Ukombozi: Recent Episodes
Jason
A podcast about African social movements and the worlds they are trying to create. Hosted by Fred Bauma, a social movement activist from the Democratic Republic of Congo; and Jason Stearns, an academic and writer based at Simon Fraser University.
Cette semaine nous accueillons Serge Sivya, médecin et militant du mouvement lutte pour le changement, Lucha actif en RD Congo. Serge milite au sein de la Lucha depuis les premiers jours de ce mouvement en 2012. Il a été très actif dans les mobilisations pour le respect de la constitution en RDC entre 2015 et 2018. Il a pour cela plusieurs fois été arrêté. Au sein de la Lucha, Serge est actif notamment dans la cellule de Luchologie où il a longtemps contribué à la formation et l’initiation des militants. Serge est aussi membre de African coaching network, un réseau qui forme des mouvements et militants à travers le continent.
L’année passée, Serge et sa camarade Rebecca Kabugho ont pris part au premier programme d’échange entre mouvements sociaux organisé par le réseau Afrikki. Ils ont passé trois mois à Atlanta aux États-Unis avec Project South, une organisation qui travaille avec des communautés locales, ancrée surtout dans la diaspora Afro-Américaine dans le sud des USA, en vue d'une transformation personnelle et sociale.
Aujourd’hui avec Serge, nous re-visiterons ce programme et nous parlerons en général de la solidarité internationale, ce que les mouvements du continent peuvent apprendre de la diaspora africaine, et les différents défis auxquels les mouvements sont confrontés aujourd'hui.
Last year, Teodoro Obiang won a 6th term in office with 97% of the vote. He has been in power since 1979, for 43 years. In Obiang’s Equatorial Guinea, there are no independent, critical media, no human rights or anti-corruption organizations, and the one opposition party is seen as being a fig leaf for the dictatorship.
It is difficult to fully grasp the control the government has over society without examining the role of the oil industry. Equatorial Guinea is one of the largest oil producing countries in Africa; the black gold makes up 90% of its exports and gives it an average income similar to that of Brazil or Serbia. And yet, its infant mortality rate is closer to that of Liberia and Mali, much poorer countries. 26% of children do not get the nutrition they need.
To discuss the situation in EG and the potential for change, we are joined by Tutu Alicante, the executive director of EG Justice. He has lived in exile since the age of 19, based now in the United States. His organization fights for democracy and against the human rights abuses of the Obiang regime.
Welcome to Season 2 of Ukombozi.
The Sudanese Revolution of 2018-2019 was a bubbling up of many movements all at once. As Hamid Khalahfallah, one of our guests here, says: "It was many transitions all at once"––a political, cultural and spiritual one. And then it ended, first with another coup in 2021, and now with brutal fighting between two parts of the regime.
Here we discuss the conflict, but in also the place of social movements in Sudanese society. One of the reasons we are where we are today is because of the enormous inequalities that Sudanese society faces––since independence in 1956 and before, the country has been ruled by a narrow elite from the Nile Valley, excluding the peripheries and lower classes. Social movements inside and outside of Khartoum have been mobilizing against this.
We have with us two fantastic Sudanese activists and scholars to discuss this. Hamid Khalafallah is a program officer for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance; he spoke with us in his personal capacity. He has been active with various civil resistance groups in Sudan, promoting democracy and advocating for human rights. Nisrin Elamin is assistant professor of anthropology and African studies at the University of Toronto. She studies rural movements and resistance to Saudi and Emirati land investments in central Sudan.
An interview with Thapelo Mohapi, the general secretary of Abahlali baseMjondolo, a socialist shack dwellers' movement in South Africa which organises land occupations, builds communes and campaigns against evictions and xenophobia and for public housing.
