Continued….. His distinct and powerful voice brought to life King Mufasa in the Lion King and will always be remembered as that of Star Wars supervillain Darth Vader.

Jones was born 17th January 1931 in Arkabutla. He was the son of boxer and actor Robert Earl Jones and Ruth Williams, a tailor. Early in life he had a stutter, something that he was determined to overcome. The Oscar-nominated actor said in a 2014 interview with The Times: “If I hadn’t been a stutterer, I would never have been an actor.”

In 1965, Jones became one of the first African-American actors in a continuing role on a daytime drama (As the World Turns). In 1971, he became the second Black man to have been nominated for an Academy Award for best actor, after Sidney Poitier.

Jones once said, “I realised early on, from people like Athol Fugard [an anti-apartheid South African playwright], that you cannot change anybody’s mind, no matter what you do … As a preacher, as a scholar, you cannot change their mind. But you can change the way they feel.”

Indeed, his performances have created powerful feelings in generations of theatre and movie goers. He will be deeply missed.

Rest easy, James Earl Jones!

Video credit: Fences, 1987, 46th Street Theatre

WHAT ARE RUSSIA’S INTERESTS IN THE SAHEL?

People often point out Africans should be cautious about trading with Russia because Russia has its interests in mind. African Stream’s Inemesit Richardson argues in a recent episode of ‘This Week in Africa’ that it’s normal for countries to look out for themselves. While geopolitics and trade are rarely built upon selflessness and deep love, mutually beneficial interests can drive partnerships in the best of cases. 

In the case of African countries that recently underwent revolutions that ousted Western-aligned leaders, such as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, they have not turned to Russia because they adore Russian culture but because they value Russia’s support in the areas of security and defence as well as Russia’s technological know-how. Is a Russian-built gold refinery that allows Mali to transform golden nuggets into sparkling metal worth giving Russia a bit of unrefined gold? Most people in the country think so. 

Continued……It brings to mind the old adage, ‘Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.’ With Russia’s support, these African countries plan to depend significantly less on Russia, the West and the rest of the world. 

Is this deal with Russia better than exporting raw materials abroad to import the finished goods at a higher price? Let us know in the comments.

To watch the complete conversation, head to our YouTube channel’s playlist for ‘This Week in Africa’ for the episode noscriptd ‘US, Ukraine, France Failed Coup In Burkina Faso | The West Is Trying To Destabilize AES.’

Often we talk about racism, or White supremacy, as if it is a question of attitude or individual bias. But in reality, as the late revolutionary Kwame Ture reminds us, it’s always a question of power. The only way Africans can counter its devastating effects, he claims, is by gaining power through the "organised masses."

A strong proponent of socialism, Ture once said that "anti-colonialism is nothing but anti-capitalism, because colonialism is nothing but an offshoot, an aspect of capitalism." Therefore, he thinks, "if you are anti-colonialism, you must be anti-capitalism."

According to a study by the Centre for Economic Policy Research (pinned), before the colonial project - where Europe, through capitalist expansion, extracted vast amounts of wealth from its colonies - there was "little inequality and small differences between poor and rich countries," a gap that has since deepened and widened substantially.

Continued….. Ture argued that the emancipation of all Africans globally is directly tied to a powerful Africa.

The question remains: how does Africa regain enough power to clip the wings of White supremacy? And relatedly: what economic system serves Africans best? Your views in the comments are always appreciated.

BURKINA FASO STRONGMAN BREAKS WORLD RECORD AGAIN

Does Burkina Faso have the world’s strongest man?
Its star athlete ‘Iron Biby’ has just broken his own world record for log lifting by hoisting 231 kilograms above his head!

He’s a man-mountain and, as you’ll see from these pictures, stunned the crowd at the World Log Lift in the UK last weekend.

Biby, who’s real name is Cheick Ahmed Al-Hassan Sanou, also holds the world record for the most number of overhead presses in a minute.

It’s hard to believe he was bullied at school, lol. And he’s now been embraced by his country’s President Ibrahim Traoré who posted on X: “This victory by our Stallion, Burkina Faso’s ambassador in this discipline, testifies to the resilience and determination of the Burkinabe people to stand firm in the face of adversity and continue to meet the challenges of their march towards happiness.

Continued….. May our hero’s victory not only bring the people of Burkina Faso together, but also stir our patriotic spirit in the defence of our homeland and fuel the courage of our fighting forces as they battle to regain our territory and our total sovereignty.”

A leaked Israeli Foreign Ministry cable reveals Tel Aviv is lobbying US members of Congress to pressure South Africa to drop its g*nocide case against Israel at the UN’s top court.

US-based news outlet, Axios, claims it’s seen the message disclosing Israel wants Congress to threaten Pretoria with ‘consequences’ should it persist with the case at the International Court of Justice.

Israeli officials are reportedly hopeful that South Africa’s new coalition government, which was formed after elections in May, will take a different approach to the war in Gaza.

In its January ruling, the ICJ found it plausible that Israel’s acts could amount to g*nocide and ordered Israel takes steps to prevent g*nocidal acts.

Continued……They included preventing and punishing incitement to g*nocide, ensuring aid and services reach Palestinians under siege in Gaza, and preserving evidence of crimes committed in Gaza.

