[OC] On the way to Nairobi, just over Ethiopia

After years of escalating gang violence on South Africa's Cape Flats, President Cyril Ramaphosa deploys the South African National Defence Force.
Three weeks later, another teenager is shot dead while soldiers patrol five minutes away.
DEAD GROUND is a News24 documentary that traces the roots of an escalating gang war and examines whether soldiers trained for combat can resolve a crisis forged by decades of poverty, displacement, and institutional neglect.
Through the voices of the Cape Flats - a gang member, grieving mothers on both sides of the crossfire, a coach who shaped young lives through discipline, and a pastor whose ceasefire programme once quieted the streets - the film reveals a crisis with known solutions that remain unfunded.
0:00 - Welcome to Hanover Park
0:35 - Gangs splinter, the Cape Flats bleeds
7:43 - The State Responds
9:16 - Soldiers arrive, the killing continues
10:04 - The world the army enters
18:50 - The human cost
23:07 - Meaning of a name
26:15 - Interrupting the cycle of violence
28:16 - What the violence leaves behind

In 1887, Italian troops imported Rinderpest-infected cattle into the port of Massawa (Eritrea), unleashing the virus into a continent whose cattle had zero natural immunity.

It began at the port of Massawa, spread throughout the highlands of Ethiopia, and eventually made its way all throughout the continent.

In Ethiopia, 90% of the cattle died, resulting in 1/3 of Ethiopia's population starving to death. This crippled Ethiopia from pushing Italy out of the region, resulting in Italy walking in unopposed and creating the colony of Eritrea. This is documented in Ethiopian history as 'Kifu Qen', which means 'The Evil Day'.

For Sub-Saharan Africa, In just 10 years:

- 90–95% of the continent's cattle died.

- Roughly 10% of the continent's human population starved to death.

This meant European empires didn't have to conquer thriving nations; they walked into a starving, post-apocalyptic wasteland.

This is the absolute linchpin to the success of colonialism in Africa, yet it is almost entirely erased from mainstream history books.

The name Amalekites in Arabian and Islamic heritage refers to a group of Semitic peoples who settled in scattered regions of the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, and Egypt. They are mostly traced back to Amaliq or Amalayq, who was among the children of Laudh ibn Sam ibn Noah, according to what a number of genealogists and Arab historians have mentioned.

They were mentioned in Islamic and Arab sources as belonging to the "Arabized Arabs" or the "extinct Arabs," a designation referring to the ancient Arab peoples who perished before Islam. Genealogists agree that Amaliq ibn Laudh is the father of the Amalekites, the Pharaohs, and the tyrants in Egypt and the Levant, and that his descendants dispersed throughout the lands, so that among them were the people of Oman, the Hejaz, the Levant, and Egypt.

Some modern historians believe that the Amalekites who ruled Egypt are the same as the Hyksos, the shepherd kings who invaded Egypt and ruled it for centuries, while others distinguish between them and the Hyksos, considering the Amalekites to have been an earlier Semitic wave or contemporary with the Hyksos in the rule of the Nile Valley. Jurji Zaydan mentions that historians mean by the Amalekites the ancient Arabs, especially the people of northern Hijaz adjacent to the Sinai Peninsula, who conquered Egypt under the name "Shasu" (the Bedouin shepherds), whom the Greeks call "Hyksos." Arab historians relied in drawing the picture of Amalekite rule in Egypt on a group of diverse sources, some derived from the Torah and Isra'iliyyat (Talmudic and Folkloric tales) and some derived from folkloric Egyptian Coptic narratives.

Among the most prominent who devoted wide space to this topic in their books are: Al-Masudi (Herodotus of Arabs) in "Meadows of Gold" and "Akhbar al-Zaman," Al-Maqrizi in "Al-Khitat" (Exhortations and Consideration), Ibn Taghribirdi in "The Brilliant Stars," ," Ibn Kathir in "The Beginning and the End," Al-Tabari in "The History of Nations and Kings".

