Continued……https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Living-Museum-of-the-Ju-hoansi-San-is-located-in-Grashoek-a-small-village-near_fig14_326648178

https://neweralive.na/rape-accused-british-tourist-denied-bail

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14734779/British-tourist-65-accused-molesting-dozens-children-Namibias-San-tribe-forcing-strip-remote-living-museum.html

NAIROBI CELEBRATES AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY

Here's a throwback to when the African Stream team took part in a special pan-African event in Nairobi to mark 2024’s African Liberation Day (25 May).

There was music, as well as speeches and shows of solidarity through song. Legendary figures such as Kwame Nkrumah, Amílcar Cabral and Patrice Lumumba loomed large in our thoughts as we discussed and planned for the final liberation of the motherland. African Liberation Day is not just an event, but the continuation of struggle in the face of ever-evolving means of subjugation, such as neocolonialism.

The proud tradition has its roots in the 1958 Conference of Independent African States in Accra, Ghana, where leaders united against colonialism and laid the groundwork for pan-Africanism. At the conference, Kwame Nkrumah founded African Freedom Day - on April 15th.

Continued……. Just over five years later, on 25 May, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was formed by 32 independent African states. African Freedom Day was moved to this date and rebranded African Liberation Day.

It has since served as a global platform to promote African unity, political awareness and the struggle against imperialism, playing a key role in supporting liberation movements and advancing the goal of African freedom through revolutionary organisation.

Here are some of the highlights from what was by all accounts a great day. How are you marking the 2025 edition?

Sources

https://www.modernghana.com/news/236966/nkrumah-and-pan-africanism.html

https://face2faceafrica.com/article/read-kwame-nkrumahs-iconic-1963-speech-on-african-unity

https://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/nkrumah/neo-colonialism/introduction.htm

https://www.kdrtv.co.ke/politics/ruto-reveals-how-he-got-2500-acre-farm-in-taita-taveta/

https://liberationnews.org/chad-and-senegal-kick-out-french-troops-following-the-lead-of-the-alliance-of-sahel-states/

France is feeling the pinch of African teeth on its behind. The French military has been booted out of the Sahel, as have French propaganda outlets - while mining giant Orano lost its licence in Niger. But rather than listen to African concerns about French colonial and neo-colonial exploitation, President Emmanuel Macron insulted the entire continent in January by claiming Africans forgot to say ‘thank you’ for all that France had done for them. Do we need to remind him what his predecessor, former French President Jacques Chirac, said? In March 2008, Chirac admitted, “Without Africa, France will slide down into the rank of a third [world] power.” Monsieur Macron, this week’s proverb is for you.

WHAT BBC PARTIALITY TELLS US OF AFRICOM'S LANGLEY

Africans should be aware and cautious of the empire’s ability to change its face to be more palatable without a fundamental change in form and substance. One of these tricks involves carefully filtering candidates and employees to advance its agenda.

As part of our reaction to former footballer Gary Lineker’s (@GaryLineker on X) recent BBC interview, when he took a journalist, Amol Rajan (@amolrajan on X), to task on impartiality, we watched US intellectual Noam Chomsky offer another perspective. In the 1996 soundbite we played, he said BBC hosts do not self-censor but believe their positions due to years of imperial grooming. Chomsky says it's no accident, as BBC journalist Andrew Marr (@andrewmarr9 on X) would not have been hired if he held opinions to the contrary.

Continued……. We can see that with the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), which, despite serving white-supremacist interests in Washington, has a Black face as its commander in the form of General Michael Langley. This contradiction, again, is no accident, as Langley probably sincerely believes his stance from years of conditioning to believe in US supremacy. On 3 April, he testified to the US Senate Armed Services Committee that Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traore is using the country’s reclaimed gold to protect himself at the cost of the people. Africans worldwide took their indignation at Langley’s comments to the streets on 30 April, perhaps paving the way for an African awakening demanding sovereignty.

What other examples can you think of regarding empires grooming people to work against ordinary people? Please share your thoughts.

If you'd like to hear more, watch the whole episode on our Rumble, Patreon and YouTube (@ahmedkaballo4170) accounts.

