By engaging with politics, citizens can demand justice and good governance from their governments and leaders. But women political activists face unique challenges. Fatima speaks about why she continues to push for space for citizens voices and women’s recognition in governance. Follow Fatima on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fatima.mimbire Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fatima_f2m?lang=en

Student leader Ruth Yitbarek wants more Ethiopian women to understand their rights and speak up for themselves. She speaks about the Yellow Movement that continues to grow in Ethiopia’s universities and how it challenges abusive societal norms. Read about the Yellow Movement here: http://www.aau.edu.et/the-yellow-movement/ Follow Ruth here: https://twitter.com/ruth_yitbarek

How do you prove that the home you fled was unsafe, if you could never report the violence you faced there? Thomars Shamuyarira is a Zimbabwean migrant rights activist living in South Africa. He speaks on South Africa’s restrictive asylum process and the experiences of LGBT people from elsewhere in Africa seeking asylum there. You can follow the Fruit Basket on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The Fruit Basket won a prestigious award, read about it here.

What’s it like being a vocal African woman online? Entrepreneur Carol Ndosi discusses the importance of women’s voices on the internet in Tanzania, and how her work led to the creation of support systems for women who are trolled on social media. Check out Women at Web’s work on Twitter using #WomenatWeb Check out the Carol and the Launch Pad’s work here: thelaunchpad.or.tz/ Follow Carol Ndosi here: twitter.com/CarolNdosi More information on Carol Ndosi’s startup, Nyama Choma Festival here: www.instagram.com/nyamachomafestival/ To access the transcript of the show or find out more, you can go here: www.hrw.org/video-photos/podcas…ower-of-the-streets Follow Human Rights Watch on Twitter (twitter.com/hrw) or Instagram (www.instagram.com/humanrightswatch/). Join the conversation using #PoweroftheStreets to tell us how you’re speaking truth to power. Follow host Audrey Kawire Wabwire on Twitter (twitter.com/akawire) or Instagram (www.instagram.com/audreyhrw/).

It’s not easy standing up to the most powerful man in the country, but that is what Toufah Jallow did when she accused Gambia’s former president Yahya Jammeh of raping her. Toufah talks about her journey, from healing to activism. · Check out Toufah’s foundation here: web.facebook.com/iamtoufahmovement/?_rdc=1&_rdr · Watch HRW’s reporting on Toufah here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P0mQJyzosc

Ugandan writer Rosebell Kagumire edits an African feminist blog. She discusses the importance of curating these voices and how allies with large platforms influence the current movement. This discussion looks at the media’s role in trivializing sexual violence and the growth of support for survivors. Follow Rosebell on Twitter: twitter.com/RosebellK Instagram: www.instagram.com/rosebellk/ Follow the blog African Feminism here: africanfeminism.com/ To access the transcript of the show or find out more, you can go here: www.hrw.org/video-photos/podcas…ower-of-the-streets

As a young girl, when Lusungu Kalanga saw inequalities in her community, she didn’t have a language for it. Today, she creates safe spaces for girls in Malawi. We talk about how online activism rallied offline organizing in Malawi’s #MeToo movement. Lusungu on Twitter: twitter.com/Lusukalanga Growing Ambitions: twitter.com/GrowingAmbition Feministing while Malawian: anchor.fm/feministingwhilemalawian Transcript of this available at: www.hrw.org/video-photos/podcas…ower-of-the-streets

Visual storyteller Kiki Mordi produced an award-winning documentary about sex for grades in Nigerian and Ghanaian universities. As part of a feminist collective there, Kiki continues to speak out against the violence women and queer people face. • Watch the documentary ‘Sex for Grades’ here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we-F0Gi0Lqs • Check out Kiki’s latest project Document Women here: https://documentwomen.com • Follow Kiki here: https://twitter.com/kikimordi?s=20

Naked Protest: Public nakedness has been documented as a means of political protest worldwide in vastly different cultural contexts. We explore naked protests in Africa, their origins and contemporary impact with the Associate Prof of Comparative Literature from Cornell University, Naminata Diabate, the author of Naked Agency; Genital Cursing and Biopolitics in Africa (2020).

A Leadership Revolution: African states are often described as “irremediably corrupt; ‘hopeless’; ‘criminal’; ‘ungovernable’ or generally in ‘chaos’. But is the cause of these maladies an inherent inadequacy of leadership and governance? If not, what is? For the season finale of Think African, Dr. Ayak Chol Deng Alak joined the conversation. She is the Head of Research at the Strategic Defence and Security Review Board, an implementation mechanism of the revitalised South Sudan Peace agreement. She is a former deputy coordinator of the South Sudan Civil Society Forum, and co-founder of AnaTaban, a youth led political movement. She is a medical doctor, and a certified facilitator at the National Transformation Podcast Credits: Think African is brought to you in cooperation with the Heinrich Boell Foundation and African Arguments. Graphics and Artwork: Neo Rakgajane Guest Story Editor: Laura Bain Sound Editing: John Bartmann Soundtrack/Music: The Good People Additional Sound Recording: Dennis/Kampala Writer/Host: Jedi Ramalapa

