Kiri

An article from The Continent. Headline: Belgium could start a Lumumba trial next year"

From this week's @thecontinent.org

It's very concise yet every paragraph contains a violent truth.

Belgium could start a Lumumba trial next year A former diplomat involved in the plot to murder Lumumba may face trial if a magistrate allows the case to proceed

In 2022, the only mortal remains of Patrice Lumumba, a single gold-capped tooth, were returned to his family, more than 60 years after his murder. Only now are Belgian prosecutors planning to go after anyone for their role in the 1961 killing.

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‘Once-in-a-generation’ HIV drug has been approved But there is always a but. Lenacapavir could cost as much as $28,000 or as little as $100 – depending on where you get it.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved injectable lenacapavir for HIV treatment. But there is always a but. The drug could cost as much as $28,000 or as little as $100 – depending on where you get it.

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Unmasked: The man trafficking Zambian women to Pakistan Women are being lured to work in terrible conditions, then abandoned without their passports or hope of getting home. And the man responsible is still profiting, despite the authorities knowing about

Zambian women are being lured to work in terrible conditions in Pakistan, then abandoned without their passports or hope of getting home. And the man responsible is still profiting, despite the authorities knowing about. @thecontinent.org investigates continent.substack.com/p/unmasked-t...

Extrait de 'The Continent', un magazine hedmadaire d'actualités africaines, numéro du 21 juin 2025. Titre de l'article en anglais : "No bra, no exam". Dans un université du sud-ouest du Nigeria, le personnel féminin a touché les poitrines des étudiantes lors des examens pour s'assurer qu'elles portaient bien un soutien-gorge. Le président de l'union étudiante soutient la mesure : un "dress code" visant à créer un "environnement libre de distraction". D'autres accusent les faits d'archaïsme, sexiste, voire d'agressions sexuelles.

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii !!! Mais quand le monde va-t-il s'occuper d'autre chose que de ce que porte les femmes !!!

The cover of Issue 202 of The Continent is illustrated by Wynona Mutisi. The issue is dated 7 June 2025. The background is in the style of a greeting card. The cover is textured green with an ornate, traditional North African or Islamic-style border that uses floral and leafy motifs in orange, green, and pink. In the center is an illustration of three wooden boats, each filled with tightly packed white sheep. The sheep are stylised and repetitive, forming dense clusters within each boat. Overlaying the center of the image is the Arabic phrase “عيد مبارك” (Eid Mubarak) in elegant gold script, which means “Blessed Eid” — referring to the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha, when sheep are traditionally sacrificed. At the bottom of the cover, a bold white headline reads: The Great Algerian Sheep Shortage.

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 202 of The Continent

It's Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice, but droughts in Algeria have left lambs scarce. To keep tradition alive, the government is importing sheep and distributing them via lotteries.

Get this week's edition here: bit.ly/202_TC

Farewell Adesina, hello Ould Tah Sidi Ould Tah’s presidency could be an opportunity to bring Africa fairer and more autonomous financing. If the centre holds.

Sidi Ould Tah's AfDB presidency could be an opportunity to bring Africa fairer and more autonomous financing. If the centre holds.

A 24-hour rave to build Uganda’s first contemporary art centre ‘The antidote to despair is to do something. And to do it with your friends and community.’

Two DJs played a 24-hour set in an unfinished arts centre in Kampala — not for clout, but to help build it. Locals danced, kids joined in, and their livestreamed gig raised money to get the job done. As DJ Kampire puts it, "The only antidote to despair is to do something."

The cover of Issue 201 of The Continent shows the members of Aurora Negra Collective performing at the Bissau Biennale. They're dressed in striped red and white clothing and backlit by a white light. The picture is by Jason Patinkin.

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 201 of The Continent.

Travel with us to Bissau Biennale, West Africa’s most improbable art fair.

Get your copy of this week's edition here: bit.ly/201_TC

Lilongwe, and how we hold the space we make We Built This City is a limited series of photo essays by The Continent on African cities. This week, we are in Lilongwe with James Jamu.

We Built This City is a limited series of photo essays by The Continent on African cities. This week, we are in Lilongwe with James Jamu.

Zimbabwe’s ruling party recruited people to vote – in Mozambique’s election Ahead of last year’s Mozambican election, Zanu-PF dished out fake IDs to its supporters, with clear instructions to vote for the incumbents next door. Some of them were actually undercover reporters.

The rumours were wild: Zimbabwe’s ruling party was encouraging its supporters to vote in Mozambique’s presidential election with fake IDs. But when undercover reporters investigated, they too were offered the chance to commit cross-border electoral fraud – and they weren’t the only ones.

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Out of Egypt: Art flows where the money goes Arab artists are leaning east towards the Gulf states, which are pouring billions of dollars into culture to push past their ‘petrostate’ image on the world stage. It’s hurting feelings in Cairo.

Arab artists are leaning east towards the Gulf states, which are pouring billions of dollars into culture to push past their ‘petrostate’ image on the world stage. It’s hurting feelings in Cairo.

