Latest news with #pan-Africanist
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Alain Faso: Burkina Faso rejects Ivory Coast's statement that activist died by suicide
Burkina Faso has said it considers the death of a Burkinabé activist in custody in Ivory Coast to be an "assassination".Alain Traoré, commonly known as Alino Faso, had been arrested six months ago in Ivory Coast, on charges of Saturday, the Ivorian authorities announced that 44-year-old Traoré had taken his own life two days prior, while being held at a military Faso's information minister said the government "rejects the suicide theory", while Traoré's supporters have accused Ivory Coast of carrying out "a cover-up for political repression". Traoré was a prominent advocate of the military-led governments in Burkina Faso and other countries across the Sahel juntas have strained relations with regional bloc Ecowas, which wants democratic rule to be restored in the of Traoré's supporters allege that Ivory Coast, a Ecowas member, wanted to silence Traoré over his dissent against the activist led a huge community online - on Facebook alone he had more than 400,000 Traoré was arrested in January, human rights groups and Traoré's supporters said the charges against him were politically response to the activist's death, Burkinabé Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré called for "full light to be shed on this tragedy" and demanded the body be repatriated to Burkina criticised the Ivorian authorities for announcing Traoré's death in a public statement on social media, and allegedly not contacting his family first."There is a great deal of contempt, a lack of respect and courtesy for the authorities and the people of Burkina Faso, and it is even more so for the family of the deceased who discovered such painful news on social media," the foreign minister added that on Monday, he summoned the Chargé d'Affaires of the Ivorian Embassy in Burkina Faso in order to obtain verbal confirmation of Traoré's Coast's public prosecutor has said investigations into the "motives and circumstances" of Traoré's "suicide" were under had moved from Bukina Faso to Ivory Coast with his family in 2021. While there, he owned a digital activism, Traoré organised aid for displaced civilians. Rights groups previously said Traoré was detained in "inhumane" conditions and accused the Ivorian authorities of violating international human rights norms. You may also be interested in: Why Burkina Faso's junta leader has captured hearts and minds around the worldIs Ivory Coast's red card politics an own goal for democracy?Why 'pan-Africanist' influencers pushed rumours of a coup Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
The South African
4 days ago
- Politics
- The South African
EFF marks 12th anniversary with massive turnout in Khayelitsha
Thousands of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) supporters gathered at Khayelitsha Rugby Stadium on Saturday, 26 July, to mark the party's 12th anniversary. Long queues stretched along Pama Road from early morning as people waited to enter the venue. They scheduled the main programme to begin at midday, and crowds of youth, elders, and children were already filling the venue hours before. Organisers set up a family-friendly play area, complete with jumping castles, tables, chairs, and paramedics on standby. Speaking with IOL , Khayelitsha resident Bathandwa Dywili said she hoped EFF leader Julius Malema would address key social challenges affecting the community. 'We hope the EFF president will speak about youth unemployment and underage drinking, which are widespread issues causing concern among young people,' she said. 'It would also be encouraging if he addressed other social problems that contribute to crime.' Julius Malema launched the EFF on 26 July 2013 after the ANC expelled him, where he had led the party's Youth League. Following disciplinary action for bringing the ANC into disrepute. Malema formed the EFF as a radical left-wing alternative, focusing on economic transformation. Rooted in pan-Africanist and Marxist-Leninist ideologies, the EFF quickly attracted support from youth and working-class communities. It entered Parliament in 2014 with 25 seats and has since grown into South Africa's third-largest political party. Twelve years on, the EFF remains known for its red regalia, militant slogans, and confrontational presence in Parliament. Saturday's gathering highlighted the continued loyalty and energy that surrounds the movement. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Otago Daily Times
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Seymour criticises Waititi for 'insane views' on African leader
Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has labelled Te Pāti Māori a threat to democracy after its co-leader Rawiri Waititi declared a West African military ruler to be his "modern day hero". Burkina Faso's leader Ibrahim Traoré has grown in popularity across Africa and beyond, since seizing power in a 2022 coup, with many praising him as a symbol of resistance to the West. Earlier this year, Waititi shared a video of Traoré on Instagram, along with a comment labelling the president his "modern day hero!". "Tino Rangatira is not only a domestic commitment, it is an international determination. Our fight for political, economic, social and cultural independence and liberation is not a dream, it's a decision!" Waititi wrote. The post provoked the ire of the ACT Party's leader, who cited it as evidence of Te Pāti Māori's "insane views". "Rawiri Waititi once said he's not a fan of democracy. We need to take him seriously," a spokesperson for Seymour said in a statement. "His hero is a Marxist dictator who has delayed elections and banned homosexuality... [Te Pāti Māori is] not in Parliament to uphold democracy, but wreck it." Te Pāti Māori declined RNZ's request for a response: "We will not be commenting on this". Ahead of the 2023 election, Waititi told Newshub he was "not a fan of democracy", describing it as "a tyranny of the majority". Who is Ibrahim Traoré? Traoré took power in Burkina Faso in September 2022, ousting a fellow military officer amid growing frustration at ongoing jihadist violence. Since then, he has styled himself as a pan-African revolutionary and pledged to restore security and national sovereignty. A BBC profile in May said Traoré had built the "persona of a pan-Africanist leader determined to free his nation from what he regards as the clutches of Western imperialism and neo-colonialism". While Traoré commands strong support among some youth and rural communities, rights groups have raised alarm over increasing authoritarianism, human rights violations and media suppression. Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch accused the Burkina Faso government forces and allied militia of massacring more than 130 civilians in March. Under his leadership, the country has shifted away from former colonial power France and drawn closer to Russia. A researcher at South Africa's Institute for Security Studies, Enoch Randy Aikins, told the BBC that Traoré's radical reforms had buoyed his popularity. "He is now arguably Africa's most popular, if not favourite, president," Aikins said. Traoré initially promised to hold elections in 2024 but subsequently delayed them until at least 2029. In July 2024, the military junta announced a ban on homosexual acts, but it does not yet appear to have been enacted into law.
