AFROBEAT’S ACTIVIST DADDY

It’s time to Felabrate! Nigerian music legend Fela Kuti - the father of Afrobeat - was born on this day in 1938. Every year, Nigerians hold Felabration - a festival launched by his eldest daughter Yeni, celebrating his incredible life, legacy and music.

The genre he created has now gone global, but while he was alive, he faced repression from Nigeria’s military leaders - whom he taunted with songs such as 1977’s Zombie.

He spoke up for human rights in Nigeria, calling out corruption and also colonialism, which he identified as the root cause of Africa’s socio-economic and political problems.

Here’s a quick look back at the man and his music. Let us know which of his tunes you like most in the comments!

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RAMAPHOSA: APARTHEID GHOST HAUNTS SOUTH AFRICA

Black South Africans are frequently told to "let the past go" and stop blaming the apartheid system for the social and economic ills that affect the country today. But many South Africans, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, say they cannot just "move on" because the effects of apartheid-era laws are still felt to this day. Here, Ramaphosa highlights how banning Black people from studying certain academic subjects still haunts the country nearly three decades after the end of apartheid.

Let us know what you think in the comments.

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AFRICAN JEWS - NOT JEWISH ENOUGH ?

The Israel-Hamas war has again brought the Palestinian struggle into focus. However, the acute discrimination faced by thousands of Ethiopian Jews is often ignored. Many arrived in Israel decades ago after a push by Tel Aviv to relocate them to the ‘Promised Land.’ But since then, they’ve become one the county’s most impoverished and marginalised communities.

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SANKARA ASSASSINATION SCANDAL

Thomas Sankara was one of Africa's greatest leaders. We remember his life and his legacy but we also pose some serious questions about his death. While the CIA and France have been asked to disclose their records, much still remains classified. How was Thomas Sankara assassinated? Who was involved? Here's what we know so far...


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COMMEMORATING SANKARA'S LIFE

Burkina Faso’s Pan-African president and national hero Thomas Sankara was assassinated on this day in 1987 in the capital Ouagadougou. A hit squad also killed 12 of his comrades.

In 2015, their bodies were exhumed by investigators looking into the killings. They were given a proper burial last year by Burkina Faso under the leadership of a man many see as Sankara’s successor, Ibrahim Traoré. This clip revisits the ceremony and includes comment from Sankara’s uncle about its significance.

Thomas Sankara came to power in a coup in 1983, and his pro-people policies endeared him to the nation. He understood that Africa's problems were a result of systemic issues, such as debt. In an address to the Organisation of African Unity in 1987, he argued passionately for defaulting on international loans - but also made clear that solidarity was key.

Continued…. COMMEMORATING SANKARA'S LIFE

Presciently, he warned that, should he go it alone, he wouldn't be alive for the next meeting. His dark prophecy came to pass two months later.

In the four years he was in power, however, he did a lot for Burkina Faso. Before climate change was at the forefront of everybody’s minds, Sankara embarked on a massive afforestation campaign.

He understood the integral role played by women, and famously said, “The revolution and women’s liberation go together. We do not talk of women’s emancipation as an act of charity or out of a surge of human compassion. It is a basic necessity for the revolution to triumph.”

His incredible journey was cut short by the man he called his brother - Blaise Compaoré - who was sentenced in absentia to life in 2022 for complicity in the 1987 assassination plot.

Sankara’s legacy lives on. Not only did Burkina Faso’s new government give him a proper burial, it’s also planning to rename a major city artery Boulevard Thomas Sankara (from Boulevard Charles de Gaulle - a fitting symbolism).

Rest in power, our revolutionary ancestor!

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THE WEST NEEDS AFRICA!

The West has always misrepresented Africa as a continent of poverty and in dire need of saving. But, in fact, it’s quite the opposite—the West desperately needs Africa for its resources. The reason Western powers scramble for dominance in Africa is for what the continent has that the West can’t duplicate. As filmmaker and writer Mallence Bart-Williams explains, the West destabilized wealthy African nations and their systems to sell the narrative that Africa is poor, dying and surviving only because of the mercy of the West. She points out that the West has nothing to offer, hence why they still have their teeth sunk in Africa soil. “Instead, you should come empty handed, filled with integrity and honour,” she says.