The cover of Issue 199 of The Continent (17 March 2025) is illustrated by Yemsrach Yetneberk. It shows a belly dancer, atop a camel, entertaining a cheering crowd of Gulf state visitors. The headline at the bottom of the page reads: "Another exodus out of Egypt".

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 199 of The Continent

Cairo, long the beating heart of Arab culture, is getting anxious as Arab artists lean out – towards Gulf money.

Get your copy of this week's issue here: bit.ly/TC_199

A rectangular gray gravestone, inscribed with Whitin Badger, 1906-1992, Dwight Cooke 1908-1992, and underneath the line "THE UNICORN WAITS IN A DARKENING WOOD"

Hey, who wants something nice?

So I was on tour this month, and when I was doing my event for the Princeton University Library and the Princeton Public Library, I ended up at the graveyard, where I found this gravestone:

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It was a fairytale fantasy of wildlife and people – until the killing began Exotic pictures in western media of huge metal cranes lifting elephants into a park at the Malawi-Zambia border masked ‘negligence’ that set up a brutal conflict between people and pachyderm.

It was a conservationist’s dream. Three years ago, nearly 300 elephants were moved into a park on the Malawi-Zambia border. Now 10 people have been killed by elephants and a lawsuit claims 12,000 others have paid the price for that alleged conservation success story. @mcbrams.bsky.social reports.

No country for truth-tellers Long after whistleblowers hold the powerful to account, the powerful hold them ransom. Protection laws, where they exist, are hardly enforced.

Long after whistleblowers hold the powerful to account, the powerful hold them ransom. Protection laws, where they exist, are hardly enforced. You can't ask Babita Deokaran or Ahmed Hussein-Suale. They were killed for trying to tell the truth. #WorldPressFreedomDay

The cover of Issue 197 of The Continent (3 May 2025) is illustrated by satirical cartoonist Gado. It shows a man atop a rampaging elephant directing it with a cane. In his hand is a briefcase labelled "Big Conservation". Underfoot of the elephant are trampled villagers. Others are attempting to flee. The header reads: "The nightmare sold as a Disney fantasy".

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 197 of The Continent

At the Zambia-Malawi border, what Big Conservation sold like a fantasy in Disneyland has turned into a recurring nightmare. Nobody seems to have thought about the people living in the area and now 10 people are dead.

bit.ly/TC_197

Not sure. Give them a call. I’ve sent you their number and email

Book Launch - No Last Place to Rest: Coal Mining and Dispossession in South Africa by Dineo Skosana - SWOP: The Society, Work and Politics Institute The Society, Work and Politics Institute, with Wits University Press, is excited to invite you to the launch of Dineo Skosana’s No Last Place to Rest: Coal Mining and Dispossession in South Africa. Sk...

RSVP here

The Society, Work and Politics Institute, with Wits University Press, will launch of Dineo Skosana’s No Last Place to Rest: Coal Mining and Dispossession in South Africa. Skosana will be in conversation with Adv. Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, Dr Mbongiseni Buthelezi and Ms Mbonwa, the launch will be chaired by Niren Tolsi. Tuesday 15 April 2025, 17:30 for 18:00 at the Humanities Graduate Centre Seminar Room (East Campus, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg) RSVP: swop.wits@gmail.com

Book launch: No Last Place to Rest — Coal Mining and Disposession in South Africa by Dineo Skosana

Date: 15 April 2025
Time: 17:30 for 18:00
Venue: Humanities Graduate Centre Seminar Room (Wits, East Campus)

Archive | The Continent The Continent is a free weekly newspaper, designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp. It showcases the best reporting from journalists across Africa.

While we are away, you can catch up on all 196 of our previous issues here.

30,000 subscribers! We did it! At the start of this season we set ourselves the goal of getting to 30,000 subscribers. Our motivation was simple: The more that people read quality journalism, the better the world. And...

Our team is taking a publishing break to focus on our plans for world domination. We need your help in this – for our 200th edition we want to launch our very own merch, and we want that edition to be all about you. Lend us your brain, and five minutes to help us.

The cover of The Continent's Museum of Stolen History special edition shows a cabinet of historical artefacts which were looted from the African continent. It was illustrated by Wynona Mutisi. It shows Ngwi Ndem (‘Bangwa Queen’), The Golden Crown, The Rashid (Rosetta) Stone, The Lions of Tsavo, Okukor, The Cullinan Diamond, Kakuungu and Ekori.

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to The Museum of Stolen History.

This season, we profiled eight historical artefacts from every corner of Africa. We call it The Museum of Stolen History, in recognition of the fact that much of Africa’s history has been looted or erased.

Read it here: bit.ly/TCMoSH

Photo Essay: Old Lagos, new light In studios across the city, negatives lay gathering dust. Now those forgotten negatives are being developed – bringing Lagos’s history into focus.

In studios across Lagos, forgotten in dusty back rooms, are thousands of discarded photographic negatives. A pair of photographers have dedicated their time to preserving, digitising and then archiving these snapshots from the city that would otherwise be lost.

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If you'd like quality news from an African perspective, why not subscribe to The Continent? It’s easy (and free).