000 inmates. She continues to campaign for what she believes is the truth.
“I ask for justice for all Rwandans, it does not mean that I minimize the importance of the Tutsi genocide,” she told RFI.
By everyone, Ingabire means the thousands of Hutu civilians who were killed by Kagame’s Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) forces as they hunted down those who had committed the genocide in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, which later expanded into calamitous regional wars.
“The crimes committed by certain members of the RPF are never mentioned. We are not allowed to discuss it. So how can we talk about reconciliation?”
Together again
Yet everywhere reconciliation and unity are espoused by the state. When speaking at the 25th commemoration of the genocide, Paul Kagame vowed to never allow such large-scale violence to ever happen again.
And indeed, there has been none. Dissent too has been carefully stifled throughout the RPF’s time in power, much to the dismay of rights groups.
Moreover, government indicators such as the Rwanda Reconciliation Barometer, an opinion survey conducted every five years, routinely reports that more than 90 percent of Rwandans believe their communities have fully reconciled.
This reconciliation has been based on a collective memory of the past to construct a post-ethnic national identity.
The aim is to get people to “come out of their traumatic memories and divisive identities and go for nationhood,” explains Eric Ndushabandi, director of the Institute of Research and Dialogue for Peace.
The political choice is to say “You have been taught this, you have been reading this, but the truth is this,” he told RFI.
Dealing with trauma
Common experiences often allow individuals to cope when memories are particularly traumatic. But some Rwandans want to simply forget.
“There are traumatic wounds, which come back,” comments Ndushabandi, who runs community dialogue sessions between survivors and perpetrators in villages. “People are looking at their scars and traumatic memories and they say, oh, this proximity and inter-relationship; it’s still very problematic.”
The other concern is that promoting one Rwandan identity could provide “an escape route for people who have to take responsibility for their deeds,” reckons Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, a research chair on historical trauma and transformation at the Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, who participated in activities during the 25th commemoration of the genocide.
While nation building is “a tremendous idea, that we as South Africans can learn from, the problem is when people immediately replace the idea of being ‘I am one Rwanda’, without taking accountability and acknowledging what they did. I think that’s where the slippage lies,” she told RFI.
Moving On
The trauma of the genocide remains endemic throughout the population and affects the youth in particular, despite many of them being born after the mass killing.
“I cannot say that I was not affected by it [the genocide], because my parents, my grandparents are affected by it,” says Rwanda University student Deborah Chisozo.
“This is a painful time for everyone because they’re telling us stories, about that history, that was a very dark time here in our country,” she told RFI, as the country observes a 100-day mourning period for the 800,000 Tutsis and 30,000 moderate Hutus who were killed.
“I feel bad, some of my friends are having trauma because of that time. But we’re going to pass it and we have hope that we’re going to have a beautiful country.”
There are “encouraging signs,” coming from the youth, says Vincent Sezibera, a professor of psychology at the University of Rwanda.
“Wherever you go, you have clubs of young people,” made up of “children born from survivors and children born from perpetrators, collaborating together,” he told RFI.
The youth were the centerpiece of this year’s tribute. “They send a clear message that a child born from a perpetrator is not necessarily a perpetrator, and they even go on to say that the perpetrator of yesterday is not necessarily a perpetrator of tomorrow,” adds Sezibera.
Such youth clubs have taken on names such as Ikisere, which means hope in Kinyarwanda, the official language. “I’m surprised by their resilience but also the creativity of the young generation. And yes, it gives me hope,” he said.
Chadians living in France and Germany have been demonstrating against French air strikes supporting Chad’s longtime autocratic ruler, Idriss Deby. The strikes on 3 February were intended to prevent an armed group from Libya from toppling the president. Instead, they have sparked familiar accusations of French interference in African politics.
French authorities have defended the strikes against Chadian rebels, insisting that it was Deby himself who invited them in.
But is Paris overstepping the mark? And, is President Emmanuel Macron's hopes of resetting France's fraught relationship with Africa now in tatters?
Click 'Play' above to listen to this week's Spotlight on Africa.
With one of the largest populations in Africa, Nigeria has nearly 200 million people. And with that is a rise in the number of elderly people, but many are unprepared with seeing loved ones suffer from the problems of dementia. But with traditions still very intact, often those suffering from the effects of dementia are feared to be witches, wizards or possessed by a supernatural spirit.
In this edition of Spotlight on Africa, hear about one woman's campaign to spread the word of dementia and to ensure that those suffering from the brain disease are getting the help they need.
You can read more about it here
Sudan is on the verge of a new revolution, as protesters angry at President Bashir's 30-year rule, demand change. At least 51 people have been killed since 19 December when anti-government demonstrations began, according to rights groups. Opposition parties have urged the international community to investigate the killings.
"Business as usual is not possible," says Yasir Arman, deputy head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N).
Arman is leading a coalition of opposition parties called the Sudan Call alliance, that have joined doctors, lawyers, teachers and students in calling for President Omar al-Bashir to step down.
"We want the international community to support the basic demands of the Sudanese people," he told RFI, following meetings with British and French envoys to Sudan and South Sudan on Wednesday and Thursday.