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MALEMA: SEVER TIES WITH ISRAEL!

Julius Malema, president of South African Pan-Africanist party the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has called for ties with Israel to be severed due to the Zionist state's relentless oppression of the Palestinian people. He showed no hesitation while calling for South African support of Palestinians and their right to self-determination.

Malema added the EFF’s beef with Israel is about their treatment of Palestinians, saying that he has no problem with Jewish people.

Let us know what you think in the comments.

🎥by: EFF

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MANDELA'S GRANDSON LEADS PALESTINE SOLIDARITY MARCH

Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, South African member of parliament and Nelson Mandela's grandson, led thousands of South Africans on 13 October in Cape Town to rally support for Palestinians over the most recent Israel-Hamas conflict. He encouraged South Africans to stand in solidarity with Palestinians because they supported Black South Africans in the fight for liberation against apartheid. He also called for the South African government to cancel the flight permits of Israeli national air carrier El-Al. South Africa has close relations with Palestine. It established full diplomatic relations with the State of Palestine on 15 February 1995.

Continued…. MANDELA'S GRANDSON LEADS PALESTINE SOLIDARITY MARCH

Nelson Mandela toured Gaza in 1999 and urged Israel to withdraw from all the areas it occupied after the 1967 war with neighboring Arab states, and in particular to withdraw completely from the Golan Heights, from south Lebanon and from the West Bank.

Let us know what you think of Mandela's remarks.

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SOUTH AFRICA'S PRESIDENT PLEDGES PALESTINIAN SOLIDARITY

On 14 October, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa lambasted the Israeli government's orders for over one million people in Gaza to move south in preparation for a ground invasion, describing it as a genocide in the making. While standing in the South African province of Gauteng, Ramaphosa also expressed his support for the Palestinian people and conveyed his country's willingness to contribute to the resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict based on a two-state solution. It echoes a recent joint communiqué by the African Union and Arab League.

Continued.... SOUTH AFRICA'S PRESIDENT PLEDGES PALESTINIAN SOLIDARITY

Following an incursion by Palestinians into occupied Palestinian territories on 7 October, Israel has responded disproportionately. It has dropped more than 6,000 bombs into the densely packed Gaza Strip, killing thousands, mostly women and children. Hospitals have been overwhelmed, with key medical supplies exhausted. In what has received widespread condemnation for being collective punishment—a war crime—Israel shut down water, food and electricity supply to Gaza.

South Africa’s stance on Palestine is continuation of a long-running tradition of solidarity. South Africa credits international solidarity for playing a part in the defeat of apartheid, a situation Palestine finds itself in today, according to multiple human rights organizations. Palestinians are discriminated against on their own land, heavily surveilled and are denied freedom of movement. Israel is building settlements on existing Palestinian villages, and has ignored countless international calls to respect Palestinian rights.

South Africa is one of a growing number of countries putting out international calls for a just conclusion to the Palestinian question. Other states include Egypt and Algeria in Africa, as well as Iran and Saudi Arabia, which might just have to press pause on normalisation of ties with Israel.

Let us know what you think about Ramaphosa's remarks.

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Australia’s Aborigines have suffered oppression that’s similar to the kind that was visited on Africans during colonialism’s height.

Since the establishment of the European settler colony of Australia on 29th April, 1770, there have been over 400 recorded instances of massacres of Aboriginal peoples and over 26 documented mass poisonings.

From the 19th century to the 1970s, Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families and placed in abusive institutions that stripped them of their culture and human dignity.

On 14th October, 2023 Australia held a historic referendum concerning Aboriginal peoples known as ‘the Voice.’ This would have led to the creation of a special leadership structure to represent the interests of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders within the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth. Aboriginal peoples organised and campaigned tirelessly in support of this referendum.

However, Australians voted ‘no.’

