Tunisian human-rights defender Saadia Mosbah has been arrested and taken into custody after she condemned the anti-migrant rhetoric of the country’s president. She’s been a vocal critic of the Tunisian authorities’ mistreatment of sub-Saharan migrants and a champion of the latter’s cause.

In his latest tirade, President Kais Saied accused organisations such as the one headed by Mosbah of treason. Her group offers assistance to migrants who try to use Tunisia as a gateway to Europe. The official reason for her arrest is suspicion of financial crimes, and her group was already under police investigation.

Continued….. Tunisia is a popular departure point for thousands of migrants crossing the Mediterranean in hope of a better life abroad (the poverty back home, of course, often being causally rooted in European imperialism - from slavery and colonisation, to today’s neo-colonialism). The Tunisian authorities have responded with a crackdown that’s seen forced deportations into the desert without water, resulting in multiple deaths. Tensions with locals are also high, fanned by inflammatory rhetoric from the president.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

On this day, 30 years ago, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa’s first Black and democratically elected president. Two weeks earlier, more than 22-million South Africans had gone to the polls in the country’s first truly democratic elections. Mandela’s party, the African National Congress (ANC), which for decades had been the country’s leading liberation movement, convincingly won - thereby ending more than three centuries of racist rule by White settler colonialists.

Just a few years earlier, the ANC had still been outlawed, having been declared a terrorist organisation - with most of its senior leaders, including Mandela, jailed by the apartheid regime. In 1990, internal and external pressure saw the regime lift its ban on the ANC and free its top brass. This ushered a new era in the country’s history. Between 1990 and 1994, the ANC and the apartheid regime entered into intense negotiations regarding the future of the country, which resulted in elections on 27th April, 1994.

Continued…. Some South Africans fault some of the agreements struck during these negotiations as the cause of the country’s current social and economic woes. White people continue to hold the lion’s share of the nation’s wealth, despite making up less than 10% of the population.

The failure to completely break down the apartheid-era economic system has been the biggest blemish on the legacy of the ANC and Mandela. However, what is not in dispute is that the end of apartheid and the ANC’s ascension to power is a milestone worthy of honour, despite the fact that the road ahead for Black South Africa is still long. ‘A luta continua!’ (‘The struggle continues!’)

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

BLACK PEOPLE ARE AFRICAN PERIOD!

In recent years there’s been a new wave of conversation touching on the complexities of Black identity.

In particular, there’s debate surrounding those who distance themselves from their African roots by describing themselves as ‘Black in America’.

The sister in this video gives her opinion on picking and choosing certain aspects of African culture. She touches on the history of slavery, and why Black people should embrace rather than ignore their rich heritage. Listen in.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

US MARINES TRAINED HAITI DEATH SQUADS

The Tonton Macoute were a notorious death squad that terrorised civilians in Haiti from 1959 to 1986. In this video, one witness, US businessman Bush Ashton, talks about the US marines’ involvement in training these violent forces. The Tonton Macoute played a major role in shaping the Duvalier era in Haiti. François Duvalier, also known as Papa Doc, ruled over Haiti from 1957 until his death in 1971. His son, Jean-Claude Duvalier, also known as ‘Baby Doc,’ then took over and continued in his father’s brutal legacy until he was overthrown in a popular insurrection in 1986.

Continued….. The United States maintained a close relationship with the Duvaliers, lending the regime direct support in order to combat the potential spread of communism. According to the New York Times, the United States sent Duvalier $13-million a year in aid by 1961, the equivalent to half of Haiti’s national budget. By the time Duvalier was overthrown, the US had sent roughly $900-million to his government.

This video delves into another aspect of US support for the Papa and Baby Doc, the funding of their personal death squads...

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

MANDELA: YOUR ENEMIES ARE NOT OUR ENEMIES!

Three decades ago today, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa’s first democratically elected president.

His party, the African National Congress, had emerged victorious in the country’s first truly democratic elections, officially ending decades of settler oppression of Black people.

It was a watershed moment in the history of the country and in the life of a man who had spent 27 years in prison after being jailed by the racist regime in the early 1960s for his anti-apartheid activities.

The mainstream media, when reflecting on Mandela’s legacy, always omits the fact that he remained loyal to those who supported the anti-apartheid struggle. As he famously told his Western detractors: ‘Your enemies are not our enemies!‘

Watch him deliver that line here in this iconic clip - in which he demolishes a critic who tried to get him to disown leaders despised by Western nations. Do you cheer his remarks as loudly as the audience does here?

PAKISTANI BRIT PRAISES BLACK MEN FOR SHAPING HIM

How much cultural, social and political force do Africans positively exert on other communities?

Listen as UK-based Pakistani social media influencer Sa’ad Mustafā (@saadmustafauk) describes boxer and activist Muhammad Ali (1942-2016) and Pan-Africanist Malcolm X’s (1925-65) influence. Mustafā said these African elders helped him develop confidence and encouraged him to learn about his own people’s history to understand himself. It is a testament to Africans’ power to inspire the world to embrace higher ideals.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

REACTING TO U.S. ‘ACCESS AND INFLUENCE’ IN AFRICA

On their new weekly collaborative series, Inem Richardson, a journalist at African Stream, and Joe Hotagua, founder of @authentic_african, talk about much-discussed news stories.