Arman is hoping to raise Sudan's two-month old crisis at an upcoming meeting of the Human Rights Council on 25 February.
"We need an international investigation into the killings," he comments.
Officials say 30 people have died in the violence that was triggered on 19 December by a government decision to triple the price of bread. Rights groups put that figure to at least 51.
Hopes for third revolution
"We need them [the international community] to put pressure on Bashir to stop the killing. We need them to recognize the need for change in Sudan, and the right of Sudanese people to democracy and a peaceful transfer of power," he said.
Al-Bashir, who seized power in a 1989 military coup, has ordered the use of force against protesters, accusing them of trying to emulate the Arab Spring.
Sudan has had two successful revolutions so far. In 1964 and 1985, mass protests overthrew military dictatorships and installed civilian governments.
Could these latest demonstrations--the most sustained challenge to al-Bashir's three-decade old rule--lead to a third revolution?
Opposition leader Arman says "there is no future in Sudan under Bashir."
To listen to his full interview, click on the play button in the photo or below.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel wrapped up a three-day tour to West Africa at the end of August visiting Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria. The trip was seen as part of a new German diplomatic effort to strengthen ties on the continent with a focus on migration and investment. At the end of the trip, Merkel said that “every country is different”, but she had seen that the continent has “a generation that wants a future in their own countries”. Discussions on irregular migration come at a time when the European Union is taking measures to stem the flow of African migrants who cross the Mediterranean seeking a better life. Talk of greater German investment in Africa is also framed in the context of China’s continuing push on the continent and the British Prime Minister Theresa May’s recent charm offensive. Spotlight on Africa spoke to Julia Leininger, head of the German Development Institute’s research programme…
What do you think of Angela Merkel’s choice of these three countries in particular – Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana?
Angela Merkel’s choice is one of shifting priorities in German-Africa policy and it's a clear choice to cooperate more with countries where lots of migrants coming to Europe and Germany are from. So this is probably the first point why she chose these three countries. The second reason why she chose these countries is that Germany aims to foster the private sector and engage more in private sector investment. These three middle income countries are a good context to do so.
Much of the commentary on her West African trip has focused on migration – do you see this as the main reason for the visit?
First of all, on this shift that we’re facing at the moment of German-Africa policy, yes it has a lot to do with the so-called migration crisis in Europe. Because although the migration flows are decreasing, migrants coming from Africa, the numbers are increasing. So there is this new focus on the African neighbour and I think migration was a driver for various political initiatives of the German government like the compact with Africa, the Marshall plan with Africa – all initiatives that were launched last year. So the driver is migration, but at the same time it has a lot to do with the relationships between EU member states as well. Increasingly France wants Germany to cooperate on security, Theresa May in Great Britain is looking for a more independent role from the European Union since they leave the European Union. So the two main drivers are really the changing political game within Europe, but also migration flows to Europe.
Some in the German media saw the trip as an effort to please voters back home – how does this fit in to the political narrative in Germany?
In Germany, media, but also parts of the population think that there will be an increasing migration from Africa because of the demographic change in Africa. Meaning that by 2050 we expect two billion people to live in Africa, more than 50 per cent of them younger than 18, meaning that there are a lot of people without jobs who might want to go somewhere else to find jobs. That’s actually the standard picture of Germans and German politicians at the moment. So German-Africa policy is very much into job creation in order to create conditions for people to stay in Africa. Travelling to Africa is a signal to Angela Merkel’s constituency that she taking care of what’s perceived as a problem in Europe – it’s expectation management and signalling that, ‘I’m doing something, we’re are aware of the problem’. Actually, I wouldn’t say it’s a problem.
Did the chancellor’s trip reflect an alternative to the EU’s solutions to migration? In particular, policies such as detention centres, or processing centres, as they describe them, which are set to be established in North Africa.
So far Germany has supported the larger EU policy. But for the first time in Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria the chancellor talked about regular migration with the other heads of state. So they had illegal migration on the agenda but also regular migration which is a slightly different approach.
Merkel travelled with nearly a dozen CEOs, linking the issue of irregular migration to the possible solution of investment and job creation. Do you see German companies really ramping up investment in these three countries - Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria?
So far, it has been very difficult to incentivise German companies to invest more in Africa. Most of German investment still goes to South Africa. But since the state has given some guarantees, some insurance that if business doesn’t work, the state comes in, there is more willingness for the private sector to engage. But still it’s not about big numbers and big changes. It’s rather about individual companies –now we see Volkswagen opening in Ghana and Nigeria plants where new cars are assembled. The interest is increasing, but it’s not reflected in more investment. And we shouldn’t forget that Nigeria is a very big market and competition is very high. On the other hand we’ve got Senegal, a francophone country, with very strong French firms, enterprises. They are already closed markets, so it’s important for Germany to find a niche in these markets, which has not taken place yet.
The statistics are quite revealing – some 400,000 German companies operate abroad, but just 1,000 of those in Africa and if you remove South Africa from that number then less than half of that operate in Africa.