TimesLIVE
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- TimesLIVE
African queer erotica unleashed
June is international LGBTQ+ Pride Month, a time to celebrate and recognise the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals in the world. To honour these celebrations, we asked Tiffany Kagure Mugo who, along with Siphumeze Khundayi, masterminded Kivuli & Nuru: The Afrodisiacs Collection. These albums, available on digital platforms, feature African erotic stories that delve into the world of desire. They're celebration of LGBTQ+ intimacies in the readers' own words and voices brought to you by HOLAAfrica, a pan-Africanist digital platform that focuses on sex and sexuality on the continent. Mugo and Khundayi are sex-positive practitioners who've taken their work around the world and onto global Ted Talk stages. Says Mugo, 'The albums are explorations into the different ways we love and lust in both covert and open ways. The Afrodisiacs Collection takes you on an audio journey through tales of immortality, coming home, gyrating in night clubs, or tempting daytime trysts in the middle of an afternoon.' They feature the words of artists like Mercy Thokozane Minah, writers such as Mia Arderne, prize-winning author Jarred Thompson, international authors like Nigerian Kobby Ben Ben, and a cameo from Mpho Tutu van Furth, daughter of the late Desmond Tutu. In Shadow, we find stories of longing, hidden desires and sometimes sensual despair. As the shadow half of the project, Kivuli deals with the 'dark' side of desire. Nuru is the light. This album is on the 'bright' side, exploring the sweet side of life — a crush , a fantasy fulfilled, a dream or something deliciously nasty. We asked Mugo about the albums. You've described Kivuli & Nuru as an exploration of the shadow and light of African desire. What do these metaphors mean to you? How have they shaped the curation of the stories? To paraphrase philosophers, we all have a little 'nasty' in us. Most people expose parts of their desire, keeping other parts hidden. There are reasons we hide things; shame, fear of societal judgment or the fact that they aren't anyone's business. Though desire seeps into everything humans do, it's shunned, vilified and relegated to the shadows. It takes a scandal or a special type of person to bring desire into the light. African desire has, historically, been policed and in the shadows, something suppressed and shameful. Despite this, the theme of 'shadow' and 'light' came about organically. For Kivuli & Nuru, the exploration of the tension in the work shaped itself. The themes, stories and experiences people shared fell into the two categories. When requesting stories, I simply said 'give me stories and make them sexy'. The contributors did the rest. The theme came about after the stories were chosen and we realised we had enough for two albums. How did the process of sourcing the stories from cities like Lagos, Nairobi and Cairo help reflect the diversity of queer African intimacy? What were the common threads or surprising differences that emerged? I'm a sucker for pan-Africanism and the diversity of the continent. The networks for finding the stories were already in place as HOLAAfrica! We've spent years asking people to think about their intimacies, fantasies, triumphs and misadventures, so sourcing stories was relatively simple. We wanted people to speak their realities in (literally) their own voices. The stories, though focused on the voices of queer people, are narratives experienced everywhere — between lovers and friends, a tryst in a club or when trying to decide whether to make a move on a neighbour. The human exploration of desire cuts across sexualities, contexts and countries. But you also realise how unique each person's experience is: each has their own flavour. The Afrodisiacs Collection invites listeners into a space that's both sensual and political. How does storytelling — especially audio erotica — become a form of resistance or reclamation for queer Africans? Stories about African bodies have been twisted into seeming animalistic and devious. From ideas of black women as baby-making machines during slavery to the modern-day 'Mandingo' (a word is used as a pejorative to describe a hypersexual black man), the idea of black love and intimacy is shrouded in myth, misconceptions and malice. With queer bodies that goes double. The constant questioning of what queer people do in the bedroom is funny at best, deeply disturbing at worst. A lot of the work that HOLAAfrica! does is to educate people about how to have healthy, holistic experiences and to create spaces in which queer people can actively speak about their experiences. After your work on Touch: Sex, Sexuality & Sensuality, how does T he Afrodisiacs Collection