Africa Daily

“A lot is expected of her. A lot of eyes are going to be on her.” A moment of sporting history. That’s how many sports fans around the world will remember it. Africa’s most decorated Olympian, swimming champion, Kirsty Coventry will become the next President of the International Olympic Committee. The first time for a woman, an African and the governing body's youngest president. In today’s Africa Daily Alan Kasujja hears reaction from Zimbabwe and speaks to two female Olympians on what this means for Africa. Guests: Zimbabwean sports journalist Steve Vickers, two-time Olympic medallist Nigeria's Mary Onyali Omagbemi, and Kenya’s Sinaida Aura who took part in the Tokyo Olympics for Kenya’s rugby Lionesses

“You cannot feel that you’re fasting when you’re playing. No water, no food, but it’s still very exciting to finish and to score" Ramadan is a time for prayer and reflection worldwide. But in Egypt they mark it using one of their nationwide passions: football. Since the 1960s street football tournaments have spread to every town – involving everyone from professional footballers to children and old men. A woman’s tournament is in its infancy. Some footballers have even been slapped with heavy fines by their clubs for taking part – but many remain undeterred, as it’s such a part of Ramadan tradition and culture. PRESENTER: Alan @Kasujja GUESTS: 70 year old Elsayed Mohamed and his son, football journalist, Mohamed Kutbah, and Hamada Elalfy, one of the organisers of the Mit Rumi tournament.

As Morocco faces one of its worst droughts in decades, soaring meat prices and dwindling livestock have made Eid al-Adha sacrifices difficult. In response King Mohammed VI has urged Moroccans to forgo the tradition, echoing a similar appeal by his father in 1966.Could changing weather patterns reshape how Eid is observed? BBC Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja spoke to Moroccan journalist Basma El Atti to explore how Moroccans are adapting and what this means for the future of Eid traditions.This episode has been edited since it was originally published

"It was hell. The worst seven months of my life. I was beaten, humiliated, electrocuted."Jalil Muyeke thought he was travelling to Thailand for a dream job. Instead, he was trafficked to Myanmar, imprisoned in a scam centre, and forced to commit online fraud under the threat of violence. An estimated 100,000 people fell victim to these operations run by Chinese crime groups. Jalil endured seven months of beatings and abuse before finally finding a way out. He eventually had to pay for his own flight back home and was fined 1,500 Thai Baht for overstaying his visa, which is approximately 44 dollars - a small price to pay to be swiftly reunited with his family in Uganda. But thousands are still stuck in Myanmar today, with many African governments unwilling to pay to bring their citizens home. Alan Kasujja speaks to Jalil, who survived the ordeal, to find out how he was tricked, what life was like inside, and how he made it out.

“For someone seeing a light bulb for the first time, it is like a magic show from heaven. They are so happy, they are singing. That moment, it never gets old.”Six hundred million people in Africa don’t have access to electricity – meaning that for many living on a continent with a median age of 19, the future is anything but bright.But it’s a challenge that the winner of this year’s Commonwealth Young Person of the Year prize is determined to overcome. Nigeria’s Stanley Anigbogu was honoured for his innovations in transforming plastic waste into solar innovations and providing clean energy to thousands of people including refugees. For today’s Africa Daily, he speaks to Peter Musembi about his goals and inspirations – including Marvel’s Iron Man!

“The emphasis now is not on Netumbo the person, the emphasis is on a woman… If anything happens, like it can happen in any administration under men, there are also those that won’t talk about Netumbo, but rather say: “look at women!””Today sees the inauguration of Namibia’s first-ever female president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. The 72-year-old is a former freedom fighter and veteran of the ruling South West Africa People's Organization – better known as SWAPO.In a special interview recorded in Windhoek, she speaks to Mpho Lakaje about land reform, the challenges of being a woman politician, and how she still likes to go back to the village and to play with her grandchildren.

“It could not by itself stop the advance of M23 without a strong Congolese army. And my sense is that it was not SADC that failed, but the Congolese army that failed.” Since December 2023, troops from SADC - the Southern African Development Community - have been taking part in a mission in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo tasked with supporting the Congolese army and protecting civilians and infrastructure. They included soldiers from Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa.But then in January, rebels from the M23 group made lightning advances across the region – taking key towns including the capital Goma. A number of SADC troops were killed in the fighting. And last week, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa announced a ‘phased withdrawal’.So is this a sign that the mission has failed? And what will it mean for the government and people of the DRC? Presenter: Alan @kasujja Guests: Rear Admiral (JG) Prince Tshabalala, Thierry Bashala (businessman) and Dr. Claude Kabemba, the CEO of Southern Africa Resource Watch.

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan says Nigeria’s senate President began to sexually harass her in December 2023 and that there were multiple incidents of this nature. She’s been speaking publicly about what she says happened and filed a petition to the senate. But earlier this month Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan received a six month suspension from her job over what was described as a “breach of the rules of the Senate”. There are only four women in the senate and 109 men, so the allegations have got lots of people talking and sparked protests. What does this all say about how sexual harassment allegations are treated in Nigeria? In today’s Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja hears more about the story from the BBC’s Azeezat Olaoluwa in Lagos. He also speaks to Nigerian lawyer and civil rights activist Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi and Omowumi Ogunrotimi, the founder and executive director of Gender Mobile Initiative.

Sally Nabil, a BBC correspondent, shares her insights from her visits to the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria. She discusses the harsh living conditions and economic hardships faced by the Sahrawi people, who have been displaced for over 50 years. Nabil illuminates the struggle for identity and self-determination amid the political stalemate between Morocco and the Polisario Front. She also addresses rampant human rights violations and the yearning for a resolution to their plight, emphasizing the urgent need for international attention and support.

“This is a payment of debt. Definitely we are trying our best to show our gratitude and also to stand by our brothers and the nation of Sudan.”After three decades of civil war in Somalia, the healthcare system in the country was a mess and many people had to travel to neighbouring countries for treatment - if they could afford it. And so, in 2014, a group of Somali businessmen founded the Somali-Sudanese Hospital in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, to respond to the challenge. It followed years of Somali medical students going to Sudan for training – and the hospital became a place for them to use their expertise on their return. But then in 2022 war broke out in Sudan – and the hospital became a refuge for Sudanese doctors fleeing the war, thanks to that long-established relationship. The Sudanese medics are also offering crucial specialist services the hospital could not provide before. In this episode of Africa Daily, Peter Musembi talks to Prof Helmi Daoud who was the first doctor to flee to Somalia with his whole family three months after the start of the war.He also hears from Dr Abdilqadir Yusuf, the hospital’s Research and Development manager on how the arrival of the Sudanese doctors has transformed services there.NOTE: This pod was updated at 0709 GMT on 17/3/25 to correct the year war broke out in Sudan.