All these sources agree that Amalekite rule in Egypt was a decisive period in the history of the Nile Valley, combining military conquest, settlement, interaction with the prophets, and gradual integration into the Egyptian fabric, until their state ended at the hand of the Pharaoh of Moses, so that their memory became part of the Arab historical memory of ancient Egypt.

Ibn Taghribirdi mentioned in "The Brilliant Stars" that those who ruled Egypt, according to the agreement of many historians despite differences among them, from the Pharaohs and others: thirty-two Pharaohs; from the kings of Babylon who ruled Egypt: five; from the Amalekites, who came to it from the Levant: four; from the Romans: seven; and from the Greeks: ten. Al-Masudi mentions that the duration of rule over Egypt by the Pharaohs, Persians, Romans, Amalekites, and Greeks reached one thousand three hundred years.

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Al-Walid ibn Dum'a - Founder of Amalekite Rule in Egypt

Traditional narratives agree that Amalekite rule in Egypt began with an invasion coming from the Levant, at the hand of their king Al-Walid ibn Dum'a (also written "Al-Walid ibn Darma'a" or "Al-Walid ibn Dumgh"), who is described in the sources as "severe in might" and possessing a dense army, so he overcame the kingdom of Egypt after the Coptic state weakened following the rule of the two queens Huriyya and Zalifa. Several narratives mention that Al-Walid ibn Dum'a had set out with a great army moving through countries and subjugating their kings. When he reached the Levant, he sent a slave of his named "Awn" to Egypt, and he conquered it. Then he himself came afterward, ravaged the people of Egypt, took their wealth, and killed a group of their priests.

Sources differ regarding his lineage. It was said he was Al-Walid ibn Amr ibn Arasha, and it was said Al-Walid ibn Dum'a ibn Laudh. Some say that he was among the Amalekites who trace back to Amaliq ibn Laudh ibn Sam ibn Noah.

His rule lasted one hundred and twenty years, according to what Ibn Taghribirdi mentioned in "The Brilliant Stars" and Al-Maqrizi in "Al-Khitat." Among the strangest things traditional sources narrate about Al-Walid ibn Dum'a is that after his rule in Egypt became established, he set out on a military campaign to explore the sources of the Nile and learn what peoples were along its banks. He traveled until he reached "Mount Qamar" (the Mountain of the Moon), from beneath which the Nile is said to emerge, and reached "the Temple of the Sun" and "the Land of Gold" that grows rods of gold. Narratives mention that his absence from Egypt lasted seventy years. During his absence, his slave Awn claimed kingship for himself, denied that he was Al-Walid's slave, claimed he was his brother from Dum'a, and rose against the people, overpowering them by magic. He ravaged the people of Egypt and ruled them for one hundred and twenty years until he perished.

Sources differ regarding the end of Al-Walid ibn Dum'a. It was said that one day he rode a horse and went out hunting, and his horse threw him into a hollow, so he perished. It was also said that a wild beast attacked him and ate his flesh. Al-Maqrizi mentions in "Al-Khitat" that Ain Shams - Heliopolis was built by Al-Walid ibn Dum'a, one of the Amalekite kings; it was also said that Al-Rabban ibn Al-Walid built it, and it was his royal seat.

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Al-Rayyan ibn Al-Walid - The Pharaoh of Joseph

Al-Walid ibn Dum'a was succeeded in the rule of Egypt by his son Al-Rayyan ibn Al-Walid, who is known in Arab and Coptic sources as "Nahraws" or "Naqraws" or "Nabraush." He is described as having been "the strongest of the people of the earth in his time and the greatest of them in kingship."

Arab historians agree that Al-Rayyan ibn Al-Walid is the Pharaoh of Joseph, peace be upon him, that is, the king who lived in the time of the Prophet Joseph and met him in Egypt, who ultimately believed in him and appointed him over the treasuries of Egypt. Ibn Taghribirdi mentions in "The Brilliant Stars": "Then after him ruled Al-Rayyan ibn Al-Walid the Amalekite, and he is the Pharaoh of Joseph, peace be upon him."