Yes, the German private sector is still very hesitant because of the risks and high levels or perceived high levels of corruption. The private sector is still very hesitant to invest in Africa. There is this big strategy of improving, supporting the private sector investments from Germany and elsewhere, or growing new markets in Africa with supporting small enterprises in Africa. But it will take time before the German private sector really comes in.
Merkel’s trip came at the same time as a visit by the British Prime Minister Theresa May. China, France and the US have also been influential foreign actors on the continent. Where do you see Germany fitting in?
If you look at the past, Africa hasn’t been - like in the case of France or in the case of Great Britain, as former colonial powers in Africa – it has never been a high level political issue. So for the first time the chancellor and the German government wants to be visible on the African continent. First, it’s about letting the other European partners know, we are there, letting one of the main allies in Europe, President Macron of France, know we support your approaches, we want to cooperate, and we are there. But it’s also about competition with China and others, exploring new markets and the idea of not being there despite of this global competition on the African continent. That’s the motifs for the German approach, but where does it fit in? It will be difficult or it is difficult for Germany to find a niche and the comparative advantages of German enterprises to come into the market – there’s solar energy, one very big advantage is producing in a sustainable way. Sustainability and we’ll have more sustainability standards in the future global economy. That’s what Germany is good at. That’s a market where Germany can help African governments and get African economies to improve and be more competitive on the global market by producing in a more sustainable way. So this is an investment in the future of African economies, but also of Germany.
New research investigating conservation efforts in Madagascar says some 27,000 people are suffering from restrictions aimed at maintaining tropical forest. The study, published in the PeerJ journal, suggests that people living in the protected area have not been fully compensated and their incomes are affected as a result. The Ankeniheny-Zahamena Corridor, in eastern Madagascar, is part of a pilot project under the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) scheme supported by the World Bank. The REDD scheme aims to protect forests as part of the fight against climate change. The project is being implemented through a system of World Bank safeguards and as such is supposed to compensate local people for the impact that conservation restrictions have on their income. The study is not suggesting that conservation efforts should be stopped, instead it is calling for forest dwellers to be properly compensated for the impact conservation has on their livelihoods, in particular on traditional agricultural practices. The study is based on interviews and testimonies of more than 600 people spanning several communities over two years. Spotlight on Africa spoke to Julia Jones, an expert in conservation science at Bangor University, one of the lead researchers…
A Ugandan team of inventors has won 28,000-euro prize for a device that could revolutionise malaria testing. The Matibabu device tests for malaria without drawing blood using a beam of red light that determines changes in the shape, colour and concentration of red blood cells. The African region has the highest share of malaria cases worldwide and it is hoped Matibabu will be easier and faster than examining blood under a microscope. Spotlight on Africa spoke to Brian Gitta, one of Matibabu’s inventors, to find out about bringing the device to market and increasing the device’s accuracy up to 90 per cent…
Zimbabwe’s informal workers hope to make their voices heard in the country’s presidential election in July. They've been doing so through town hall meetings across the country to urge candidates to take them seriously.
They make up the bulk of Zimbabwe's workforce, and yet for many years, workers in the informal sector have operated on their own, outside traditional structures. Now they're hoping national elections on July 30 will give them a voice.
Informal workers include vendors, street traders, cross-border traders, farmers, to hair dressers, and for the past two weeks, they have gathered in several towns in Zimbabwe, including the capital Harare, to put their demands to the various political parties.
All were invited, including the ruling Zanu-PF, and the main opposition party the MDC-alliance.
"The purpose of these town halls is to allow the candidates to come along and listen to what the informal economy has to say," Mark Oxley, the field representative in Zimbabwe for the Center for International Private Enterprise, (CIPE), told RFI.
Oxley says that lack of knowledge about the informal sector is what pushed CIPE to partner with the Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Associations, (ZCIEA) to spread awareness.
"I’ve been through the election manifestos, only four of them, as far as I can make out, contain anything on the informal economy. The manifestos of the two major parties have very little, and none of the parties appear to have any clear policy or idea with what to do with the informal economy," he said.
Nor do they appear to know what to do about the challenges facing informal workers either, says Wisborn Malaya, ZCIEA secretary general.
Coming out of the fringes
"We're subjected to harassment by police and are treated like illegal operators, with our goods confiscated," he told RFI, adding that the criminilisation of informal workers was being encouraged by outdated laws.
"There are outdated laws, which go as far back as 1968, 1978 that are governing the current operations of informal workers. Such laws can no longer fit the scope of the current operational environment in the country," he said.
The informal economy compared to the formal one is the second largest in the world after Bolivia, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but suffers from poor representation.
"There needs to be greater linkages between the formal sector and the informal economy," reckons Oxley. "If one can integrate and link the informal economy more to the formal economy it would mean significant measured economic growth," he says.
Ninety four percent of all workers in Zimbabwe work in the informal economy according to the 2014 Zimbabwe Labour force. As a result, argues Wisborn Malaya, they can no longer be excluded.
No more partisan politics
"We talk of somebody who is selling in the street. We want this person to be added to the main value chain, that this person pays fair dues to the local authorities and that this money is used to develop or improve the work space that that person is operating under," he says.
The July 30 polls will be the first elections without longtime leader Robert Mugabe, and the first, hopes Malaya, without partisan politics.