Joy As Resistance: It’s a curious feature of autocratic regimes that forms of joy are usually banned. We explore how democratic governments in Africa are continuing in that same tradition. In this weeks episode we speak to Wanuri Kahiu a Kenyan Film Director and founder of AfroBubblegum whose film about same sex love, Rafiki (2018) was banned in Kenya. Podcast Credits Think African is brought to you in cooperation with the Heinrich Boell Foundation and African Arguments. Graphics and Artwork: Neo Rakgajane Script/story Editing: Rasmus Bitsch Sound Editing: John Bartmann Additional Sound Recording: Carl Odera Soundtrack/Music: The Good People Writer/Host: Jedi Ramalapa

Research on legal and judicial processes has revealed biases in the treatment of women in courts both as witnesses, and accused. We explore how African women lawyers in West Africa are working to change those biases. We speak to Criminal Justice and Human Rights Lawyer, Sabrina Mahtani who has been at the forefront of changing those biases. EPISODE CREDITS: Think African is brought to you by Sound Africa in cooperation with Heinrich Böll Stiftung Cape Town and African Arguments Graphics and Artwork: Neo Rakgajane Story Editing: Rasmus Bitsch Soundtrack/Music:The Good People Sound Mix/additional Music: John Bartmann Recording Studio: #SolidGoldPodcasts Executive Producer: Rasmus Bitsch Operations and Marketing Manager: Lebo Leitch Writer/Host: Jedi Ramalapa

Rule of Law: Given the importance of the rule of law as an instrument for promoting social, political, and economic development all of which are critical to peace and stability. The ominous decline of the rule of law in Africa cannot be ignored. But, what alternatives does Africa have? We speak to Okechukwu Nwanguma the Executive Director, Rule of Law and Accountability, Advocacy Centre, an organization that promotes justice and for victims of human rights violation and has handled several cases of Human rights violations by the Nigerian Police. Episode Credits: Graphics and Artwork: Neo Rakgajane Script/story editing: Rasmus Bitsch Additional editing: Laura Bain Additional Sound Recording: Sam Olukoya Sound Editing: John Bartmann Soundtrack/Music: The Good People Host/Writer: Jedi Ramalapa

So Where to From Here: Covid-19 has brought with it an increase in homelessness and loss of shelter across the continent. Can the courts protect them? We speak to Khululekile Banzi, the media spokesperson for Residents of Singabalapha (we belong here) informal settlement who won a court order prohibiting the City of Cape Town officials to stop trying to evict them without proper court process. In March 2020 the city issued “compliance notices” warning them that they were contravening the City’s street bylaws by erecting structures. During lockdown, officials tried to relocate them to its Strandfontein shelter for the homeless, but they resisted.

We See You: Access to land, property and housing rights continue to be contentious conflict riddled issues on the continent. But, is Anarchy the only viable alternative? We speak to Kelly-Eve Koopman, an Author and community leader who uses diverse discipline to propel social change. She has worked in both the theatre and film industry and has used these creative skills to develop, implement initiatives that drive social transformation. She is the co-creator of Coloured Mentality, a platform which has become a unique interactive storytelling space for the coloured community. She is a co-director of FEMME projects, a nonprofit organization that facilitates workshops on women empowerment in rural communities. Kelly is one of the seven occupiers. CREDITS: Think African is brought to you by Sound Africa in cooperation with Heinrich Böll Stiftung Cape Town and African Arguments Graphics and Artwork: Neo Rakgajane Script Writing/Editing: Jedi Ramalapa Sound Editing/Recordist: Rasmus Bitsch Soundtrack/Music:The Good People Additional Music Score/mixing: John Baartman Executive Producer: Rasmus Bitsch Operations and Marketing Manager: Lebo Leitch.

There’s a huge global political debate about food production, profit and sustainability. We explore some of the challenges farmers face on the continent. Who is feeding Africa? We speak to Ruramiso Mashumba a Zimbabwean Commercial Farmer, 2020 Global Farmer Kleckner Award Winner from Marondera, Zimbabwe. Podcast Credits: Think African is brought to you by Sound Africa in cooperation with Heinrich Böll Stiftung Cape Town and African Arguments. Graphics and Artwork: Neo Rakgajane Script Editing: Brittany Kesselman Sound Editing: Rasmus Bitsch Additional Sound Recording: Privilege Musvanhiri Soundtrack/Music: The Good People Executive Producer: Rasmus Bitsch Operations and Marketing Manager: Lebo Leitch Resources from this Episode: Global Farmers Network Kleckner Award for Innovation. Mnandi Africa Women Who Farm Africa Afsafrica.org

The Cost of Power: In this episode we dive into how Africa’s natural resources are managed and the implications of mismanagement on democracy. Is Nuclear power the answer to power generation in Africa? We speak to Environmental Activist, Human Rights Defender and Director of Earthlife Africa Johannesburg, Makoma Lekalakala.