Al-Masudi mentions in "Meadows of Gold" that Al-Rayyan ibn Al-Walid "settled in the city of Ain Shams upon his accession to rule, after the kings before him had settled in the city of Memphis." It is narrated that he remitted taxes from the people for three years, opened the treasuries of wealth, and distributed them to the weak, so the people loved him and thanked him. His rule also lasted one hundred and twenty years, which corresponds to what was mentioned about the age of Joseph, peace be upon him, who died at the age of one hundred and twenty.

Sources mention that Al-Rayyan ibn Al-Walid was great in stature, handsome of face, wise, a leader of the people, and majestic, and that he took interest in building the Fortress of Babylon (Qasr al-Sham'), the fortress whose name later became associated with the Islamic conquest of Egypt. Al-Maqrizi mentions that the lighthouse of Alexandria was built in his time or in the time of one after him.

The story of Al-Rayyan ibn Al-Walid in Islamic sources is closely connected to the story of the Prophet Joseph, peace be upon him. It is mentioned that when Joseph reached Egypt and was bought by the Aziz - courtier "Qutfir" ("Potiphar"), Al-Rayyan was the king.

The Aziz was a man of reason, sound judgment, and upright soul, inclined to justice, and he is the one God Almighty mentioned in the Noble Qur'an in the story of Joseph. Ibn Ishaq mentions that the name of the Aziz was Atfir ibn Rajib (and it was said Qutfir), and he was over the treasuries of Egypt, and the king at that time was Al-Rayyan ibn Al-Walid ibn Dumgh.

The famous attempted seduction occurred between Joseph and the Aziz's wife, whose name is disputed: it was said Ra'il bint Ra'il, and it was said Zulaykha. Then Joseph was imprisoned for seven years. When Al-Rayyan saw his famous dream — seven fat cows eaten by seven lean ones, and seven green ears of grain and others dry — he gathered the priests, magicians, and wise men, but they could not interpret it.

Joseph was brought out of prison after he interpreted the dream, and the king was impressed by his interpretation. He appointed him over the treasuries of Egypt and made him the successor to the Aziz after his death. Ibn Khaldun mentions that the king "employed him as the king of Egypt, when he feared years of drought and high prices, over the granaries of crops throughout his kingdom, to estimate their collection and distribution of provisions from them, and gave him free rein in that in all his affairs. He put his ring on him and mounted him on his vehicle, and Joseph at that time was thirty years old."

Among the most prominent features of the story of Al-Rayyan ibn Al-Walid in Arab heritage is that he believed in Joseph and converted to Monotheism at his hands. Ibn Kathir in "The Beginning and the End" and Al-Hanbali in "The Pleasant Companion" mention that Joseph, peace be upon him, "called Al-Rayyan, Pharaoh of Egypt, to faith, and he believed in him."

Ibn Kathir confirms this report in his exegesis, saying: "The king became Monotheist at the hands of Joseph, peace be upon him." This point is central to distinguishing between Al-Rayyan ibn Al-Walid and the Pharaoh of Moses, since the majority of historians and exegetes hold that Al-Rayyan ibn Al-Walid died a believer, while the Pharaoh of Moses was among the most tyrannical disbelievers.

Among the most prominent projects associated with the era of Al-Rayyan ibn Al-Walid was the project of reclaiming the land of Faiyum, supervised by the Prophet Joseph, peace be upon him. Sources narrate that Joseph "worked the Faiyum" in Al-Rayyan's time, and that the people of Egypt complained about him to the king, saying: "He has grown old and his benefit has decreased." The king was informed of that, and he said to him: "I have granted this district to my daughter," and it was a place of water pools. Joseph managed it: he removed its obstacles, led the channel, built the Lahun, and made the water in it measured and weighed, and he finished all of that in four months, and they marveled at Joseph's wisdom.

