Spotlight on Africa

An African failed state with an autocratic leader, rigged elections, a complacent international community, angry and persecuted activists: deja vu you may argue. It’s also the ingredients of comedian Mamane’s first movie, Welcome to Gondwana. Released in France on 12 April.

“This movie deals with reality. All these things happen all over Africa in Gabon, Congo, Cameroun, Chad… There’s a president who doesn’t want to leave power. So, he rigs elections”, says Mamane.

“And the international community is just here to say, OK you’re a democratic leader, you’re a friend, let’s do business together. That’s what is killing Africa today. This democratic hold up!” he exclaims.

Niger born Mamane moved to France in 1991 to complete a PhD in plant physiology. But he soon opted out to gravitate towards the comedy scene and started performing as a standup in France and West Africa. Then in 2009, he joined RFI for a daily 3 minute satirical piece – in French – on the radio with The Very, Very Democratic Republic of Gondwana. A satire on African current affairs set in the imaginary land of Gondwana ruled by unabashed dictator. It is one of RFI’s most popular shows.

Using humour to criticise despots

“For an African artist today, you cannot go on stage and pretend that everything is all right”, says Mamane. He has a knack of making people laugh while addressing issues he takes very seriously, like rule of law, nepotism, frequent power cuts, clean water...

“Our leaders, they just care about themselves, their bank accounts. That’s why so many African are leaving Africa, drowning in the Mediterranean Sea,” he adds. “Or dying of thirst in the Sahara desert.” He believes that the indifference of some African leaders to the plight of their people explains why so many of them would rather face death than endure starvation in their own country.

In a scene in the movie, two Gondwana custom officers arrest a black election observer who shows them his passport to prove he is a Swiss citizen. The custom officers’ reaction is to ask him where he stole this passport. This sort of prejudice – of black Africans towards other black Africans – is one that black people experience at least once in their life.

“We see it every day. I think it’s [some kind of] colonial legacy”, explains Mamane. As if positions of power or importance can only be held by white people. “If you go to a hotel in a big city in Africa, [as a] black man, if you’re not dressed in a suit carrying an attache case, you can’t go in. But as long as you’re a white man, even if you’re wearing shorts, you can go in.”

A prolific writer

Mamane spent a year and a half writing the script of his first movie, Bienvenue au Gondwana or Welcome to Gondwana. And another 7 weeks directing it in Côte d’Ivoire plus a week in France with a 3.5 million euro budget. An English dubbed version is in the pipeline.

Internationally acclaimed musicians like Tiken Jah Foly from Côte d’Ivoire and Awadi in Senegal perform in his first movie. Ray Lema from the Democratic Republic of Congo wrote the music for the film. “Many years ago, I was talking to them about this movie I had in my mind and they said let’s do it,” remembers Mamane. All three musicians share a common vision with Mamane on how they see Africa and what they feel needs to be improved.

Besides his daily offerings on RFI, Mamane is also on Canal Plus Afrique since 2016 with Le Parlement du Rire, the National Assembly of Comedy. Once a year, the comedian organises a comedy festival in Côte d’Ivoire called, Abidjan capitale du rire.

On June 29th, Mamane will join forces with French comedian of Moroccan origin Jamel Debbouze for a comedy festival in Marrakech. It will be called Le Gala Africa and will showcase African artists living in Africa. Mamane later plans a one man show in English in Nigeria at the end of this year. It will be a new show about African territories and their borders as decided at the Berlin conference of 1884-1885.

Follow Mamane on Twitter @mamaneshow

Follow Zeenat Hansrod on Twitter @zxnt

An African failed state with an autocratic leader, rigged elections, a complacent international community, angry and persecuted activists: deja vu you may argue. It’s also the ingredients of comedian Mamane’s first movie, Welcome to Gondwana. Released in France on 12 April.

Spotlight on Africa this week looks at how laws against sexual violence are failing to protect women and finds out about a new project which aims to keep Guinean President Alpha Condé to his word.

