Africa Here and NOW

The conversation you've always wanted to have about Africa.Combining in-depth knowledge with exclusive analysis of events and trends affecting the continent. Our team has vast experience in Africa and has an extensive network of contacts from Cape Town to Cairo and from Addis to Accra, which will help us provide fresh commentary presented with wit and style.We believe there is a growing demand for accurate, incisive information about Africa and we are dedicated to asking the questions that matter and offering, at least, some of the answers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Africa Here and NOW is a news podcast hosted by Martine Dennis, with 72 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Martine Dennis hosts Africa Here and NOW, a news show with 72 episodes published.

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  Episode #2

  Africa: 18% Global Population but Only 2% the World's Flights: RwandAir CEO Yvonne Makolo Explains

  Aug 27, 202627 minS7

  Africa has 18% of the world's population and only 2% of its air traffic. RwandAir CEO Yvonne Makolo says the continent did that to itself. I speak to Yvonne about her nine years running Rwanda's national carrier — an airline that still isn't profitable, in a country of 15 million people with almost no outbound travel market, at a time when most African flag carriers have collapsed. She explains why Rwanda decided to build an airline anyway, how Kigali became a transit hub where more than half of passengers are just passing through, and that the long-delayed Qatar deal is still going through. She's blunt about what's holding African aviation back: taxes, fees, closed skies, restrictive visas, and a mindset that treats flying as a luxury for the rich. On being one of very few women running an airline, she has a sharp answer to the question she says she's always asked. And after nine years in the job, I ask her whether she'll still be doing it in ten. Yvonne says the question she's always asked — "what will you do to bring more women into aviation?" — is aimed at the wrong person. What did you make of her answer? Yvonne explains how Rwanda has used aviation as a strategic pillar for growth, why Kigali has become a growing transit hub, and how the airline’s ambitions tie into the country’s broader economy. She also reflects on the challenges facing African aviation, from high fees and restrictive visas to infrastructure gaps and geopolitical tensions. Tags RwandAir, Yvonne Makolo, African aviation, Kigali, Bugesera airport, Qatar Airways, Qatar Investment Authority, Ethiopian Airlines, open skies, Yamoussoukro Decision, IATA, AfCFTA, Rwanda, women in aviation, airline CEO, Africa Here and Now, Martine Dennis This is part of Africa Here & Now's special series on aviation including conversations with: Mesfin Tasew of Ethiopian Airlines, Kamil Al Alawadhi of IATA, Allen Onyema of Air Peace, Henok Teferra Shawl of Boeing Africa, Adefunke Adeyemi of AFCAC, and Nigeria's aviation minister Festus Keyamo. Key moments 00:00 — Why Yvonne hopes the next generation takes over 00:28 — Aviation and Africa’s unrealized potential Martine introduces the special aviation series and frames the broader question of why African aviation still underperforms. 00:51 — From technology to aviation Yvonne shares her unusual career path from geography and environmental science into IT, telecoms, and aviation. 02:33 — Entering a male-dominated industry She describes the shock of walking into a room full of “grey suits” at her first IATA AGM. 04:01 — The question women are always asked Yvonne explains why conversations about bringing more women into aviation should involve men too. 05:53 — Why Rwanda invested in a national airline She outlines the government’s deliberate decision to use aviation as a foundation for national development. 06:22 — How the airline supports Rwanda’s economy Tourism, exports, conferences, and sports tourism all benefit from the airline’s growth. 08:20 — Measuring the value of a loss-making airline Yvonne discusses how the airline’s wider contribution to the economy matters as much as profitability. 10:09 — Kigali as a hub More than half of passengers are transit travelers, showing how Kigali is becoming a regional connection point. 11:07 — Growth plans and new destinations RwandAir is already competing internationally and plans to expand to more long-haul destinations. 12:28 — Qatar Airways partnership 13:23 — The new airport and future hub ambitions 16:19 — Building aviation capacity in-house 18:37 — Investing in aviation skills 19:35 — Why African aviation is still underperforming 22:23 — Why progress is too slow Rwanda’s example shows what’s possible when the right policies are in place, but regional reform remains slow. 23:16 — Fuel costs and geopolitical pressure 24:36 — Navigating geopolitics 25:34 — Looking ahead Yvonne reflects on her future in the role and says it may be time for the younger generation to take over. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #1

