Spotlight on Africa
An in-depth look at an important story affecting the African continent today.
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Spotlight on Africa: Tanzania’s elections, film, football, and Angélique Kidjo
In this week’s edition of Spotlight on Africa, we look back at the recent elections in Tanzania. We’ll then head to London and Paris for a look at some outstanding African film festivals. You’ll also hear from South Sudan’s blind football team, who have just won a crucial match. Finally, we have an interview with Angélique Kidjo, introducing her brand-new song Chica de Favela, inspired by Brazil!12/11/202539:52 -
Inside Côte d’Ivoire’s pivotal election: voices of hope and uncertainty
Ivorians voted on Saturday to choose their next president, in what is being seen as the most important election in West Africa. Côte d’Ivoire remains the region’s most stable and economically prosperous nation, and the last close ally of its former colonial power, France. Yet despite recent economic growth, the vast majority of people continue to struggle. In this episode, we speak to Ivorians about their hopes for the future.28/10/202537:39 -
Côte d'Ivoire presidential election 2025: What's at stake?
Côte d'Ivoire's presidential election campaign is taking shape, with four challengers hoping to defeat longtime incumbent Alassane Ouattara in the 25 October vote, but no candidates from the country's two main opposition parties. For Spotlight on Africa, analyst Paul Melly underlines that the run-up has so far been peaceful, but that voters could be disengaging from politics, in response to the lack of alternatives and forward-looking change.14/10/202526:20 -
DZ Fest brings Algerian culture centre stage in the UK
With more than two million Algerians and people of Algerian heritage living in France – the country’s former colonial power in North Africa – a smaller community of roughly 35,000 has made its home in the United Kingdom. In 2022, Rachida Lamri founded the DZ Fest, a cultural festival designed to celebrate and showcase Algerian traditions in English. RFI was present at this year's event.30/09/202536:01 -
Spotlight on Africa: Cameroon votes, Niger Delta oil pollution, South Africa - US ties
In this episode of Spotlight in Africa, we discuss the forthcoming presidential election in Cameroon, before turning our attention to Nigeria. We also explore ways to strengthen relations between South Africa and the United States, with a particular focus on improving conditions for seasonal migrant workers.16/09/202532:31 -
Spotlight on Africa: Rwanda’s new migrant deal, Malawi’s first solar-powered village
Spotlight on Africa returns after the summer break. In this episode, we travel first to Rwanda and then on to Malawi. We begin by examining how the United States, along with some European powers, is looking to third countries in Africa to take in illegal migrants, with particular focus on Rwanda. We then move to Malawi to explore how one village is now running entirely on solar energy.02/09/202531:12 -
Fanon at 100: reflecting on a revolutionary legacy
This season of Spotlight on Africa concludes ahead of the summer break with a focus on Frantz Fanon in the year of his centenary. It also highlights a groundbreaking new report by UNESCO on the state of the publishing industry across the continent.09/07/202534:41 -
Justice and art: Kenya’s fight against police brutality; Africa’s bold new art fair in Basel
In this episode, Spotlight on Africa reviews the origins of protests in Kenya against police brutality. And you'll also hear from the co-founders of the Africa Basel contemporary art fair, in Switzerland, the newest event of its kind.24/06/202534:10 -
Silencing dissent in Tanzania, reckoning with genocide in Namibia
In East Africa, politicians and civil society members are increasingly alarmed by political arrests, as opposition figure Tundu Lissu remains imprisoned in Tanzania, facing the death penalty in a trial that continues to be repeatedly postponed. In this week's Spotlight on Africa podcast, we hear from Robert Amsterdam, legal counsel to Lissu and other prominent figures. We also look at the first commemoration of the genocide perpetrated by German colonial rulers over a century ago in Namibia.10/06/202523:48 -
Ramaphosa in Washington: can South Africa - US ties be saved?
As relations between South Africa and the US hit their lowest point since apartheid’s end, President Cyril Ramaphosa heads to Washington to mend fences after years of frosty ties and dwindling aid under Trump-era policies. In this week's Spotlight on Africa we unpack what’s at stake - and what was said behind closed doors.27/05/202526:30 -
Africa’s human rights crisis: global silence and the Trump effect
Amnesty International’s 2025 annual report reviews a broad range of human rights issues, highlighting concerns in 150 countries and linking global and regional trends with an eye on the future. In Africa, the organisation says the so-called “Trump effect” in the US and beyond has led to an unprecedented neglect of human rights.13/05/202528:40 -
Two years of devastation: Sudan’s war claims thousands and displaces millions
Since April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by a devastating war between the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo—known as Hemedti. In just two years, the conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced over 13 million people, and sparked what many are calling the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded.29/04/202526:19 -
Bringing the beat home: African musicians push for local music production
This week on Spotlight on Africa, we explore the growing movement among African musicians to produce their music on home soil rather than relying on studios and opportunities abroad, particularly in Europe.01/04/202524:58 -
Spotlight on Africa: Is the future of aid at risk and ready for change?
This week, Spotlight on Africa explores critical questions about the future of aid, featuring a humanitarian worker, a columnist, and an analyst, each from different parts of Africa. As the United States and Europe prioritise funding for arms and domestic affairs, we ask whether the current aid model can endure, if it must evolve, and how that change might take shape.18/03/202527:33 -
Spotlight on Africa: celebrating female empowerment for Women's History Month
This week, Spotlight on Africa highlights women's empowerment across the continent, as March marks the beginning of Women's History Month, and International Women's Day on 8 March.04/03/202525:07
Spotlight on Africa
An in-depth look at an important story affecting the African continent today.