During the Robert Mugabe regime, "one person would hold 5 or 6 market places and people would pay money to him," he told RFI.
"People were allocated market places along partisan lines, or when they’re allocated that market place, somebody from a party would come to collect some form of revenue every single day from these people, which is outside what they would pay to local authorities."
Issues like these were put to the different candidates. For the first time since Zimbabwe's independence, they're more than 20 competing for the top job.
"Such democratic space has never been there before in Zimbabwe," says Malaya.
"It is a result of that democratic space that we’ve managed to do the town hall meetings, that we’ve managed to bring all these different political candidates and also tell them our demands," he said.
Holding leaders to account
Now that this form of grassroots democracy is over, what next?
"This is a process of advocacy," says Mark Oxley.
"We will be producing based on the recommendations from these town hall meetings a full informal economy agenda, which will be submitted to the new government," he told RFI.
Informal economy stakeholders remain optimistic that the July 30 polls will be an impetus for change, despite a bomb blast targeting President Emmerson Mnangagwa that has soured a political environment characterized by greater democratic space.
"It's time the informal economy was at the table, not on the table," continues Oxley, in the words of Lorraine Sibanda, president of the Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Associations.
Sibanda, during one town hall meeting in Gweru, in the centre of Zimbabwe, urged informal workers to hold their officials to account, through a song called Hokoyo.
"The meaning of the song is to tell to politicians, ‘hey watch out, we’re watching you," explains Malaya.
"We now know we have the power to remove you and put in someone who can do what we want. If you don’t do it, we will remove you and put in someone who can," he said.
During the 20-year war between the Lord's Resistance Army and government forces in northern Uganda, community stations like Radio Wa used “come home messaging” to encourage abducted children to defect. Today, their broadcasts for peace are working to heal the north's hidden scars.
"When the radio began, there was a lot of insecurity," Radio Wa's director Magdaline Kasuku told RFI.
It was in late 2001. "There was a lot of violence, there was a lot of killings and one of the biggest weapons they [the rebels] used was children."
Between 1986 and 2006, Joseph Kony kidnapped thousands of children into his rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), turning the girls into sex slaves and the boys into child soldiers.
At the height of the conflict, community stations like Radio Wa in Lira, northern Uganda, began to emerge, offering locals isolated in towns and villages, a different message to the one being played out on their doorstep.
The programme they came up with was Karibu.
"Karibu is a kiswahili word that means 'welcome'," explains Kasuku.
"Many parents would come through the radio to complain, saying 'Look, my child has disappeared, I don't know where he or she is. Could you help me find out where my child is?'," she says.
The programme was so popular in reaching out to communities in the north that it came under threat from the LRA.
In 2002 the rebels burnt it down.
It would take less than a year for Radio Wa to be rebuilt, owing to public outcry over its destruction.
"It went beyond Uganda," comments Kasuku. "The whole world was wondering how a small community radio which is trying to empower the people in a wartorn area, can be burnt down, so it really became a national issue."
Avoiding propaganda trap
So much so that even Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni came to inspect the damage, promising to rebuild Radio Wa.
"They said, Tthis radio is so powerful in reaching out to the community here.' So they gave us a wider coverage," recounts Kasuku.
"Normally, community radios are given to cover a kilometre or a kilowatt. That day, he [Yoweri Museveni] promised that we are going to be given four kilowatts."
But in its bid to promote peace did Radio Wa not fall into the trap of toeing the government's line and promoting its anti-LRA propaganda?
For Kasuku, the aim of Radio Wa's Karibu programme went beyond partisan lines.
"Parents would come to the station and make an appeal: 'I want to talk to my child, my daughter, my son, wherever they are, if they're still alive, I want them to know that I still love them. I know that they might have done so many bad things, killed people, and all that, but they should be able to know that I love them,'."
Coming home
The formula encouraged more than 1,400 abducted children to break with the LRA and return to their families.
After the war former LRA combattants questioned by police said they had been encouraged to return home through listening to stations like Radio Wa.
Hearing their mother say "Wherever you are, my child, just come back, we love you, we forgive you," helped persuade them, explains Kasuku.
Children who were abducted, came back, to tell their story and pull the lid off the atrocities they endured under the LRA.
More than 10 years on, after a peace deal was signed in South Sudan, does Radio Wa's message of peace still ring true in the Uganda of today?
The scars of war may be healing but the country is still grappling with kidnappings and killings, this time of young women in the Kampala capital.
Healing the scars
"There are no more gunshots, yes," Kasuku says. "But, when we interact with the community, you find that they have so many unfinished business. There are so many people who up to now have never let go of what their experiences were."
The appearance of LRA commander Dominic Ogwen at the International Criminal Court at the Hague has stirred up painful memories.
Kasuku says, many survivors still live with trauma and insists programmes like hers are necessary.
"We want to continue encouraging people and letting them know they can overcome the trauma, the pain, the violence, all the bad things they went through in life. And they don't need to retaliate."
Ugandan authorities are also keen to document the country's past and are planning a new war museum to this effect.
"People need to start the healing process," reckons Kasuku.