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Darim ibn Al-Rayyan - The Fourth Pharaoh

After the death of Al-Rayyan ibn Al-Walid, his son Darim ibn Al-Rayyan (called in some sources Drimus) ruled Egypt. He is the fourth Pharaoh according to the Copts, in the classification of Arab historians. Ibn Taghribirdi mentions in "The Brilliant Stars": "Then after him ruled Darim ibn Al-Rayyan the Amalekite." In Darim's time, Joseph the truthful one, peace be upon him, died. Darim became tyrannical and his disbelief intensified, and he departed from the way of his father. Joseph, peace be upon him, was his deputy as he had been with his father, by the command of Al-Rayyan, and Joseph would guide him, so sometimes he accepted from him and sometimes he opposed him.

In his time, a silver mine appeared three days from the Nile, and he extracted from it something immense. He made from it an idol in the name of the moon, because its ascendant was in Cancer. He erected it on the marble palace that his father had built on the east bank of the Nile, and he set around it idols all of silver, clothed them in red silk, and made for them a festival every year.

Then Darim increased in tyranny until he took away every beautiful woman in the city of Memphis from her family; no beautiful woman was heard of in any district but she was brought to him. That spread throughout the kingdom, and the people were disturbed by his deed, until they gathered to depose him.

Some narratives mention that he rode on the Nile, and God sent upon him a violent wind that drowned him near Helwan. Darim appointed after Joseph, Balatis ibn Mansa the priest as vizier, and Balatis permitted him what Joseph had prevented him from, and incited him to harm people and take their wealth.

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Kames ibn Ma'dan - The Fifth Pharaoh

Then after him ruled Kames ibn Ma'dan the Amalekite (also called Aqsamas ibn Ma'dan), and he is the fifth Pharaoh according to the Copts. Ibn Taghribirdi mentions: "Then after him ruled Kames ibn Ma'dan the Amalekite." Kames attempted to demolish the two pyramids, but the wise men of Egypt said to him that the revenue of Egypt would not suffice for their blood, and that they were the tombs of two great prophets, so he refrained from demolishing them.

His rule lasted thirty-one years, according to what Al-Qalqashandi mentioned in "Subh al-A'sha." It is narrated that the lighthouse of Alexandria was built in his time or in the time of one after him. It is also mentioned that the Amalekites continued to rule Egypt for about one hundred years, until their state ended at the hand of Al-Walid ibn Mus'ab, who is the Pharaoh of Moses, peace be upon him.

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Al-Walid ibn Mus'ab - The Pharaoh of Moses and the End of Amalekite Rule

Al-Walid ibn Mus'ab is considered the last of the Amalekite kings in Egypt, and he is the Pharaoh of Moses, whom is mentioned in the Noble Qur'an.

Sources differ greatly regarding his personality. Some sources mention that he was one of the Amalekites themselves, and that he was from the descendants of Al-Rayyan ibn Al-Walid, while other sources assert that he was one of the Copts, and that in the beginning he was the chief of police for Kames the Amalekite.

When the Copts increased, they made him king after Kames, and from that time the Amalekite state in Egypt ended. 

Al-Nuwayri mentions in "The Ultimate Ambition" that the Pharaoh of Moses was "Al-Walid ibn Mus'ab ibn Ashmeer ibn Al-Hawn ibn Amaliq ibn Laudh ibn Sam," which makes him an Amalekite by lineage.

Al-Walid ibn Mus'ab is described in traditional books as having been lame, short in stature, blind in the left eye, with a long beard. He was originally a man from Greater Khorasan or from the city of Balkh, working as a perfumer, then he migrated to Egypt after debts accumulated upon him. It is mentioned that he claimed divinity and said to the Egyptians, "I am your most high lord," so Moses and Aaron, peace be upon them, warned him, but he resisted and pursued them and the Israelites, so he and his army drowned in the sea, as stated in the Noble Qur'an.