  Brian Mundubile on Zambia's Disputed Election 2026

  Aug 16, 202621 minS7

  Days after Zambia went to the polls on 13 August, opposition leader Brian Mundubile sits down with me to describe a night he says he barely survived — soldiers at his gate, gunfire inside his home, and members of his camp shot or missing. What follows is a hard conversation about whether this election can be trusted at all, and what he'll do if the result doesn't go his way. And indeed, if it does. Mundubile's central charge is simple: the vote can't be called credible until someone explains, independently, what happened to the Gen 20 forms and the rest of the election material — and who had their hands on it. He describes what he says is a country on edge, an electoral commission he no longer trusts, a campaign he says was throttled, and a claim of victory he insists he never made. He describes the mood in Zambia as close to breaking point — soldiers on the streets, soldiers at the polling stations, soldiers at the tallying centres. Not a reassuring presence, in his telling, but an intimidating one. Then the attack. He says 70 to 80 army officers came to his home and opened fire inside the house. A former transport minister was hit, he says; so was his bodyguard. Others simply vanished — among them Bishop Trevor Mwamba. The government denied any of it had happened, he says, right up until observers and cameras turned up and documented the scene. His problem with the count comes down to custody. He says the Electoral Commission suspended announcing results and started calling in Gen 20 forms in a way that broke from normal procedure — and that military and intelligence officers should never have been anywhere near election material in the first place. So he won't accept a presidential result just because it's been read out. If the core questions aren't answered, he says, an announcement means nothing. He's firm that he never declared himself the winner — he was pointing to his own side's parallel count, not crowning himself — but he's equally clear he believes that count puts him ahead. He's scathing about the conditions his campaign ran under: police blocking meetings, days lost off the trail, violence flaring in several provinces, a final stronghold he never got to visit. There are also claims here of foreign mercenaries and attackers coming across the border, and an account of his own detention and release, with the police and intelligence services in the frame. On his own past, he doesn't dodge it. He accepts the Patriotic Front fell short in government, but insists his formation has changed .And if he wins? He says he'd protect the office of the outgoing president, follow due process on any corruption allegations rather than settle scores, and build a government that reaches across regions and reconciles rather than punishes. Chapters 00:00 — Zambia after the vote: a country holding its breath 00:49 — Soldiers everywhere, and the first doubts about the count 01:32 — The night they came: gunfire at the house 04:32 — Why he says this election can't be trusted 05:28 — The Gen 20 forms, and what happened to them 06:40 — Chain of custody: why who holds the paper matters 08:02 — What he'll accept — and what he won't 08:56 — His case against the Electoral Commission's independence 09:46 — A campaign run on the back foot 10:37 — Violence in the provinces, and the stronghold he never reached 11:30 — Soldiers guarding ballots: how did we get here? 12:58 — "I never declared myself winner" — setting the record straight 13:41 — Why he believes his own count leads 14:18 — Mercenaries and attackers across the border 15:24 — Detained and released: the role of police and intelligence 17:09 — Owning the PF's failures, and drawing a line under violence 19:21 — What he'd do with a defeated president 20:10 — Rule of law, not payback 21:38 — Reconciliation and a government for every region Note: The claims and allegations in this interview are Brian Mundubile's own account. Africa Here & Now puts them on the record and reports them as his testimony. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #15

  Could Ghana's Finance Minister CASSIEL ATO FORSON Become Leader?