Soundbite credit: @BBC

Sources

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/06/politics/michael-langley-marines-black-four-star-general/index.html

https://hellovybes.com/us-general-michael-langley-accuses-ibrahim-traore-of-misusing-gold-reserves/

MEDICAL APARTHEID: GAZA PATIENTS LEFT TO D*E

In this recent clip, a doctor who volunteered in Gaza explains that hospitals there are collapsing due to Israel's escalated siege causing catastrophic shortages of equipment, fuel, and staff, as well as its airstrikes destroying health infrastructure. These conditions are leading to avoidable deaths, including those of children, the elderly and the chronically ill.

In April 2025, Israeli warplanes put al-Ahli Arab Hospital out of service, one of at least 36 hospitals that Israel has struck since October 2023, often with 2,000-pound US bombs to allegedly destroy H*mas 'bunkers.' According to the British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, Israel had k*lled at least 1,400 healthcare workers between October 2023 and May 2025. Targeting medical facilities and personnel is a war crime, according to the Geneva Conventions.

Continued…….. In addition to air strikes, hospitals are short on life-saving materials due to the Israeli blockade on food, medical supplies, and humanitarian aid to Gaza. Dozens of trucks brimming with aid remain stuck at border crossings. In July 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Gaza's health sector needs approximately 80,000 litres of fuel daily, as the lack thereof has diminished the life-saving capacity of Gaza’s healthcare system. In particular, Israel's onslaught has halted cancer treatment, cardiac procedures, maternity services, and dialysis in Gaza. Fuel shortages have plunged hospitals into darkness, forcing physicians to work by the light of their cell phones.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 11 per cent of children in some areas of Gaza are experiencing ‘global acute malnutrition,’ with 57 child deaths due to starvation reported between 2 March, when Israel reimposed an aid blockade, and 13 May. The crisis has forced Al-Shifa Hospital to treat about 5,000 patients per day, more than seven times its 700-patient capacity. Doctors perform surgeries without proper anaesthesia and antibiotics while bandages run low.

Video credit: @60minutes (X) / @cbs (X)

Sources

https://english.palinfo.com/news/2025/04/10/337084/

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/who-warns-permanent-impact-hunger-generation-gazans-2025-05-13/

https://www.msf.org/five-ways-war-gaza-impacting-palestinians-health

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/gaza-aid-trucks-border-famine-imminent-rcna144830

https://www.un.org/unispal/document/highlights-of-the-noon-briefing-25jul24/#:~:text=The%20UN%20Office%20for%20the%20Coordination%20of,the%20functioning%20of%20vital%20services%20across%20Gaza.&text=This%20is%20about%20100%2C000%20litres%20per%20day%2C,the%20most%20basic%20humanitarian%20operations%20each%20day.

https://youtu.be/ayIOnmB54EM?si=4_hnYlxm0pRzdrdR

https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/1400-healthcare-workers-killed-israels-systematic-attacks-gazas-health-system

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/israel-gaza-humanitarian-aid-un-1.7539737

https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/16/05/2025/last-hospital-treating-cancer-patients-in-gaza-goes-out-of-service

https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/gaza-humanitarian-response-update-10-23-june-2024

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/05/1163166

KILL THE BOER SONG EXPLAINED

On 21 May, US President Donald Trump hosted his South African counterpart at the White House. Cyril Ramaphosa had hoped the meeting would end months of sour relations between the two countries after Trump repeatedly made baseless allegations that White South Africans are persecuted.

However, thanks to Trump, the meeting quickly turned into a PowerPoint presentation of outright fake news and half-truths. From a video that Trump falsely claimed showed gravesites of victims of the alleged mass killings of White South Africans, to lies about the South African government allowing violent land grabs, the US president dished it all out.

However, most of Trump's venom was directed towards one man: Julius Malema, the leader of South Africa's Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) opposition party. According to Trump, he was the one leading the alleged persecution.

Continued………Trump played a 2023 video of Malema singing an apartheid-era song - K*ll the Boer. Trump claimed the song was a call for the k*lling of White people. Fake news!

In fact, the song emerged during the struggle against apartheid. 'Boer' means farmer in Afrikaans, the language spoken by South Africans of Dutch descent. However, in the South African context, it loosely refers to all White people who are of Dutch origin, the group that designed, crafted and dominated the apartheid system.

So when freedom fighters sang about 'k*lling the Boer,' they were not talking about k*lling individual Boers but about bringing down the racist, oppressive system of apartheid. And now, when Malema and his EFF supporters sing about shooting the Boer, they are talking about ridding the country of the remnants of that system, which perpetuates the economic misery that many Black South Africans still endure.

