Africa Daily

This episode contains graphic description of violence. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++“I do not know when I will die maybe it’s today or tomorrow - but I felt if I died without forgiving him the burden would be on my children.” This weekend marks 30 years since the start of the Rwandan genocide. In 100 days, nearly 1 million people were killed based on their ethnicity.At 13 years old, Claudette was attacked with a spear and shot – but somehow survived. Most of her family were less lucky and were killed. And yet she’s taken the remarkable decision of forgiving her attacker. She’s one of a number of people who told her story to BBC reporter Victoria Uwonkunda on a recent visit to the country to mark the anniversary. Victoria was just a year younger, 12 years old, when she herself fled Rwanda and the genocide with her family. She lived as a refugee in the DRC and Kenya before being settled in Norway. She has spoken about her struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD.In this episode of Africa, she tells Alan Kasujja about her trip back to her home country – the first since she left – and shares more of Claudette’s story.Presenter: Alan Kasujja @kasujja Reporter: Victoria Uwonkunda @afroscandiTo hear more, listen to Victoria’s full documentary on https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0hm1sbt

"It's hard to live in Africa. It's hard to pay your bills. Public transport is hard... And it's hard to run a business in Africa."Alan got a belated Christmas surprise this year – when he found out he’d been named as one of New African Magazine’s list of 100 most influential Africans. He’s in good company… Senegal’s Ousmane Sonko, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and Guinea’s coup leader and president, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, are also on the list. But the list isn’t just about politics: it also gives a nod to changemakers in business, science, sport - and to those working to improve the environment. So in the first in a series of conversations, Alan speaks today to two young, energetic business leaders who are on the list - and are changing how money is used on the continent. Presenter: Alan Kasujja @kasujja Guests: Coura Sene, West Africa Regional director for Wave and Ham Sirunjogi, Co-Founder & CEO of Chipper Cash

South Africa is one of the top wine producers in the world yet, nearly thirty years after the end of apartheid, the industry is still dominated by white-owned wineries. Black-owned brands account for less than 1% of wine sales per litre in South Africa, even though black South Africans make up over 80% of the population.But a determined group of black women wine-makers want to change this. They’ve been supported by a British company ‘On Cloud Wine’ and its owner, Emily Batchelor, who gave them the financial support to export their wines – after many found it difficult to sell it themselves within South Africa But 30 years after apartheid, why are there still so few black women involved in winemaking in South Africa? Guests: Nondumiso Pikashe and Vivian Kleyhans. Presenter: Mpho Lakaje

“Davy became our friend.”Tales of conflict between animals and people are all too common across Africa. People have been cast off their land to make way for wildlife parks for tourists. Animals have attacked humans, poachers kill for tusks and scales, and large animals like elephants trample on crops and destroy them. But today we’re travelling about 200 km west of Nairobi in Kenya to an area called Sachangwan, where a shy elephant managed to charm his way into the hearts of the local community when he wandered into their area as a calf in 2017. Despite him causing some damage, the local people grew fond of him and learnt to live with him – and even gave him the name Davy.But last month the Kenya Wildlife Service finally captured him and moved him to the Aberdare National Park where they say he’ll have the company of other elephants. They also say it’s not a good thing for elephants to live in such close proximity to humans. So on today’s Africa Daily, Muthoni Muchiri asks – how can humans and elephants co-exist for the benefit of both?GUESTS: Joel Too - local pastor Abigael Simaloi Pertet - Co-Existence Project Manager at the Mara Elephant Project

Approximately 26.3 million people in Africa have a form of visual impairment, and it’s estimated that 5.9 million are blind. Blindness in people can occur at birth or later in life, and many people across the continent who are blind face several daily challenges. Amidu Abubakar made history when he became Sierra Leone’s first ever blind law graduate. So what’s it like to study law as a blind person? What changes made it possible for Amidu to reach this dream of studying law? Umaru Fofana, based in Freetown, has been finding out in this episode he guest presented.

Egypt signed a deal with the UAE for $35 billion to develop a new city in Ras al-Hikma, sparking concerns about economic sustainability and sovereignty. Experts analyze the impact on job creation, debt, and long-term economic challenges, highlighting transparency gaps and community repercussions.

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 When Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress took over in 1994, it introduced the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). It’s a policy that aims to build low-cost homes for the poor, thus reversing the legacy of apartheid. More than three million such houses have since been built, but many people still live in shanty towns due to a variety of reasons. They include internal migration and rapid urbanization. The University of Johannesburg has now come up with an initiative to use 3D printing technology to construct low-cost houses to help ease the accommodation burden. How exactly does it work? And will it make a difference? Presenter: Alan Kasujja Guests: Lala Maria Sebetlele, Dr. Alec Moemi and Professor Jeffrey Mahachi

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.