The flaw of capitalism is not a scarcity of wealth. It’s that, in practice, this wealth never trickles down to promote equality or equity. Instead, it’s hoarded by the few to consolidate their power and deepen social divides. Vast sums are channelled into conflict rather than invested in human dignity, justice and the well-being of all.

Today, the US-backed onslaught on Palestinians in the Occupied Territories since 7 October 2023 continues to devastate lives. The Lancet Medical Journal in 2024, projected an estimated 186,000 deaths could be attributed to the siege. Meanwhile, approximately 770,000 people in the US are without shelter or food - 32% of them are Black, while Black people make up just over 14% of the population. The official US poverty rate stands at 11.5% - with over 37-million Americans living in poverty.

Continued…….. Despite this, Israel remains the largest recipient of US aid since the Second World War. The US government continues to exploit the labour of the working class, heavily taxing it without delivering on health and other basics. Washington prefers to funnel resources into conflicts - including the recent unprovoked attacks on Iran - while US citizens endure hardship at home. Ironically, while Israelis benefit from universal healthcare, with free access to medical services, US citizens, whose taxes fund Israel’s wars of aggression, struggle. Over 44,000 die each year due to lack of insurance.

So, as African Stream draws to a close - largely because capital has been invested to ensure platforms like ours are suppressed - our final instalment of Wednesday’s Wisdom features a lyric from Tupac Shakur (Keep Ya Head Up, released 1993). His words remind us that our fight is for dignity - and against a political elite that possesses both the means and the will to perpetuate human suffering.

It’s vital that we remain resolute in our resistance and reclaim our futures from those determined to keep us divided and subdued.

Image credits: @misanharriman

Sources

https://nlihc.org/resource/hud-releases-2024-annual-homeless-assessment-report

https://www.debt.org/faqs/americans-in-debt/poverty-united-states

https://www.cfr.org/article/us-aid-israel-four-charts

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/trump-announces-israel-iran-ceasefire-2025-06-23/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/26/us-health-insurance-system-doctors

https://pnhp.org/news/lack-of-insurance-to-blame-for-almost-45000-deaths-study

https://www.internationalinsurance.com/health/systems/israel/

MOZAMBIQUE’S INDEPENDENCE GOLDEN JUBILEE

Today, Mozambique celebrates a golden jubilee - 50 years since it broke free from the chains of Portuguese colonial rule. It was on 25 June 1975 that nearly four centuries of colonial rule came to an end. However, freedom came only after a bitter armed struggle, spearheaded by Eduardo Mondlane, who led the Marxist Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (FRELIMO).

Mondlane was assassinated in 1969. His replacement was the charismatic guerrilla commander Samora Machel, who saw the struggle for independence from Portugal through to completion and became the country’s first post-colonial president.

Machel’s time in office was far from easy. He fought rebels from Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (RENAMO), who were backed by Malawi and racist regimes in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and South Africa.

Continued……. They targeted rural populations and destroyed key economic and social facilities, such as power stations and bridges, crippling Mozambique’s economy. This forced Machel to sign a non-aggression pact with the South African apartheid regime.

While Mozambique kept its end of the bargain, apartheid South Africa continued to support RENAMO through the Malawian government.

In 1986, Machel died in a suspicious plane crash over South Africa. Allegations of Pretoria’s involvement in the tragedy abounded.

In the following years, South Africa’s support for RENAMO dwindled. In 1992, the group signed a peace deal with FRELIMO to end the brutal civil war that had claimed more than a million lives.

Since then, Mozambique has enjoyed moderate economic growth and social development. Its biggest challenge is an insurgency that has been raging in the country’s Cabo Delgado region since 2017.

However, with the resilience and tenacity they have shown in the past, we are confident that the people of Mozambique will triumph over this challenge too.

Here’s to 50 years of Mozambican independence - may the next 50 shine even brighter! A luta Continua!