The song calls for an end to the race-based economic inequality that’s seen the White-minority continue to hold the lion's share of the national cake. These are facts that Trump already knows but chooses to ignore. But when were facts ever important to Trump?

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

BURKINA FASO DOOMSDAY REPORTS EXPLAINED

The mainstream media have presented a dire image of Burkina Faso in recent weeks. Western analysts suggest that the country’s military under President Ibrahim Traoré has failed to repel terrorists groups. Videos of armed militants have been circulated to reinforce the idea of a collapsing state. However, this narrative overlooks key developments and appears suspiciously timed, surfacing shortly after Traoré's public alignment with Russia and criticism of Western powers.

Continued……. The Burkinabe government asserts it is regaining control. Key indicators - such as a sharp drop in inflation and increased agricultural output - support that claim. Construction and infrastructure development further contradict the image of a failed state.

The supposed experts cited in panic-mongering reports often lack direct ties to the region and are backed by Western defence-funded think tanks or European Union institutions. This casts doubt on the true motive behind the doomsday reports.

As David Hundeyin (@davidhundeyin on IG) argues in this video, what’s being sold as news may actually be strategic disinformation designed to manipulate public opinion and justify foreign political agendas in West Africa. What’s your take?

Video credit to @HotSpotHotSpot (X)

Sources
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/al-qaeda-affiliate-claims-200-soldiers-killed-in-burkina-faso-attack/ar-AA1ER20Z

https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/BFA/burkina-faso/inflation-rate-cpi

https://www.aljazeera.com/program/featured-documentaries/2025/2/19/offensive-agricole-burkina-faso-africas-new-directions

https://africanpropertymagazine.com/2025/01/10/roofing-revolution-burkina-fasos-building-boom/

https://www.csis.org/people/beverly-ochieng

AFRICA LIBERATION DAY: GHANAIANS SUPPORT TRAORÉ AND AES

On 25 May, Ghanaians marched with slogans such as ‘Hands Off the AES!’, affirming their support for the recently formed Alliance of the Sahel States, comprising Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. In 2024, the trio exited the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc and formed the AES confederation after ousting Western-aligned leaders in people-backed coups d’état. They went on to expel former French colonial forces from their countries and reclaim natural resources from foreign entities.

Continued…….. The AES has become a powerful symbol of African resistance against neocolonialism and imperialist interference. Many view its leadership, particularly the charismatic Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traoré, embodying what the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU), should have been for the continent when it formed on 25 May 1963.

Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-72), envisioned an Africa united in name and action. He advocated for a sovereign continent where African countries would come together to restore the dignity of their people and integrate economically, socially, and politically. In his words, ‘No sporadic act nor pious resolution can resolve our present problems. Nothing will be of avail, except the united act of a united Africa.’

More than ever, we are witnessing a unity forged in a call to reject the betrayal of Nkrumah’s dream and to stand united against imperialism. Many are calling for a return to the visions of our ancestors, and the AES has come to represent more than a regional alliance. It has evolved into a movement of Africans globally. Being the most outspoken of the three leaders - alongside his revolutionary comrades, Mali’s Assimi Goïta and Niger’s Abdourahamane Tiani - Traoré has earned Africans’ loyalty and love for his razor-sharp stance against imperialism.

Video credits: @ghbrain_ (IG) & @magikal_gh (IG)

Sources

https://theconversation.com/ecowas-west-african-trade-bloc-shaken-as-three-member-states-withdraw-and-form-their-own-alliance-224209

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/487930/ECOWAS-France-The-chronicles-of-a-predator-and-its-prey

https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/politics-and-government/organization-african-unity-founded

https://gateteviews.rw/we-must-unite-now-or-perish-dr-kwame-nkrumah/

https://aes.ml

https://amaniafrica-et.org/the-withdrawal-of-aes-from-ecowas-an-opportunity-for-re-evaluating-existing-instruments-for-regional-integration/

https://www.blackagendareport.com/essay-why-africa-must-unite-kwame-nkrumah-1963

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/alliance-of-sahel-states-has-disrupted-the-balances-for-those-seeking-to-dominate-its-members-mali-s-foreign-minister/3527830

https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/op-ed/alliance-of-sahel-states-and-a-new-era-for-west-africa

https://www.blackagendareport.com/unwavering-wayiyans-bulletin-confederation-sahel-states

https://www.pambazuka.org/General-Langley’s%20Accusations

TOGO’S TRADITIONAL LEADERS PRAY FOR IBRAHIM TRAORE

Leaders of Togo’s traditional religions have chosen a representative among themselves to carry an essential message to the people of Burkina Faso: “We support President Ibrahim Traoré and will pray for his success and the prosperity of Burkina Faso.” These Togolese religious leaders are transmiting their message at a time when Africans around the world are raising their voices to call for the protection and defence of the revolutionary young Burkinabé leader.

