When it comes to gay rights on the continent, Africans are conflicted. In Nigeria, Uganda, Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania and many other countries, it’s illegal. But in South Africa, Cape Verde, Angola, Gabon, being gay is not a crime. 

Many think that being gay is un-African. In this episode we asked our guests the question: Can LGBT rights ever be part of African values?

Kat Kai Kol-Kes is a performance artist, musician, writer and activist. She is known for being the first public figure from Botswana to openly identify as a trans. 

Va-Bene Fiatsi is a trans performance artist from Ghana who explores gender fluidity. Right now, the Ghanaian parliament is considering enacting anti-gay legislation which could lead to up to 10 years in jail. As an activist, Fiatsi is on the frontlines actively opposing it.

Sheba Akpokli from Togo works as a lawyer in Canada and is a strong advocate for LGBTIAQ+ people. 

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Many diaspora Africans are choosing to return to the continent. They’re keen to seize opportunities back home. Many of these returnees - known as ‘repats’ - are highly educated and skilled.

But do repats’ foreign university degrees and western world CV’s give them an advantage? Or does adjusting to life back home have its own difficulties? Join our host Claude Grunitzky and his guests:

Rebecca Enonchong is a Cameroonian entrepreneur. She is one of the continent’s most powerful business women. She has set up tech businesses in the USA, UK and Canada as well as many African countries. 

Gabriel Curtis was the Minister for Public Private Partnerships in Guinea until the military coup last year. He lived in the US before coming back to work in the Guinean government.

Nicole Amartiefio is the creator of the TV series “An African City”, which follows five women who are repats themselves. Nicole relocated to Accra, Ghana from the US a decade ago.

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One of the worst things you can say to an African parent is: I don’t want to be a doctor, lawyer or accountant. I want to be an artist!

In Africa, being an artist doesn’t carry the same prestige as other professions. But musicians, painters, filmmakers, and designers all have a huge influence on the way the world sees Africa.

In this episode, Claude Grunitzky talks to an investor in the creative industries, a museum director and a DJ. He asks: Isn’t it time for Africans to respect artists?

Sonia Lawson is the Director of the Palais of Lome, Togo’s first art centre. She explains why it’s important to exhibit local artists where their family and local community can appreciate their art.

Roberta Annan from Ghana runs several investment and venture capital funds including the Impact Fund for African Creatives and the African Fashion Foundation. For her, respect comes down to money! She’s passionate about helping creative people turn their ideas into successful businesses.

DJ Elly is working and actually making a living as an artist. She is one of Angola’s biggest DJs.

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Yoweri Museveni has run Uganda since 1986. Paul Biya has been president in Cameroon for nearly forty years. Paul Kagame could rule Rwanda till 2034 because many Rwandans voted for and continue to vote for him.

In Africa, the question of term limits is contentious. Should we force presidents to leave office? We invited these guests on the podcast to help figure it out: 

Evan Lieberman is a Professor of Political Science and Contemporary Africa at MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.

Kah Walla is a Cameroonian politician and entrepreneur and the first woman to stand for president in Cameroon in 2011.

Pearl Pillay from Johannesburg, South Africa, heads up a think tank that works to encourage youth participation in politics and civil society.

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In this episode, we’re talking about billion dollar companies in Africa: unicorns. Tech people use the word 'unicorn' to describe startups with valuations of over a billion dollars. In 2020, there were over 500 unicorns worldwide. But only seven of these were African. 

So, what are we doing wrong? Or what we can do more right? How can we raise more African unicorns? To find out our host asked an investor, an entrepreneur and an educator: 

Thami Pooe a South African media entrepreneur and social-impact educator. He runs Engage Media, which produces a podcast called “Unicorn”. 

Maya Horgan Famodu is a young American-Nigerian venture capitalist and head of Ingressive Capital. She’s invested in some of the biggest startups in Africa and offered a valuable perspective.

Rebecca Enonchong is a Cameroonian entrepreneur. She is one of the continent’s most powerful business women. She has set up tech businesses in the USA, UK and Canada as well as many African countries.

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The ‘family’ and ‘tribe’ have traditionally been seen as a fundamental way of organising African societies. But they can also be a source of conflict. Unscrupulous leaders can stoke tensions or focus resources on select groups. 