This introductory episode starts from the very beginning by asking if Africa is headed in the right direction? It also asks what type of seeds are we planting for the Future? We speak to Elizabeth Wathuti is a Kenyan environment and climate change activist and founder of the Green Generation Initiative, which nurtures young people to love nature and be environmentally conscious from a young age. She has now planted 30,000 tree seedlings in Kenya through her Green Generation Initiative. PODCAST CREDITS Graphics Artwork: Neo Rakgajane Script Editing: Brittany Kesselman Additional Script Editing: Rasmus Bitsch Marketing and Operations: Lebo Leitch Sound Recordist: Carl Odera Sound Editing: Rasmus Bitsch Soundtrack/Music: The Good People Writer & Host: Jedi Ramalapa

Bi-Monthly seasonal podcast engaging African thinkers and doers on what it means to Think, African. Produced in Cooperation with Heinrich Boll Stiftung, Cape Town and African Arguments.

Meet the team who made One Night in Snake Park. Jedi Ramalapa hosts a discussion that takes you behind the scenes of the making of the podcast series. We discuss what happened, what we learned and the status of xenophobia in South Africa right now.

It has been almost six months and five levels of lockdown since we last visited the Mahoris in Snake Park. We return for an update.

There is one person we know for sure saw what happened when Siphiwe was shot in Snake Park. His name is Lebogang, and we know he was there because he was shot as well. But after the killing, Lebogang vanished from the case and was never in court. The police say they cannot find him. In this episode we speak to Lebogang. “One Night in Snake Park” investigates the killing of Siphiwe Mahori. Why was the shooter let off with a suspended sentence? Why was his shop attacked? Why do xenophobic attacks keep happening? Why did Siphiwe have to die? This podcast is made with the support of a Taco Kuiper Investigative Journalism grant. Sound Africa is supported by Hindenburg Systems and the Open Society Foundation’s Program for Independent Journalism.

To understand what happened in the case against Yusuf, the man who shot Siphiwe, we get hold of the audio recordings from the court. But the tapes raise more questions than what they reveal. “One Night in Snake Park” investigates the killing of Siphiwe Mahori. Why was the shooter let off with a suspended sentence? Why was his shop attacked? Why do xenophobic attacks keep happening? Why did Siphiwe have to die? This podcast is made with the support of a Taco Kuiper Investigative Journalism grant. Sound Africa is supported by Hindenburg Systems and the Open Society Foundation’s Program for Independent Journalism.

In South Africa, xenophobia and money are inseparable. The arguments against foreigners are often that they steal the jobs of locals, that they don’t pay taxes, that they sell fake and expired goods in order to make more money. But are these claims true? How much money are we talking about? And what does the spaza economy of Snake Park have to do with the killing of Siphiwe? “One Night in Snake Park” investigates the killing of Siphiwe Mahori. Why was the shooter let off with a suspended sentence? Why was his shop attacked? Why do xenophobic attacks keep happening? Why did Siphiwe have to die? This podcast is made with the support of a Taco Kuiper Investigative Journalism grant. Sound Africa is supported by Hindenburg Systems and the Open Society Foundation’s Program for Independent Journalism.

We know the man who shot Siphiwe Mahori as Yusuf. In this episode, we search for him in Snake Park and the Somali part of Mayfair, Johannesburg. We want to hear his side of the story, to understand what life is like for an immigrant shopkeeper in a hostile environment. “One Night in Snake Park” investigates the killing of Siphiwe Mahori. Why was the shooter let off with a suspended sentence? Why was his shop attacked? Why do xenophobic attacks keep happening? Why did Siphiwe have to die? This podcast is made with the support of a Taco Kuiper Investigative Journalism grant. Sound Africa is supported by Hindenburg Systems and the Open Society Foundation’s Program for Independent Journalism.

A year after the killing of Siphiwe Mahori, a local councillor in Snake Park told the SABC that the violence had been started by criminal elements. Many blame drug users, so called nyaope boys for starting the violence. But is this fair? And what role did the local politician play himself? “One Night in Snake Park” investigates the killing of Siphiwe Mahori. Why was the shooter let off with a suspended sentence? Why was his shop attacked? Why do xenophobic attacks keep happening? Why did Siphiwe have to die? This podcast is made with the support of a Taco Kuiper Investigative Journalism grant. Sound Africa is supported by Hindenburg Systems and the Open Society Foundation’s Program for Independent Journalism.

In January 2015 the killing of the 14-year old Siphiwe Mahori in Snake Park, Soweto ignited a major wave of xenophobic attacks as across South Africa. Siphiwe Mahori was shot by a Somali shopkeeper who said he was fearing for his life. The story was international news, but quickly forgotten. “One Night in Snake Park” investigates the killing of Siphiwe Mahori. Why was the shooter let off with a suspended sentence? Why was his shop attacked? Why do xenophobic attacks keep happening? Why did Siphiwe have to die? This podcast is made with the support of a Taco Kuiper Investigative Journalism grant. Sound Africa is supported by Hindenburg Systems and the Open Society Foundation’s Program for Independent Journalism.

In this our final episode, will look at COVID-19 funds and how they are being distributed in South Africa and Nigeria, We also look at some rays of hope which are starting to emerge from Kibera, one of Kenya’s biggest slums. Finally we will be discussing what happens behind the scenes of the Covid-In Africa podcast, and look to the future, on what’s next for Sound Africa. 473405

This episode of Covid in Africa deals with gender based violence and the recent spike in violence following the relaxing of some Covid-19 restrictions.