"That is the message that we keep on passing. Even today, despite the fact there is no more war. So, I think at Radio Wa, we realise we have even more work now than we did before," she says.
Voters in Cameroon are expected to go to the polls in October for presidential elections that will challenge the 35-year-rule of incumbent President Paul Biya. And one man is hoping to bring Biya’s reign to an end. Akere Muna has been described by some as the most credible possible successor to the Cameroonian leader. The former vice chair of Transparency International has already declared himself as a candidate in the race for the country’s top job. He created the Now Movement aimed at “bringing together Cameroonians from all walks of life”. Muna also serves as the sanctions commissioner for the African Development Bank and served as chairman of the Ecobank board in Cameroon. Raised in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon and having developed a successful law firm in Yaoundé, Muna says he can help “bridge” the divide between Anglophones and Francophones given the ongoing crisis in the north-west and south-west of the country. However, his declared candidacy for the presidency flies in the face of the more established political opposition and he challenges an incumbent who has ruled the country since 1982. Spotlight on Africa spoke to Akere Muna…
Do you really think you’ve got any chance in beating President Paul Biya in the elections? We’re talking about someone who’s been in power for 35 years.
You’re talking about President Paul Biya, I’m talking about Cameroonians, who really know the country’s in danger of imploding. They know that their livelihood is in danger because the system doesn’t work. They know that the infrastructure is at an ebb low. And they know that the justice system is not one that protects them. So I’m talking about the people, you can talk about Biya. I’m not worried about him, I’m worried about the Cameroonian people. What I’m telling them is that we can fix this.
It also seems as if you’re making the assumption that the elections will be free and fair.
I’m a lawyer by profession, I know what the laws are. I know that the way that they’re made, they’re made to suit the incumbent. But that’s a given and to try and think that you can change the law that you’re now at elections – it’s a distraction. But I think there’s no fraudulent machine that can be above the will of the people. I’m telling you, I’ve travelled up and down the country and the will and desire for change is very high. They can try to fraud all they want, but I don’t think that that can be above the will of the people.
Why did you decide to go it alone in the formation of your own party?
I didn’t go it alone and this gives me the opportunity to set it correct. I am non-partisan and I created a movement known as the Now Movement which is not a political party and non-partisan. But there is a group of parties who created the Platform for a New Republic and they’re supporting me. The Platform for a New Republic is a group of political parties, trade unions, civil society organisations and certain political personalities who support me. So I’m not going it alone and I’m a declared candidate. I think we’re now trying to get people to register because the register of non-voters in the last election in 2011 were more in number than those who voted for President Paul Biya. So we’re trying to get Cameroonians to register, to vote and to control and make sure their votes are counted. When we get to that point I’m sure, when all the candidates are in, the members of the opposition, we’ll sit down and have a talk. We’re now just making sure that Cameroonians are aware about the importance of these elections.
Do you have the support of the Social Democratic Front, one of the country’s main opposition parties?
The Social Democratic Front has already elected its own flag bearer for the elections. I am representing a different group. But as I say, at this moment we’re now getting Cameroonians sensitised, I think coalitions and alliances are sometime down the road and I think they’ll happen.
Who do you think you appeal to - do you appeal to Francophones? Do you appeal to Anglophones? You yourself, you’re from the north-west region, but you founded your business in Yaoundé and spent a lot of time there.
Yes, 40 years of legal practice. I tell you this, I appeal to Cameroonians because of my background. Many of them consider me a bridge, so I don’t think that I’m really affected by this divide. There’s Anglophones who feel I’m a Francophone. I’m not really bothered by that. I think that we have an Anglophone crisis in hand and I am better placed to understand it because I know what’s going on and I’m a victim of it, I’ve been a victim of it myself. I’ve written extensively about the mismanagement of the diversity of our country. As it stands, I think working with Francophones, working with the government and working internationally, I’ve come away with experience in governance, which is really my anchor in my career. I was vice chair of TI [Transparency International] for nine years. I worked for the African Peer Review Mechanism. I was president of the Economic and Social Council of the African Union, doing governance work for the African Development Bank. Cameroon has a huge governance problem and this is exacerbating the other problems. I think I do know what our country needs. It’s a good dose of resetting the country and making sure all identities are protected. And make sure that Cameroonians can actually live in a country that is working for them.
You mentioned the Anglophone crisis – is it really actually a good idea trying to run an election while this crisis continues? Will it actually be possible to hold any kind of vote in the north-west and south-west regions?
I’m looking for a solution to a problem and I’m saying that the solution is the ballot, not the bullet, as easy as that. If anybody has a better solution, I’m ready to listen. There’s a government that’s closing its ears not to see and its eyes not to hear. They don’t want to deal with any of this. So what do you want me to do? I’m saying, the Francophones think it’s time for a change. The Anglophones are suffering because things are not going better. The only way to move ahead is to galvanise and get ready to vote and change the government. Changing the country doesn’t help [regarding the breakaway state of Ambazonia], it can’t happen without bloodshed. So I’m saying, let’s change the government. And this can be done, that’s my message to all Cameroonian people. Let us make sure that we can see the back of this government and be able to rebuild a new republic. A country where every identity is protected, as easy as that. We’re going to have elections, of course that’s why I’m travelling talking to Cameroonians in the diaspora who have a very heavy influence on Cameroonians back home. Tell them to tell their brothers, sisters and other Anglophones back home that it is important to vote. The government knows this and is trying to make sure that parts of the Anglophone regions will get so tense that they don’t want to vote. Of course, such an imputation of a part of the electorate will only be good for the government and not for any opposition candidate. So we can’t fall into that trap, we know it’s wrong, we know it’s difficult, but it’s important to get out and vote. That is the route towards the future.
