African journalism.

28 OCTOBER 2023 | ISSUE 139

with

Don’t forget about Sudan

Illustration: Wynona Mutisi
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 2

Inside:
■ Kenya: The family of a woman
allegedly murdered by soldiers
want an audience with the British
king (p7)
■ Rugby: The world’s #1 team is
African (p9)
■ Nairobi: What’s happened to the
park that nurtured Nobel prizes
and citizen power? (p15)
■ Photo essay: A night of singing
to the memory of migrants’
struggle (p19)
■ Review: The full unfurling of
Amaarae’s sexy and wild range
(p23)
■ Food: Is okpa mere breakfast or
the start of a feast? (p24) Cover: Ours can feel like
an overwhelming world,
especially when the news
WE’RE BACK! cycle is filled with violence,
Recharged and ready for summer, chaos and collapse. Hamas’s
we’re back for a new season of murder of Israelis, and the
your favourite African newspaper Israeli state’s continued,
– not too bold a claim on your industrial destruction of life in
behalf, we’d gamely venture. Gaza, has replaced Ukraine in
Expect plenty more of the news our push notifications. Other
and stories about life on our conflicts, particularly when
continent that 20,000 of you have they happen in Africa, fade
come to expect of us each week. from view in these cycles. But
The world will be busy, but each those struggling to survive
Saturday we’ll help you catch up the violence in Sudan are
on what’s happening on this part asking us not to look away.
of the planet. As ever, thank you Writing in devastating sorrow,
for your support and please keep a humanitarian worker in
sharing The Continent with those Sudan asks us to help save
that would benefit from quality Darfur – again (p12).
journalism.
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 3

GHANA PALESTINE

Minister blames Africans among

flood victims Hamas hostages
Ghana’s minister for water has accused Two Tanzanians and a South African
flood victims of having “refused to are among the 224 people who were
leave” land that authorities flooded. taken into Gaza from Israel by Hamas
The intentional spillage was meant to militants in their 7 October attack,
prevent the dam from bursting – like the BBC reported on Thursday, citing
that of the Libyan coastal town of Derna the Israeli government. The UK outlet
– after it filled beyond its capacity thanks said the Tanzanian ambassador in Tel
to heavier than usual rains attributed Aviv had confirmed the information
to climate change. At least 31,000 were but South Africa had not. Among
displaced. Local newspaper Pulse says the varied positions taken by African
minister Freda Prempeh complained governments on the Israel-Palestine
that “now the government has to spend issue since the recent escalation, South
millions of money on relief.” She has Africa has notably expressed support
said that she was quoted out of context. for the Palestinian side.
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 4

DRC SAHEL

Boat accident Norway sends its

claims 54 lives love – and its money
At least 54 people died and more than Despite closing the Bamako embassy
250 were rescued after a boat capsized which served the entire West African
on Lulanga River in the DRC. This Sahel, Norway will increase its annual
comes after more than 160 people died humanitarian aid to the region by
on another capsized boat in the same 40-million kroner ($3.5-million) from
area: Equateur province. The country’s 248-million kroner ($22-million).
rivers are infamous for being hard to Norway’s international development
navigate and a combination of old boats, minister told the French news agency,
lax law enforcement, and poor rescue AFP, that only 40% of the region’s
services is not helping. humanitarian needs were being funded.

Photo: Pius Utomi

Ekpei/AFP

NIGERIA 37% of the vote. His two main opponents

Supreme Court gives filed separate challenges with the country’s
electoral tribunal, which ruled against
its thumbs up to Bola them. They alleged that he didn’t meet the
Tinubu’s electoral win threshold for victory and that the electoral
commission’s systems failed so massively
The highest court in Nigeria on Thursday that results could not be trusted. The court
dismissed the last legal challenge against also rebuffed a bid to add to those grounds
Bola Tinubu’s February victory at the allegations that Tinubu forged a degree
polls. Tinubu was declared winner with paper from an American university.
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 5

INTERNATIONAL

Over 114-million
people robbed of
their homes
The United Nations’ refugee agency said
this week that “the number of people
displaced by war, persecution, violence
and human rights violations globally
is likely to have exceeded 114-million
at the end of September.” War and its
purveyors remain the biggest drivers of
displacement – as in Ukraine, Sudan,
Myanmar and the DRC this year. But
climate shocks like drought and floods,
especially in places like Somalia that are
already drained by war, are also a big Outbreak: Bird flu has forced South
contributor. Africa to cull 30% of its chickens.
Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed/AFP

ETHIOPIA LESOTHO

Even Abiy appears Chickens won’t be

to be weary of war coming home to roast
There has been a lot of talk in Addis Fast food chain KFC has closed all its
Ababa that Ethiopia needs a sea port, restaurants in Lesotho less than two
with propagandists on state television weeks after the mountain kingdom
claiming the country’s development banned the import of poultry from
ambitions are threatened by its South Africa. The chain says it can’t find
landlocked status. Two weeks ago, Prime enough chicken to serve. South Africa,
Minister Abiy Ahmed said that regional one of the biggest poultry exporters
peace depends on Ethiopia getting sea on the continent, has seen at least 60
access. This week however, Abiy walked outbreaks of bird flu since April, forcing
back that rhetoric, saying that “Ethiopia it to cull up to 30% of its chickens,
will not assert its interests through war” according to its poultry association.
but seek peaceful negotiations. Somalia To keep the disease out, neighbouring
has already rebuffed overtures to enter countries including Namibia banned
sea port talks with Ethiopia. South African poultry imports.
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 6