On April 17 this year, Sheila Adhiambo Lumumba, a 25-year-old non-binary lesbian, was found murdered in Karatina, Kenya. They had been was raped, strangled, stabbed several times in the neck and eyes and their legs had been broken. The Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya reported than more than half of Kenyans who identify as gay have been assaulted in their lifetime. Meanwhile, it is almost unacceptable to speak out in favor of LGTBQ rights as a mainstream politician in much of Africa. In Kenya, The winner of this year’s presidential election, William Ruto, said in 2015, “The Republic of Kenya is a republic that worships God. We have no room for gays and those others.” The runner-up in the election, Raila Odinga, has said it is “madness” for a man to fall in love with another man while there were “plenty of women”. In neighboring Uganda, where homosexuality is outlawed, President Yoweri Museveni has called gay people “disgusting” and “abnormal.” Homosexuality is criminalized in 33 of Africa’s 54 countries. In most cases, these laws are remnants of colonial rule, as one can tell from the vague and archaic wording of these prohibitions, such as “carnal knowledge against the order of nature.” Most of these countries are former British colonies or Mulsim-majority countries of northern Africa. In contrast, homosexuality has been decriminalized in all former Portuguese colonies, whereas in other places–such as the DRC–it is a legal gray area: rights are not recognized, but it is not illegal, either. There has also been progress: Courts in Zambia and Botswana have upheld some rights for members of the LGBTQ community, while leaders from South Africa–the only country in Africa where same-sex marriage is legal–have continued to speak up in defense of the community. In culture, too, advances have been made—two poignant movies about gay men and women have been produced in Kenya (although both have been banned)--”I am Samuel” and “Rafiki,” joining movies from Guinea, South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe documenting abuse and celebrate gay identities. Gay pride events have been held not only in South Africa, but also Botswana, Swaziland, and even in Uganda. Today, we are excited to be welcoming Noah Mirembe Gabigogo and Marc Epprecht to our show to talk about all of this. Noah is a Ugandan trans man and activist, ecofeminist, and scholar of sexual and gender diversity in Africa. Noah has written on and contributed to legal advocacy and research to advance human rights for lesbians and gays in Africa; he is the co-founder of the Taala Foundation, an organization that promotes wellness for youth on the margins through mental health.Noah completed his studies at Harvard Law School and Makerere University, and is a member of the Uganda Law Society and East Africa Law Society- making him the first openly trans* member of a professional association in Uganda.Marc Epprecht is associate professor in the departments of history and global development studies at Queen's University. He is well-known for his books that excavate the histories of LGBTQ identities in Africa, including his book Hungochani–The history of a dissident sexuality in southern Africa; and Sexuality and Social Justice in Africa: rethinking homophobia and forging resistance.
We interview Leo Zeiling on the life and legacy of Guyanese scholar, activist, and writer Walter Rodney. Rodney's classic "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, a great occasion to read Zeilig's "A Revolutionary for Our Time: The Walter Rodney Story," which was published this year.We talk about Rodney's legacy, his understanding of race, his approach to international solidarity, and his theory of how Africa's fate has been tethered to capitalist development in the West. Send your questions and comments in! To jkstearn [at] sfu [dot] ca; baumafred [at] gmail [dot] com.
Cette semaine nous recevons Fadel Barro, activiste et intellectuel sénégalais et ancien coordonnateur du mouvement Y’en A marre dont il est également co-fondateur. En effet, en 2011, frustré par les coupures d’électricité, Fadel crée aux côtés des rappeurs du groupe Keur Gui, Thiat et Kilifeu, ainsi que d’autres activistes, le mouvement Y’en A marre. L’année suivante en 2012, le mouvement arrive à mobiliser des milliers des sénégalais contre la candidature jugée inconstitutionnelle de Abdoulaye Wade, dans le cadre du collectif M23.
Fadel est aussi un panafricain et pas seulement parce qu’il a, depuis plusieurs années, adopté le béret de Amilcar Cabral au point d’en faire un des symboles de son mouvement. Mais surtout parce que depuis longtemps, il s’est investi à créer des ponts entre différents mouvements citoyens, des balais citoyens de Burkina et de Guinée à Novax de Côte d’ivoire en passant par Lucha, Filimbi et bien d'autres.
En 2015, il est arrêté à Kinshasa aux côtés des militants sénégalais, burkinabé et congolais. Il passe plus d’une semaine dans les geôles de l’Agence nationale de renseignement, le service congolais d’intelligence. Plus tard, il organise à Dakar des manifestations de soutiens aux activistes guinéens et héberge avec Y’en A marre, plusieurs activistes en exil. Fadel Barro est aussi cofondateur de Afrikki, le réseau panafricain des mouvements sociaux et est actuellement coordonnateur régional de la Plateforme panafricain de protection des lanceurs d’alerte (PPLAAF).