In this week’s episode Claude asks three guests from south, east and west Africa how to stop ethnic interests influencing politics in Africa. Is the idea of ethnic groups at odds with the idea of a modern state?

Evan Lieberman is professor of politics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He’s just written a book about South Africa's post-Apartheid democracy called Until We Have Won Our Liberty. He tells us how ethnic interests are sometimes inevitable. 

Mutemi wa Kiama is an activist and community organiser from Nairobi, Kenya. He's part of the movement Wanjikũ Revolution and the media organisation This Is Africa. He’s Kikuyu, the same ethnic group as the Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta. But he is very critical of how ethnic groups are used by politicians in Kenya. 

Bakary Sambe is the Director of the Timbuktu Institute-African Centre for Peace Studies and is based in Dakar, Senegal. He specializes in radicalisation in the Sahel region. He thinks ethnic conflict can often have deeper causes.

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Fake news is a big problem in Africa. It can sway elections in Nigeria. Stoke up ethnic hatred in Ethiopia. Bolster business interests in South Africa. Censorship isn’t the answer as it can play into the hands of repressive regimes. So how can Africans stop the spread of false and misleading information and yet still encourage free speech?

To try and figure this out, Claude is joined by three excellent guests:

Samba Dialimpa is on the frontlines fact-checking for readers as the Editor in Chief of the Francophone section of Africa Check. 

Aanu Adeoye is a journalist offering an alternative with the entertaining, groundbreaking and trustworthy weekly newspaper, The Continent.

Odanga Madung is a researcher behind the scenes working to reveal the mechanics of fake news and to find out who really benefits from misinformation.

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According to the latest figures from UNESCO, 52 million girls are not in school in Africa. Four million girls will never step into a classroom. They won’t be able to read or write, they won’t be able to understand medical prescriptions, safety instructions or help their children with homework.

That’s why women’s education is often at the forefront of development work in Africa. But the UN admitted that while the gender gap has narrowed, progress is stalling. 

Claude spoke to three women who’ve all made it their mission to educate girls. What are we getting wrong? How can we keep girls in school?

Noëlla Coursaris Musunka is a philanthropist, model, and founder and CEO of Malaika. The Malaika school provides free, accredited primary and secondary education to 400 girls in the south-eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Cara Myers is the co-founder of the Mozambique School Lunch Initiative, a non-profit organisation which invests in community-owned school lunch programs to improve child nutrition and get children in school.

Djénéba Gory is a Malian education specialist, who graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is the co-founder of Suadela, an organisation which aims to build up the negotiation skills of girls.

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It is incredibly brave to admit to yourself and others that you aren’t straight. Especially in parts of Africa where religion, tradition and atittudes can mean coming out as gay, bi or trans has serious consequences.

For this episode, Claude speaks to three young Africans who explain when they realised they were not necessarily straight and when they decided to tell their parents, friends and colleagues (and in which order).

Kat Kai Kol-Kes is known for being the first public figure from Botswana to openly identify as a transgender person. She’s come out many a time - to herself, to her family and to the entire world at the age of 24. 

Va-Bene Fiatsi is a performance artist from Ghana who explores gender fluidity. She is confident and uncompromising when she performs and speaks but was she always like that? Or is it something she has learnt?

Sheba Akpokli from Togo is a advocate for LGBTIAQ+ people as a practising lawyer. She’s also Catholic and discusses the difficulties of coming out to family and to a religious community.

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Historically Africans have not been well represented in international institutions. This is a problem: these organizations are key to tackling things like climate change and Covid-19.

But with a Nigerian leading the World Trade Organization and an Ethiopian heading the World Health Organization, that could be changing. 

But is this happening fast enough? How can Africans make sure their voices are heard on the world stage?

Pedro Matos has worked for the United Nation and the World Food Programme for well over a decade. He was part of the team which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 and he was working till recently in Sudan, delivering food and assistance to over six million people. 

Mutemi Wa Kiama is an activist from Nairobi, Kenya. He’s known for campaigning against aid in the shape of international loans. 

Dr Oby Ezekwesili is a former Education minister in the Nigerian government and a former Vice President of the World Bank (Africa Region). She was also the co-founder of the #BringBackOurGirls movement.

Made possible with a grant from the U.S. Department of State and the Seenfire Foundation.

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