MEDIA

Israel keeps killing

journalists
At least 24 journalists are thought to be
among the thousands killed in Israel’s
ongoing bombardment of the Gaza strip.
They include Duaa Sharaf, a journalist
who was killed with her child at home
on Thursday morning, according to Levelled: The aftermath of an Israeli
the Anadolu news agency. Israel was strike on Gaza City on Thursday this
killing journalists before the terrorist week. Photo: Omar El-Qattaa/AFP
attack by Hamas. In May 2022, its forces
shot and killed renowned Al Jazeera wife, son and daughter – of Al Jazeera
reporter Shireen Abu Akleh when she Gaza correspondent Wael Al Dahdouh
was reporting in the West Bank area. were killed in a refugee camp they had
Separately, on Wednesday, the family – escaped to.

SENEGAL REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Opposition figure Global rainforest

Sonko in grave custodians convene
condition in Brazzaville
Jailed Senegalese opposition figure Delegates from countries in the basins of
Ousmane Sonko briefly fell into a the Congo, Amazon and Borneo-Mekong
coma after eight days of hunger strike. river systems, gathered in Brazzaville
Doctors resuscitated him but he this week to discuss how to finance the
remained very frail. Sonko is protesting conservation of their forests. The three
what he says are politically motivated basins contribute 80% of the earth’s
court cases designed to pull him out tropical forest cover and host more than
of next year’s presidential race. He 65% of its biodiversity but are also where
was convicted of defamation in May most of the deforestation in the world
and a sexual offence in June, and he happens. More than 4-million hectares of
called for mass protests around both forest were lost to deforestation last year,
trials. Senegalese authorities dissolved a trend that undercuts global ambitions
his political party in July and brought to reduce emissions through arboreal
charges of insurrection against him. carbon capture.
The Continent
issue 139. october 28 2023 News 7

Kenya
A decade alive in the company of hard-partying
British soldiers. At the time, Wanjiru had
reportedly turned to sex work to feed her
without five-month-old baby.
Esther Njoki, Wanjiru’s niece, was not
justice yet a teenager when her aunt disappeared
but the family’s 11-year search for
A Kenyan woman was murdered answers has given the now 19-year old
at a party with British troops in the the anguished yet determined voice of
country’s north in 2012. Reports an activist. “The killers, who are known
indicate that a soldier killed her, in London, are walking free,” Njoki says.
but nobody has been brought to She demands compensation and the arrest
and extradition to Kenya of the British
justice. Mwangi Maina writes that
soldiers suspected of the murder.
her family is looking to the British A 2019 inquest by Nanyuki magistrate
king, who visits Kenya this week, to Njeri Thuku found that Wanjiru was
lend his influence to their quest for probably alive when she was thrown
justice from the UK government. into the tank but had been beaten and
stabbed. A 2021 investigation by British

P arts of Kenyan society are looking

forward to hosting Charles Windsor,
but the family of Agnes Wanjiru are not
newspaper Sunday Times revealed that a
British soldier had been bragging to his
peers that he killed her and another told
among them – unless he can answer for their military base leaders that the alleged
her murder by British soldiers who still murderer even showed him Wanjiru’s
walk free a decade later. body back in 2012. Kenya announced
“Justice is all we want,” Rose Wanyua, that it would reopen the investigation
the elder sister who raised Wanjiru, tells into Wanjiru’s murder and days later,
The Continent. while visiting the Nanyuki base, the UK’s
In 2012, Wanjiru’s body was retrieved deputy minister for armed forces, James
from a septic tank in a hotel in Nanyuki. Heappey, said: “We will leave no stone
The town, 200km north of Nairobi, is unturned as we provide our full support
where the British army maintains a to the investigation.”
military base for its soldiers to do hot- Nobody has been charged for the
weather training. She was last seen murder.
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 8

Justice: Activists
demonstrate
in London in
memory of
Agnes Wanjiru.
Photo: Wiktor
Szymanowicz/
Future Publishing
via Getty Images

The Continent reached out to against al-Shabaab. London invests more

Mohamed Amin, Kenya’s director for than $9.6-million every year into the
criminal investigations, but calls and partnership which passes out more than
messages went unanswered. 1,000 Kenyan soldiers annually.
Wanjiru’s family and other victims of But the price Kenyans pay is less
alleged abuses by British soldiers in Kenya eagerly quantified. In another Kenyan
would like to draw the British monarch’s loss, a fire that started during military
attention to their pain. The African Centre exercises by the British troops in Nanyuki
for Corrective and Preventive Action, a burned some 12,000 acres of land. The
campaign group that supports them, more than 7,000 people who lost their
had planned to picket the British high land and livelihoods have not received
commission in Kenya on 30 October, any compensation, according to their
the day before Windsor jets in. But lawyer Kelvin Kubai – who called a press
their notice letter to Kenya’s police was conference in Nairobi last week.
declined, meaning that the protest, if it In April Kenyan legislators renewed
goes ahead, might be brutally repressed. the defence co-operation with the UK for
The group’s executive director, James another five years but a parliamentary
Mwangi, sent the British envoy in Kenya inquiry into the alleged wide-ranging
a letter requesting a physical meeting abuses by British soldiers based in Kenya
between the monarch and Wanjiru’s that was proposed in June appears to have
family but has not received a response. gone nowhere. Asked about it, Caleb
Meanwhile, the UK continues to Amisi, an MP on the committee charged
keep at least 200 military personnel in with the inquiry told The Continent that
Kenya. Most of them are involved in they will soon “make a visit soon to the
training Kenyan soldiers for deployment affected areas and Parliament will issue a
to neighbouring Somalia for combat final report on the probe”. ■
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 9