This week we look at how Covid-19 effects artists across the continent. We hear from artists in Senegal, Uganda, South Africa and Tanzania.

This week alcohol was sold legally for the first time in months in South Africa where Covid-19 regulations were lowered from level 4 to level 3. We look at what happened as well as get an update from Senegal where the brother of the president recently tested positive for the virus.

In this episode we look into the potential impact of Covid-19 measures on highly indebted African countries

This week we look into how the Coronavirus is changing public perceptions of African Knowledge Systems - particularly traditional medication.

In this episode we are focusing on homeschooling and how it is being implemented in different contexts on the continent. We will hear from a parent who is trying to balance working from home, parenting and homeschooling all at the same time and from a clinical psychologist and Executive Life coach Zsofia Borisanyi explains how Covid-19 is changing corporate culture.

In this week's episode of Covid In Africa, we examine how geography and space in densely populated African cities determines the effectiveness of measures to control the spread of the corona virus. We speak to Prof. Caroline Wanjiku Kihato, visiting Fellow at the Oxford Department of International Development.

In this episode we focus on Human Rights under Covid, what they are and how they can be protected.

In today's show we will get a glimpse into how people are coping with the corona virus in Central Africa. And our producer Rasmus Bitsch is back with the story of a group of African refugees in Cape Town, whose struggle to leave South Africa so far has landed them in a crowded tent outside the city.

In this episode we discuss strategies of coping mentally with covid and lockdown and get a report from Mozambique, where the pandemic and militant islamists pose a dual threat.

Along with the corona virus another pandemic is spreading. Fake news and conspiracy theories. But it is difficult to sort fact from fiction in a time where even scientists aren't sure exactly what is going on. Music by: Podington Bear and Xylo Ziko

Lockdown - Many African countries are undergoing lockdowns to fight the spread of the Corona virus. In some places, governments justify human rights violations in the name of public health. And even if we can go out safely, the world has changed dramatically in the last week.

A weekly podcast looking at the continental response to COVID-19 and how it’s affecting people on the ground. Here you will hear about some of the systemic, under-reported issues underlying the coronavirus crisis in Africa. In this episode, one of our reporters get tested for Covid-19 and we speak to journalist Lam Bah in Freetown, Sierra Leone to find out what we can all learn from their experience fighting Ebola.

The final episode of They Killed Dulcie takes a critical look at what happened to the investigations of Dulcie September’s murder. So pervasive is the impunity for the economic crimes that sustained apartheid, that Dulcie September’s tenacious struggle for freedom was abruptly ended without redress. Why were victims like Dulcie forgotten, and why were the perpetrators allowed to go free? Before her murder, Dulcie September was investigating the global networks that financed and armed the apartheid regime. So far, They Killed Dulcie has explored why she was assassinated and looked at the corporations, spies and arms dealers who may have had a hand in Dulcie’s murder. As will be seen in the podcast, some of the same corporations Dulcie was investigating have continued to do business with the post-apartheid government. Why were Dulcie September’s comrades, today’s leaders, so eager to make friends of their old enemies? Dulcie, however, has been erased from South Africa’s history books, though not entirely from our memories. They Killed Dulcie but they could not erase her.

In this episode, we unveil the murky world behind the Danish shipping industry’s pristine façade. In Dulcie’s handwritten notes, Danish ships and companies are exposed as integral to the apartheid regime’s arms money machinery. We tell the story of these companies, and their extensive role in arming the apartheid regime in contravention of UN sanctions. In the late 1970s, complaints from crew members on Danish ships kickstarted a union-led investigation into illegal arms smuggling to apartheid South Africa on Danish vessels. This episode of They Killed Dulcie tells the story of an evasive shipowner and the seafarers who joined the anti-apartheid struggle. The Seafarer’s Union begins an investigation that takes them across the world to find evidence that disproves the claims of ethical behaviour by the Danish shipping industry.

Podcast: They Killed Dulcie - Episode 6: Woman in Exile Episode 6. Dulcie September’s life was shaped by struggle against injustice. As a freedom fighter, she boldly confronted gender based discrimination, even amongst her allies. In this episode we take a deeper look at the discrimination Dulcie September’s experienced and reflect on the experiences of women in the struggle for South Africa’s freedom. We hear from writers and thinkers and fighters. Dulcie Septembers role in the struggle has been erased by many. The same can be said of the apartheid supporting Belgian businessman, banker and politician André Vlerick. He was at the centre of the arms money machine – yet his legacy is still celebrated today. We walk the streets in Belgian and ask why? If you haven’t heard the first five episodes of the podcast you can find them here.

For almost two decades starting in the 1970’s the South African embassy in Paris was the centre of a large scale sanctions busting operation. It was connected to the arms dealers, spies and banks that formed part of the arms money machine. In episode five They Killed Dulcie, we find out if this top secret operation was connected to the murder of Dulcie September. On the banks of the river Seine, the South African embassy in Paris was a common site for anti-apartheid demonstrations. Unbeknownst to the activists outside, an entire floor of the embassy housed Armscor staff running a sophisticated sanctions busting operation. They armed the apartheid security forces to the teeth. Moving the cash to buy guns required the complicity of powerful European banks who profited from their role in the arms money machine. The evidence suggests that Dulcie September was investigating parts of this sinister machinery shortly before her murder. If she had succeeded the consequence would have been dire for plutocrats, bankers, and politicians alike. They Killed Dulcie is made by Sound Africa and Open Secrets. They are supported by: The Claude Leon Foundation; Heinrich Böll Stiftung Southern Africa; Joffe Charitable Trust; Luminate; Open Society Foundations & Open Society Foundation for South Africa and Hindenburg Systems.

