NPR News -Africa

May 24, 20247:35 AM ET
A woman wearing a shirt of African Congress for Transformation party looks at other parties’ election posters in Sharpeville, South Africa, on March 21.

Olympia De Maismont/AFP via Getty Images

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Olympia De Maismont/AFP via Getty Images

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — It’s autumn in South Africa, where election season is in full swing and the streets are plastered with campaign posters of smiling politicians promising “A Job In Every Home” or to “Rescue South Africa”.
It is 30 years since the country’s first democratic elections, in which the Black majority were able to vote for the first time, ushering in anti-apartheid hero and global icon Nelson Mandela as president. It was a heady time then, at the advent of the “Rainbow Nation,” and full of optimism
Three decades later, in many ways things haveimproved. South Africa is a vibrant democracy with a free and fearless press an..

President Biden greets Kenya’s President William Ruto at the South Portico of the White House on May 22. The two leaders met with a group of tech CEOs the day before the official state visit.

Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

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Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

President Biden welcomed Kenya’s President William Ruto for a state visit on Thursday, a trip aimed at showing his administration wants to deepen U.S. ties with the African continent.
As part of a long list of new agreements with Kenya, Biden announced he plans to designate the country as a major non-NATO ally, which comes with some defense trade benefits.
World Haiti’s notorious gang leader, Barbecue, says his forces are ready for a long fightKenya will be the first sub-Saharan African nation to receive the designation, which recognizes the country’s contributions to counterterrorism work, and its work leading a multinational force in Haiti.
The Biden administration is backi..

May 22, 20249:38 AM ET

The ZiG is Zimbabwe’s latest currency — yet another attempt to unravel the economic catastrophes of the past decades. (Story aired on All Things Considered on May 21, 2024.)

May 22, 20245:13 AM ET

NPR’s Leila Fadel speaks with William O’Neill, the United Nations independent expert on Human Rights in Haiti, about the Kenyan-led multinational force deploying to Haiti to help restore order there.

May 21, 20246:02 PM ET

The ZiG is Zimbabwe’s latest currency — yet another attempt to unravel the economic catastrophes of the past decades. According to many there, it’s every bit as baffling as its predecessors.

May 21, 20245:35 PM ET

NPR’s Ari Shapiro talks with Cindy MCcain, executive director of the World Food Programme, about her current trip to Zambia, where people are enduring a severe drought and going hungry.

May 21, 20245:12 AM ET

South Africa’s constitutional court has ruled that former president Jacob Zuma, one of the most divisive political figures in the country, is not allowed to participate in next week’s election.

May 20, 20245:31 PM ET

Questions are mounting about a failed coup attempt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo over the weekend that involved several U.S. citizens.

May 20, 202411:11 AM ET
Enlarge this imageFormer South African President Jacob Zuma arrives at Orlando stadium in the township of Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, for the launch of his newly formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party’s manifesto Saturday, May 18, 2024.

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Former South African President Jacob Zuma arrives at Orlando stadium in the township of Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, for the launch of his newly formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party’s manifesto Saturday, May 18, 2024.

Jerome Delay/AP

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – The Constitutional Court in South Africa has ruled that former President Jacob Zuma cannot run for parliament, just 9 days before what’s being seen as the most pivotal vote in South Africa’s 30 years of democracy.
It’s a significant blow for Zuma and his new uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which is named after the former armed wing of his previous party, the ruling African National Congress. ..

May 20, 20245:00 AM ET
Enlarge this imageRwanda’s post-genocide transformation has been remarkable, but uneven.

Jacques Nkinzingabo for NPR

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Jacques Nkinzingabo for NPR

Rwanda’s post-genocide transformation has been remarkable, but uneven.

Jacques Nkinzingabo for NPR

KIGALI, Rwanda — Staring at the skyline in this city, you can’t miss the tiered dome of the Kigali Convention Center. At night, its blue, yellow and green lights can be seen from the surrounding hilltops.
Completed in 2016, it’s known to be the most expensive building on the African continent, and a project that’s special to Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Staff inside the complex say he comes by “every day” to check on the progress. While that’s almost certainly an exaggeration, the building is one of the most visible signs of the ways in which the country has changed since Kagame came to power in the years after the brutal genocide shocked the world.
Yet that transformation ..