Africa Daily

“We want to change the narrative, so we as Africans can stop being portrayed only as the poacher, the ranger, the guide, or are people who sing for you when you jump off your safari vehicle.

“We’ve heard that there’s a possibility that our firms might shut down. This has to do with what Mr Trump said. Should it happen, it will be devastating to us because there isn’t much work in Lesotho. We rely on these firms" - Mamonts'eng Lephallo

According to White House figures, in 2024 the United States exported just $2.8 million worth of goods to Lesotho.

The southern African country on the other hand sent products worth nearly $240 million to President Donald Trump's country.

They include diamonds and clothing.

But now, Lesotho has been slapped with a whopping 50% tariff on goods entering the US.

With factory workers and others extremely concerned about possible job losses, Lesotho is now sending a high level government delegation to the United States.

Presenter: Mpho Lakaje

Guests: Mamonts’eng Lephallo, Marapelang Khabele and Marafaele Mohloboli

The ownership of land is central to our food production, our financial security, and our sense of identity.

But in Africa most women do not inherit or own land, despite laws that often provide for their right to do so.

Alan Kasujja finds out what is stopping women from inheriting land with the help of Esther Mwaura-Muiru, the Global Advocacy Director for the ‘Stand For Her Land’ Campaign, and Bankolay Theodore Turay, a researcher on women’s land rights in Sierra Leone.

“What I’d like to see is when these girls go back into society, they don’t end up back in prison. It's about using football for positive social change. Football is more than just a game on the pitch and this is an example of that.”

The “Football for Reform” programme kicked off in Sierra Leone last November, taking place over 8 days.

Run by Caf – the Confederation of African Football – it involved female prisoners being taught football coaching skills.

The hope with the project is for some of the women to find jobs in the field in the future.

Alan Kasujja speaks with Isha Johansen, former President of the Sierra Leone FA and Mercy Tagoe Quarcoo, former Ghana national team women’s coach.

He also hears the thoughts of two women prisoners.

“A lot of people in our communities don’t view them as pirates. I think they are defenders of the sea.”

In 2011, Somali piracy peaked. Crews were attacked at gunpoint and many held as hostages for months. The World Bank says there were 243 incidents that year.

After a crackdown involving international navies, attacks plummeted to almost zero.

But since last year there’s been an uptick in incidents. Houthi attacks on shipping using the Suez Canal - in support of the Palestinians in Gaza – drew global attention, and firepower, away from the Somali coastline. And the root causes of the problem – poverty and lack of infrastructure for local fishing communities, and illegal fishing by foreign trawlers – were never addressed.

So could piracy return to the levels of 15 years ago?

Alan @kasujja speaks with a local fisherman from the affected town of Eyl, and to fisheries expert Abdirahman Mohamed.

“The question that I’ve been grappling with is, are we not punching above our weight as a country given the fact that we are not one of the biggest economies?” – Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast, Nelson Mandela University in South Africa

“It has made nearly every person, every mother, to have their child contaminated, because the lead levels are so rampant,” says Cornelius Katiti, a father from Kabwe, Zambia, whose three children are affected by lead poisoning.

In today's episode, Alan Kasujja explores the ongoing environmental and health impacts of mining with Cornelius, an environmental chemist , and an environmental consultant.

Africa’s cities are expanding at an unprecedented rate.

A new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Sahel and West Africa Club says the urban population will double to 1.4 billion by 2050.

But are these cities prepared to handle the growing demand for housing, transport and services? And as urban areas evolve, who truly stands to benefit from this transformation?

BBC Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja explores this with Patrick Analo Akivaga, Chief Officer for Urban Development in Nairobi as well as Kenyan photographer Mutua Matheka, who documents Nairobi’s changing cityscapes and comedian Ty Ngachira, who shares his experience of moving to the capital.

Lupus is a condition where someone’s immune system attacks their own body, including healthy tissue and cells, leaving them with debilitating conditions like exhaustion, extreme weight gain, organ failure and pain. It can lead to death.

Have you noticed how southern Africa tends to be hit by deadly cyclones that leave a trail of destruction?