Africa Daily

Rebecca Cheptegei had just returned to her training base in Kenya from Paris, where she had competed in the women’s marathon at the Olympics.

“Dream big! You can achieve your wildest dreams as long as you work hard and get yourself in school.”

Nicknamed ‘the Beast’, Tendai Mtawarira is the most-capped prop to have played for the Springboks.

Born in Zimbabwe, his talent at rugby was quickly spotted and he was offered a bursary as a teenager to train with the Sharks in South Africa. In 2008 he was called up to play for the national squad as he’d lived in the country for enough time.

But in 2010 he was barred from playing because of a controversy over his nationality. It took the intervention of Archbishop Desmond Tutu before he was able to play for the team again.

He also struggled sometimes as a big, aggressive child. And so - now he’s retired from rugby - his new passion is helping children and young adults reach their potential, through his ‘Beast Academy’ and also as an Unicef ambassador.

Alan Kasujja speaks to the Beast – just back from a trip with Unicef to South Sudan – but also with a young South Sudanese woman whose journey has taken her from cattle camp, to street child, to finally becoming an ‘inspirator’ who helps other young people to realise their goals.

NOTE: Correction made at 0645 GMT changing UNHCR to Unicef.

"The pilot told us, ‘Don’t go back...either you will be raped or killed at the airport if you go back.’"

Safia Omer, a former member of Somalia’s national women’s basketball team, vividly remembers the day she knew she couldn’t return home.

In 1991, as civil war erupted in Somalia, Safia and her teammates were in Ethiopia for a tournament when they were warned that it was too dangerous to return. Stranded for 10 days at the airport, Safia eventually sought refuge in the United States, mirroring the fate of many Somalis who fled the escalating violence.

Today, Somalia continues to struggle with insecurity and violence from the extremist group Al-Shabab, preventing many from returning home.

But each summer, Somalis from around the world make their way to Ashland, Oregon where they reunite to share stories, reminisce, and of course, play basketball.

Presenter: Alan Kasujja. Guests: Abdiaziz Guled, Safia Omer, and Abukar Shiino

You may not have heard of the African Initiative before…

It’s a Russian media organisation - established exactly a year ago – which defines itself as an “information bridge between Russia and Africa”. It has offices in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

But it also stands accused of targeting African journalists - and the public - with disinformation.

So what is the end goal for Russia’s African Initiative?

Presenter: Alan Kasujja

“My uncle passed away, his wife, his three sons, I lost my best friend, and a lot of people in Derna lost someone that they know.”

On the 11th of September 2023 two dams burst in the hills above the city of Derna in Libya. Millions of tonnes of water were released in a catastrophic flood which killed thousands of people in the city. Whole neighbourhoods were swept away. Eastern Libya had been affected by heavy rain from Storm Daniel the day before, but the dam walls should have held firm, and a subsequent legal investigation jailed officials for failing to maintain them.

One year on we speak to someone who was there about how she survived, the tragedy which still affects the whole city, and how she is rebuilding her life.

Presenter: Alan Kasujja

Egypt has offered to send 10,000 soldiers to Somalia to assist the country with peacekeeping operations. However, this seems to have unsettled Ethiopia which has said it could not “stand idle while other actors take measures to destabilise the region.” Ethiopia has been a key ally of Somalia in its fight against the militant group, Al-Shabaab.

So what exactly has caused these tensions? And what has the Ethiopian Grand Renascence dam got to do with all this?

The people of Tunisia are expected to elect a new president in October.

Guests: Amine Snoussi and Dr. Yusra Ghannouchi

“Within just five years we lost almost 20 metres of the shoreline and it does not seem to be slowing with time.”

Climate experts say up to 60% of Africa’s coastal land could disappear within the next 50 years due to coastal erosion resulting from sea-level rise.

He speaks to Saida Idris, a resident of Kipini village on the Kenyan coast where 10 kilometres of dry land have been lost to the sea and a thousand people forced to relocate over the last decade.

Conservationist George Odera, who witnessed the changes as they unfolded in Kipini for over a decade, shares expert opinion.

And International development consultant and former Principal Environmentalist at the African Development Bank, Dr Hany Shalaby, gives an overview of how coastal erosion is manifesting along the Mediterranean shorelines in North Africa and on the seven thousand kilometre-long West African coastline.

The 36-acre landfill is the only landfill serving the whole of Uganda’s capital – Kampala. A city that’s home to an estimated four million people.

It collapsed after weeks of relentless rain. The city authorities have reportedly been trying to find a new site for years. Many victims were living in unsafe conditions. An investigation has been ordered into years of neglect.

Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja spoke to Ugandan Earth Observation expert Ivan Bamweyana and renowned lawyer David Mpanga.

A couple of weeks ago Africa Daily's Alan Kasujja spoke to two farmers in Nigeria and Tanzania about the challenges around farming in Africa. They talked about deteriorating soil quality, rising prices, insecurity and unreliable weather patterns.