Africa Daily

This month marks ten years since the kidnapping of the Chibok girls in north eastern Nigeria when militants abducted nearly 300 girls. Most of the girls have either been freed or escaped but dozens remain unaccounted.

In the years since, kidnapping for ransom - for profit- by criminal gangs has also become the norm, even in places like trains or in the capital Abuja, which used to be considered relatively safe.

In today’s episode Alan Kasujja speaks to a woman who was kidnapped twice on her way home from work, and hears more about the approach by Nigerian police to kidnappings.

Some listeners may find some of the descriptions of kidnapping in this episode distressing.

On the 14th of April 2014, 279 girls were abducted from their school in Chibok, in north eastern Nigeria.

Since that fateful night some have escaped, many have been rescued but sadly others remain missing.

As Nigeria and the community of Chibok mark 10 years since the kidnapping of the girls, the country has seen many more abductions.

One estimate suggests more than 4,000 people have been abducted in Nigeria in the past 8 months.

So today Alan Kasujja will be looking at how the girls, now women, families and community are getting on. And we hear from the army on what they are doing to find the girls who are still missing.

“The problem is that communities are always excluded when important decisions are taken. Companies impose decisions on communities” – Fana Sibanyoni, a resident of Embalenhle in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province

Last week, Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a national disaster due to a prolonged drought crisis, saying the country needed $2 billion to address hunger. Zimbabwe, once a regional food producer, now grapples with high inflation and scarcity, intensified by climate change-induced droughts. This crisis affects not only food production but also electricity generation, leading to power cuts.

Recently Africa Daily presenter Mpho Lakaje had a shock - he found he had been the victim of identity theft.

He's far from alone: the Southern African Fraud Prevention Services says reports of the crime increased by 356% in South Africa from 2022 to 2023 - and an Interpol report shows that South Africa tops Africa in cyber threats and is third in the world.

So just how big a problem is impersonation fraud in Africa? And what can you do to protect yourself from cybercriminals?

This episode contains graphic description of violence.

“I do not know when I will die maybe it’s today or tomorrow - but I felt if I died without forgiving him the burden would be on my children.”

At 13 years old, Claudette was attacked with a spear and shot – but somehow survived. Most of her family were less lucky and were killed. And yet she’s taken the remarkable decision of forgiving her attacker.

She’s one of a number of people who told her story to BBC reporter Victoria Uwonkunda on a recent visit to the country to mark the anniversary.

Victoria was just a year younger, 12 years old, when she herself fled Rwanda and the genocide with her family. She lived as a refugee in the DRC and Kenya before being settled in Norway. She has spoken about her struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD.

In this episode of Africa, she tells Alan Kasujja about her trip back to her home country – the first since she left – and shares more of Claudette’s story.

Presenter: Alan Kasujja @kasujja

To hear more, listen to Victoria’s full documentary on https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0hm1sbt

"It's hard to live in Africa. It's hard to pay your bills. Public transport is hard... And it's hard to run a business in Africa."

Alan got a belated Christmas surprise this year – when he found out he’d been named as one of New African Magazine’s list of 100 most influential Africans.

He’s in good company… Senegal’s Ousmane Sonko, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and Guinea’s coup leader and president, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, are also on the list.

But the list isn’t just about politics: it also gives a nod to changemakers in business, science, sport - and to those working to improve the environment.

So in the first in a series of conversations, Alan speaks today to two young, energetic business leaders who are on the list - and are changing how money is used on the continent.

Presenter: Alan Kasujja @kasujja

South Africa is one of the top wine producers in the world yet, nearly thirty years after the end of apartheid, the industry is still dominated by white-owned wineries. Black-owned brands account for less than 1% of wine sales per litre in South Africa, even though black South Africans make up over 80% of the population.

But a determined group of black women wine-makers want to change this. They’ve been supported by a British company ‘On Cloud Wine’ and its owner, Emily Batchelor, who gave them the financial support to export their wines – after many found it difficult to sell it themselves within South Africa

“Davy became our friend.”

Tales of conflict between animals and people are all too common across Africa. People have been cast off their land to make way for wildlife parks for tourists. Animals have attacked humans, poachers kill for tusks and scales, and large animals like elephants trample on crops and destroy them.

But today we’re travelling about 200 km west of Nairobi in Kenya to an area called Sachangwan, where a shy elephant managed to charm his way into the hearts of the local community when he wandered into their area as a calf in 2017. Despite him causing some damage, the local people grew fond of him and learnt to live with him – and even gave him the name Davy.

But last month the Kenya Wildlife Service finally captured him and moved him to the Aberdare National Park where they say he’ll have the company of other elephants. They also say it’s not a good thing for elephants to live in such close proximity to humans.

So on today’s Africa Daily, Muthoni Muchiri asks – how can humans and elephants co-exist for the benefit of both?

GUESTS:

Approximately 26.3 million people in Africa have a form of visual impairment, and it’s estimated that 5.9 million are blind.