Despite becoming the first team to be knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations, Uganda are holding their heads high. The Cranes were playing their first Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in 39 years. Coach Milutin Sredojevic told RFI's Paul Myers that Ugandan football has come a long way - and now they're aiming to stay on top of their game.

President Jacob Zuma controversial leadership of South Africa and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is a costly business, according to critics who want him out before his second term ends in 2019. But ANC supporters argue that the president is not the problem, the party needs an overhaul.

President Jacob Zuma controversial leadership of South Africa and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is a costly business, according to critics who want him out before his second term ends in 2019. But ANC supporters argue that the president is not the problem, the party needs an overhaul.

Will President Jacob Zuma last till 2019 considering the numerous scandals besetting his term in office?

He was first elected president in 2009 and the last seven years have been a bumpy ride, to say the least. But the “Teflon president” seems to survive all manner of scandals and 74-year-old “JZ” remains hugely popular among ANC grassroot supporters.

Recently, however, something unprecedented happened. Cabinet ministers tabled a motion at the ANC’s National Executive Committee in November to have Zuma recalled for misconduct. The move was defeated.

No confidence motions fail

Opposition parties have launched numerous motions of no confidence in Zuma in parliament, all unsuccessful.

In March, the Constitutional Court ruled that the president breached the constitution in failing to pay back public funds used to renovate his house in Nkandla.

In April, a High Court ruled that he should be charged with 783 counts of corruption.

A Public Protector’s report, released in November, implies that the president allowed the wealthy and influential Gupta family to influence cabinet appointments and called for a judicial inquiry commission. Zuma reacted with a legal challenge to the report.

Civil society groups campaign against president

Save South Africa is a civil society movement created on 2 November regrouping people from all walks of life. It has launched a petition on 23 November, "The people’s motion of no confidence in Jacob Zuma", calling for him to step down in the interest of South Africa.

The group's convenor, Sipho Pityana, a businessman and ANC member since the late 1970s, says that the petition attracted 30,000 signatures in just the week after its launch. The group intends to present the motion to parliament when it reopens in February.

“We are a country in deep political and economic crisis," Pityana says. "The People’s motion show that citizens saying, ‘Please, Mr President, step down’, are not isolated voices. Numbers count for political parties, if you do not listen to ordinary citizens, you stand the prospect of losing elections.”

The ANC will lose the 2019 general election if it does not act on the issues that concerns citizens, he argues. “One of those is the leadership of President Zuma. It is corruption that has gone crazy in our country. It is that pressure that will see the leadership … in parliament take the right decision to remove the president.”

'Flawed system' under fire

Movements such as Save South Africa, might not be strong enough to force Zuma to step down, according to political analyst Lesiba Teffo of the University of South Africa.

A flawed system and political opportunism are the main reasons why Zuma is still in power, he believes.

“The system is flawed because it is the political party that wins the election that has the right to appoint who should lead them rather than a direct representation system that will allow all ... South Africans to have the right to chose their own president. It is [then] up to five or 10 people who decide on behalf of the 53 million.”

Teffo added that the people who made sure Zuma was appointed are today saying “We are sorry we gave you this man, he doesn’t deserve to be in this office”. Too late for Teffo: “They … say Mea culpa, mea culpa. Then what! You still have to live with the man for another 10 years!”

The politics of the stomach, an expression used by Teffo, explains why a leader such as Zuma remains in power. Who will want to stand up and sack the man who made him or her minister? And 80 percent of the 80 members of the National Executive Committee are cabinet ministers appointed by Jacob Zuma, he says.

Local elections in August were a debacle, the ANC lost key cities.

Teffo thinks that the prospect of losing the 2019 general elections might just kickstart the survival instincts of the politicians.

“The longer the president stays in office, the more members of the ANC get convinced that they are going to lose power. They [will] have to confront themselves at one stage to say we can no longer pretend that this man is not costing us as an organisation.”

Calls to renew party

The ANC's future is at the heart of discussions between ANC Veterans and party leaders. They met for the third time this week.