In the fourth episode of the podcast They Killed Dulcie, the time has come to look at the evidence. What was Dulcie investigating when she was killed? We dust off archival documents found by Open Secrets that provide important clues. These documents once buried in archives across the world help us understand the secret network of intelligence agents, arms dealers and bankers, who made their fortunes by arming and sustaining the apartheid government. We also find Dulcie September's personal notes not seized by intelligence agencies and double agents. Through scribbles and notes we begin to understand how Dulcie was investigating the murky networks of apartheid profiteers which for far too long have remained unexposed. If Dulcie was trying to expose the illicit arms trade connecting South Africa and countries like France was this the reason that an assassin was ordered to have her “removed from the equation?”

In the third episode of “They Killed Dulcie,” we delve into the world of informants and double agents and how the apartheid security forces used them to infiltrate the liberation movements in South Africa and abroad. It remains a sensitive topic in South African politics today – some comrades were also collaborators. Following the assassination of Dulcie September in Paris in 1988, the ANC moved swiftly to install a new man in her old job. Solly Smith, also known as Samuel Khanyile, was to continue Dulcie’s work. But Solly Smith served two masters who were at war with one another. Was a double agent placed in her office immediately after her murder to undo all her work in investigating the sinister world of politicians, spies, arms dealers and bankers? This was not the first time that Dulcie September was in the proximity of a double agent. In the 1960’s she and her comrades were arrested following the infiltration of the National Liberation Front by a police agent. They Killed Dulcie is made by Sound Africa and Open Secrets. They are supported by: The Claude Leon Foundation; Heinrich Böll Stiftung Southern Africa; The Joffe Charitable Trust; Luminate; Open Society Foundations & Open Society Foundation for South Africa and Hindenburg Systems.

On the wall of a grey Parisian apartment building, a small plaque commemorates the life of activist Dulcie September. She lived in the building at the time of her murder in 1988. The plaque reads: “Dulcie September was killed by apartheid.” The second episode of the podcast series They Killed Dulcie continues where episode one left off. The journey begins in a Parisian suburb, but ends in Johannesburg, where former Apartheid era spy Craig Williamson opens the door to the murky world of espionage. Dulcie’s childhood friend, activist Betty van der Heyden recounts the story of Dulcie’s emergence as an activist, she explains how what started as a “study group” became a militant organisation with the intention to overthrow the government. If you haven’t heard the first episode of the podcast you can find it here: https://soundcloud.com/soundafrica/1-themurderscene They Killed Dulcie is made by Sound Africa and Open Secrets. They are supported by: The Claude Leon Foundation; Heinrich Böll Stiftung Southern Africa; The Joffe Charitable Trust; Luminate; Open Society Foundations & Open Society Foundation for South Africa and Hindenburg Systems.

On 29 March 1988 five bullets ended the life of liberation movement activist Dulcie September. After years in prison and decades in exile, she spearheaded anti-Apartheid efforts in France, Switzerland and Luxembourg from a small office in Paris. Why was she killed? Who profited from her murder? Why do her killers roam free? This is the first episode of the podcast series They Killed Dulcie. It's the epic story of the life and death of a struggle hero who appears to have been erased, while some of the people who profited from her murder continue to thrive.

This episode is made by our friends Aswat: Voices of Arabia from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, who make podcasts about women from this region, who tell stories about their lives, achievements and aspirations at a time when restrictions on women have been easing. This episode is called… Cat Mama and is about Farah who has 300 cats living with her and she feeds about 600 street cats.

SERIES LAUNCH: 28 MARCH On 29th March 1988 five bullets ended the life of liberation movement activist Dulcie September. Having fled Cape Town she spear-headeded anti-apartheid efforts in France, Switzerland and Luxembourg from a small office in Paris. Why was she killed? who profited from her murder? Why do her killers roam free? Sound Africa and Open Secrets ZA are launching a new eight part investigative podcast series that explores the sinister trail of intrigue which September was uncovering at the time of her murder. Meet the spies, bankers,businessmen, corrupt politicians and comrades whose actions in the past have shaped our present. They Killed Dulcie- but have not erased the memory of her struggle for our freedom.

In this episode Seventy-something grandmother, Monica Cromhout, has gone from law-abiding teetotaler to an evangelist for the benefits of psychedelic – magic mushrooms. Marianne Thamm tells us how she come to be at the forefront of the legal drive to have South Africa’s drugs laws declared unconstitutional.

Friends of SoundAfrica Ep04 - OurAfrica - Meet Labelz by Sound Africa

The award-winning South African radio show and podcast. The first series investigates the case of a man who may have been wrongfully convicted for 17 years. Compelling, long-form investigative radio told over eight episodes.

