The Africa Blogging Podcast

Kenya has seen a deadly wave of street protests over the rising cost of living. The demos that often turned deadly were called by the opposition movement - Azimio Coalition over what they claimed was the government's high-handedness and insensitivity to the cost of living in the country.

While we did not extensively cover these protests on Africa Blogging, I appeared on several international media channels including Times Radio (UK), Power 98.7 FM (South Africa) and News Central TV (Nigeria) to give updates and context to the crisis.

In this episode, I have put together, a couple of those conversations.

*The audios are courtesy of Power 98.7 FM & News Central TV

Senegalese opposition politician Ousman Sonko has risen fast to be a force to reckon with in the country's political landscape, drawing a huge support base from cities across the country with the capital Dakar as the bedrock of his cult-like following.

Two weeks ago, Dakar witnessed an unprecedented spate of violence after Sonko was put on house arrest following a two-year prison sentence handed to him after being found guilty of a vague offence the courts call "Immoral Behavior."

Africa Blogging Lead Editor, Daniel Ominde, speaks to Azil Momar, a Senegalese journalist about Ousman Sonko's political journey and the recent chaos in Dakar.

We are back in demonstration and protests season in Kenya following the disputed 2022 presidential election which we may have assumed was resolved when the Supreme Court made a pronouncement on the issue. Far from it, the matter is at the centre for new calls and pronouncement of illegitimacy on president William Ruto's administration by opposition leader Raila Odinga.

In this episode, we speak to veteran Kenyan journalist Fred Omulo on the subject...we also highlight some of the top conversations Africa Blogging authors wrote about on www.blogging.africa 

This mini-episode of the Africa Blogging Podcast will be coming to you every weekend. 

For the first time since the return of democracy in Nigeria, there is excitement among young voters regarding Saturday's election. While there are a number of other seats being contested in this poll, the attention is largely skewed towards the presidential race which has been styled as a race between the old political establishment gainst a new political order. 

In this episode, we speak to two young professional nigerian women,  Bushrah Bolugun and Aisha Salihu about what makes this election specifically significant for women and youth.

The media plays a pivotal role in preserving and protecting democracy. As Nigerians go to the poll to elect the next president, we look into how Nigerian media have been covering the campaigns and the plans they are putting together to cover Saturday's election and events in the following days.

In this episode, I speak to Nigerian journalist Frankline Ebuka, a news editor and radio presenter with a radio station in Anambra State. 

Tomorrow, Saturday 25th February 2023, Nigerians go to the polls in an election that has been described as the most significant since the return of democracy in 1999. Eighteen candidates are on the balot with any of the top three - Atiku Abubakar, Bola Tinobu and Peter Obi, likely to emerge as the the winner of the contest. 

We speak to Jerome Sunday Salami, a Nigerian student studying public policy in Italy about what this elections mean to Nigerians and how it feels watching this from afar. This is the first of our special series on the Nigeria 

A power crisis and an imploding ANC are just but the few issues Cyril Ramaphosa is having to deal with ahead of the 2022 election. The youthful generation has also lost trust in the independence party...is this the beginning of the end for ANC?

South African political commentator, Andile Zulu and Zimbabwean Journalist, Paidamoyo Muzulu, join Daniel Ominde in yet another episode discussing South African affairs. 

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga has vowed not to recognize William Ruto as president following fresh election rigging claims by his Azimio-One-Kenya coalition. The new allegations come in the wake of an unknown whistleblower who claims he works for the electoral management body IEBC and that he has details showing how the August 2022 election results were altered to favour President Ruto.

Mr Odinga has called on his supporters to demand the resignation of President William Ruto and his government. This new development could likely thrust the country into another period of political instability should Mr Odinga opt for the route of mass street protests to make his demand. 

A platform that offers insight into political conversations from around the continent. We talk to journalists, bloggers and opinion leaders from the breadth and width of Africa adding context and nuances to stories and events that make headlines from the continent, exploring angles that you probably did not realize existed from where you consume your news. 

In this episode, I speak to Ghanaian political scientist and Africa Blogging author Immanuel Obeng-Akrofi about the worrying economic situation in Ghana, and the coming Nigerian elections - specifically the rising popularity of the Labour Party candidate Peter Obi. We also discuss what this election means for Ghanaians watching it from across the border.

The insecurity situation in the Sahel region and West Africa with the rise of Islamist insurgents and the coups in West Africa also make up part of our 54-minute conversation. 

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In this episode, I speak to Pru Nyamishana a founding member of Africa Blogging, a blogger, podcaster and human rights defender from Kampala, Uganda. We talk about Uganda's politics...Museveni's three decades of stay in power that's now turning into a dictatorship. The possibility of a crowning Museveni's son as the preferred heir to the presidency and the deteriorating human rights situation in Uganda among other issues.

This is the first of a special series of podcasts on developments of 2022 and a 2023 outlook for the continent.