  Jun 15, 202612 minS6

  From Crisis to Recovery - Forson's Credited with Turning his Country's Economy Around Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #14

  Africa At World Cup 2026

  Jun 11, 202645 minS6

  Ten African teams. The most ever at a World Cup. So why aren't the people who actually know the game convinced? Former Premier League striker and Nigerian Super Eagle, EFAN EKOKU and ex-DRC international ,GABRIEL ZAKUAN join me to break down Africa's prospects at the 2026 World Cup — from DRC's first appearance in 52 years, to why Nigeria keeps missing out, to the tiny island nation that recruited their squad on LinkedIn. This is an Africa Here & Now Special. We examine the prospects of South Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, DRC, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde and Senegal in the tournament. And we nod in the direction of the diaspora: Haiti, Brazil and Curacao. 🎧 Subscribe for more: https://youtube.com/@AfricaHereAndNOWPodcast CHAPTERS 00:00 Africa's best-ever chance? 03:36 Who goes far? — Efan & Gabriel's picks 04:34 Cape Verde, recruited on LinkedIn 05:06 The hurdles: visas, Ebola, and DRC's quarantine 08:26 DRC's historic return after 52 years 10:35 What's wrong with Nigeria's Super Eagles? 12:20 1974 and the ghost of Zaire 14:58 Group-by-group breakdown 33:27 Is the French team really African? 53:46 Ones to watch 56:25 Final predictions Find out about the 1993 Tragedy in which ZAMBIA'S ENTIRE National Football Squad died. They were considered the country's best ever team; many say Zambian football has never recovered. https://youtu.be/1N70VyekfTo?si=p1O6H2zGHfTF-O8l Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #13

  They Tried to Ban Black Women's Hair - It Backfired Spectacularly

  May 29, 202612 minS6

  Sculptor SOKARI DOUGLAS CAMP focuses on the 1786 TIGNON LAW in Spanish-colonial Louisiana, that effectively tried to OUTLAW BLACK WOMEN'S HAIR. THE TIGNON LAW ordered women of colour — including the roughly one thousand free black women of New Orleans — to cover their heads. It was designed to DEMEAN and to STRIP these increasingly powerful women of their STATUS. It BACKFIRED spectacularly. The women turned the MANDATED HEADWRAP into something dazzling: towering, brocade-like turbans that would have made onlookers do a double take even in the twenty-first century. So GLAMOROUS were they that they swept the ATLANTIC WORLD as the most fashionable item of the age — with even WHITE WOMEN imitating them. I go to London's October Gallery to see SOKARI DOUGLAS CAMP's new collection inspired by this history. The acclaimed British-Nigerian sculptor — who describes herself as a welder first and foremost — works in steel, rendering the creases and folds of calico, the lace of a headwrap and the tartan of a shawl in metal, studded with coins to speak to the transatlantic trade and how black bodies were "claimed" by money. Drawing on an Italian print that first captivated her, Sokari reflects on her KALABARI roots, four decades of life in England, and the layered strands of blackness — African, Caribbean, English — that now run through her work. With more than forty solo shows behind her, she explains why insisting on visibility, and educating "our colonizers," still matters. I get a quick reaction from veteran MP, DIANE ABBOTT, about the show. Exhibition: Sokari Douglas Camp's new collection FASHION and FORTUNE at the October Gallery, London 🎧 Available on all major audio platforms 🌍 Website: www.africahereandnow.com 𝕏 Host: @MartineDennis 👉 Please like, subscribe and share, and let us know what you think. Original music by Enrick Adam. Camera and edit by Ali Rafi. 00:00 Cold open: taming the black woman backfired 00:37 1786 — the law that tried to police black hair 01:15 Why force women of colour to cover their hair? 02:44 The Tignon Law and the power of free black women 03:51 How the women aggrandized the headscarf 04:11 Coins, feathers and the language of the work 04:58 The print that started it all 05:41 Flipping the script: white women imitating them 06:03 Rendering fabric in steel 07:21 Kalabari roots in the studio 08:40 A landmark show at the October Gallery: DIANE ABBOTT, MP 08:40 Forty solo shows and what this collection signifies 09:41 Facing the diaspora: the strands of blackness 09:57 "Our colonizers need education" 10:46 Welder first and foremost Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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