expand the conversation around African sensuality? I used the audiobook format to reach people who aren't keen to pick up a book, but who'd delve into voiced stories. This offering was a lot more about getting people out of their heads and into their bodies. Touch was a collection of essays: when you say the word 'essay' things get serious, fast. The idea of read stories adds a magical sprinkle to the pot of ideas and understanding. You've worked in sex positivity across many African countries. What has this journey taught you about the nuances of LGBTQ+ expression in private vs public spaces on the continent? Doing this work across contexts and countries (and sexualities) showed that queer and straight people are in the same streets, looking for the same things. Some are looking for long-term love, some are looking for a hook-up on Saturday night; we're all trying to figure it out. The work has shown me that desire is a tricky thing, no matter what country you're in or who you choose to sleep with. The human experience of desire is universal. The public spaces, where there's the politicisation of intimacies, are more acute. Different entities weaponise ideas around queer love and intimacy for various agendas.
IOL News
26-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Mayibuye iAfrika: The liberation slogan that still echoes in South Africa's democracy
The power of Mayibuye iAfrika: Origins, meaning and its place in modern SA politics. Image: Pixabay The powerful rallying cry, Mayibuye iAfrika, meaning 'Let Africa Return', remains one of the most iconic slogans in the history of South Africa's liberation struggle. It is in parlance once more after the former Secretary General of the uMkhonto WeSizwe Party (MK Party), Floyd Shivambu, alluded to his potential new political party, named after the powerful catchphrase. "On Friday, June 27, we will announce the National Consultation Team (NCT) of Mayibuye Consultation Process. As always, we will use the opportunity to exercise what Amilcar Cabral taught us that as revolutionaries, we should, 'Hide nothing from the masses of our people. Tell no lies. Expose lies whenever they are told. Mask no difficulties, mistakes, failures. Claim no easy victories. Tell no lies. Claim No easy victories.' Mayibuye iAfrika," Shivambu recently said. Origin Used extensively during the anti-apartheid era, the Mayibuye iAfrika captured the yearning for African self-determination, the reclamation of land and dignity, and the rejection of colonial and apartheid rule. Mayibuye iAfrika is widely believed to have originated within the ranks of the African National Congress (ANC) in the early 20th century. Its roots stretch deeper into the broader pan-Africanist and black consciousness philosophies that began emerging across the continent and diaspora during the colonial period. The slogan became an official part of the ANC's vocabulary in the 1940s and 1950s, particularly during mass protests, strikes and campaigns such as the Defiance Campaign of 1952. It was often paired with 'Amandla!' (power), to which crowds would respond, 'Ngawethu!' (to us). Historian Pitika Ntuli believes that Shivambu is using the slogan to call out the ANC's failures. "He is reclaiming this liberation cry. By invoking this historic slogan, Shivambu challenges the ANC on its unfulfilled promises and signals continuity with the anti-colonial dream. He also calls for a new ownership of Africa by Africans," Ntuli said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Political and cultural usage The phrase was not limited to political rallies. It found its way into poetry, music, theatre and speeches both within and outside of South Africa. It became a greeting, a chant and a closing statement in political gatherings. In exile, Mayibuye iAfrika resonated in the camps of Umkhonto weSizwe and among international solidarity movements. Former ANC President Oliver Tambo was among the many leaders who regularly invoked the phrase in his speeches abroad. In 1987, during a rally in Zambia, he said: "When we say Mayibuye iAfrika, we are calling for the return of everything that was stolen: our land, our freedom, our humanity." The poet Nontsizi Mgqwetho, the first black woman poet to be published in South Africa, echoed this sentiment in her early 20th-century writings. In one of her isiXhosa verses, she wrote: "Mayibuye iAfrika. Sithi makubuye uhlanga loMthonyama." (Let Africa return. Let the black nation reclaim its pride.) In democratic South Africa, Mayibuye iAfrika retains symbolic weight. Before Shivambu's renaissance, it was no longer used as frequently in political discourse, but is still chanted during heritage events, protest marches and cultural commemorations. IOL Politics Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.