Poet and writer Mongane Wally Serote is an ANC Veteran stalwart, who attended the meeting.

“The movement… is in crisis," he argues. "It has to resolve issues of corruption, factionalism. How do we renew the party to rid it of [these] problems; state capture, a dysfunctional electoral system, people being bought to do this or that? We are focusing on processes to salvage the party, renew it such that it can deal with modern issues.”

The ANC has engaged in a nationwide listening tour similar to what took place in the run up to debates on the constitution 20 years ago.

Its recommendations will be put to the party’s national consultative conference and then transferred to the policy conference. All this will take place before June next year according to the veterans.

The party has been accused of placing the interests of the ANC above that of the nation. Mongane Serote says that the two are not mutually exclusive.

“In order for us to ensure that our organisation is in touch with the people, we have to talk to the people. For us, ANC members, it is very important that we completely overhaul and renew the ANC," he declares.

Serote insists that being close to the people, serving the people is essential for the survival of the party.

So can he hear the voices across South Africa demanding that Zuma steps down? “We heard that but we hold a different view and in a democracy we are allowed to hold a different view."

The problems are bigger than Zuma, Serote argues. "We cannot set a precedent which says that every time something goes wrong within our ranks, we target individuals and recall them. It impacts very negatively on the unity of our organisation. We cannot afford that.”

Unemployment, discrimination, poverty are three very important issues the veteran says need to be thoroughly examined.

Professor Lesiba Teffo thinks that it is too late for the 105-year-old African National Congress to save itself and believes it needs a break from government for five or 10 years.

"Wrong people have joined the ANC, they see it as a vehicle to get rich quick, to get position of influence, rather than serving the people," he says. "You need it to be cleaned up, born again and transformed. Once it is out of power, the wrong people will go away and the right ones will remain and then they can rebuild the organisation.”

The main opposition contender in Gambia’s forthcoming presidential polls has called on the African Union to help ensure a free and fair election. Adama Barrow, who is representing a coalition of opposition parties, told RFI that he hopes to “bring back democracy” to his country by challenging an incumbent president who has been in power since 1994.

“It’s very difficult to say whether it will be 100 percent free and fair,” Barrow said in a telephone interview. “But we expect this time it will be a better situation than previous ones” - a reference to President Yahya Jammeh’s victory in four previous multi-party elections.

Barrow hopes that the African Union election monitoring mission will offer an impartial analysis of the election’s conduct.

“The AU is representing Africa, it is not representing any individual, they are not representing the president,” he said. “I want them to be very, very neutral in this matter and send observers to The Gambia to observe the elections so that it will be free and fair.”

The Gambian authorities have refused access to the European Union to monitor the 1 December elections. “It’s a very unfortunate situation because the European Union is a partner for Gambia at different levels,” said Barrow.

The west African regional bloc Ecowas boycotted observation of Gambia’s last polls in 2011, calling the political environment in the country not “conducive for the conduct of free, fair and transparent polls”, according to a statement.

Barrow was selected at the end of October by seven Gambian opposition parties. He became head of the United Democratic Party (UDP), the country’s largest opposition party, whose previous leader, Ousainou Darboe, was given a three-year jail sentence in July for taking part in an unauthorised demonstration.

“We feel that we have to move on, we have to fight on, win elections, free them from jail, that is our main objective,” said Barrow, when asked about replacing veteran politician Darboe as head of the opposition.

Election campaigning, which concludes on Tuesday, has been going “very well”, according to Barrow, “people are coming out to welcome us everywhere we go”. The Gambian authorities have not interfered with the opposition’s campaign, he said.

Barrow condemned the arrest of three journalists ahead of the polls, calling for them to be unconditionally released.

“It is not good for Gambia during the election period. Journalists work to give information and that information is very, very valuable,” he said.

“It’s Africa, the incumbent is losing, they'll do everything possible to block all information, but despite all that, the social media is doing very well for us,” said the presidential candidate, when asked about access to media accreditation and press coverage of the campaign.

