Africa Daily

It’s like something out of a Shakespearean drama. A strongman in power. A cousin threatens his position only to end up dead.

So what is the relationship between different members of this powerful family?

Guest: Beverley Ochieng, Presenter: Alan Kasujja

“As an ordinary Zimbabwean I have to be worried when my president is sanctioned, because an investor who is in Dubai will think twice before coming to Zimbabwe” – Dr. Alexander Rusero, Zimbabwean political analyst.

Nollywood is Africa’s biggest film industry.

Many will associate it with lots of drama, addictive story-telling, the glitz and glamour of the red carpet. But a story that’s increasingly being told now is of financial hardship.

John Okafor, who was also known as Mr Ibu, died a few weeks ago, last year he posted a video on Instagram asking his fans for help with his medical bills. And he isn’t alone, many other household names in Nigeria have posted videos on social media asking for financial support as they struggle with the challenges of being older actors.

So why’s this happening in a multi-billion dollar movie industry?

In today’s Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja speaks to the President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Emeka Rollas.

"They thought that paying fees for girls to go to school was losing money... We would not get husbands to marry us. People say that going to school is just building prostitution."

When Marthe Wandou was growing up in the village of Kaélé in northern Cameroon, she was the only girl to get to university. Most of her female classmates left to get married – and local people ridiculed her parents - especially her Dad – for sending their daughters to school.

She studied law, but returned to her home state and set up a foundation called Aldepa which works to support girls and women - especially in making sure they stay in school.

So what are the obstacles girls still face when it comes to their education?

And what are women like Marthe doing about it?

Apologies: only part of this podcast was initially published because of a technical fault, but this has since been rectified.

"They thought that paying fees for girls to go to school was losing money... We would not get husbands to marry us. People say that going to school is just building prostitution."

When Marthe Wandou was growing up in the village of Kaélé in northern Cameroon, she was the only girl to get to university. Most of her female classmates left to get married – and local people ridiculed her parents - especially her Dad – for sending their daughters to school.

She studied law, but returned to her home state and set up a foundation called Aldepa which works to support girls and women - especially in making sure they stay in school.

So what are the obstacles girls still face when it comes to their education? And what are women like Marthe doing about it?

Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema has declared a national because of the prolonged drought.

He says 84 districts out of a total of 116 in the country have been affected.

The President said almost half of the land used for planting crops had been affected by severe dry conditions.

There are also fears that the country will struggle to meet its electricity demands, as most of its energy comes from water sources.

So how are Zambians coping with this situation? Alan Kasujja speaks to Zambian journalist Kennedy Gondwe.

Africa's biggest multisport event - the African Games - get underway in Ghana tonight, with 49 nations competing in 29 different sports.

This is the 13th edition of the games – which are held every four years, usually one year before the Olympic Games.

But this time they’ve been delayed by 8 months - since August 2023 - because of a disagreement over marketing rights which delayed the completion of facilities.

It’s part of an ongoing dispute between the Africa Union (AU) which owns the games, the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) and the Association of African Sports Confederations – all of which are meant to work together to put on the event.

In this episode of Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja re-lives his childhood memories from the fourth edition of the games held in Nairobi in 1987 as he talks to Africa’s former queen of sprints Nigeria’s Mary Onyali Omagbemi who lit up the games with phenomenal speed.

But with the standards of the games appearing to have dropped, he also talks to Ghanaian Sports Minister Mustapha Ussif, asking if there is a future for the Africa Games.

“If the Islamist extremist groups succeed in entrenching themselves in Cabo Delgado, they will launch attacks in different parts of the continent” – Professor Adriano Nuvunga of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights

In many parts of the continent, landing a job at a multinational company is a big deal – it promises growth and stability. But what happens when things go wrong? You get made redundant. Do you know what rights and protections you have?

That’s the scenario that staff members in Ghana’s Twitter office found themselves in back in November 2022. Musk tweeted that "everyone" would get three months' severance pay. But it turns out, "everyone" didn't seem to include the Ghanaian staff.

Alan Kasujja caught up with Carla Olympio, founder of Agency Seven Seven, the firm backing the Ghanaian staff fighting for their rights under Ghana's Labour Act of 2003. After a year-long battle, the agency successfully negotiated a redundancy settlement for the affected staff members.

“I think this community of BRICS is looking after each other and for sure it’s going to open more doors” – Gert Blignaut, South African beef exporter

Founded in 2009, this group aims to promote economic co-operation and increase trade among its member states. Russia’s Vladimir Putin couldn’t attend because of the International Criminal Court warrant of arrest against him, because of claims relating to the on-going war in Ukraine.

To answer these questions, Alan Kasujja sits down with South African beef exporter Gert Blignaut and Professor Patrick Bond from the University of Johannesburg.