Rugby
The game The first great question has already
been answered: the promised dawn of

that means the Northern Hemisphere has proved to

be a false one. Like with cricket, England
has long been surpassed by its former
everything colonies in the game that it codified.
Their neighbours have been even worse
The Springboks and the off. Bar one English title in 2003, no other
All Blacks are playing for European name has ever been etched on
the Web Ellis Cup – its very name derived
something that means from an Anglican clergyman.
much more than a trophy: That was supposed to change in the
the very soul of the game year of Antoine Dupont, France’s dynamic
scrum-half; and in the final World Cup
Luke Feltham of Ireland’s Johnny Sexton. But they were
dispatched by the Boks and All Blacks

T he South African Springboks go to

war with the New Zealand All Blacks
on Saturday night for rugby’s premier
respectively.
Now those two will battle for a meta-
physical honour: the spirit of the game. On
prize. It’s a game that means everything one side is an island nation whose identity
to everyone, both practically and is entwined with beautiful, running rugby.
philosophically. On the other is a force forged in the heat
No other final could have been more of the highveld, relentless in its grind for
tantalising. These are the game’s two great every centimetre of territory.
sovereigns. The only champions of the last The beauty and the beast narrative
two decades, each with three titles and looms large over the game – even if it can
looking to pull clear of the other. And sometimes turn asinine. The Springboks
of course, it is the first time we’ve had a in particular face ridiculous inquisitions
repeat of the 1995 final – Nelson Mandela’s after every victory, with earnest calls from
great act of sporting reconciliation. pundits for rule changes to mitigate their
Rugby has always carried a level “aggressiveness”.
of symbolism, and a penchant for a The Boks have also given us many
philosophical natter, that belies the brutal moments of inspiration over the past
nature of the game. This World Cup has month. Manie Libbok’s audacious, no-
been no different. look crossfield kick is about as close as
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 10

Match winning
run: Cheslin Kolbe
charges down a
kick from France’s
Thomas Ramos,
saving two points in
a quarter final the
Springboks won by
one point. Photo:
Miguel Medina /AFP

you’ll ever get to seeing Ronaldinho purist holds dear.

on a rugby pitch. Cheslin Kolbe’s quick Since their opening loss, those lofty
thinking and faster feet charging down ideals have translated into devastating
the French kicker in the quarterfinals will attacking play this tournament, with the
live long in memory. side shooting past everyone else on the
That said, they have more scrumming tries tally.
power, ball-carrying ability and depth As their backline stretch the play, lanes
than any other side in world rugby. Their invariably open up for runners like Will
unmatched ability to swap out almost the Jordan to dart into. Jordan’s hat-trick
entire forward line with another “bomb in the semifinal took him to eight tries,
squad” of equally talented fresh substitutes tying him for most in a single World Cup
has become a meme. The South African with Jonah Lomu, Julian Savea and Bryan
way is to put their opponents under the Habana – a list dripping with nostalgia.
mill until they make mistakes that can be One of rugby’s bizarre facts is that the
converted into penalties or open territory. late, great Lomu never scored against
New Zealand, by contrast, represents South Africa – a truth embodied by his
the romance of rugby. From the pre- improbable shutout in the 1995 game.
match haka to the obsessive need to play If the Springboks once more nullify his
attractive ball, the All Blacks safeguard successors, no fan in the country will give
all the traditions that the self-proclaimed a damn how they did it. ■
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The Continent
issue 139. october 28 2023 Essay 12

The world once mobilised

to ‘Save Darfur’ – we need
your help again
While two men fight for power at any cost, the ordinary
people of Darfur are once again paying the price. As
Sara Mohammed Sulaiman writes, they also wonder if
the world will pay attention – like it did 20 years ago.

In ruin: The conflict between Sudan’s army, under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the
Rapid Support Forces of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo is devastating Darfur. Photo: AFP