Your father was Salomon Tandeng Muna who was prime minister of West Cameroon. Not all Anglophones really agree with your father’s contribution in terms of the unification of Cameroon. So given that you’re in some way you’re trying to follow in your father’s footsteps, do you think that you’re acceptable to Anglophones given those divides within the Anglophone community?
I don’t know if my father, who died in 2002, is running for any office. My name is Akere Muna. I have my own prerogatives. I don’t know who says that I’m following in my father’s footsteps. What I’m saying is simple. We’re in a country where those who are the most disadvantaged are suffering and I’m trying to work for Cameroonians. Regardless of whether they’re Anglophones or Francophones. It is true at this particular moment, the Anglophones are really carrying the heavy part of the burden. Their villages have been burnt, they’re suffering. I’m saying that this government now is not listening. Those who want to manage my father’s existence, I’ll leave them to manage that. I have a simple mission that I’ve fixed for myself – to make sure that we can have a country that protects its own peoples. I am 66 and if people want to look at me through the prism of my father then that’s their problem to deal with. I don’t know who their own fathers are – it’s not an argument about whose father did what.
Going back to the Anglophone situation in the country – how would you solve the situation, how would you solve the problem?
It is easy. I think that in any union, the best protection you can have to parts of the union, is the protection of the identity of every union. I think that a federated form of the state is one of those guarantees you have. People tend to forget that when in 1972, President Ahidjo opted out of a federal system to a unitary system. He said this, ‘the federal system has permitted us to consolidate national unity, therefore the federal system permits the individual identities to be protected and to feel part of the union’. Now what has happened is the total erosion of the cultures of the country. The microcultures – Anglophone and Francophone - eroded, judicial system eroded, education system eroded and the frustrations have increased. Everybody who wants this country to have a place in the future knows that every identity of the country has to be protected and respected. Only a federal system, as it stands, can guarantee that. That’s what we’re fighting for – a federal system that will protect the identity of different cultures. Secondly, make sure that refugees can come back home, make sure that all political prisoners are released. And make sure that we can start building a country for everyone.
You said union there several times, so do we presume that you don’t agree with the separatists, those who’ve self-declared so-called Ambazonia.
Disagreeing is a very loose term. The government has said Cameroonians want to be indivisible, so they’re putting nothing on the table. There’s these Cameroonians - who feel frustrated and feel that there’s nothing on offer – are now saying that they’ll go to a different country. I’m saying that you don’t want to change the country, you want to change the government. I’m saying that the system that will better protect the rights of all the minorities in that country is the federal system. It’s not a question of agreeing or disagreeing about Ambazonia. It’s a question of giving a prescription of what can fix the mess that we’re in.
Maybe we can be a bit more specific – what would you put on the table?
A federal system, I just said that.
Burundians go to the polls on 17 May for a controversial constitutional referendum to decide on changes that could extend the president’s term limits. The changes to the constitution could potentially enable President Pierre Nkurunziza to stay in power until 2034 with an additional two terms of seven years. Nkurunziza has already been in power since 2005 and his 2015 bid for a third term in office led to bloodshed. There were protests, an attempted coup d’etat and crackdown by security forces with an estimated 1,200 people were killed. The International Criminal Court said it was investigating state-sponsored crimes against humanity in the country, however the government became the first country to withdraw from the war crimes court. Ahead of the constitutional referendum, the EU warned that the vote will take place in a persistent climate of intimidation and repression. The country’s Catholic bishops also said they were opposed to the constitutional changes, saying it was not the appropriate time to make profound changes to the document. Furthermore, rights group Human Rights Watch said the campaign for the referendum has been marred by violence. Spotlight on Africa spoke to Jean-Regis Nduwimana, a media analyst from Lake Tanganyika University…
NOTE: This interview was produced on 6 May before an attack against a village in the north-west of the country that left 26 people dead.
Have you heard any reports of political violence ahead of the referendum on 17 May?
Yes, there’s a lot of political violence in the country right now. Members of the FNL [National Forces of Liberation] of Agathon Rwasa, who’s the vice president of the parliament - they’re now the new target of Burundi’s security forces and the militiamen, the Imbonerakure. Because the FNL, they’re promoting the 'No' campaign and since they’re voting for 'No' – you become a target of Nkurunziza. Guys have been kidnapped - we can assume that they’re somewhere in a police station being tortured, we don’t know. But the new target are the FNL.
The FNL are traditionally opposed to the CNDD-FDD aren't they?
