Africa Daily

The Ras al-Hikma peninsula on the north coast of Egypt is going to become a new city. But it’s going to be built and managed by another country, the United Arab Emirates.

In a deal signed earlier this year, Egypt gave the UAE the right to develop this 170 square kilometre area in return for $35 billion dollars. The Egyptian economy was in a critical position, and needed a quick cash injection to get it out of trouble, and the Ras al-Hikma deal was seen as the solution.

This month there have been six mass abductions in the north of Nigeria, many involving children.

One school that was attacked by armed men was in the town of Kuriga in the North West. There, the parents of 137 children had to wait, helpless, for the next 16 days, not knowing where their children were, or how they were being treated by the kidnappers.

The Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, took a tough line, saying there would be no ransom paid.

But then, on Sunday, there was relief after it was announced they'd been released. It’s not clear how this happened, but all the children are believed to have survived. There was one fatality, a teacher called Abubakar Issa, who had been kidnapped with the children.

For today's Africa Daily, Mpho Lakaje speaks to Dahiru Abdulahi, the parent of one of the students who was taken.

“Everybody wants to see you – everybody thinks this is an opportunity for employment…. a lot of people come into government believing they are there to enrich themselves.”

It’s nearly three months since Joseph Boakai started work as Liberia’s new president. But in an interview with the Africa Daily podcast he tells Alan Kasujja that he’s still fielding enquiries from people wanting government jobs every working day from early in the morning.

The 79-year-old, who was Vice President from 2006 to 2018 under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, narrowly defeated George Weah in November last year – after campaigning on an anti-corruption ticket. But he says while he’s spoken constantly about the need to clean up politics, many people ‘still haven’t grasped’ the concept that politics is about service and not about financial security for themselves and their family.

In a wide-ranging and frank interview, he also tells Alan Kasujja how poverty and badly paid jobs like rubber tapping helped prepare him for leadership, his plans for a war crimes court to work for justice and reconciliation after the country’s two brutal civil wars, and how he wants to sort out Liberia’s awful roads within his first 100 days in office.

And he and Alan discover a shared love of Arsenal Football Club…

“Life here is difficult. You have to be a resilient person to survive. There’s no electricity. The roads are almost non-existent. In sunny days, the shack gets too hot. You can’t stay inside. When it’s cold, it gets very cold. When it’s raining, it gets flooded” – Lala Maria Sebetlele, a resident of a Johannesburg shanty town

It’s been 30 years since one of the worst atrocities in recent African history - the Rwandan genocide.

In 1994, between 800,000 and one million ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in 100 days.

Some Rwandans have worked hard to move on from the tragic events of 1994, but many - both in and out of the country - are still living with the trauma.

Jean Paul Samputu was already an established musician in Rwanda at the time.

He was living abroad during the genocide, but he lost his parents, two brothers and a sister, all killed by a neighbour and his childhood friend.

Now a global peace ambassador, Jean Paul says he has found healing in forgiving his family’s killer.

The Kora Awards winner tells Alan Kasujja what role music has played in his peace campaigns.

After a turbulent few years of disputes and protests, and accusations that President Macky Sall was trying to hang on to office, Senegal is holding its presidential election on March 24.

Speaking to the BBC this week, the president refused to apologise for his attempt in February to postpone the vote by several months - saying he'd always acted according to the constitution and that he 'did nothing wrong'.

He decision led to violent protests, but was reversed after Senegal’s top court blocked the postponement.

So, will these elections be a turning point for Senegal and can the country have a peaceful transition of power?

Presenter: Alan Kasujja

Guests: James Copnall and Professor Mamadou Bodian

Female Genital Mutilation or FGM is a practice that divides people. In the countries where it’s common – it’s usually carried out for cultural or religious reasons - but in recent years many African countries have banned the practice saying it’s a violation of the rights of women and girls. It can cause serious health problems – including infection and complications in childbirth – and girls have died when the procedure has gone wrong.

But now in The Gambia – a bill has been introduced that would reverse a ban brought in under former President Yahya Jammeh in 2015. This week, the bill passed its latest parliamentary stage and will now go to a committee of MPs for further consideration.

For Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja speaks to Jaha Marie Dukureh, the founder for Safe Hands for Girls - an organization focused on ending FGM in The Gambia, and UN women regional goodwill ambassador for Africa.

For the last 10 years Libya has been split into two – East and West - each with its own government.

And in 2021 an attempt at elections failed after some questioned the eligibility of the main candidates.

But now three influential Libyan leaders have said they intend to try to form a new unified government. They say it's a 'necessity'.

So the question being discussed by Kenyans for the last 2 weeks: will the country really send police officers to Haiti or not?

US citizens have been evacuated and aid groups have warned that millions of Haitians face acute food shortages, as well-armed gangs wreak terror on the capital, Port-au-Prince.

It’s widely accepted that stopping the gangs will take determined international intervention – but the shape that it will take is still under question.

President Ruto is insisting Kenya will send 1000 police officers to fight the gangs once a transitional government is in place.

But many Kenyans are asking why their police officers are being offered to lead the force – when the US is so much closer to the violence stricken country.

In this episode of Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja talks to Dr Ekuru Aukot, a lawyer and opposition politician who successfully obtained a court order stopping the deployment in January.

He also talks to Kenyan security analyst George Musamali and BBC Africa’s Security Correspondent Ian Wafula.

Earlier this month an arrest warrant was issued for a Kenyan man accused of practising law without qualifications after he skipped court, according to the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).

The case has captivated Kenyans ever since the man was outed as an illegitimate lawyer last October, there's been outrage, support and amusement.

At the time, legal officials in Kenya urged police to arrest the man, who had been practicing under the name "Brian Mwenda".

Alan Kasujja spoke to Mwaura Kabata, the Vice President Elect of the Law Society of Kenya. They’re known for advocating for lawyers' rights, shaping legal policies and providing crucial support and education to legal professionals across the country.