E very morning since the war started

in Sudan six months ago, I have
awoken to the sound of gunfire in my
firing at random? Only when I am sure I
can travel safely will I begin my journey
to my office on the western side of the city.
neighbourhood in North Darfur’s capital Before the conflict, it was a quick trip
of El-Fasher. from my home on the south side of El-
My morning routine includes logging Fasher to the main market at its centre.
onto Facebook (connectivity permitting) But now, riding in either a minibus or a
to see what my neighbours are saying. Is a taxi, I am forced to pass through half a
battle under way? Are checkpoint guards dozen checkpoints, where weapon-toting
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 13

men demand to know my identity and brutal attacks by militiamen. They told of
destination. how thousands were killed in the most
At the main market, I wait for an office horrible ways, how houses were burned,
car to pick me up for the second leg of how women and children were raped.
the journey – and another half-dozen Today, I work with desperate people
checkpoints – before finally reaching who have fled areas that have come under
the office. If I make it without being attack in this new war, so similar to the
threatened – a gunman told me during old one. With my team, I travel from
a recent stop that “today we are going to our office in El-Fasher to Zam Zam, the
beat you” – I consider myself lucky. sprawling camp for internally displaced
Nothing is normal in El-Fasher. We people around 15km south.
haven’t had electricity in four months. The camp, established 20 years ago in
Criminality is rampant. We can’t go out response to the earlier war, has seen its
after 6pm. A rash of malaria and dengue numbers grow by tens of thousands in
fever cases has filled the city’s (and recent months, pushing its population to
region’s) only working hospital. We lack upwards of 500,000 by some estimates.
even the most basic of necessities. With the warring parties hindering
I live 802 kilometres from Khartoum, humanitarian access throughout the
where clashes began in mid-April country – I knew four aid workers who
between the Sudanese Armed Forces were killed here in North Darfur – we
and the paramilitary Rapid Support are one of only a few international
Forces in a fight for national control. The organisations present in Zam Zam.
conflict quickly spread to other regions Horrific violence has been committed
of the country. More than five million in West and Central Darfur, with recent
people have fled their homes since the onslaughts reported in South Darfur and
war started. Roughly half of the country’s its capital, Nyala. In North Darfur, we’ve
population (around 25-million people) seen savage clashes in Kutum and Tawila.
need humanitarian aid and protection. I have met survivors of those attacks
in Zam Zam. One woman from Tawila
Human cost of a battle for power told me about militiamen who ransacked
In Darfur, we have witnessed ethnically her home, rifling through her belongings
motivated violence reminiscent of the war for anything of value. When they began
that started two decades ago and inspired to beat her two daughters and threatened
the global “Save Darfur” movement. to rape them, she pleaded: “I am a poor
I remember the early days of that woman. Please do not harm them.”
war. I was 12 years old in 2003. In the The jeering militiamen relented only
months after the fighting began, relatives when she agreed to their demand that
from rural areas arrived at our home in she eat live locusts, a humiliating act
the city, some of them on the backs of of subjugation that has left her deeply
donkeys. My uncles and aunts described traumatised.
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 14

A young woman from Kutum told me

how she and her sister were chased down
by two militiamen on a motorbike. “I was
able to help my sister get away, but they
caught me,” the woman said. “They ripped
my clothing and said they would rape me.”
She suffered stab wounds to her neck
and stomach before a rival group of
gunmen appeared, causing the attackers
to flee. She is now recovering.
Many of the stories I have heard
are far worse. The United Nations has
characterised the use of rape and other
forms of sexual violence by militia forces Gutted: Fire rips through a market area
in this conflict as “brutal and widespread”. in El-Fasher, capital of North Darfur,
And yet I have been inspired by the after an RSF bombardment. Photo: AFP
resilience I have seen, like that of a woman
in the Zam Zam camp who survived a celebrities, artists, faith leaders, and
kidnapping and gang rape, but said she civic organisations came together
wanted to go public and tell the world across continents and demanded action
about what is happening to women and on behalf of Darfur. Let us build this
girls in Darfur. movement again. Let us join together in
a call to protect the people of Darfur and
Save Darfur demand an end to this cruel conflict.
I fear that North Darfur could be subject In our culture, we often use songs to
to worsening attacks in the days and weeks mobilise people around issues of social
ahead. We hear rumours all the time. justice. An Arabic-language song I often
The international community must sing is called Our Hands Boy, Our Hands
deploy critically needed resources to for Our Country. The message of the song
protect civilians; prioritise efforts to is simple: It is our hands that will save our
achieve a durable negotiated settlement country and lead us to a promising future.
to the conflict; press the warring parties We can do the job ourselves, the song
to adhere to the principles of international says. All we ask is for your help at this
humanitarian law; and ensure the delivery moment of need. ■
of humanitarian assistance.
The world once mobilised in an
attempt to “Save Darfur”, launching the Sara Mohammed Sulaiman, a native of
El-Fasher, north Darfur, is a National
largest global social movement since
Protection Officer and gender-based
the end of South African apartheid. violence focal point for Nonviolent
An awe-inspiring coalition of citizens, Peaceforce, an international NGO.
The Continent
issue 139. october 28 2023 Feature 15

Stay off the grass:

The parks and recreation of
Kenya’s political spaces
Nairobi’s parks have a long tradition of being political spaces, where
Kenyans gathered to challenge a regime or mark a new chapter in the
country’s history. But the most iconic of those parks have been closed
for two years, ostensibly for rehabilitation. What is clear is that when
they do re-open, far fewer people will get to use them. And politics
won’t be welcome.

All photos: Gordwin Odhiambo/The Continent

The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 16

Vincent Ng’ethe Arap Moi regime for political dissent.