In their 29 April livestream, ‘US MILITARY KICKED OUT OF CHAD?’ they dug into US military intervention in Africa, the history of neo-colonialism in Chad, as well as stories about imperialism, capitalism, and the food industry in Africa.

In this clip from that stream, Richardson reacted to US Africa Command head Michael Langley explaining why the United States has a military presence in Africa.

The full video is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJXbnQb6Svg

Catch the show at 3 p.m. EAT (East Africa Time) on Mondays.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

RESILIENCE IN RHYTHM

On 10th May, 1740, South Carolina enacted the Negro Act, which banned the use of the drum among enslaved Africans. African Stream journalist Salifu Mack explores how enslaved Africans, stripped of their right to drum, ingeniously preserved their heritage. Fast-forward to today, the legacy echoes through the halls of Kingstree High School in South Carolina. Students reclaim the drum as a symbol of pride, defiance and cultural identity. Hear from these young voices as they share what the drum means to them, weaving a narrative of resilience, heritage and the relentless pursuit of freedom.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

DRC: ‘M23 REBELS’? READ RWANDAN & UGANDAN TROOPS

Our Pan-African Attitude podcast recently had the privilege of hosting Claude Gatebuka - a Rwandan gen*cide survivor, who shared his insights into the currently dire situation in DR Congo.

In this clip, he explains how the term ‘M23’ - used to refer to the chief rebel group operating inside eastern DRC - is really synonymous with Rwandan and Ugandan military personnel who, in partnership with local militia, are fighting against Kinshasa and alleged gen*cide perpetrators.

Continued…. The M23 has evolved since its founding in 2012, when about 300 mainly ethnic Tutsi soldiers in the DR Congo army mutinied, citing poor work conditions and Kinshasa’s failure to implement a 2009 peace deal with the CNDP militia. The M23 took its name from the date of that peace accord: March 23rd. In December last year, a UN report concluded that Rwanda supports the M23 with cash and weapons.

Have a watch, let us know your thoughts, and if you’re interested in hearing more from the ever insightful Gatebuka, the full podcast episode is up on YouTube.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

SOUTH AFRICA WHITE OPPOSITION BURNS NATIONAL FLAG

South Africa’s white-dominated opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has ignited a storm with an advertisement that shows a burning South African flag.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the video as ‘treasonous’ and the ‘most despicable political act that anyone can embark upon.’ He added the act was not illegal, but it was in bad taste as the flag symbolises national unity and triumph against the oppressive apartheid system that ruled until the early 1990s.

The DA has, however, defended the move, saying the advertisement is designed to show South Africans what would happen if the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is re-elected on 29 May, or enter an alliance with the Julius Malema-led Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) or the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, led by long-time ANC president (2007-17) and former South African President Jacob Zuma (2009-18).

Continued…. Some sections of the white population have publicly expressed their preference for the old apartheid flag. Reports have indicated the flag’s display at mostly white events and functions.

In 2019, the country’s Equality Court ruled that ‘gratuitous displays’ of the apartheid-era flag amounted to hate speech and discrimination, adding that it is a ‘vivid symbol of white supremacy and Black disenfranchisement and suppression.’ The Supreme Court of Appeals upheld that decision last month. 

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

‘WORLD SEES AFRICA AS ONE BIG ZOO’

One big Zoo. That’s how the world views Africa, according to pan-African scholar PLO Lumuba.

The West cares more about Africa’s animals than the continent’s people unless it wants to extract our resources. Only by understanding this fact will Africans begin taking good care of themselves instead of waiting for outside help.

Lumumba always speaks with clarity, and this observation roars the truth as far as we’re concerned. Do you also think his analysis is spot on?

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

WHY ARE AFRICANS LEAVING SAUDI ARABIA?

Life has got harder for the African diaspora in Saudi Arabia since the rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (aka MBS). In this clip, a young Eritrean man - as guest on the Repat podcast (all about repatriating the diaspora) - explains why he and his family felt the need to relocate to Uganda. He says that, while life was pretty good before, new rules made it far too expensive, while job opportunities began disappearing.

Do you (or someone you know) have any similar experiences? Anyone out there thinking of returning to the continent?

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

IS AFRICA 'NATO'S SOUTHERN FLANK?'

In this clip, we see African Stream journalist Inem Richardson reacting to US Africa Command head Michael Langley referring to North Africa as NATO's 'southern flank.'

This was from the 29 April livestream, 'US MILITARY KICKED OUT OF CHAD?' when Richardson and Joe Hotagua, founder of @authentic_african, dug into US military intervention in Africa, the history of neo-colonialism in Chad, as well as stories about imperialism, capitalism, and the food industry in Africa.

The complete video is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJXbnQb6Svg

Catch the show at 3 p.m. EAT (East Africa Time) on Mondays.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio

BOB MARLEY: I AM AFRICAN

Pan-African musical icon Bob Marley died on this day in 1981 and it is important to remind the world that Bob Marley always identified as an African first. When US journalist Gil Noble sat down in 1980 with Bob Marley, 1 year before died, he asked whether he felt more Jamaican or African. The legendary reggae musical icon had an interesting response that should make Africans in the diaspora rethink their relationship with their motherland. Let us know what you think of Marley's answer.

Please follow us on Telegram, Link in Bio