Yes, it is opposed, but remember that the FNL has two wings. There’s the FNL that works closely with the government. But there’s also the FNL that has former rebel, Agathon Rwasa, who is very well known in the FNL. Rwasa is the most powerful member of the FNL so people follow him and they vote as he recommends. That’s why members of his political party, his coalition, are targeted now.
There was some information that emerged suggesting that the police were now authorised to carry out arrests at night without having arrest warrants.
It’s a new law voted by parliament a couple of weeks ago and the police do that kind of search during the night. But people are worried, worried that they steal everything in the house. Now the police and even the militiamen have the right to search your phone. If you don’t unlock your phone, you will be arrested. So they search your phone, your laptop, everything. You have to open these kind of devices.
There was also information on social media that in some areas there were residents rising up against the Imbonerakure, the youth wing of the ruling party.
It’s true, but the problem with this is trying to protest against militiamen, there’s a boomerang effect, you become a victim. If militiamen are mistreating people in the rural areas, yes, you can attack Imbonerakure, but the following day you will be arrested. Because remember militiamen are more powerful than the police. So if you do that you are likely to be arrested in the following days.
Following the attempted coup in 2015, there was a period where there were a number of attacks against security forces. These seem to have died down in the last year or so.
Yes it goes down because it seems like the rebel movement were not well organized. Even the opposition do not seem to have a common view of how to handle this issue. Whether politically or using armed groups. These armed groups were so divided that it gave room to Nkurunziza to tighten his security procedures. Even to strengthen the militiamen and loyalists within the police and the army. But still, armed groups are becoming more and more united, according to some sources. Maybe in the future they’ll be more powerful or be able to attack Nkurunziza.
Do you consider this referendum to be the effective end of the Arusha peace agreement?
Yes, it’s an effective end of the Arusha peace agreement because of this issue of term limits, this issue of power sharing. With this constitution Nkurunziza becomes more powerful than his ruling party, if not the government. This is contrary to the Arusha agreement which was Tutsi, Hutu and Twa – all the communities in the country have a sort of power-sharing, which is well-specified in the constitution that came from the Arusha agreement. All the power will be centred around the president.
It was both Tutsi and Hutus who protested against the third term for Nkurunziza. Do you see any divide between the Tutsi and Hutus having been exacerbated over the last three years?
No, not at all. The opposition now, you still have Hutu and Tutsi. Even if some were loyalists to Nkurunziza, who are Hutu, they’re now in the opposition. Inside the country, Hutu are not attacking Tutsi as we saw in the past. Tutsi are not attacking Hutu. But Nkurunziza is using this ethnic charged language to trigger ethnic-motivated violence or war. He didn’t succeed because Hutu are now oppressed, like the FNL, they’re dying the same way Tutsis are dying. You see on this issue, Nkurunziza is the big loser and people’s eyes are being opened with these things – Nkurunziza trying to use ethnically-charged language.
There are still a number of Burundian refugees who are residing in neighbouring countries. Do you think that in the lead-up, during and after the referendum that the humanitarian situation could worsen?
The humanitarian situation could worsen if there is a war or if there’s more political violence in the country, there will be more refugees in the neighbouring countries. But if there’s peace, if the regime falls, people may go back home. If there’s more political violence then the international community should come up with a strategy to deal with refugees especially those in Tanzania, Uganda, Congo and Rwanda.
The various Anglophone groups in north west and south west need to come together and talk, setting aside their differences over self-declared independence, federalism or self-determination, according to a leading Anglophone lawyer. Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla, who spent 8 months in prison for organising Anglophone protests, has told Spotlight on Africa that infighting between the differing groups needs to stop. The crisis in Anglophone regions has worsened over recent months with allegations of Cameroonian security ransacking towns and villages, while armed separatist groups have continued to carry out reprisal attacks. Some groups support independence and in October 2017 declared Ambazonia as a breakaway state. Spotlight on Africa spoke to Agbor Balla, president of the Fako Lawyers Association and vice president for the central Africa region at the African Bar Association…
What’s the latest on the jailed Anglophone leaders? Those who were transferred from Nigeria.
The latest is that there’s no latest in the sense that we don’t have any information. Nobody has seen them, nobody has spoken to them - their lawyers and family, nobody that I know. I’ve been there with a couple of lawyers twice and we were not allowed to see them.
Besides from those transferred from Nigeria, do you know how many Anglophones in total are currently in custody?
There are close to 1,000 that are in custody between 2 maximum prisons in Yaoundé – Kondengui principale, where I spent 8 months, and there is Kondengui centrale where Mancho Bibixy, Penn Terence and the others are. There are also some detained at the Sed [Secrétaire d'Etat à la Défense], the gendarmerie headquarters, in Yaoundé. Some are also supposed to be at the judicial police at Elig Essono. Then there are close to 409 at the central prison in Buea, others in Bamenda and scattered all over the country. These are those that we can identify. Some of them have already been convicted – Penn Terence was given 12 years, others had 11, Mancho Bibixy and Tsi Conrad were found guilty on terrorism, secession and group rebellion. So the matter has been adjourned until 8th [May] for the sentencing.
Why do you think you were released from jail last year?
To be sincere and honest with you, we don’t really know. I don’t know what was the reason that they used in deciding to release myself, Dr [Neba] Fontem, Justice [Paul] Ayah and 51 others.