Cette année, Fadel Barro était candidat aux élections législatives. Il était aussi candidat aux élections municipales pour la ville de Kaolack dont il est originaire. Dans ce podcast, nous parlons de ses ambitions politiques mais aussi et surtout de sa lutte et des utopies qu’il poursuit depuis plusieurs années maintenant.
Ce podcast a été enregistré en avril de cette année, avant les élections législatives.
Karibuni. This week, we are excited to be joined by Sabatho Nyamsenda, an African scholar, writer and thinker. Sabatho is a faculty member in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Dar es Salaam. He is involved in both scholarship and activism in matters pertaining to the agrarian question, pan-Africanism, the struggles of the working people, as well as political-economic relations between Tanzania and the industrialized countries.
This interview was our first to be recorded in person––the windows were open in the university, so you can hear some birds and cars in the background. Our apologies; we are seeking to improve our sound quality. The interview was also quite long, so we have split it into two parts: the first focusing largely on the history of social movements in Tanzania; the second on the legacy of President Magufuli and the struggles of contemporary social movements, especially among peasants.
Check out Sabatho's music recommendations––a good intro to underground, conscious Tanzanian hip-hop:
- Watunza Misingi
- The Makanta crew (Maskini katika Nchi Tajiri)
- Dambwe la Hip Hop
And, of course, Vitali Maembe, the Tanzanian poet-songwriter.
Sabatho's essay on Magufuli (from 2018) can be found here, and his analysis of MVIWATA is here.
Feel free to reach out at jason underscore stearns at SFU dot CA and baumafred at gmail dot com.
Karibuni. This week, we are excited to be joined by Sabatho Nyamsenda, an African scholar, writer and thinker. Sabatho is a faculty member in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Dar es Salaam. He is involved in both scholarship and activism in matters pertaining to the agrarian question, pan-Africanism, the struggles of the working people, as well as political-economic relations between Tanzania and the industrialized countries.
This interview was our first to be recorded in person––the windows were open in the university, so you can hear some birds and cars in the background. Our apologies; we are seeking to improve our sound quality. The interview was also quite long, so we have split it into two parts: the first focusing largely on the history of social movements in Tanzania; the second on the legacy of President Magufuli and the struggles of contemporary social movements, especially among peasants.
Check out Sabatho's music recommendations––a good intro to underground, conscious Tanzanian hip-hop:
- Watunza Misingi
- The Makanta crew (Maskini katika Nchi Tajiri)
- Dambwe la Hip Hop
And, of course, Vitali Maembe, the Tanzanian poet-songwriter.
Sabatho's essay on Magufuli (from 2018) can be found here, and his analysis of MVIWATA is here.
Feel free to reach out at jason underscore stearns at SFU dot CA and baumafred at gmail dot com.
Cette fois-ci on parle de la République du Congo, le Congo-Brazzaville. Nous accueillons aujourd'hui l'un des fondateurs du Ras-la-Bol, Martial Panucci. C'est un rappeur et un activiste qui a été contraint de fuir Brazzaville après avoir sorti son single populaire "Sassoule" en 2016.
L'expérience démocratique au Congo-Brazza a commencé en 1991, en même temps qu'une vague d'autres expériences similaires qui ont commencé à balayer le continent africain à cette époque. Un dictateur militaire, Denis Sassou-Nguesso, a été contraint de céder le pouvoir à un régime intérimaire à la suite d'une conférence nationale de trois mois qui s'est terminée à la mi-1991. Sassou a ensuite perdu à l'élection présidentielle face à Pascal Lissouba, ancien fonctionnaire de l'UNESCO et politicien chevronné.
Peu après l'élection de Lissouba en 1992, une série de crises a éclaté, conduisant à des affrontements dans le centre de Brazzaville. Cette crise a duré pendant 5 ans; c’est l’intervention de l’Angola aux côtés de Sassou-Nguesso en 1997, et la défaite militaire de Lissouba et Bernard Kolelas, qui a mis fin à la crise. Bien que des combats sporadiques se soient poursuivis pendant des années, le pouvoir de Sassou n'a plus été sérieusement menacé.