When record store owner Jeff Bubeck buys an old record collection out of an abandoned storage unit, he has no idea what he’s stumbled across. Jeff learns the collection once belonged to the late great J Dilla, one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time.

We’ve been listening to some great podcasts which we’d like to share with you. Over the next few weeks we’re going to play an episode from each of our friends. This one is made by our friends 'Honeymoon Studios' who make podcasts about interesting local stories. This episode is called Giants of Lesotho. It's a true story of wise men, warriors and an ideology that created the country of Lesotho. The episode is narrated by Award-winning journalist and author, Max Du Preez. The full series is here: https://soundcloud.com/honeymoonstudios

Like our country, many of us in South Africa have complicated histories. Our ancestral backgrounds are almost always a mix contradicting the simple apartheid era classifications of Indian, black, white and colored. For many of us, these classifications are simply not enough, we need to know where we're coming from, so we're able to move on. In this story, Candice Nolan tries to find the answers she is looking for by looking in an old bible. This episode was written and arranged by Candice Nolan and produced by Danny Booysen. Sound Africa is supported by the Open Society Foundation’s Project for Independent Journalism and Hindenburg Systems. Every two weeks another episode will be released here and on Soundafrica.org. For more, follow Sound Africa on Facebook, Twitter or listen to all our documentaries on iTunes, Soundcloud or our website. You can also subscribe to the newsletter.

On a summer morning in 1997, a man was arrested with a plastic bag full of party drugs in a park in Pretoria. The man was Wouter Basson, also known as Dr. Death. Basson was the head of the apartheid-era chemical and biological warfare program Project Coast. Today he works as a cardiologist in a private practice in Durbanville outside Cape Town. In this Sound Africa episode we re-visit the story of Wouter Basson. We try to find out who keeps him in the medical business, why they do it, and ask Basson what he believes his legacy is.

The first ever heart transplant in the world was performed in South Africa in 1967. It was an international triumph, and the surgeon in charge, Dr. Christiaan Barnard became an over night celebrity. But did Christiaan Barnard deserve all the credit? In this Sound Africa podcast we investigate the persistent rumor that a black man named Hamilton Naki played a much bigger role in the surgery than he has been given credit for. Some even claim that Naki personally performed the operation and it was kept secret because of apartheid’s discriminatory laws. What is the truth, and why does it matter? The story of Hamilton Naki is a re-broadcast of our episode “The Heart Problem”. It was first released in December 2017, on the 50th anniversary of the first ever heart transplant.

This Sound Africa Podcast is a story of a man and his mother. While it is set in the transition years between the old and the new South Africa, the story is a deeply personal narrative of how the past never goes away, but always travels with us. It is a story of grief and how a son tries to escape his own.

In 1985, South African music legend Ray Phiri collaborated with a number of other South African artists on Paul Simon’s legendary Graceland album. While the recording of the album from the beginning was mired in controversy, it was not until almost 30 year later, Ray Phiri revealed that he felt had been cheated out of his royalties and composer rights by Paul Simon. That there was bad blood between them. In this Sound Africa podcast Lungile Sojini re-visits the story of the Graceland album. He tries to find out, what exactly Ray Phiri was unhappy about and who was responsible for the conflict.

In this episode we meet Anthero Bowie, a former gang member who is out of prison and trying to reinvent himself as a poet. But is it possible for Bowie to reinvent himself? The entire episode plays out in his neighbourhood, Belhar Extension 13 in Cape Flats. A neighborhood that produces young men like Anthero everyday, and now refuses to see him in a new light.

Bongani Dyalivana is a 29-year-old man from Cape Town. He has been out of jail for just over two years after serving a 10-year sentence. In this Sound Africa podcast we hear Bongani’s story. It is a story of loss, of growing up in a gang and then in jail. Of finding oneself and trying to break a new path. Bongani shares the outline of his story with many other South African men. And we hear about these young men often. But while we hear about them, we usually never hear from them. In this podcast Bongani Dyalivana speaks for himself.

Sometimes taking a detour can show you an entire world you did not know existed. That is what happens to reporter Lars Overland, who drives into a Karoo ghost town on his way to somewhere else and ends up chasing ghosts through a sleepless night. This story is about the small town of Matjiesfontein in the Karoo. It is a story where the desert wind blows, and the lines between the past and the present, reality and dream are blurred.

When apartheid ended, the big companies that helped the regime buy weapons illegally continued to do business with the new South African government. Until today, these companies have never been held accountable. This was the subject of the first People’s Tribunal on Economic Crime held in February this year. In this episode, producer Neroli Price takes us to the Tribunal and delves into the three corruption cases presented there from apartheid to state capture. Economic crime continues to cast a long shadow over South Africa, but luckily there are those prepared to dig up the past. This episode was made in collaboration with Open Secrets.

When the coloured population of Simon's Town was forcibly removed, Aunty Patty’s family remained. They were forgotten by the authorities for years. Her nephew Jackie, on the other hand, was moved to the township of Ocean View, and he clearly remembers the day he loaded his belongings onto a truck and left the town of his childhood behind. He has not forgiven the people responsible. Today Auntie Patty has made her family home into a museum. In this Sound Africa podcast, producer Rasmus Bitsch visits the museum and walks down memory lane with Auntie Patty and Jackie. Even after several decades, the past casts a shadow that the beauty of Simon's Town cannot expel. This is the first episode in the Sound Africa series “Re-visits.” In this series Sound Africa take another look at stories from the past that may only linger in the back of our minds, but continue to affect our lives.