EGYPTIANS DONATE BLOOD FOR GAZA VICTIMS

The state of Egypt launched a blood donation campaign on 12 October to support Palestinians that have been wounded in the conflict that broke out on 7 October in the Gaza Strip between Palestinian resistance group Hamas and the Zionist state of Israel. The campaign was launched under the slogan, 'A drop of blood equals a life.' According to local media, the campaign is part of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi government's initiative to support neighbouring Palestine amid the armed conflict with Israel. Egypt has historically supported Palestine, including going to war thrice with Israel. However, with the 1980 normalisation of relations between Egypt and Israel, many have questioned the Arab state's solidarity with Palestine. As of press time, about 2,750 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis had been reported dead since the conflict began.

Let us know what you think about this initiative.

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RSF ACCUSED OF ETHNIC CLEANSING

🚨 Eyes on West Darfur 🚨

As civil war in Sudan rages on, the African Masalit tribe is being targeted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary and its militia allies - in what is being described as ethnic cleansing.

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EUROPE LECTURES AFRICA ON HUMAN RIGHTS?

Former African Union ambassador Dr Arikana Chihombori-Quao recently called out European hypocrisy in preaching human rights to Africans after having committed heinous crimes against Africans. One of the greatest crimes committed by colonialists is in the Congo, where it is estimated up to 10 million Congolese were massacred by King Leopold II of Belgium. Britain and Germany also are guilty of imperial violence, with just a few examples being the genocide of Mau Mau freedom fighters in Kenya (1952-60) and colonial policies that caused the Maji Maji uprising and subsequent famine in Tanzania (1905-07).

Continued…. EUROPE LECTURES AFRICA ON HUMAN RIGHTS?

Other colonial powers, like France, continue to violate the rights of Africans through economic exploitation, requiring its former colonies to store their money in francs. To this day, the remains of Africans who were killed while fighting colonists can be found in Europe's museums. The speaker gave her remarks at the National Action Network Convention 2023, held 12-15 April 2023, in New York.

Let us know what you think in the comments.

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PANDOR’S SHOCK AT ISRAEL’S AU INCLUSION

For almost two decades after the disbandment and replacement of the Organization of African Unity by the African Union, Israel's attempts to join the continental body proved futile.

But in 2021, the chairman of the African Union Moussa Faki Mahamat unilaterally announced that the AU had granted observer status to Israel - despite several countries (Algeria, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa) opposing its accreditation.

Watch South Africa's Foreign Minister - speaking at the ongoing 3rd International Dilemmas of Humanity Conference in Johannesburg - relate the tense moment when she learnt of the plan to include Israel into the AU.

Continued....PANDOR’S SHOCK AT ISRAEL’S AU INCLUSION

Divisions in the Union over the Middle Eastern country's attempts to gain support and influence on our continent have deepened amid Tel Aviv’s indiscriminate war against Hamas. Naledi Pandor also urged African trade unions to speak out against Israel’s bombing of Gaza and the mounting civilian death toll.

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GHANA-US SAHEL PLAN?

This is a cringeworthy exchange.

It's Ghana’s president calling on the US to help address the threat of “Russian mercenaries” in West Africa.

Nana Akufo-Addo made the plea to Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a visit to Washington last December. And accuses Burkina Faso of employing private military firm Wagner.

But does Ghana’s Oxford-educated leader seriously think it's the region’s biggest danger?

Firstly, Ibrahim Traore’s administration denies the allegations.

Secondly, Burkina and neighbours Mali and Niger are battling a far greater security problem- an armed insurgency fuelled by the NATO-led bombing of Libya in 2011.

Thirdly, Western (mainly French) troops have failed miserably at tackling this threat - with 40 per cent of Burkina now controlled by terrorists.

Continued…GHANA-US SAHEL PLAN?

Fourthly, if Akufo-Addo doesn't want these nations looking elsewhere for security partnerships, shouldn’t he have sent his men to help their brothers?

And lastly, does he not know who overthrew Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah?

We seem to remember overwhelming evidence points to American involvement.

Ok, it was a long time ago, but forgive us for feeling Ghana’s inviting the fox into the chicken coop.

Thoughts please.

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