Africa Daily

Burkina Faso is no stranger to coups. It’s had seven military takeovers since its independence from France in 1960.On September 30, a group of junior soldiers toppled a fellow military ruler in Burkina Faso.Announcing their takeover on national television, the putschists accused Lt. Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba of failing to quell jihadist attacks in the country. Damiba had been in charge since he and the military toppled President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré in January. This time the interim leader is 34-year-old Ibrahim Traoré. So, two coups in just eight months, with both leaders claiming to want to sort out the issues in Burkina Faso, but clearly not finding the right solution. Just yet. Alan Kasujja is asking whether Burkina Faso can solve its political instability. He’s been speaking to Burkinabé journalist Ouézen Louis Oulon and Niagalé Bagayoko, a security expert on the Sahel region.

When Alan visited Johannesburg in July, the city was reeling after a mass shooting at tavern in Soweto. Sixteen people were killed by gunmen while socialising with their friends. It a spotlight on increasing violence at drinking spots across the country. That month 25 people died in such incidents. Last week, five people appeared in court in relation to the shooting in Soweto. But the people Alan spoke to at a tavern nearby said they had little confidence that the police could keep them safe. Is that the case?

In the early 2000s, African Union members adopted what is known as the Yamoussoukro Decision. The treaty was designed to open up air transport between African countries by promoting fair competition among airlines. However, World Bank says this hasn’t really taken off, as African countries are still restricting their markets to prefer state owned carriers. But now, South Africa seems to be taking a different approach. Not only is it opening up its skies to fellow African airlines, it’s even striking deals with foreign carriers like Air Belgium. Is this the start of a fresh approach to air travel? And could open skies help body African economies?#AfricaDaily

Uganda is facing an Ebola outbreak which has reportedly infected more than twenty people. And five people have died since the virus was detected last week. The association of medical workers in Uganda has called for the affected region - Mubende - to be quarantined. But on Wednesday evening, President Museveni said quarantines were not being considered as part of the response. He tried to reassure Ugandans that the government will be able to stop the virus spreading, citing experience gained with previous outbreaks. So, can Uganda contain its Ebola outbreak?

The United Nations Security Council is tasked with ensuring international peace and security. It has five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. It also has 10 other members who are elected on a regional basis for a term of two years, and among those there at the moment representing Africa are Gabon, Ghana and Kenya. At the recent UN General Assembly – UNGA – among the many topics that were discussed, the question about having a seat on a permanent basis for Africa – which is the only world regions that’s not represented permanently - was raised. Today Alan Kasujja is asking why doesn’t Africa have a permanent seat at the UN Security Council. He’s been speaking with Professor Carlos Lopes, who’s held various UN roles over the years, including policy director for former and late Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He’s professor in the Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

Content warning: This podcast includes vivid descriptions of the sinking of the Joola which some listeners might find distressing. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Twenty years ago, news of terrible event began to spread throughout the city of Ziguinchor in the south of Senegal. A passenger ferry – carrying more than 1,800 people from Casamance to the capital Dakar in the north – had gone down in a storm with the loss of almost everyone on board. Amongst the dead were 444 children. Just about everyone in the small city knew someone who’d died. In the months and years that followed enquiries blamed a number of shortcomings including overcrowding and a lack of safety measures and radio equipment to call for help. But despite the scale of the disaster – with hundreds more deaths than in the Titanic – those affected say they now feel abandoned and forgotten. They want the boat – and the remains of their loved ones - to be raised from the seabed. Now a BBC documentary has heard from two of the just 64 people who survived – as well as from those who lost family members. Victoria Uwonkunda spoke to Efrem Gebreab, one of the documentary's producers, for Africa Daily – and listens to some of the testimonies of those affected. ‘The Joola: Africa’s Titanic’ can be seen on BBC Africa Youtube. Producers: Efrem Gebreab, Wahany Sambou and Frederic Tendeng. Director: Nicky Milne Camera: John Wendle

Within ten days of being sworn in as Kenya’s 5th president, William Ruto found himself attending two of the largest global events this year with other heads of state - Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and the UN General Assembly (UNGA) - a gathering of leaders and NGOs and activists alike in the US state of New York.Away from the glitzy streets of New York and the UN, loads await the new president back home. A struggling economy, now made worse with the cost of living crisis, unemployment is still a struggle for many and these are some of the top issues President Ruto and his government have to tackle. Away from the big tasks at hand, there’s also that now infamous fallout between him and his former boss Uhuru Kenyatta, who snubbed him and instead supported another candidate during the election. So when Alan Kasujja sat down with him in New York during the UNGA to find out what Kenya’s new president, William Samoei Ruto, has been up to in his first couple of weeks in charge, there was plenty to talk about.

Mahmood Mattan was born in 1923 and was a young man when he left his home in Hargeisa, in what later became Somaliland, to live in Cardiff in Wales. He settled in a community called Tiger Bay, worked as a seaman, got married and had three children. In 1952 he was accused of murdering Lily Volpert, a local businesswoman. He was found guilty and executed by hanging in prison. For years Mahmood Mattan’s family maintained his innocence and his conviction was quashed in 1998. Last week, 70 years after Mahmood Mattan’s execution, South Wales police apologised and admitted the prosecution was "flawed". In today’s Africa Daily, Victoria Uwonkunda has been finding out more about the life and death of Mahmood Mattan from Danielle Fahiya, the presenter/producer of a new BBC podcast called Mattan: Injustice of a Hanged Man.

When former journalist, Joseph Bayanga, witnessed the death of three generations of a family on a Kampala road - a mother, daughter and grandchild – he decided enough was enough. More people die on Uganda’s roads – 14 every day – than anywhere else in East Africa.Kampala’s Mulago National Referral Hospital even has a special ward just for the drivers of boda bodas who account for the highest number of deaths. Boda bodas are the motorbike taxis which weave precariously through the traffic at every junction with one, two or even three passengers on their backs. So Joe reinvented himself as a road safety campaigner ‘Joe Walker’ and walked 340 km in just 10 days from Kampala to his home town of Bushenyi to raise awareness on the subject.For Africa Daily Alan Kasujja takes a drive round Kampala’s roads with Joe and asks: can anything be done to make Uganda’s roads safer?Presenter: Alan Kasujja @kasujja Guest: Joe Beyanga @akeda4

Tanzania’s Information Minister Nape Nnauye has warned against the dissemination of online messages, cartoons and short videos which he claims promote same-sex relationships. He said anyone posting such messages risked prosecution. And it’s not just Tanzania. In Kenya and Uganda gay people have been harassed, bullied and threatened online. In today’s Africa Daily, Ferdinand Omondi speaks to James, Executive Director of LGBT Voice Tanzania and Frank Mugisha, a Human Rights advocate in Uganda whose fight for rights of the LGBTQ community earned him a Nobel Peace Prize nomination.