The Africa Blogging Podcast
By Africa Blogging Network
The podcast provides a platform for African voices to be heard and for important issues affecting the continent to be discussed in a meaningful way.
#AfricaBlogging is affiliated with KAS Media Africa, a programme of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.
The Africa Blogging PodcastJan 26, 2023
Episode #19: Understanding the genesis of Kenya's deadly protests
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
Episode #18: Challenging the Status Quo: The Ousmane Sonko Story
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.
Episode #17: Africa Press Freedoms on Decline - A Focus on Ghana
According to the RSF 2023 Free Press Index, journalism overall has become more difficult in Africa and the situation is now classified as “bad” in nearly 40% of its countries (compared to 33% in 2022). Several journalists have also been murdered in Africa, including Martinez Zongo in Cameroon ( which ranked 138th). In Eritrea ( which ranks 174th), the media remain under President Issaias Afwerki’s despotic grip.
While Ghana seemed to have risen places in the continent, globally it dropped two places from 60th to 62nd place. Africa Blogging Lead Editor, Daniel Ominde, sat down with our Ghana contributor, Immanuel Obeng-Akrofi, to put these numbers into perspective.
Episode #16: The Kenyan Perspective: Unpacking the Opposition to President Ruto's 2023 Budget Proposals
President William Ruto's 2023/2024 budget proposals as contained in the 2023 Finance Bill have come under sharp criticism for being unresponsive to the current high cost of living in the country and the state of the economy. The increase in VAT on petroleum products from 8% to 16%, the introduction of a mandatory 3% housing levy for all salaried workers and the introduction of a digital services tax for digital content creators are among the proposals facing public outcry.
Africa Blogging Lead Editor, Daniel Ominde, joined the Breakfast Central's Olive Emodi and Osarogie Ogbomwan on Nigeria's News Central TV to shed some light on the new proposals and how Kenyans are likely to be impacted.
Episode #15: State of the continent - A critical look at Africa's democracies
Last week most parts of the continent observed Africa Day, a commemoration of the founding of the Organization for Africa Unity (OAU) which later was transformed to the current Africa Union (AU). In this episode, I am joined by Pru Nyamishana from Uganda and Paidamoyo Muzulu from Uganda.
We use the continent's recent events like the inauguration of Bola Tinubu as president in Nigeria, the signing of Uganda's new anti-gay law, Sudan's civil war and Zimbabwe's coming elections as a barometer of the state of the continent. We also talk about the Africa Union and it's ability to solve the continent's pressing challenges, including its own 'agenda 2063.'
Episode #14: Bangarang - A Film's Reflection on Kenya's Political Unrest and Social Struggles
In this episode, we speak with David Weda, lead actor in the Netflix film Bangarang, about the ongoing protests in Kenya and the country's long-standing social issues. From electoral justice to police brutality, unemployment, and negative ethnicity, we examine the root causes of Kenya's political unrest and social struggles. Join us as we delve into the insights shared by David Weda and explore the relevance of Bangarang to Kenya's fight for justice and equality.
Ep 1 This Week in Africa: Ulterior Motives
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.
Episode #13: The place of youth and women in Nigeria politics
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.
Episode #12: Framing Democracy - How the media is covering Nigeria poll
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.
Episode #11: Nigeria Decides - Views from the Diaspora
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
Episode #10: Focus on South Africa Part 2 - Ramaphosa's nine lives and the future of ANC ft Andile Zulu
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.
Episode #9: Tanzanian politician Tundu Lisu's return from exile and President Samia Suluhu's efforts at broadening civic space
An attempt on his life that left him for dead with 16 bullet wounds led Tundu Lissu to life in exile. On Wednesday he returned to the country to a rapturous welcome from supporters, signifying an end to Tanzania's dark past. Is it really an end and how does the country protect the gains to its civic space that it has made during the Samia Suluhu administration?
In this episode, Daniel Ominde speaks to Tanzanian journalist and author living in exile in Europe, Ansbert Ngurumo, about what these developments mean for Tanzania's democracy.
Kenya's Raila Odinga makes fresh election rigging claims against President William Ruto, vows not to recognize him as president
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.
Episode #8: Focus on South Africa Pt 1 - Unpacking South Africa's Load Shedding and Energy Crisis ft Andile Zulu
In this episode of the Africa Blogging podcast, we unpack South Africa's energy crisis which has now resulted in the nationwide stage-six load shedding. What does this mean for day-to-day life in South Africa and how did the nation get here to start with?
South African political commentator and writer Andile Zulu is our guest for this episode which is co-hosted by Zimbabwean journalist Paidamoyo Muzulu.
Episode #7: Sanctity of the balot: Was the will of the people almost subverted in Kenya's 2022 elections?
Today, three IEBC commissioners retire after quite an interesting journey running Kenya's election agency. Their retirement brings back to focus the events of August 15th when state security agencies allegedly almost succeeded in intimidating the commission into declaring a state-supported candidate, the winner of the presidential election.
This episode takes us back to August 15th, 2022 as we trace the steps of Kenya's democracy...and how everything was almost lost.
This podcast is produced for Africa Blogging by Daniel Ominde.
Episode #6: A win for free speech in Uganda ft Antony Masake
Early this week the Constitutional Court in Uganda delivered a big blow to the state's efforts at curtailing freedom of speech and stifling government criticism by nullifying section 25 of the Computer Misuse Act. The Computer Misuse law, in particular section 25, has been a preferred tool for prosecutorial abuse of the freedom of expression, and digital and media rights.
Chapter 4 Uganda, a civil rights organization was among the groups that petitioned the court against the application of this law. In this episode, we speak to Ugandan Human Rights Lawyer and Ag. Executive Director of Chapter 4 Uganda, Antony Masake for context on this ruling.
As we stay on that good news beat, we will also tell you about the declaration of the end of the ebola outbreak in Uganda that claimed 55 lives including those of brave health workers.
Episode #5: State of the Zimbabwean Economy, Democracy & 2023 Elections ft Paidamoyo Muzulu
In this episode, we speak to Paidamoyo Muzulu, a journalist, blogger and political commentator. Our conversation revolves around the state of the Zimbabwean economy, democratic space under Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration and the coming 2023 general elections.
Muzulu writes for Newsday Zimbabwe, The Standard and The Independent - all published by Alpha Media Holdings in Zimbabwe. He is also a contributor for Africa Blogging.
This episode was produced by Daniel Ominde, the Lead Editor for Africa Blogging.
Episode #4: Steering the Zambian Economy, Hakainde's wins ft Paul Shalala
In this episode, we speak to Paul Shalala, an award-winning Zambian journalist who works with the national broadcaster ZNBC and contributes to the Zambian Analyst and Africa Blogging. Our conversation reflects on Hakainde's one year in office; his popularity, the opening of democratic space in the country and Zambia's economic resilience.
This podcast is hosted by Africa Blogging Lead Editor, Daniel Ominde.
Episode #1: This is the Africa Blogging Podcast
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.
Episode #3: The Ghana perspective with a dash of Nigeria ft Immanuel Obeng'- Akrofi
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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Episode #2: The Ugandan Situation ft Pru Nyamishana
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.