Uhuru Park was a centrepiece of

W hen Uhuru Park reopens, at a

date that keeps moving further
into the future, the concrete hulk of an
Wangaari’s environmental activism.
Starting in 1989, she led a dogged
resistance against plans by the Moi
exit from the Nairobi Expressway will sit administration to build a 60-storey
at its southern boundary – one of many skyscraper there. The government
changes in Nairobi people’s relationship relented and in 1995 gazetted Uhuru
to the historic park. Park (21 hectares) and Central Park (11
Before November 2021, when the park hectares) as monuments, prohibiting any
was fenced with blue corrugated iron development.
and a green wire fence with sharp spikes, It was in Uhuru Park, in 2010, that
families used to take children to Uhuru Kenya’s new constitution was held aloft,
Park to row boats on the lake, play at the signalling a new dawn after the bloody
swings and roll around on the grass to election dispute of 2008, in which more
their hearts’ content. Entry was free – a than 1,000 people died. And it was
Christmas or Sunday outing that any and here in 2018 that Raila Odinga staged a
all could afford. swearing-in ceremony to declare himself
Today, there are horses to ride, go- the “people’s president” after a landmark
karts, and even merry-go-rounds – but ruling by Kenya’s Supreme Court
they are crammed into a dusty field next overturned the 2017 presidential election.
to the closed park. Parents still bring their
children to play, but they compete for Kenyatta had opened Uhuru
space with a garbage heap. Park just a couple of years
For decades, Uhuru Park loomed before. He would not be the
large in national political life. It was at last person to bring a fight to
its podium in 1971 that Kenya’s first the park’s green.
president, Jomo Kenyatta, growled that
he would “grind the country’s enemies Then, in November 2021, photos
like flour” after detecting a coup plot. emerged of the Uhuru Park stage, and all
Kenyatta had opened Uhuru Park just of its history, crushed to rubble. A shocked
a couple of years before. He would not Nairobi demanded an explanation.
be the last person to bring a fight to the A few months earlier, complaining
park’s green. that Uhuru Park had become a rundown
It was here in 1992 that Wangari haven for muggers, the Nairobi County
Maathai, the Nobel prize-winning Assembly had passed a resolution
environmentalist, was beaten while allowing the Nairobi Metropolitan
supporting a group of mothers who Services (NMS) to renovate it and the
stripped naked to demand the release of adjacent Central Park.
their sons, who were being held by the The NMS, now defunct, was itself
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 17

Green light:
Nairobi’s Uhuru
Park should
open again in
December. But
on what terms?

a controversial agency through which governor, and Badi the builder returned
former president Uhuru Kenyatta took to his military role – though the defence
major chunks of Nairobi’s governance ministry remained in charge of the works.
from city authorities to the presidential One month after being sworn in,
office. It was led by Mohammed Badi, Sakaja announced that the park would
a major general in the air force, who be officially opened for the inaugural
promised that the park would be “a totally Nairobi Festival on 12 December 2022 –
different place”. Kenya’s independence day. But when the
The renovations were initially festival ended, the park, which admittedly
scheduled to last three months. But after looked a lot better than it had in 2021,
nearly a year of missed deadlines and closed to the public once again.
mystery over what these renovations When Nairobi hosted the inaugural
even entailed, Badi told a radio show Africa Climate Summit in September,
that parades and political rallies would no some of the blue fencing around Uhuru
longer take place, and Uhuru Park would Park came down. Kenyans on social
“totally change ... to be for entertainment, media wondered aloud if the summit
for recreation”. Exactly when the people had anything to do with it. Environmental
of Nairobi had agreed to remove five activists – and there were many – don’t
decades of political history was not clear. like their parks fenced off.
The park was still closed in August But Uhuru Park’s grey gates, now
2022 when Nairobi residents voted visible after the blue fencing was removed,
for Johnson Sakaja as the city’s new remain firmly shut, and Central Park is
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 18

still wrapped in blue sheets. be required to show IDs to enter Uhuru

Occasionally, government officials use Park. He also suggested that visitors to
Uhuru Park to launch programmes, like parts of Central Park might be subjected
the “Green Army” which is meant to clear to entry fees after all.
the city’s drains before the El Niño rains. This increasingly limited access to the
Now, however, another formal city’s parks “is continuing with the trend
reopening date has been set – December of privatising the commons,” said Dr
2023 – for the second Nairobi Festival. Wangui Kimari, an urban anthropologist.
In a statement to The Continent, Dr Teresa Mbatia, a lecturer at the
Nairobi County Executive Committee University of Nairobi who studies
member Ibrahim Auma Nyangoya, said public spaces, told The Continent that
that the reopened park would stick to privatisation does not always require a
the path plotted by Badi, its purpose change in ownership. “It can be in the
limited to “leisure, entertainment, and hands of the government but everything
recreational pursuits”. Significantly, done around it makes it more exclusive,
applications “to hold gatherings that suitable to only certain people ... and
will distract from the above-mentioned inaccessible to the majority of the urban
purpose may not be considered”. poor or low income residents.”
Sakaja, who had previously assured Already the Nairobi Arboretum and
Nairobi’s people that “there will be no Karura Forest charge entry fees and such
entry charges” to the parks, because arrangements, said Kimari, have led to a
“sometimes you are stressed and just Nairobi status quo where “green space is
want to relax and think your thoughts,” only for the rich in their homes, at a fee,
said in a June interview that people will or at roundabouts and along highways.” ■

Concrete jungle: Public

access to green spaces
is increasingly limited.
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 19

Choral assets:
The Power Singers
rehearse ahead of the
isicathamiya contest.