Stimulée par les revenus élevés du pétrole, l'économie a été multipliée par cinq au cours de la décennie suivante. Sassou a gouverné en utilisant ces revenus pour acheter la loyauté de certains, tout en utilisant la force pour intimider et arrêter d'autres.
Ras-le-Bol a fait sa première apparition en 2014, lorsque Sassou a organisé un référendum constitutionnel pour lui permettre de prolonger son séjour au pouvoir après deux mandats présidentiels complets. Cela a déclenché une mobilisation et des protestations à grande échelle contre son gouvernement. La plateforme #Sassoufit a organisé les activistes nationaux et internationaux; Ras-le-bol était le principal partenaire national. Après avoir remporté le référendum dans des circonstances douteuses, Sassou a ensuite remporté les élections présidentielles en 2016 et de 2021 dans des circonstances tout aussi douteuses. Les militants de Ras-la-Bol ont été intimidés et arrêtés au cours de ce processus. Plusieurs leaders du mouvement ont du aller en exil. Dans cette période récente, la situation politique n'a cessé de se détériorer, avec de fréquentes arrestations de membres et de militants de l'opposition politique.
Dans cette episode, on parle de la naissance de Ras-le-bol, sa vision politique, la possibilité de continuer l'activisme à partir de l'exil, et ce que veut dire le panafricanisme.
Nous apprécions vos commentaires et vos évaluations sur vos différentes plateformes d'écoute. Vous pouvez également nous contacter à jason_stearns@sfu.ca et baumafred@gmail.com.
This interview is with Serge Sivya, a member of the Struggle for Change (LUCHA), probably the most famous social movement in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was founded on January 4, 2013 in Goma and has pioneered a new form of activism in the country. Originally, the movement was formed and led by students, rejected to register as an NGO, avoided formal hierarchies and did not accept donor funding. Eager to change things through mobilization on the streets and through civic education, LUCHA has grown into an influential local movement. Their main obstacle to social and political change is the state, which has always had a problematic relationship with its citizens. Luc Nkulula, one of their famous activists, said: “In Congo, we lack a astate model, benchmarks, and credible people to show us the way forward. It is therefore the very structure of the state that needs to be rethought and rebuilt.”
In case you need some context about LUCHA and the political situation in the DRC, please read on. If not, you can skip the bullet points and continue with the next paragraph:
- One of the first campaigns organized by LUCHA was the #GomaVeutDeLEau campaign, which called for the improvement of water infrastructure in the city of Goma in 2013 and 2014. LUCHA has also campaigned for the construction of roads in Goma, and has sometimes succeeded in forcing the authorities to act.
- Then a national political crisis unfolded in the Congo, propelling the LUCHA onto the national stage. President Joseph Kabila was due to resign after two terms in power in 2016. By 2015, it had become clear that he would try to stay in power. He proposed to change the constitution, manipulated the electoral process and used various delaying tactics. This met with enormous resistance from the population, with youth groups, opposition parties and the Catholic Church leading the charge. LUCHA was at the forefront of all this as it shifted from focusing on water, roads and electricity to elections. Strategic demonstrations were organized, often arresting militants – our co-host Fred Bauma spent 15 months in prison awaiting trial on a variety of charges, including a plot against the head of state.
- Finally, thanks in large part to this courageous mobilization that saw hundreds of thousands of people on the streets for several years, elections were held in December 2018. Most observers, including Jason and Fred, believe that the election was rigged in favor of the second-placed candidate, Felix Tshisekedi. LUCHA continued to mobilize and protest, focusing in particular on the continuing violence in eastern Congo, but also on national governance.
This episode is structured like a debate: Serge, Fred and Jason discussed:
- The history of the movement
- Its structure
- What distinguishes LUCHA from another organizations and political parties
- How many members there are and where there are from
- Its strategy
- but above all its vision of the future Congo
- What do they consider the problem in the Congo? The elites? Kabila and Tshisekedi? The structures of the state? Or international predation?
- What will the New Congo’s economy look like?