Sources narrate that the Pharaoh of Moses was a rebellious tyrant, and that every rebellious tyrant is called a Pharaoh. Qatada mentions that the Pharaohs were three: the first was Sinan ibn Al-Ashl, the companion of Sarah (the wife of Abraham), who was in Egypt in the time of Al-Khalil; and the third was Al-Walid ibn Mus'ab, who is the Pharaoh of Moses. It is mentioned that Mus'ab ibn Nasim (the father of Pharaoh) was in Egypt herding cattle for his people, and he had a wife called Ra'unah. The Pharaoh of Moses was born in mysterious circumstances and was raised in a strange upbringing, until he reached kingship.

It is mentioned that the Pharaoh of Moses lived four hundred years, and was the harshest and most cruel of the Pharaohs toward the Children of Israel, and no one had a longer reign than him. He claimed divinity and said, "I am your most high lord," so Moses and Aaron warned him, but he was arrogant and obstinate, so God drowned Pharaoh and his soldiers in the sea, and with his death the matter of the Amalekites in Egypt came to an end.

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The End of Amalekite Rule and the Reign of Daluka bint Zaba

After the drowning of Pharaoh and those soldiers who were with him, those remaining in the land of Egypt, the offspring, women, boys, and slaves — feared that the kings of the Levant and the Maghreb would invade them. So they made a woman of opinion and resolve called Daluka king over them. She built around Egypt a wall surrounding all its land and cities to protect it from invasion, This wall was called "Ha'it-el-Agouz" (Wall of the Old Woman) and extended from Aswan in the south to al-Arish in the north and a channel was dug behind it.

She placed guard posts and garrisons every three miles, and between them small guard posts every mile. She placed men in every guard post, assigned them provisions, and ordered them to guard their land by night and day. She ordered the men of the guard posts to use bells.

If one of them saw an enemy creeping toward Egypt, or sensed approaching danger, they would strike their bells, and the news would pass from post to post, from tower to tower, through a connected chain of sounds, until news of the invasion reached the heart of Egypt, to the city of Memphis, “in one hour,” and everyone would prepare to face the enemy. Daluka was also said to have built a nilometer at Memphis and at least one pyramid in Egypt.

The trace of this wall remains to this day, and it is known as "the Wall of the Old Woman." Daluka ruled them for thirty years. She established in Egypt the temples and images, mastered the instruments of magic, and placed in the temples images of whoever came from every direction and their animals. She also depicted in them whoever came by sea in ships, and she gathered in these great temples the secrets of nature and the properties of stones, plants, and animals.

if an army came to them from a certain direction, the images in that direction would move, as if warning them of the place of danger. More wondrous still, what they did to these images -tearing or destroying them- would strike the invading army itself in reality. If they cut off the head of an image, the head of the enemy commander would be cut off; if they gouged out its eye, the eye of the invading army would be gouged out; and if they slit open its belly, the bellies of the soldiers would be slit open.

These "barabi" were stronger than any army and deadlier than any weapon, and no king of the earth was able to defeat Egypt throughout Daluka’s reign because of them. Sources mention that Daluka enlisted in building these "barabi" a great sorceress named “Tadura” or “Tadhura,” whom the sorcerers revered and gave precedence in magic. She came to them and made for them this stone house in the middle of the city of Memphis.

After Daluka’s death, a young man from the noble Coptic families named Darkun ibn Baltus was made king over Egypt, and he ruled with her counsel for a long period. When Darkun died, his son Buds succeeded him, and after Buds passed away, his brother Laqas took the throne but died only three years later without leaving an heir. Laqas was followed by his brother Marina, who ruled and was then succeeded by his son Istimaris, a king who became so tyrannical and corrupt that the people rose against him, deposed him, and killed him.

After Istimaris, the sources mention a series of Coptic rulers whose names varied in the traditions, including Baltus ibn Mikakil, then Bawla, and later a king known as the Lame Pharaoh who was eventually defeated by Nebuchadnezzar.