PHOTO ESSAY

Out of the deep

South Africa’s annual isicathamiya song contest is in
its 23rd year, but its lore goes back generations.

Words and photos by Oupa Nkosi

N kululeko Maphumulo was having fun

singing different songs over drinks
with former high school friends when
Mambazo. The annual Isicathamiya
Competition has pride of place on the
arts calendar of KwaZulu-Natal province.
the idea to start an isicathamiya/cothoza Umoya Omusha from Ndwedwe
group came to them. Umoya Omusha village, 60km north of Durban, is among
(which means “light breeze”) was formed the 131 groups participating in the
in 2012 and now has over 30 members of competition’s 23rd year. The groups –
different ages. whose origins stretch from South Africa’s
Isicathamiya is a South African Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-
traditional music genre made famous Natal provinces – sing through the night.
by Grammy winners Ladysmith Black Maphumulo (45) is optimistic that his
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 20

group will do well as they did in 2014, the workers’ hostels. They would sing
when they scooped the first prize in an at night about their poor working and
open section of the competition. living conditions and would cothoza
This Zulu a cappella choral style was (tread softly) through their dance steps
developed after the first world war, when choreographed so as to not disturb the
Zulu men were forced to travel from rural camp security guard.
areas to work in coal mines and factories. This tradition followed them when
Within the migrant communities, they went back to their rural homes and
workers formed vocal ensembles – started holding friendly competitions – to
usually named after their homelands or which they brought a fierce rivalry. The
their leaders – as a type of competitive winners were awarded a goat for their
entertainment within and between efforts – and the adoration of their fans.

Slick kicks:
The Freedom Stars,
led by ‘Mr Buthelezi’
during their competition
performance at the
Playhouse Theatre in
Durban.

Here comes treble:

The higher voices take
centrestage, but they’d
be lowkey lost without
the drive and depth of
the bass-line bop.
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 21

Although influenced stylistically by typically led by a tenor soloist in front,

Europeans and Americans in the way dressed differently to the rest.
they dress, the music still delves into the The contestants are evaluated not
issues that many people at home resonate only on the precision of their singing
with, as their forefathers did in the hostel but also on the neatness and integrity of
dormitories. their appearance, co-ordinated gestures,
The songs are performed in call- footwork and smooth overall execution.
and-response fashion, typically by male Before sunrise the next day, the
choral ensembles, though some groups winners are announced.
have women members. Group sizes range This year’s laurels – prestige,
from 12 to more than 20 singers. All vocal accompanied by a not-insubstantial
ranges – soprano, alto, tenor and bass – monetary reward – go to Zulu Messengers,
are represented, but the bass vocalists are with Maphumulo’s Umoya Omusha
the greatest in number. coming in at an eminently respectable
The group sings in four-part harmony, fifth position. ■

Class act: Nothing but the sharpest duds will do when the velvet voices of an
Isicathamiya group like Umoya Omusha take the stage.
The Continent
issue 139. october 28 2023 Data 22

Should you have access to government

information?

D id you join in this week’s observance

of World Development Information
Day (24 October)? Or maybe you weren’t
for use by government officials, while 7%
don’t take a position.
Drilling down a bit, 81% say ordinary
informed? people and the news media should have
We’ll catch you up with a little info access to budgets and expenditures of
about the kinds of development-related local government councils. This is the
information that Africans think they’re majority view in all surveyed countries,
entitled to. ranging up to 95% in Kenya.
Based on Afrobarometer surveys Almost as many (78%) want access
in 39 countries between late 2021 and to bids and contracts for government-
mid-2023, a majority (55%) of Africans funded projects and purchases, again a
endorse the general idea that information majority position in all countries.
held by the government should be shared A much slimmer majority (55%) think
with the public. they should have the right to see salary
Almost four in 10 (38%) think instead information for local government officials
that such information should be reserved and teachers, while 42% disagree. ■

Which types of government information should be public? |

39* African countries | 2021/2023
Information held by
government should be
public, not limited to use
by government officials
Types of information that should be public:

Local government council

budgets and expenditures

Bids and contracts for

government-funded
projects and purchases

Salaries of local government

officials and teachers

* The questions about local government budgets and salaries were asked in 38 countries.

Source: Afrobarometer is a non-partisan African research network that conducts

nationally representative surveys on democracy, governance, and quality of life.
Face-to-face interviews with 1,200-2,400 people in each country yield results with a
margin of error of +/- two to three percentage points.
The Continent
issue 139. october 28 2023 Review 23

sexy Sad Girls Luv Money, buoyed by a

remix featuring Kali Uchis and Moliy.
Fountain Baby is Amaarae’s full-
throated evolution. The studio album is
the inevitable next phase of a performer
with plenty of style and confidence to
burn. Her voice, a restrained soprano
that can be enchanting or screechy,
domineering or submissive depending
on who is listening, feels in sync with the
several worlds – highlife, afrobeats, 90s
pop, hip hop, soft rock, Japanese folk,
dancehall, trap – that she’s curated.
Amaarae is comfortable with sexuality
and the pursuit of hedonism and, in
Wet, wild and lyrics and imagery that highlight a sexual
fluidity, she spills her guts. In the opening
wonderful lines of Disguise, she squeaks, “I like my
coffee with some head in the morning – two
Amaarae is not afraid of shots” over synths and bass lines.
sonic experimentation – “Me and my bitch got matching titties/
or of steaming things up. She got Fountain Baby tatted ’cause she
fucking with me,” she declares on the
Wilfred Okiche hard-hitting and formally adventurous
Counterfeit. Princess Going Digital,