Israeli military operations in Gaza have k*lled over 40,000 Palestinians, primarily women and children, and virtually flattened the besieged enclave. In a July report, The Lancet, a British medical journal, estimated the death toll could be more than 186,000.

South Africa has until 28 October 2024 to present to the ICJ its reasons for continuing legal action against Israel over alleged violations of the G*nocide Convention. Israel rejects the accusations.

Do you think South Africa’s new coalition government will drop its case at the ICJ?

DO MULTINATIONALS CONTROL NIGERIA’S CRUDE-OIL MARKET?

With Nigeria’s new Dangote refinery online and producing gasoline, talks with the authorities on what the market price should be are still underway. Nigeria has heaps of crude (i.e., unrefined) oil but accessing it hasn’t been straightforward for Dangote - even though the local market desperately needs petroleum products and the country wastes fortunes importing them. In this clip, a Ghanaian activist sheds light on why oil multinationals have an interest in ensuring the price of Nigerian crude is hiked for Dangote - alleging also they pull the strings behind the scenes. Do you think Dangote will be (allowed to be) a success?

Video credit: @kofialiabdul

IBRAHIM TRAORÉ’S MESSAGE TO BURKINA FASO’S CHILDREN

On 23 August, President Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso delivered a simple message to children: Work hard and love your country. 

Burkina Faso is a state in Africa’s Sahel region, where shrubs dot the arid landscape. After a successful military coup d’état that ousted a Western-aligned leader in 2022, it has been working to increase productivity, development and national sovereignty. And everybody has a role to play. 

Children may not be able to do the work of adults, but Traoré pushes back by encouraging them to help their parents.

Outsiders may be shocked to see children able to navigate farmlands or forestlands with a machete at hand. However, for many people like Traoré, raised within Burkinabé culture, children have household responsibilities and obligations known in the West as ‘chores.’

Continued……They are also taught important skills that are necessary to thrive in their societies, such as cooking, farming and basic commerce. Education in pre-colonial Africa was hands-on and based on experiential learning. Traditional African education was not built around a classroom and a chalkboard, but rather upon farming tools, cooking utensils, and other equipment. Many would also learn to read and write through the study of religious texts.

In contemporary Western society, children live atomised lives, separated from the ‘adult world,’ with restrictions on where children can go and what they can do. However, in much of Africa, children are tied around their mother’s torso from the moment they are born, travelling everywhere on a daily basis and developing maturity, self-confidence, and social skills at a young age. 

Video credit: @rtburkina (IG and X) @rtbgroup (TikTok)

LAUGH OR CRY? HOW CORRUPTION WORKS

In this skit, Kenyan content creator @crazy_kennar uses humour to highlight a serious issue affecting his country: rampant corruption.

It’s plagued the country ever since independence.

Kenya’s first president (from 1964-1978) Jomo Kenyatta got the ball rolling - allegedly securing one sixth of European-settler land for himself and his family at knock-down prices, according to a Truth and Reconciliation Commission report. This land had been set aside for settling Africans who had none of their own or who had suffered at the hands of colonisers. His close political allies and his successor, Daniel Arap Moi, also benefitted from this kind of land grabbing.

Under Moi (1978-2002), there was the infamous Goldenberg scandal - a fraud involving gold exports that cost the country a whopping $600 million.

Continued……Under the watch of President Mwai Kibaki’s administration (2003-2013) occurred the Anglo-Leasing scandal, where government contracts for a new passport-printing system were awarded to phantom companies. Millions went missing.

The corruption scandals kept coming when it was Uhuru Kenyatta’s turn to lead (2013-2022): over $7 million earmarked for youth-empowerment projects were embezzled; a Eurobond worth $2 billion went largely unaccounted for - with allegations the lion’s share was funnelled into private accounts; much of the money for the construction of two dams was misappropriated - with high-ranking government officials implicated; and there was the so-called ‘Covid millionaires’ scandal, which saw funds meant for the procurement of PPE find its way into government officials’ pockets.

And today William Ruto looks like he is doing his best to keep the tradition alive. His ‘hustler fund’ was meant to provide financial support to small businesses in Kenya but became mired in allegations of irregularities relating to pay-outs.

With such an atrocious track record, sometimes it’s better to laugh than to cry.

RACIST REPUBLICANS INSULT HAITIANS

The Republican Party in the United States has earned a reputation for insulting and disparaging Black people and immigrants. 

This time, their targets are Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. Things spiralled out of control when Republican vice-president candidate J.D. Vance popularised a rumour that the Haitian community in the Ohio city are stealing and eating pets, such as cats, as well as wild ducks. This claim is baseless and rooted in racist stereotypes designed to make Haitian people seem uncivilised. The rumour spread like wildfire among other Republicans and supporters of controversial Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Continued……This is not the first time Republicans have been racist toward Haitians. Trump famously referred to Haiti as a sh*thole country in 2018. 

Even worse, Republican and Democratic politicians have made life in Haiti worse through an interventionist foreign policy that has consistently backed leaders never chosen by the Haitian people. Last time Trump was in office, he ended the Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, putting nearly 58,700 migrants at risk for deportation.