Incumbent Jammeh, who came to power in a bloodless coup, has also been addressing his supporters on the campaign trail.

“I will not allow one person to jeopardise the peace, tranquillity and development of this country, I will never accept that,” Jammeh said during an event in Brikama, south of the capital Banjul, late on Friday.

“Those who do not want their children to end up in refugee camps, they know who to vote for,” the incumbent told supporters.

Jammeh won the 2011 elections with 72 percent of the vote with his nearest rival Ousainou Darboe garnering some 17 percent. After the results were announced the opposition leader called the results “bogus, fraudulent and preposterous”.

Barrow said he is currently leading in opinion polls ahead of 2016’s vote and predicts that it will be a “landslide victory with a big margin”. He said his campaign has focused on employment, repelling “bad laws” and creating a “level playing field” in the country’s politics. Most of the financial support for his campaign has come from Gambians in the diaspora, he said.

“On 1 December 2016 there'll be a change in the Gambia, a new Gambia will be born,” said Barrow. Jammeh would obviously not agree with his opposition rival, he told his supporters that as president he’s “better than anyone you would ever have”.

The main opposition contender in Gambia’s forthcoming presidential polls has called on the African Union to help ensure a free and fair election. Adama Barrow, who is representing a coalition of opposition parties, told RFI that he hopes to “bring back democracy” to his country by challenging an incumbent president who has been in power since 1994.

An American missionary group has apologised for a “disrespectful” dance video which created a “mockery” of Ugandan culture. The video, produced by Luket Ministries in Jinja, was set to Justin Timberlake’s hit song Sexy Back and depicted American missionaries carrying jerry-cans on their heads, washing their feet, using machetes to cut grass, eating traditional Ugandan food and riding on Boda Boda motorcycle taxis. The ‘dancing missionaries’ video carried a disclaimer stating that the video was intended to “make you laugh” and was not “meant to harm the country of Uganda”. However, it outraged some Ugandans who saw it as ridiculing traditional dress and making light of deworming and mosquito nets.

An American missionary group has apologised for a “disrespectful” dance video which created a “mockery” of Ugandan culture. The video, produced by Luket Ministries in Jinja, was set to Justin Timberlake’s hit song Sexy Back and depicted American missionaries carrying jerry-cans on their heads, washing their feet, using machetes to cut grass, eating traditional Ugandan food and riding on Boda Boda motorcycle taxis. The ‘dancing missionaries’ video carried a disclaimer stating that the video was intended to “make you laugh” and was not “meant to harm the country of Uganda”. However, it outraged some Ugandans who saw it as ridiculing traditional dress and making light of deworming and mosquito nets.

Ida Horner, Founder, Ethnic Supplies & Chairperson, Let Them Help Themselves

“What I found offensive is the manner in which all of these items or aspects of Ugandan life were put together - the women dressed in the Gomesi is something that we treat as almost sacred. And if they’re there to serve the people in the community, they would have understood the importance of this item of clothing. It’s about a women’s modesty, it’s about our identity, and if you’re dressed in a Gomesi you’re expected to be graceful. But not withstanding that, they’ve understood the hardship of the day-to-day life of an African woman, a Ugandan woman in particular, and they’ve gone about mocking it.”

Arao Ameny, Founder, Association of African Journalists & Writers

“It’s disrespectful for development organisations to go to developing countries and make a mockery of the people they’re supposed to be serving. Not just the culture, but the struggle of ordinary Ugandans, of Africans. The video emphases this narrative about missionaries and that the locals are just there to be helped, to be saved. I think that’s a very dangerous narrative because it continues that myth of ‘the white saviour’. It again makes Africans and Ugandans look like recipients of help, that’s just something that’s so steeped in colonialism.”

Adam & Natasha Perryman, Founders, Luket Ministeries

“It is our absolute joy to serve throughout the world. We respect and honour all cultures within our ministry and family. We apologise for promoting any view that would show otherwise. We specifically apologise to any Ugandan that was offended by our ministry dance video.”