- How does LUCHA try to remedy sexism in their own ranks and as a country?
- Serge are both members of their cell that works on the ideology of the movement, the “luchalogy”
Cet entretien est réalisé avec Ndongo Samba Sylla, un économiste du développement sénégalais qui vit à Dakar, et travaille avec la fondation Rosa Luxembourg. Cette interview a été enregistrée en octobre 2021.
Il a écrit de nombreux ouvrages sur les économies, la politique et le développement de l'Afrique. Son dernier livre "Africa's last colonial currency" traite de l'impact du CFA sur les économies ouest-africaines. Il soutient que l'utilisation du CFA piège l'Afrique dans l'impérialisme économique.
Dans cet épisode, Ndongo Samba Sylla aborde plusieurs sujets, notamment
- Pourquoi le Sénégal n'est pas, contrairement aux idées reçues, une démocratie qui fonctionne Les raisons du succès et de l'échec des mouvements sociaux au Sénégal / Afrique de l'Ouest
- L'impact de la révolution de la classe ouvrière sur les mouvements sociaux d'aujourd'hui en Afrique.
- Si nous avons besoin d'un plaidoyer transnational pour combattre l'impérialisme économique
- Le rôle d'Ousmane Sonko et des autres candidats de l'opposition : Peuvent-ils canaliser les frustrations des Sénégalais vers une réforme transformationnelle ?
Ndongo Samba Sylla mentionne le Rapport Alternatif Sur l'Afrique que vous pouvez trouver ici. Jetez également un œil au Collectif pour le renouveau africain, qu'il a cofondé. Si vous voulez en savoir plus sur l'artiste préféré de Ndongo Samba Sylla en ce moment, jetez un coup d'œil à Boubacar Diop, un écrivain et journaliste sénégalais qui a récemment remporté le Prix international de littérature de Neustadt.
This interview is with Hajooj Kuka, who is a Sudanese activist and film-maker. Hajooj has been deeply embedded in the broad-based mobilization that is happening across Sudan since 2018. He's the dynamo behind the Sudanese Civic Lab, an independent nonprofit organization that provides spaces and opportunities for debates, training and artwork to help strengthen the revolution.
In 2014, his documentary Beats Of The Antonovabout war in the Blue Nile and Nuba mountain regions won the People's Choice Award at Toronto Film Festival. The film tells an important story; it teaches that even in times of adversity, there is resilience and resistance through music. Hajooj also founded Refugee Club, an alliance of creative members whose work reflects an awareness of the transitory state of migration. Here, artists explore identities beyond nation, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity and race without being afraid to ask critical questions. mAt the moment, he is the Creative Director of 7ayin, a Sudanese network reporting on the conflict and war in Sudan.
In this episode, Hajooj talks about his personal experiences with political activism in Sudan, including:
- The role of the military in the revolution
- His personal struggle of mistrust towards other activists, as one never knows who might secretly work for the other side
- Strategies the military used to suppress opposition and resistance, such as cutting internet connections and electricity
- The main organizers of the revolution, such as the Resistance Committee, doctors, professionals, university students
- His goal of removing the mindset from society that the military should rule in Sudan
- The relationship between the Resistance Committees and the Sudanese Professionals Association and which strategies they use to mobilize
- How diversity strengthens, not weakens, the Sudanese movement
- How colonialism impacts the local political and cultural fabric and how his movement plans on becoming more independent
- His answer to the question “What kind of Sudan do you want to create?”
- His thoughts on the International Criminal Court in Sudan
His three artists he is loving these days are mostly local, young artists and poets. He lists Mu7aid (a local poet) and artists who make murals. Check out the artists here.
This interview is with Zachariah Mampilly, who is the Marxe Endowed Chair of International Affairs at the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, CUNY. In 2012/2013, he was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This interview was recorded in October 2021.
In this episode, Zachariah discusses several topics, including:
- The third wave of mobilization and protest in Africa
- Why we seeing a constant change of political leaders in Africa, but little change in their behaviour
- How we can evaluate the strength of democratic social movements and their success The centrality of the global order when trying to evaluate social movements
- The type of international economic order are we currently living in and its alternatives
- The kind of utopias that are being put on the table by social movements in Africa