Africa Daily

“Some bring soil with them. They bring it from their country. We’ve found a number of these little packets that show the bond with one’s country, with Africa.”Imagine packing your bag and leaving your home for a new life. What would you take with you? Photos? Letters? A lucky charm? A group of volunteers on the Italian Island of Lampedusa have put together a collection of items lost by migrants who’ve struggled to get there, often in tiny boats. The island is the closest part of Europe to Africa, but it’s still a risky journey which thousands have died attempting. Just last weekend at least 29 more migrants died after their boats capsized. Now the BBC’s Thomas Naadi has made a documentary – a labour of love which has taken more than a year – based on his attempt to find some of the owners of the possessions. He spoke to Alan Kasujja for Africa Daily.@kasujja@Thomas_Naadi

When you think of Kenya and sport, athletics is the first thing that comes to mind.You might even think of Rugby Sevens.A group of young people are however hoping to make ice hockey a Kenyan sport. Their ambitions are as big as making it to the Winter Olympics and the World Cup of Hockey.Meet Kenya Ice Lions, the nation’s only professional ice hockey team that hopes to represent their country on international level.So, is ice hockey the next sporting success in Kenya?And with just one ice hockey rink in the country, what are the chances for the sport?Alan Kasujja has been speaking with Benjamin Mburu, the Ice Lions’ captain and Hanan Yunis, one of the team’s female players.

The collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank also known as SVB in California has dominated the news recently. But what’s it got to do with Africa? Well it’s important because African start-ups leave a lot of their money in US banks.SVB was a major player in the tech industry and invested in start-ups around the world. The bank’s demise at the same time as another lender has been described as the biggest bank failure in the US since the 2008 financial crisis. This week, SVB’s assets and loans were bought by another US bank. The situation has drawn attention to the reliance Africa’s tech entrepreneurs place on banking abroad. Africa Daily's Alan Kasujja probes the impact of SVB's shutdown on Africa’s start-ups, in conversations with the creator of the Big Tech This Week newsletter, Fatu Ogwuche and Eche Emole, co-founder of African start-up, Afropolitan.

In the past year, Senegal men’s teams won four major football trophies, including the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. It had been so long without any silverware, football commentators and fans started calling Senegal the “almost” nation. But something changed and the Teranga Lions started coming out of the shadows of giants like Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria and others. Since being crowned African champions in Cameroon last year, the men’s teams followed up with three other major trophies. So what’s the secret behind this recent success in football? Alan Kasujja speaks to BBC Sport Africa’s Babacar Diarra in the capital Dakar to get a sense of what turned the fortunes for Senegal football.

This episode contains description of violence and sex. ___________________________________________________________________________Two women in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, have spoken to the BBC about how they got drawn into the underground world of sex work. Both say they became caught in a world of parties and drugs and felt they had few options open to them after being forced to leave home as young women. In Somalia’s conservative society, women are usually expected to live at home until marriage. The sex workers – who were featured in a BBC Africa online article – describe their ongoing fear of assault and rape. They say they can’t approach the authorities if they’re attacked. For Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja listens to their accounts, and speaks to the journalists behind the report.Presenter: @kasujja Guests: @Mohamed_Gabobe and @Layla_mood

On March 19th, nine Chinese mine workers were killed by gunmen at a site near the central town of Bambari in the Central African Republic. The attack was condemned by Chinese President, Xi Jinping and the Chinese embassy asked its nationals to not travel outside the capital, Bangui. Attacks against Chinese nationals are becoming common. Earlier this month three Chinese were kidnapped in the west of the country.So, why do these attacks keep happening and can this affect how the Chinese do business in the Central African Republic? Alan Kasujja has been speaking with journalist Tomi Oladipo and Paul Nantulya, who specialises in Chinese security firms.

Today we are discussing a topic on many people's minds lately – thanks in part to Nigeria's recent elections: why aren't there more young people in political leadership in Africa? Despite having 70% of the population under the age of 30, the average age of its politicians is almost double that, at 62 years old. Which means that the continent with the youngest citizens has the oldest rulers. But can this be changed? Alan Kasujja asks aspiring politician Serah Wanjiku Thiga in Kenya and Tanzania's veteran opposition leader Tundu Lissu whether age matters when it comes to Africa’s leaders.

In today’s episode, we introduce you to a man called Fletcher, who is in a romantic relationship with Lethabo. At the same time, Lethabo, who is bisexual, is also going out with a woman called Lunya. But then, Lunya and Fletcher are also seeing each other. Basically, the three are openly involved in the same relationship. This is known as polyamory. It’s the practice of engaging in multiple relationships, with the consent of all the people involved. Polyamorous communities in South Africa meet on online platforms. Even though they are frowned upon in some circles, they regularly host events attended by dozens of people in cities like Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town. Alan Kasujja speaks to Lethabo, Fletcher and Lunya to understand how polyamory works, especially considering that there’s a toddler in their relationship.

Kenya’s opposition leader, Raila Odinga, called his supporters out onto the streets on Monday– leading to a day of unrest and clashes in the capital Nairobi.He says the protests will be weekly – to the dismay of many business owners. Odinga claims that the presidential election was stolen from him – and that the government is failing to respond to the cost of living crisis. Meanwhile in South Africa anti-government protests were taking place, demanding that President Cyril Ramaphosa steps down over the worsening economy, power cuts and alleged widespread corruption.And then there’s Senegal…. And Tunisia… The BBC's @DickensOlewe and BBC Monitoring’s @BeverlyOchieng talk to Alan @kasujja about why people taking to the streets.

In South Africa, the Republic of Congo, Kenya and Benin the spanking of children at home and schools has been prohibited under the law. There are many African parents who see this kind of discipline as a necessary and traditional part of raising children. But there’s also a younger generation of African parents who say spanking left them traumatised, unable to speak up and unable to think independently. They don’t want this for their children and have decided on a different parenting style. Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja has been looking at whether we need to rethink how we discipline children with two parents from Nigeria.