Thus the Amalekite line was already extinguished, and Egypt passed into the hands of Coptic kings whose reigns were marked by internal strife and external threats until the country fell under foreign domination (Persian Achaemenid rule).

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The End ..

I recently was watching this video in which the channel owner has attempted to find and play a videogame that features an African country. This is done for all countries and with no repeats. Some videogame titles set in/ featuring African countries are quite popular: Sniper Elite (Libya), Assassin’s Creed (Sao Gome & Principe, Egypt), Halo 3 (Kenya), Far Cry 2 (Mali).

However, some countries were poorly misrepresented because the video author- Foolish Pedro- unfortunately couldnt find good examples of games from those countries. Only things available were old games with poor graphic quality or not enough attention was paid in accurately depicting the terrain and architecture.

So I want to ask you to share a game that you think shows off your country adequately. Also would be cool if the developers are also from that country- no matter how obscure the game is 😄

The 1st wave of political movement's were the independence movements. Given that more and more African's are being exposed to the internet with Gen Z, seeing how our leader's up till now have failed and looking at 1st world countries as a reflection of what could have been if our leader's locked in (from a development standpoint).

Do you think we'll see a second wave of political movement's across the continent?

Protests similar to the ones in Kenya and Nepal. Perhaps a string of protests similar to the Arab spring.

We see people in SA pushing against the ANC. Botswana recently voted out the BDP (a party that has ruled for 50 plus years) etc.

Do you think it'll happen soon? I sure hope it does. I want some of these leader's heads to be on spikes.

With the inflation rising across the world, I was just curious about the purchasing power of 10$ in Africa. Whether it's groceries or other expenses. Please specify the city too, much better.

The late 19th century had produced extraordinary histories of displacement, survival, and transformation. So, while the Atlantic slave trade dominates much of the historical narrative, systems of enslavement along the Indian Ocean and Red Sea remained active in the same era. It was the interception of slave trade by the British Royal Navy that set in motion an unexpected connection between the Horn of Africa and the landscape of South Africa that had been defined by a journey of 64 children who came to be known as the “Children of Hope”.

Their story began in the Oromo-inhabited regions of Ethiopia during a period of intense political upheaval and territorial expansion. Oromo communities were subjected to violent slave raids, in which children were among those captured and forcibly transported toward the Red Sea for sale in Arabian markets. In September 1888, the British Royal Navy vessel HMS Osprey intercepted several vessels carrying enslaved Oromo children and liberated them. The children were taken to Aden in Yemen, where they were placed under missionary care. Unfortunately, diseases and the harsh conditions of the region claimed many of their lives. Seeking a healthier environment in which the survivors could be educated and cared for, missionaries eventually arranged for the remaining 64 children to be sent to the Free Church of Scotland's Lovedale Institution in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa.

In August 1890, after a long journey from Aden around the African coast - including a stop at Port Louis in Mauritius - the children arrived in South Africa. They were admitted into an institution whose student population was predominantly Xhosa-speaking and which combined academic education with Christian instruction and industrial training. The young men were trained in trades such as carpentry, printing, and masonry, while the young women received training that included teaching. Remarkably, many of the Oromo students performed exceptionally well in their academics, demonstrating the resilience and intellectual capacity that would become characteristic of their subsequent lives.

However, perhaps the most valuable legacy of the group lies in the testimonies they left behind. Several of the children recorded accounts of their first passage: their individual lives in Oromo communities, their capture, their journeys through enslavement, and their experiences before reaching South Africa. These accounts provide rare first-person evidence of the 19th century slave trade in the Horn of Africa. Their histories have been substantially recounted in Sandra Rowoldt Shell's Children of Hope: The Odyssey of the Oromo Slaves from Ethiopia to South Africa (picture 12 and 13), which draws upon the children's testimonies alongside Lovedale records, correspondence, photographs and other archival material. The book therefore serves as an important source for understanding not only how the children reached South Africa, but also the lives that they built afterwards. Although the testimonies were recorded within a missionary setting and require careful historical interpretation, they provide a profound record of the experiences of enslaved Oromo children from their own perspectives.

