Africa Daily

Known as the ‘pearl of the desert’, Timbuktu was a spiritual and intellectual capital in the 15th and 16th centuries - the home of mosques and libraries and commerce. For years its treasures drew tens of thousands of tourists each year. But now it’s a city under siege. Attacks on civilians have spiked. An Al Qaeda affiliated group announced a blockade of the city - and in September, a rocket attack on a passenger boat led to dozens of deaths and hundreds injured. This led to the cancellation of the boat service - previously seen as the only ‘safe’ form of travel in and out of Timbuktu. So what has caused this change? For Africa Daily Alan Kasujja speaks an analyst who monitors the levels of violence – and to a man who grew up in the city – but didn’t want to be named for fear of repercussions from the military government.

“I can’t look at things, but I can see them.” The words of Winston Fani, a blind tour guide from South Africa. He shares his journey with Alan Kasujja and explains he found himself working in an industry where very few professionals are living with disability. Winston is part of about 7.5% of South Africa’s population living with some form of disability, according to government data. Alan also chats with Ugandan tour operator Amos Wekesa about how accessible tourism destinations are on the African continent. The World Bank says Uganda’s tourism sector holds the key to creating jobs and increased foreign exchange earnings.

Last week, hundreds of protesters marched in Ghana’s capital, Accra. They called for the resignation of the governor of the Bank of Ghana over billions of Ghanaian cedis lost in the 2022 financial year. The country is facing its worst economic hardship in over a generation with the high cost of living being driven by inflation of more than 40%. It has stoked tensions which have led to protests in recent months. Last month, more than 50 protesters have been arrested in Ghana for defying a police order not to demonstrate. So, what hope are protesters in Ghana hoping to provoke?#AfricaDaily

Can East Africa cope with heavier than average rainfall – predicted to possibly arrive between October and December, linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon? Forecasts show there’s an 85% higher chance of wetter-than-usual conditions across most parts of the horn of Africa this year. Scientists say areas expected to face floods will include southern Ethiopia, eastern Kenya and southern Somalia, but that parts of Uganda and South Sudan may also face drier conditions.El Nino is a climate pattern that describes the unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. It can lead to heavy rains thousands of miles away – but also drought and lack of rains elsewhere.Eunice Koech, a meteorologist with the horn of Africa’s Intergovernmental Authority on Development- IGAD has been speaking to Africa Daily about what El Nino is – and how it might affect East Africa.

For his whole life, Fallou Ngom believed his father was illiterate. It was only after he died that Professor Ngom returned to Senegal and found unusual writing samples among his belongings. Through his research, he found that the notes were written in Ajami, a modified form of Arabic used to write many African languages. But Fallou had no idea that many people of his father’s generation were using it to communicate, record debts, and write poems, prayers and stories. He says that for decades people were recorded as being illiterate if they didn’t write in French. And many people of Ngom’s generation had no idea their parents were using Ajami all along. So, what has he found out about his father and his country in the years since he started studying Ajami?Host: Alan Kasujja Guest: Fallou Ngom, Professor of Anthropology, Boston University

“The hardest thing is not being able to help someone beyond what you are able to do with the little medication you have. You examine your patients but don’t have what you need to solve their medical needs. And that has a psychological effect on me” In today’s podcast, Africa Daily’s Mpho Lakaje hears from healthcare workers trying to assist Sudanese refugees at camps in Chad. There are more than 20 such shelters in eastern Chad, housing at least 400, 000 people. This humanitarian crisis has been triggered by a conflict led by Sudanese army head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, otherwise known as Hemedti. In 2021, the two generals staged a coup, but in recent months they have taken up arms against each other in a power struggle. The civil war has claimed thousands of lives. With the number of Sudanese refugees crossing into Chad expected to reach 600, 000 by the end of 2023, how will the country deal with the influx?

“As days passed, and bodies continued to be recovered, they became very hard to identify – and it was difficult to cope with it emotionally. Swollen bodies, bodies with fractured faces, decomposed bodies… It was the most excruciating experience, but our help was very crucial for the process. So, we had to do it.” On October 3rd, 2013 – exactly 10 years ago - a boat crammed with around 500 people caught fire and sank - just off the coast of the Italian Island of Lampedusa. The victims’ support group – the 3rd of October Committee - says 368 died that night. But to this day, many families don’t know if their loved ones were amongst the passengers on the boat. So how are the victims of the Lampedusa shipwreck being remembered? And has anything changed for people risking the sea crossing from Africa to Europe in the decade since? For Africa Daily, a survivor remembers his experiences of that night.

“In Gabon, football and paedophilia go hand in hand, we were all told the stories.” In December 2021 a British newspaper named several leading figures in Gabonese football, alleged to have sexually abused hundreds of boys over a period of decades. The former head coach of Gabon's youth teams, Patrick Assoumou Eyi - widely known as "Capello" - admitted charges of "raping, grooming and exploiting young players" and remains in prison awaiting sentencing. Three other coaches were arrested but deny the allegations made against them. But did the football authorities - in both Gabon and further afield - fail to protect these children? And are they continuing to fail them? For today’s Africa Daily, Alan@kasujja talks to Khadidiatou Cissé, the reporter who worked on the documentary. To see ‘Predators on the Pitch: Inside Africa’s Biggest Football Scandal’ go to the BBC News Africa YouTube page.

It’s been more than two weeks since devastating floods swept away large parts of the city of Derna. The government in the east of the country says more than 4000 people lost their lives in the disaster, although this number remains disputed. Many more thousands of people are still missing and displaced by the disaster. In the weeks since the floods, fear and horror has turned to anger, with people taking to the streets to demand answers. So, how are people in Libya coping and trying to rebuild their lives?#AfricaDaily

Ugandan politician and musician Rachael Magoola says she’d be flying planes if she had been paid the way she should have been paid for the success of her music. She was elected in 2021 and says her music played a big part in winning a seat in Uganda’s parliament. She’s most famous for her song Obangaina which she wrote late 1990’s but she says she did not earn as much as she should have from the song. Since becoming an Member of Parliament, Rachael Magoola has launched the Parliamentary Forum for Creative Arts in Uganda. She hopes it will push policies which will help to build a thriving creative economy in her country where artists can be paid what they are owed. She believes the success of this industry could even reduce the number of young people leaving the continent for Europe. She was in London recently with her band Afrigo, which just celebrated its 48th anniversary, and she spoke to Africa Daily’s Peter Musembi.