This religious community and those who lead it are an essential cornerstone of Togolese culture and society. According to the United States government 2022 report on International Religious Freedom, about 36.9 per cent of Togo’s population practises African Traditional Religion (ATR), making it the second largest religion after Christianity. Thus, the call from these leaders to protect and defend President Traoré can potentially impact a significant sector of Togo’s population.

Continued……. On 21 April 2025, Burkina Faso foiled its sixth reported destabilisation plot, which reportedly targeted traditional and religious leaders, members of the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP), and the Burkina Faso Defence and Security Forces. Loyal soldiers and members of the VDP came forward to expose the plot before it could be executed Many frontline anti-Traoré plotters have since gone into hiding or have fled the country.

With all this going on, it is easy to understand the necessity of a worldwide movement calling for Traoré’s protection, prosperity, and support.

Have you attended any mobilisations or events in solidarity with Burkina Faso recently?

Video Credit: @L_Activiste226

Sources

https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/togo/

On 21 May, Uganda's Parliament passed a controversial bill to revive military tribunals to try civilians, only months after the East African country's highest court ruled the practice unconstitutional. 

President Yoweri Museveni supports military tribunals in cases of weapons possession, escalating fears that he would sign the bill into law, thus allowing Uganda's military to prosecute dissenting civilians in a country where political repression has intensified under Museveni’s four-decade rule. 

In January 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that the military should not try civilians and directed all such prosecutions to cease immediately. Many viewed the historic ruling as a rare victory for judicial independence. However, Museveni rejected the ruling, publicly rejecting the court’s directive. With this new legislation, he is moving to rewrite the law, restoring the army’s grip over civil justice.

Continued……. The bill introduced on 13 May allows military courts to try civilians for possessing arms, ammunition or military-grade equipment. Justice Minister Nobert Mao has said the bill seeks to redefine 'exceptional circumstances' that would lead military courts to try civilians. However, critics say the law is designed to be indefinite and opens up the possibility of wholesale abuse. 

The National Unity Platform (@nup_ug on IG), Uganda's main opposition party, condemned the bill, arguing the government will use it to persecute political opponents and anyone seen as a threat to state power. Two of Museveni’s most visible challengers, NUP 2021 presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (known as @bobiwine) and Dr Kizza Besigye (@kizzabesigye) of the Forum for Democratic Change (@fdcofficial_1), have faced military-style crackdowns for staging protests and speaking out against Museveni.

What might this bill mean for people's movements in Uganda? Let us know in the comments.

Sources

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/04/military-courts-the-front-line-of-ugandas-war-on-dissent/

https://www.facebook.com/NUPUgandaOfficial/photos/weve-always-called-out-on-the-regime-for-its-double-standards-and-the-use-of-mil/1007425961418089

https://www.facebook.com/NUPUgandaOfficial/photos/barely-three-months-after-the-supreme-court-judgement-nullified-the-trial-of-civ/1083735333787151/

https://apnews.com/article/uganda-opposition-trial-besigye-kidnapped-treachery-bcd411512fef33903b0c71c748ae663e#

https://apnews.com/article/uganda-opposition-besigye-kidnapped-poor-health-61cc83ee0f94aa9de1b95c05477bc2c4

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ugandas-parliament-introduces-bill-let-military-courts-try-civilians-2025-05-13/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/01/uganda-opposition-accuses-president-military-courts-quash-dissent

https://ugandatimes.ug/2025/02/01/museveni-rejects-supreme-court-ruling-pushes-for-military-trials-for-civilians/

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/uganda-plans-law-allow-military-prosecution-civilians-2025-04-18/

https://www.parliament.go.ug/news/3570/court-ruling-wasnt-release-order-mao

https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/22/uganda-passes-bill-allowing-military-trials-civilians