Do you support the violence carried out by some separatist groups? They say they’re defending the people against crimes carried out by the Cameroonian security forces.
It's a very tricky one. I believe in self-defence, I believe in the right for people to protect themselves, protect their people. I think it's a fundamental right – the right to self-defence. But I don’t agree when you go beyond self-defence when you start doing things that are outside of the law. That’s what I have a problem with. I also think the whole thing about self-defence stems from the fact that most of the people I’ve spoken to believe in an armed struggle. Their argument is that, the government arrests people and because they cannot protect themselves, they just kidnap some of them, take them to Yaoundé, and try them - so they’re trying to protect the people. So it's a tricky balance between self-defence and committing offences also.
The violence is quite close to home for you, in fact your family house in Mamfé was attacked. How did this make you feel?
I felt a bit sad and a bit disappointed because I believe that for most of my adulthood I have, in one way or another, contributed or fought for our people. I’ve been involved - the struggle did not start in 2016, it’s just that I came to the limelight in the struggle in 2016. But I have been in the struggle from the days of the All Anglophone Conference when I was a young boy. So for me to then go to jail, my dad was buried in my absence, then to see what happened, but it’s not the majority of the people. So what’s why I don’t get dejected because I still believe that in any struggle you have people who disagree with you. You have people who don’t think like you. But I caution violence and I’m urging all the groupings that we can still disagree without being disagreeable. If we have a common goal, to fight to protect the self-determination of our people, we need to understand that not everybody will think alike.
You talked about diverging views there. The Anglophone movement has somewhat splintered into a number of different groups. Is it important to reconcile this?
It’s very important for us. It’s true that it’s not easy to speak with one voice. But I think it’s very important for us as a people to try as much as possible not to be seen, the perception, that we’re fighting each other. There are times when the leaders, the other groupings and their followers, they spend a lot of time criticising and attacking each other. Rather than focusing on the target, which is the self-determination of the people. If I had my way I would advise, I would urge, I would organise with the other leaders, let them sit down and have an Anglophone leadership forum. Where the leaders can sit and dialogue and try to agree on the things that all of them have a common interest in.
Was the self-declaration of Ambazonia a bad idea?
The time that it was done, I think it was precipitated, enough groundwork had not been done for the declaration. But I wasn’t involved so perhaps they had more information, perhaps they had information that I didn’t have.
You’re saying it was a bad idea?
No. I would not say it was a bad or a good idea because I don’t have the facts that they have. I don’t know the background to which they decided to declare independence. But the situation on the ground – declaring independence – does it change anything? How can we effectively, if you have independence, how can you effectively protect it? How can you effectively live as an independent state? What are the recognitions you have from other states? So it’s not just about the declaration of independence.
What role have France and the UK played since the start of the crisis?
I think they’re doing behind-the-scenes diplomacy. I met a couple of diplomats, officially and unofficially, from both the French and the British. I personally think that they could do a lot, they could do more. They could engage, not only engage in government, but engage with both parties to try to see and find a solution. How we can get a truce from what is going on. Also to address the problems that the Anglophones have been raising. It’s very important for us to look at these problems and try to find a long-lasting solution. The British and the French they should know better because this problem, in a way they’re connected to the problem, in a way they’re responsible for what is happening. So they cannot just claim that it’s an independent state, we cannot intervene. When do you want to intervene? Do you want to intervene when there’s a peacekeeping mission? I don’t think it’s proper. Yes they’re doing something, which I appreciate, but I think that they can do more. I urge them to engage the government, to engage the other groupings also in trying to see how we can find a solution. Because the current situation on the ground, it’s not helpful for anybody, it’s not helpful for the country, it’s not helpful for the citizens. So the earlier we find a solution where we can live in peace and harmony as we used to live prior to the uprising. Genuine peace, genuine justice, genuine harmony, not the situation where one group of persons feel they’re second class. In a society that there is equality, that there is fairness for each and every one, no matter what part of the country you come from. I think it will be better.
Can change for Anglophones come about through the ballot box do you think? With the forthcoming elections?
There are diverging schools of thought. Some believe that an election could help the situation. It’s difficult to defeat the current leadership because of everything they have, they created the constitutional council, everything, they have the money, they have the resources. The elections can never be free and fair. Electioneering is an entire process, not just voting. It starts with the entire process, from registration, access to media, campaign financing, everything, not just the voting. I don’t think that they will be able to defeat the current head of state. I wish that there was a possibility that those who were vying for the highest office could come together and have a veritable candidate. So that they can give the ruling party a run for its money. But when you talk to most of them you don’t have the feeling that they would come together.
So the elections for you are irrelevant?
I think they won’t help the situation. Going for an election when a part of the country is having this kind of armed conflict - because it's a war in the south west and north west regions - I don’t think it's the best solution. I think we should try and see how we can find a solution, address these issues, because elections won’t solve the problem. This problem has been created by the current government, I don’t think it has the ability and the capacity to solve the problem. So him [President Paul Biya] being in power – this problem will not be solved. I think the problem will be solved when he leaves power.