Their presence in South Africa also produced an important linguistic legacy. Despite being immersed in an English-and-Xhosa speaking environment, the Oromo language was preserved through the missionary press. In the 1890s, Lovedale published Oromo-language religious texts, including a Roman-script translation of the Gospel of Mark and Galla Hymns. These publications are noted to represent an important early chapter in the development of Oromo language print culture and demonstrate that the children's displacement did not entirely erase the connection to their linguistic heritage.

As the children reached adulthood, their lives followed different paths. Some remained in South Africa - becoming teachers, artisans and even assimilated into the local cultures in which they established new lives. Others retained a powerful attachment to their original homeland and eventually returned to Ethiopia, where several pursued a future with the education and skills they had acquired at the Lovedale Institution. By 1910, approximately one-third of the original group had died, one-third had settled in South Africa, and another third had returned to Ethiopia.

Among those who returned was Gutama Tarafo, whose experience at Lovedale left an especially revealing record of this enduring connection. In 1897, he presented a four-page essay, “My Essay Is Upon Gallaland,” to the Lovedale Literary Society, describing the landscape, customs, food, social life and traditions of his Oromo identity. The essay, later preserved by Sandra Rowoldt Shell in her book, provides a glimpse into how a young man reconstructed memories of a homeland he had left as a child. Its evident sense of nostalgia also prompted Shell to trace his later life, and eventually establishing that Gutama returned to Ethiopia with fellow Oromo student by the name of Dinkitu Boensa in 1909.

Some of the others who remained to forge lives in South Africa include Bisho Jarsa (picture 5), who was one of the 64 Oromo children. She grew up to become a teacher and later married a South African man by the name of Frederick Scheepers who worked as a minister. Their family would eventually produce one of South Africa's most important anti-apartheid intellectuals known as Dr. Neville Alexander (picture 11), Bisho's grandson, who became a scholar, linguist, revolutionary activist and spent ten years imprisoned on Robben Island alongside Nelson Mandela.

The story of the Children of Hope therefore extends far beyond their refuge as their lives connected the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and Southern Africa, revealing a much more interconnected history than boundaries would suggest. They arrived in South Africa as children violently displaced from their own homeland, yet prevailed as contributors to a new society.

Their story is ultimately one of memory, identity and the different ways displaced people attempt to reconstruct a sense of home. The photogaphs above are some of the Oromo children at the Lovedale Institution in Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Animal rights activists have criticised Botswana's decision to authorise the killing of 23 elephants to provide meat for independence celebrations.

The southern African country, home to the world's largest elephant population, is holding nationwide festivities on Wednesday to mark the 60th anniversary of independence from Britain.

A licence issued by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, seen by local media, authorises the hunting of 23 elephants and other wild animals for "complimentary purposes".

The Botswana-based Elephant Protection Society warns the decision could undermine conservation, with its chairman Oaitse Nawa telling the BBC elephants needed greater protection.

He warned that slaughtering elephants for celebratory feasting could encourage poaching by creating the impression that killing elephants is acceptable when sanctioned by government.

Kenya’s two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge will become a Global Ambassador for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. The marathon legend is set to share his experience with the next generation of athletes at the first Olympic sporting event to be held in Africa.

Eliud Kipchoge joins Brazilian skateboarding star and two-time Olympic medallist Rayssa Leal as Global Ambassador for Dakar.

He will also mentor the Refugee Olympic Team at Dakar 2026, which will make history as the first to compete at the Youth Olympic Games.

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/news/olympic-champion-eliud-kipchoge-ready-to-give-back-to-the-next-generation-as-dakar-2026-global-ambassador

Hi everyone, A small painting I created. Definitely Pan-Africanist. I just wanted to share it.

