Africa Daily

The Atlas Lions have made history to become the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final. They will play world champions France in that semi-final game on Wednesday. Morocco were one of five African teams to qualify for the World Cup and for the first time all of the teams were led by African coaches. Although Morocco were the only African team to make it to the quarter finals, there were some historic wins for the continent. Cameroon beat Brazil and Tunisia won their game against France for the first time. So today Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja has been looking at whether African coaches are the secret to African football success.#AfricaDaily

This week, a group of NGOs took TOTAL – the lead investor in a new pipeline between Uganda and Tanzania - to court. They’re asking a French court to protect local people and the environment from the adverse impacts of the project. TOTAL refutes all allegations and says they are protecting the rights of local communities and will make sure the project has a positive impact. Meanwhile, people in Uganda are divided over whether the project is an economic opportunity, or a recipe for disaster. #AfricaDaily

Kenya and athletics are synonymous to one another. In November the country came close to being banned from the sport it loves and excels in the most. There is no doubt that the sports is huge to the country’s image and great effort goes into it - 34 of Kenya’s 35 Olympic gold medals have come from track and field events. But with 17 Kenyan athletes suspended just this year by the Athletics Integrity Unit for a range of violations, joining another 55 who are already serving bans, the threat of a ban loomed large. So the country’s authorities made assurances to World Athletics and avoided a ban. But can Kenya run away from its doping troubles? Alan Kasujja speaks with BBC Sport Africa’s Michelle Katami in Nairobi.

Malawi is not short of scandal, especially when it comes to claims of corruption. If you look back over the years, you will find different cases. And last year the country ranked 110th out of 180 countries in Transparency Internationals Corruptions Perceptions Index. So what is happening in Malawi now and how is so much of its politics caught up in it? Those claims of corruptions have been followed by charges against some of the most senior people in the country. Which in turn have been followed by denials or counter claims. The anti-corruption chief Martha Chizuma is one of the latest to be arrested and charged with making statements that could prejudice judicial proceedings. And it was Ms Chizuma’s investigation that was pivotal in the arrest of Deputy President Saulos Chilima. He has since been charged with multiple counts of corruption. His supporters say that the charges are political. He is from a different party to the country’s president. And with elections in 2025 beginning to loom, people are asking whether their alliance is fracturing. So, how has Malawi’s fight against corruption become so controversial? We’ll try to take you through this tangled web.

In November Uganda and Zimbabwe launched their first satellites – PearlAfricaSat-1 and ZimSat-1, respectively - into space.Space engineers from both countries worked and trained with their counterparts in Japan to make it possible. The two countries said the satellites would capture and send back images from space to help with advancing mineral exploration and monitoring weather patterns to help manage the impact of floods and droughts. But in Zimbabwe particularly, the launch kicked off a bit of an uproar, especially on social media, with people asking whether the resources could have instead gone to schools, hospitals and overall infrastructure. Alan Kasujja has been speaking with two African space engineers; Dr Sias Mostert, a space scientist at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa and Dr Berhanu Bulcha, an Ethiopian-American NASA research engineer. In their conversation Alan asked them whether Africa needs its own space satellite programmes and if the continent can afford it.

After days of political pressure, South Africa’s President Ramaphosa has said that he does not intend to resign. The row centres on claims he kept large sums of cash on his property then covered up its theft. A panel of legal experts concluded that he has a case to answer. The top leadership of his party - the African National Congress - are meeting on Sunday and Monday to see what steps to take next. But Mr Ramaphosa’s spokesperson has said he will not resign based on a “false report”. And suggested he would seek a second term as the party’s leader. So, what’s next for President Ramaphosa?#AfricaDaily

This week a major conference organised by the UK government called The Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative took place in London. Delegates, policy makers, politicians and survivors from around the world listened to discussions on justice, reparations, accountability and ending sexual violence. Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja spoke to a survivor of the 2007 election violence in Kenya on what justice looks like for her.This episode contains reference to sexual violence which you may find distressing.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the newest member of The East African Community, a regional group made up of seven countries. With a population of nearly 100 million people, vast agricultural land, and rich mineral reserves, DRC has great potential for business but an endless conflict spanning decades is threatening the region's stability. The M23 rebel group has escalated its attacks, leading the East Africa Community to sanction a regional force to help DRC forces to repel the rebels. Kenya has committed 1,000 soldiers, it’s a deployment which will cost the Kenyan taxpayer 37 million dollars in a year. But is it worth it? And can the East Africa Community finally bring peace to DRC? Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja has been speaking to East Africa Security expert Sylvanus Wekesa.

Nowadays premature babies – born at 24 or 28 weeks - can go on to live long happy lives. But a baby’s chance of survival rests a great deal on where they’re born, the quality of medical care they’ll receive and how quickly they get it. Unicef says that in South Sudan, 40 babies for every 1000 will die within 28 days of birth. That compares with 20 in Kenya, 27 in Ethiopia and 29 in Sudan. But despite the challenges of ongoing conflict, floods and no equipment, staff at the Médecins Sans Frontières clinic in Malakal, in South Sudan’s upper Nile State, are working to save every baby they can. With no incubators, they even fill medical gloves with warm water and surround a baby with them in an attempt to keep the child warm. They’re also using a technique called ‘skin-on-skin’ or ‘kangeroo care’. The BBC’s Mercy Juma visited the clinic and has been speaking to Alan Kasujja for Africa Daily.

According to the United Nations, over 900,000 South Africans were living overseas, by the end of 2020. Many chose countries like England, the US, Australia and New Zealand for their new homes. Data from FNB, one of the country’s leading banks, reveals that 18% of homes which were sold three years ago were due to relocations. That number went down to 14% this year. While hundreds of thousands remain outside the country, other figures show that about 400,000 South Africans returned home in the last decade. Alan Kasujja has been speaking to two South Africans; Antoinette Takis and Chantel Hinrichsen, who left and have now returned home. He also heard from Dr Anthony Kaziboni from the University of Johannesburg. He’s an expert on emigration.