Its fifty years since the world’s first heart transplant was performed at Groote Schuur hospital in Cape Town. But, there remains a persistent rumour that a black man called Hamilton Naki played a much bigger role than he has been given credit for. In this podcast SOUND AFRICA investigates and asks why this question still lingers all these years later. This episode is a preview to the new Sound Africa season coming early next year. Follow us on iTunes or SoundCloud and subscribe to our newsletter, to never miss an episode. ** Music from Spoek Mathambo, Felix Laband, Miriam Makeba and Michael Kiwanuka.

What will the future of South Africa’s energy sector look like? This is the guiding question that leads Sound Africa’s newest producer, Neroli Price, to paint three possible future scenarios. Speaking to a range of experts, activists and those trying out innovative alternatives, she takes the listener on a journey from paradise to hell, and ending up somewhere in the middle. Where we end up depends on the choices that we make now and who we include on the proverbial lifeboat to the future. -- Find out more about Sound Africa at our website: http://soundafrica.org Like Sound Africa on Facebook: www.facebook.com/soundafricapodcast Follow Sound Africa on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sound_africa and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sound_africa/ -- Sound Africa is an independent podcast collective based in South Africa. We focus on creative non-fiction from the African continent and are always looking for talented journalists and storytellers to collaborate with. If you are one of them or want to get in touch, send us an email: info@soundafrica.org.

In this third instalment of Sound Africa’s Nuclear SA mini-series, Dhashen Moodley takes a look at the potential consequences of uranium mining in the Karoo. We speak to a Khoi-San activist who, drawing parallels with recent protests at Standing Rock in the USA, worries about the threat uranium mining poses to water supplies in this arid land. Meanwhile local farmers voice their concerns, politicians are enticed with promises of job creation, and mining companies continue to chase profit margins. Uranium mining in the Karoo is a potentially explosive story, with enormous social and economic consequences, yet it has largely been overlooked. -- Find out more about Sound Africa at our website: http://soundafrica.org Like Sound Africa on Facebook: www.facebook.com/soundafricapodcast Follow Sound Africa on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sound_africa and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sound_africa/ -- Sound Africa is an independent podcast collective based in South Africa. We focus on creative non-fiction from the African continent and are always looking for talented journalists and storytellers to collaborate with. If you are one of them or want to get in touch, send us an email: info@soundafrica.org.

South Africans would already be familiar with headlines warning of the likelihood of enormous corruption in the nuclear procurement programme. Is this just hysteria, or is there reason to fear that we’re headed towards something like the “arms deal on steroids”? To help answer this question, we situate the nuclear deal in its international context, finding out what went wrong with a current nuclear programme in Finland, and getting a better sense of the Russian state-owned company involved in both the Finnish and South African deals. -- Find out more about Sound Africa at our website: http://soundafrica.org Like Sound Africa on Facebook: www.facebook.com/soundafricapodcast Follow Sound Africa on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sound_africa and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sound_africa/ -- Sound Africa is an independent podcast collective based in South Africa. We focus on creative non-fiction from the African continent and are always looking for talented journalists and storytellers to collaborate with. If you are one of them or want to get in touch, send us an email: info@soundafrica.org.

This is the first of a four-part Sound Africa series exploring the tangled web of South Africa’s nuclear past, present and future. Reporter Rasmus Bitsch begins this story at an art gallery in Johannesburg’s stylish suburb of Maboneng, where artist Vincent Bezuidenhout is shining a spotlight on South Africa’s secret nuclear history through his exhibition Fail Deadly. From there, we connect the dots between the struggle against apartheid, the Cold War, and South Africa’s development of nuclear weapons. How important was the nuclear programme in the close-knit defensive position, or laager, adopted by the Afrikaner nationalist government? And did the bomb contribute to the state’s siege mentality? What history shows is that the nuclear programme fostered secrecy and paranoia, and it arguably still casts a shadow over South African politics today. *We regret an error in an earlier version of this episode in which we incorrectly state that Che Guevara led troops into the war in Angola.* -- Find out more about Sound Africa at our website: http://soundafrica.org/ Like Sound Africa on Facebook: www.facebook.com/soundafricapodcast Follow Sound Africa on Twitter: twitter.com/sound_africa and Instagram: www.instagram.com/sound_africa/ -- Sound Africa is an independent podcast collective based in South Africa. We focus on creative non-fiction from the African continent and are always looking for talented journalists and storytellers to collaborate with. If you are one of them or want to get in touch, send us an email: info@soundafrica.org.