Kenya's transformation into an authoritarian police state progresses apace. The Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) has issued a directive banning all live coverage of protests in the country. Broadcasters will face regulatory penalties if they defy the order. Media-freedoms defenders say the measure is intended to control the narrative and hide state brutality from public view.

The ban comes amid widespread rallies marking the one-year anniversary of a massive protest in Nairobi. On 25 June 2024, Kenyans, particularly from the ranks of Gen Z, erupted in protest against planned tax hikes pushed for by the IMF. What began as economic dissent quickly escalated. Protesters stormed parliament, and state forces responded with lethal brutality. At least 60 people were killed and dozens more went missing, according to rights groups. The crackdown sparked demands for justice, police reform and accountability.

Continued……Today's protests across the country have brought together thousands of Kenyans commemorating the fallen and decrying ongoing injustices and police brutality. They want justice for the victims of the protests in 2024, as well as for more recent victims - including blogger Albert Ojwang, who died in police custody (with signs of torture), and vendor Boniface Kariuki, who was shot in the face during a rally.

This isn't the first time that CAK has ordered a stop to live coverage during protests across the country. In 2018, major TV stations were taken off the air to stop them broadcasting the mock inauguration ceremony of opposition leader Raila Odinga - amid unrest over disputed, and boycotted, elections (won by incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta with 98%!).

Sources

https://www.reuters.com/article/world/kenyan-tv-stations-to-stay-shut-after-covering-opposition-inauguration-idUSKBN1FK1JK/

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2025-06-25-ca-orders-stop-to-live-coverage-of-protests?

Seen today in Nairobi, Kenya.

Credit: @thecurejsoul on IG

ELDER: AES TRIO HAS GIVEN ME HOPE

In case you had doubts about the impact and potential of the revolution in the Alliance of Sahel States, listen to this elder explain exactly how much it means to him. Speaking at a recent meeting in New York in support of the bloc, he related how he had resigned himself to the idea that he would never see the African revolution in his own lifetime. But the transformative events in the Sahel have become a source of pride and joy for him. He is aware of representation politics as a tool for subduing activism among the masses - former US president Barack Obama is a notable example. The Sahel is different.

Continued……. These are not just token Black faces, but leaders intent on rewriting the African story - from victims of centuries of subjugation to a strong dignified people. They have taken control of their resources and ended military occupation by the West. The task now is to build a new Africa.

Have a listen and please share your thoughts.

Video credit: @marcus_herve on X

Sources
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/12/how-barack-obama-failed-black-americans/511358/

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/mali-adopts-new-mining-code-boost-sectors-contribution-gdp-mines-ministry-2023-08-08/

https://www.ft.com/content/c677935b-ab2b-4cc4-914f-6b67f2c24183

https://energyinafrica.com/news/orano-plans-exit-from-nigers-uranium-market/

https://apnews.com/article/niger-france-sahel-coup-troops-security-macron-97c8ccfe880169832965c33e96d7befe

https://www.france24.com/en/france/20220217-live-macron-holds-conference-on-sahel-engagement-as-france-poised-to-withdraw-troops-from-mali

Continued……Yet, despite the overwhelming evidence continuously linking Abu Dhabi to the an entire nation’s destruction, there remains no accountability to deter it - and its puppets like Kenyan - from further prolonging the war.

Sources

https://nation.africa/kenya/news/-kenya-s-arms-in-sudan-war--508274 8

https://kenyanforeignpolicy.com/how-hosting-rsfs-government-landed-kenya-in-a-diplomatic-quagmire/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-21/kenya-said-to-receive-uae-loan-of-1-5-billion-next-week

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-03/kenya-serves-as-a-hub-for-smuggled-gold-from-region-report-says

https://www.newarab.com/news/sudan-army-accuses-kenya-funnelling-weapons-rsf

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/5/icj-dismisses-sudans-genocide-case-alleging-uae-backing-of-rsf-rebels