BBC Africa Today

Remembering the Nelson Mandela legacy

Loading player...
Every year, July 18 is marked as the Nelson Mandela International Day. It is a moment not only to celebrate the life of South Africa's first democratically elected president, but also to reflect on the values he championed which include justice, reconciliation and service to humanity. This year's commemorations included a live concert at London's Trafalgar Square, where artists gathered to honour the man affectionately known as Madiba. We speak to South African musician Asanda Mvana, better known as Msaki, about the role music can play in preserving Nelson Mandela's legacy as well as South Africa's minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie.

And how do scientists go about discovering new species of animals? We hear from Junior Amboko, the scientist who named the recently discovered species of monkey in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna
Producers: Keikantse Shumba, Victor Chege, Ayuba Iliya and Blessing Aderogba
Senior Producers: Caroline Mwangi and Charles Gitonga
Technical Producer: Maxwell Onyango
Editors: Rhoda Odhiambo and Maryam Abdalla
20 Jul 11AM English United Kingdom News

Other recent episodes

South Africa seeks reimbursement for migrant deportations

South Africa says it is asking Nigeria, Malawi and Ethiopia to share the cost of deporting tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to their home countries. The country's Department of Home Affairs says it spent nearly $18 million in the exercise, far exceeding the budgetary allocation. About 82,000 people were…
13 Aug 11AM 22 min

Conflict, health gaps fuel DRC's Ebola surge

Deaths from the Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo have crossed the 2,000 mark. Officials have described the outbreak as the fastest spreading in the country’s history, blaming the rapid rates of infection on late detection and insecurity. The confirmation makes it the second most deadly outbreak, behind the 2018-2020…
12 Aug 11AM 22 min

Beats, ballots and Zambia's election music

Zambia's 8 million registered voters are expected to cast their ballots on August 13, when the country will hold presidential and parliamentary elections. Fourteen candidates are gunning for the presidency but many see it as a two-horse race between incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema and opposition leader Brian Mundubile. The vote…
11 Aug 11AM 22 min

BBC investigates murder of top South African detective

BBC Africa Eye has seen evidence suggesting a South African police detective, Lieutenant Colonel Frans Mathipa, was shot dead by the country’s special forces while investigating the disappearance of a suspected Islamic State group militant.  A former South African counter-terrorism police chief has told the BBC that the suspected IS…
10 Aug 11AM 22 min

South Sudan's growing modelling industry

What do you think of when you hear South Sudan? Well, these days you might be thinking of the catwalk. The country is producing some of the world’s top international models like Anok Yai, Adut Akech and Alek Wek. Currently nine of the world’s top 50 models ranked by models.com…
7 Aug 11AM 22 min
All episodes