African Space - The Live Documentary is a live recording of a collaboration between Sound Africa and Encounters South African International Documentary Festival. It is a poetic journey featuring internationally renowned astronomers and townspeople of the Karoo. What they all share is a proximity to the biggest science project in the world: a giant radio telescope called The Square Kilometer Array (SKA) under construction. Sometimes the journey is intergalactic other times dusty and local, but it always takes place somewhere between technology and dream. -- Find out more about Sound Africa at our website: http://soundafrica.org Like Sound Africa on Facebook: www.facebook.com/soundafricapodcast Follow Sound Africa on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sound_africa and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sound_africa/ -- Sound Africa is an independent podcast collective based in South Africa. We focus on creative non-fiction from the African continent and are always looking for talented journalists and storytellers to collaborate with. If you are one of them or want to get in touch, send us an email: info@soundafrica.org.

Hilton Schilder's Catheter Symphony is a jazzy journey through the mother city and the hypercreative mind of pianist and composer Hilton Schilder. We get a musician's-eye view of what it was like growing up in the Cape Flats under apartheid, and an intimate glimpse into Schilder's current struggle with cancer. Hospital bed compositions and irreverent humour help this colourful and quintessentially Capetonian artist get through the hard times. -- Find out more about Sound Africa at our website: soundafrica.org Like Sound Africa on Facebook: www.facebook.com/soundafricapodcast Follow Sound Africa on Twitter: twitter.com/sound_africa and Instagram: www.instagram.com/sound_africa/ -- Sound Africa is an independent podcast collective based in South Africa. We focus on creative non-fiction from the African continent and are always looking for talented journalists and storytellers to collaborate with. If you are one of them or want to get in touch, send us an email: info@soundafrica.org.

The second part of The Wait Is Almost Over is finally out! In this episode, Yolande recalls the details of her and Pierre's captivity, relations with her captors, and the ever-present threat of done strikes. We also take an in-depth look at the efforts of the civilian negotiators to bring Pierre home, and how these efforts ran into conflict with government policies. -- Find out more about Sound Africa at our website: soundafrica.org Like Sound Africa on Facebook: www.facebook.com/soundafricapodcast Follow Sound Africa on Twitter: twitter.com/sound_africa and Instagram: www.instagram.com/sound_africa/ -- Sound Africa is an independent podcast collective based in South Africa. We focus on creative non-fiction from the African continent and are always looking for talented journalists and storytellers to collaborate with. If you are one of them or want to get in touch, send us an email: info@soundafrica.org.

In May 2013, Pierre and Yolande Korkie were kidnapped by Al-Qaeda. In the chaos of post-revolutionary Yemen, it was left up to an innovative local aid worker and his South African boss to secure the couple's release. This is the story of their painstaking efforts to track down the Korkies and the delicate negotiations that ensued. -- Find out more about Sound Africa at our website: soundafrica.org Like Sound Africa on Facebook: www.facebook.com/soundafricapodcast Follow Sound Africa on Twitter: twitter.com/sound_africa and Instagram: www.instagram.com/sound_africa/ -- Sound Africa is an independent podcast collective based in South Africa. We focus on creative non-fiction from the African continent and are always looking for talented journalists and storytellers to collaborate with. If you are one of them or want to get in touch, send us an email: info@soundafrica.org.

A reporter investigates the high number of reported occult crimes in South Africa. Among others he meets an archbishop, a passionate academic and a man they call God's Detective. -- Find out more about Sound Africa at our website: http://soundafrica.org/ Like Sound Africa on Facebook: www.facebook.com/soundafricapodcast Follow Sound Africa on Twitter: twitter.com/sound_africa and Instagram: www.instagram.com/sound_africa/ -- Sound Africa is an independent podcast collective based in South Africa. We focus on creative non-fiction from the African continent and are always looking for talented journalists and storytellers to collaborate with. If you are one of them or want to get in touch, send us an email: info@soundafrica.org.

One man shares his incredible story of fleeing war, escaping an army and traveling through the deep Congo forest and half the continent alone as a child. -- Find out more about Sound Africa at our website: http://soundafrica.org/ Like Sound Africa on Facebook: www.facebook.com/soundafricapodcast Follow Sound Africa on Twitter: twitter.com/sound_africa and Instagram: www.instagram.com/sound_africa/ -- Sound Africa is an independent podcast collective based in South Africa. We focus on creative non-fiction from the African continent and are always looking for talented journalists and storytellers to collaborate with. If you are one of them or want to get in touch, send us an email: info@soundafrica.org.

Africa is hardly thought of as a continent much involved in space exploration. But for the lift off of the Sound Africa Podcast we bring you two stories about Africa and space: First, The Afronaut: An introduction to a largely forgotten space program in Zambia in the 1960s. Did the leader of this wildly ambitious project, Edward Nkoloso, have a plan or was he just the delusional eccentric he was later made out to be? Second, The Telescope: A small town in the Karoo Desert of Northern South Africa has finally found its place in the world with the establishment of one of the biggest international science projects of our time. As the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) begins to take shape, we look at the telescope network that will likely transform the way we understand the universe and our place in it. -- Find out more about Sound Africa at our website: soundafrica.org. Like Sound Africa on Facebook: www.facebook.com/soundafricapodcast. Follow Sound Africa on Twitter: twitter.com/sound_africa and Instagram: www.instagram.com/sound_africa/. -- Sound Africa is an independent podcast collective based in South Africa. We focus on creative non-fiction from the African continent and are always looking for talented journalists and storytellers to collaborate with. If you are one of them or want to get in touch, send us an email: info@soundafrica.org.