G h a n a i a n - A m e r i c a n s i n g e r-
songwriter Amaarae’s sophomore
studio album continues, and perhaps
a sadly euphoric yet surprisingly
relatable achievement of storytelling is
an undeniable highlight that makes a
realises, the adventurous potential the strong case for being the album’s pièce de
29-year-old showed on her 2020 debut. résistance.
That record, The Angel You Don’t An embarrassment of riches, Fountain
Know, reinvented Amaarae – born Ama Baby is held together into a cohesive,
Serwah Genfi, transporting her from her airtight whole by the force of Amaarae’s
R&B origins and establishing her as a magnetic talent and personality.
cosmopolitan ingénue connected to an No two songs on Fountain Baby sound
increasingly global post-pop multiverse. quite the same and the diversity of sounds,
The album’s most significant success was interests and influences make it quite the
the TikTok-approved and devastatingly distinct experience. ■
The Continent
issue 139. october 28 2023 Food 24

In praise of okpa
Ifunanya Ezeh

O riginating in northern Enugu, the

south-eastern Nigerian state, okpa
is a well-known and loved staple food in
Nsukka, where I grew up and currently
live. I don’t consider it just a quick
breakfast, like others do. It is tradition for
my family to make it on the eve of every
significant holiday or celebration.
Because of this, okpa has become
an indispensable part of my life and I
find myself craving it before or after
any big event, like an important exam U OK? Okpa shouldn’t be confused with
or interview. In some way, eating okpa the okapi, an animal that looks like a
reassures me, just like a hearty pat on the zebra had a baby with its side-giraffe.
back, that everything will be all right.
The making of okpa starts when my outcome; then you can add uziza, pepper
mum buys a big sack of bambara nuts at and salt to taste. There are a variety of
the end of the year. A few basins are kept wrappings to cook the okpa mixture in,
aside, picked and ground into a flour-like like small transparent nylon bags, banana
powder, which is what we use to make leaves or plantain leaves. Depending on
okpa that will last about a month. The rest your taste, bitter leaves can be added into
is stored for the following year. the mix before wrapping it and cooking it
Seeing someone prepare okpa feels like in the pot of boiling water.
watching an ongoing chemistry practical What comes after is the best part.
because it requires that one is careful: The fun of okpa is that it can be enjoyed
You don’t want to add too much or too accompanied with basically anything –
little water or palm oil to the okpa flour; pap/ugali, garri (cassava granules), or
it has to be the right temperature and the my personal favourite, a chilled glass of
right consistency so as to not ruin the final Coca-Cola. ■

We ended last season in Western Nigeria, sampling tuwo. This season the food journey continues
in South-East Nigeria where we are trying out okpa. We want to hear about your favourite food
and what makes it so special. Let us know at [email protected]. $100 for the winning letter.
 The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 25

THE QUIZ

0-3
“I think I need to
start reading more 1_Darfur is the western that was founded in 1892
newspapers.” region of which country? and was the main harbour
2_Name the Ghanaian of German South West
diplomat who served as Africa.
the UN’s ​​secretary-general 7_Tamazight is an official
4-7 from 1997 to 2006.
3_Who preceded George
language in which country?
8_Uhuru Park in Nairobi
“I can’t wait to Weah as president of was opened by which
explore more of Liberia? Kenyan president in 1969?
this continent.” 4_What is the name of 9_True or false: Dar Es
South Africa’s national Salaam is the capital of
rugby team(s)? Tanzania.
5_What is Uganda’s 10_Léopold Sédar Senghor
8-10 currency called?
6_Name the city (pictured)
was the first president of
which country?
“TFW you need
coffee to 100% the
quiz, but there’s
none left.” HOW DID I DO? WhatsApp ‘ANSWERS’ to +27 73
805 6068 and we’ll send the answers to you!
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 26

Y ou’ve got to hand it to the West. and at around 3am last Thursday, tried to
Each year, at the moment in which, escape with his wife, son, a pair of security
according to their folklore, the veil staff and two cooks – which tracks, no
between this world and the spirit realm point in escaping if you can’t snack on the
is at its thinnest, their response is to take way. Unlike the coup, his dash for freedom
the idea of ghosts, goblins, witches and was thwarted, and he never made it to the
devils spilling out into the world, dress it helicopters “belonging to a foreign power”
up as an excuse to party, and export it to that the junta says were meant to whisk
the rest of the world. him away. No whisk, no reward.
The spookiest Now, if you asked
part of this is how some of our leaders
successful they’ve
been – Halloween
The horrors of for a scary story, it
might go something
is now a mainstay of
social calendars all Halloween like this: “Once upon
a time there was an
around the word – election – and I did
possibly even at the not win it.” Which
African Union! means Liberia’s
If there’s anyone re c e nt el e c t i on
who might get a must have had them
kick out of a scary hiding under their
monster’s ball, after blankets in terror!
all, it’s surely our The results of the
well-heeled gang country’s election
in Adidas Ababa. on 10 October were
And if they invite CONTINENTAL DRIFT announced this
the Boo-dashians Samira Sawlani week and there must
from Guinea, Niger, have been gasps
Burkina Faso, Mali, of horror when it
and Gabon to attend, they wouldn’t even emerged that President George Weah
have to pretend to be scared witless. had won a mere 43.83% of the votes, with
Someone who is apparently not scared opposition rival Joseph Boakai less than
of things that bump you off in the night half a percentage point away at 43.44%,
is Niger’s ousted president Mohamed triggering a run-off on 14 November.
Bazoum – according to the junta there, We just hope the tension of a nation
he tried to escape, just the other day! so starkly divided doesn’t spill over into
Since the coup in Niger on 26 July, the real kind of horror that we’ve sadly
Bazoum has been under house arrest. become been all too familiar with on
Apparently by last week he’d had enough, this continent, and in this world. Darfur,
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 27

Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of

Congo, Somalia. Ukraine. Palestine.
Palestine. Though we sometimes feel
numbed by the violence of the world –
inured to it by relentless exposure, even
– the last few weeks of monstrous horror
in Gaza have shattered that numbness.
You know all the numbers. The children
– traumatised, injured, dead. The medics
working day and night to save as many
people as possible as systems collapse. The
journalists and photographers capturing
the losses of others while mourning their
own. Aid workers warning that supplies Bereft: A woman looks in horror at the
are running out, people are hungry, there’s ruins of her home in Rafah, southern
no fuel for aid trucks. Israeli civilians have Gaza. Photo: Mohammed Abed/AFP
been killed. Palestinian civilians continue
to be murdered en masse. Every person “sure innocents have been killed, it’s the
who has allowed this to happen has blood price of waging a war”.
on their hands. The people of Palestine are whole
Social media shadow banning those humans – with lives, loved ones, dreams
bringing news from the region. People and aspirations. They are not lesser
losing their jobs because they have spoken beings. They are not collateral damage.
out in support of the Palestinian struggle. They are not cannon-fodder. They are
Journalists referring to Palestinians as not something to be made examples of.
having “died” while Israelis were “killed”. Let us not be so naïve that we only brand
Media houses leading the dehumanisation something as an act of terror based upon
of people whose voices have been stifled who carries it out.
for decades, people who have time and Here in Africa, too often we see Nelson
again tried to show the hardship of Mandela’s legacy co-opted into kumbaya
life under occupation, dismissed and passivity. Yes, he championed peace
demonised even in death. and reconciliation. But before there was
The greatest powers in the world, so even a whiff of reconciliation in South
proud of their self-appointed positions as Africa, he stood for justice, and he stood
paragons of all that is good, voting against for liberation. And as he stood, he said:
a ceasefire. The president of the United “Our freedom is incomplete without the
States, stating that he has no notion if the freedom of the Palestinians”.
Palestinians are telling the truth about We’ve had enough horror, this
how many people have been killed – he’s Halloween: Let freedom reign. ■
The Continent
issue 139. october 28 2023 Analysis 28

The devil of devolution

is in the details
Sending power to Kenya’s counties was meant
to help them grow. Instead, a series of audits
shows it helped the corrupt to help themselves.
Raphael Akeyo array of improper payments for salaries,
allowances and unnecessary assets.

T he 2010 Kenyan constitution devolved

power to 47 new counties, each with
its own directly elected governor. Early
In addition to threatening to bankrupt
the county, this has undermined services
and public confidence. The health system,
reports of devolution’s performance were for example, has been grounded by go-
mixed – it made a difference in far-flung slows and demonstrations by health
areas such as Turkana, but there was also workers, as well as inadequate equipment
concern that it led more to the devolution and supplies. Partly as a result, Kisumu
of corruption than an improvement in suffers from ill-equipped hospitals and
service delivery. ranks as the county with the highest rates
The case of Kisumu County – the of HIV prevalence and second-highest
stronghold of opposition leader Raila rates of tuberculosis in the whole country.
Odinga – perfectly illustrates this tension. While Kisumu is clearly not
Following its establishment in 2012, representative of all Kenyan counties, its
the county government has been flagged experience is a stark warning that when
by Kenya’s auditor general for adverse decentralisation is poorly managed with
audit reports every financial year, insufficient mechanisms to correct and
indicating that its financial statements discipline failing county governments,
did not reflect its true financial position. it may neither bring power closer to the
According to this year’s County people, nor generate more effective public
Treasury Reports, Kisumu received more services. ■
than 61-billion shillings ($406-million)
since 2018. Reports by the auditor general
Raphael Akeyo is a research and public policy
and the Institute of Economic Affairs in specialist and holds a Master’s
Kenya indicate nearly 12% of this was Degree in Research and Public
lost, pointing to issues including but not Policy from Maseno University.
This analysis was produced in
limited to the violation of county financial collaboration with Democracy
laws, ghost workers, and a bewildering in Africa
The Continent | issue 139. october 28 2023 29

Left on reed: Swati maidens gather

during the Umhlanga Reed Dance at the

THE BIG
Mbangweni Royal Residence in Eswatini.
During the eight-day ceremony in October
as many as 400,000 young women

PICTURE present reeds to the Indlovukazi (queen

mother) and dance before the king.

Photo: Marco Longari/AFP

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