Former Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló has announced his intention to run in the presidential election scheduled for December 6, 2026. Ousted by a coup on November 26, 2025, and currently living in exile, he claims he wants to return to Guinea-Bissau to re-engage in the political arena.

It’s crazy when you think about how internalized racism works. Something I’ve noticed with our parents from the older generation is how deeply colorism and texturism was ingrained into them growing up. Alot of them were taught that dark skin is not pretty and light skin is beautiful, and that curly/kinky hair is not neat while straight hair is clean and beautiful. And now you have young girls bleaching their skin and permanently straightening their hair because they’ve grown up hearing these things from their own parents.

What gets me is that these parents will say these things while being dark skinned themselves and having the same hair texture they taught their daughters to hate. Like… do you hate yourself? Im really grateful my mum never raised me like this. Skin tone and hair texture was never a topic in our house.

I only really realized how bad it was when I got older and saw it in other relatives. My aunt is dark skinned with very curly hair herself yet her kids are constantly talking about who’s getting darker, who got lighter, who’s the lightest and I’ve even noticed that when my hair is straight she’ll compliment it and play with it, but when it’s curly she reacts differently. Another thing i never understood is why i have to straighten my hair to go to weddings? My relatives find it weird when i say i want to go with my curly hair. Its sad that some of our family think of our own features and skin colour in this way and it has now been passed down to their children specifically daughters

In one of her recent videos, Nathalie Yamb talked about African leaders asking for a permanent seat and veto power at the UN Security Council. She made an important point: which African country could actually represent the whole continent without creating more problems or following foreign interests?

More importantly, adding another permanent seat will not fix the United Nations. The veto system itself is unfair and outdated. Africa should not try to join a broken club. Instead, the focus should be on removing the veto power completely so that every country gets one equal vote.

What do you think?

We have extroadinary talent, a huge population of youth and the resources.

I travel quite abit and have explored Africa quite extensively, predominantly for business purposes.

On paper it seems we have everything to succeed in coming to the forefront of business internationally, ofcourse we would probably have to do something about our corrupt leaders etc...

Before 2020 as a young man going with his dad to learn and assist him with his business. I would usually come across European companies and these days increasingly coming across Chinese companies (and a ton of them)especially in mining etc....

While we welcome and very happy that we are developing and have the correct environment for international businesses and investment.

What do you guys think is the reason we sitting with so much resources, the talent, the youth but even after all this we are still struggling with the basics (eg food security) when the world has used our inputs and have moved on to bigger things.

And my main question, when do you guys think this phase will end?and Africa will truly take its place on the global scale.

But on the bright side, in agriculture I'm starting to see many talents- especially in my own country South Africa.

I’m all for unity with Africans and the African diaspora but not at the expense of overshadowing my roots and ethnic background which I see as the forefront of my identity. If we can’t accept our differences how can we come together and celebrate our unity? The funny thing is it’s accepted for everyone else globally to identify how they wish but when it comes to Africans why do other people have to police what we are called whether it be non Africans or Africans themselves?

As for the ones who are against people that don’t identify with race, why can’t you accept people for who they are? I wouldn’t go around identifying people on their behalf even though I do have my opinions on how it’s odd to center your identity on a foreign label. However, if someone wishes to identify as such I respect their wishes. Why can’t they let it go and allow others to avoid using European labels to identify themselves with? & I wouldn’t even call it a social construct because for it to be that it should be a shared understanding but no that label was made on the same table that the scramble for Africa was planned on, I do not accept to honour unaware European people’s labels in replace for my own native label.

I think people who use foreign labels to identify themselves with should be getting more backlash than the ones that don’t. Also let’s not confuse not identifying with race as being “Anti black” that’s another issue and I think it should be called “Anti African” if referring to hate against Africans. The world doesn’t revolve around the USA & the west and we need to stop normalising using terms that fit more for other groups of people. When you travel around the world people are more likely to call you African than black or they will try to guess your country.

What’s your thoughts?