This Year In Africa | 2019 Edition
A brief look at the stories and events that made headlines across Africa.
It has been a devastating but yet fruitful year for Africa. An Ethiopian airline carrying 207 passengers crashed in the early months of the year, Robert Mugabe, the liberation fighter of Rhodesia died at the age of 93. Rwanda made economic strides by launching the first phone factory in Africa. Brigid Kosgei of Kenya completed a record marathon and reminding us that our dreams are valid if we believe. On 5th January 2019, Keabetswe (twitter name), re-ignited hope, helped people get jobs, find money to fund their studies etc by her tweet “ O jewa ke eng ?” (What is eating you up?) As we close the year and the second decade of the 21st century, O jewa ke eng?
Politics:
On the Political scene, the year began with the acquittal of Ivory Coast ex-President Laurent Gbagbo by International Criminal Court (ICC). He had been charged with crimes against humanity in connection with violence following a disputed 2010 election that left 3,000 dead and 500,000 displaced. However, victims of the 2010 attacks protested the verdict. The government of Ivory Coast under Alassane Ouattara have filed an injunction at the ICC.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), democracy was ‘restored’ after the inauguration of Felix Thsikedi as the first democratically elected president in seventeen years. The elections were held on 30th December 2018. Local reports claimed that the elections were fraudulent. Martin Fuyula, the runner up petitioned the election results, however, the constitutional court did not rule in his favour.
Ugandan pop star turned politician Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine was arrested again in April concerning protests over a new social media tax that was passed by parliament in July 2018. He was charged with treason in August 2018 and was only released from prison following protests and intense pressure from activists and governments around the world.
On April 11 2019, tens of thousands of people flooded the streets of Khartoum in celebration after the military declared that Omar Bashir had been ousted and arrested. Omar was the leader of Sudan for nearly 30 years. He came to power through a military coup in 1989.
Mmusi Maimane resigned as president of the Democratic Alliance party, the biggest opposition party in South Africa. He was the first black leader of the party that has been deemed as white people’s party. His resignation came a few days after Herbet Mashaba stepped down from the party and as Mayor of Johannesburg. Maimane said he left the party because his vision for the party was in tandem with other members, Mashaba said he quit the party over its approach to racial inequality.
Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. Abiy was awarded the prize, “in particular, for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea,” said Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Nobel Committee. A peace accord between Abiy and his Eritrean counterpart, Isaias Afwerki, formally ended a 20-year military dispute that followed Eritrea’s secession from Ethiopia in 1993.
Elections:
Fifteen general elections and two referendums were conducted across Africa. All the incumbents that contested in nine elections won (South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, Comoros, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique and ) The results were challenged by the opposition in six elections. (Nigeria, Senegal, Comoros, Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar.)
Guinea Bissau held their elections two parts: the parliamentary elections in March and the presidential election in November. No candidate received a majority vote to form government, calling for a re-run in December.
In Namibia, Esther Muinjangue became the first woman to contest for the presidency in Namibia. She lost after only collecting 1.5% of the total vote.
Constitutional referendums were held in Egypt and Ethiopia. The Egyptians voted to pass several major changes to the country’s constitution in a three-day referendum. 88.83% voted in favour of giving President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi sweeping powers that could keep him in office until 2030. Ethiopia’s Sidama people voted for a new federal region, with 98% choosing autonomous rule.
Foreign Policy:
The seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development was held in Yokohama in August 2019. The Japan Africa Business Forum was held as an official side event. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe emphasised the role Japan can play in African business and in improving education and security across the continent.
Russia joined the bandwagon of Africa summits by organising the first Russia Africa Summit in October. All the 54 countries sent representatives and 43 heads of state were in attendance. Putin announced that Russian Africa trade has doubled in the past five years to more than $20 billion.
Nigeria became the 53rd country to sign the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfFCTA). This leaves Eritrea as the only country to have not joined the new trade bloc. The African Union says that the AfCTA will be the worlds largest free trade area. Still, on trade and free movement, President Muhamud Buhari announced that African passport holder will be eligible for visa on arrival in Nigeria. This policy will commence in January 2020.
Business:
Regulatory reforms in Togo and Nigeria propelled them to be among the most improved economies in the World Bank’s rankings for ease of doing business. Togo went up 40 places to 97 and Nigeria moved from 131 to 146.
Rwanda launched the Mara phone. The first mobile phone manufacturing company in Africa.
Fifteen countries in West Africa agreed to launch a single currency next year. With eight countries still using the colonial franc that is tied to the french euro, this development is aimed at creating a new currency that will ease trade and movement in the region.
The fifth edition of the World Economic Forum was held in Cape Town South Africa in July 2019.
Entertainment:
Nigerian born afro-pop artist, Mr Eazi partnered with Bet Pawa to launch Empawa Africa, a talent incubator program for African artists. 100 upcoming artists were selected to receive a grant of $300- to shoot a music video. The top ten artists were chosen to attend a three-week master class in South Africa
South Africa’s Sho Madjozi and Nigeria’s Burna Boy won Best International Act and Best New International Act (fan-voted) respectively at the 2019 BET Awards held in Los Angeles, California
Ndlovu Youth Choir from Limpopo, South Africa made it to the finals of America’s Got Talent.
Zobinzi Ntunzi was crowned Miss Universe. She is the third woman from South Africa to win the title, and the first black woman since Leila Lopes was crowned Miss Universe in 2011.
Sports:
The trio of Pierre Emerick Aubamnayeg, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were the 2018/19 English Premier League top scorers. They scored 24 goals each.
Brigid Kosgei of Kenya broke a long-standing world record by winning the women’s event of the Chicago Marathon in two hours, 14 minutes and four seconds, and her Kenyan counterpart Eliud Kipchoge became the first human to run a marathon in under 2 hours.
The South Africa Rugby team won the 2019 World Cup tournament in Japan after beating England in the final.
Rising Stars:
The following young people made headlines in 2019, for good reasons of course.
Alaa Salah a Sudanese student and anti-governmental protestor. She became the international face of the Sudanese protests that led to ousting of President Omar Bashir. A picture of standing on a car while addressing protestors broke the internet, she was dubbed the lady in white.
Natasha Mwansa, a student at the University of Zambia and women's rights and youth activist caught global attention when she shared the stage with President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. She spoke of the salience of youth participation in global development.
The youthful talent of Patson Daka(Zambia), Enock Mwepu (Zambia), Luther Singh (South Africa) and Kreppa Diatta (Senegal) are prone to lead the global pitch in football in the next decade. At a young age, they have excelled in representing their national teams and clubs at top competitions.
Social Media Trends:
O jewa Ke Eng: The literal translation is ‘what is eating you up?’ Twitter user began to express themselves through this tweet, and it became a form of support group that helped aid peoples problems.
#KFCWedding: A South African man proposed to his fiance at KFC. He was mocked for this, but KFC South Africa retweeted his video in search for him, and they were joined by several big firms and gifted them their dream wedding.
#MonguRice: A student from Zambia received social media appraisal for his unique marketing skills of selling rice on campus. He received various corporate endorsements and an internship for his creativity.
#BlueForSudan: Social Media users were changing their profiles pictures blue to show solidarity to the protests in Sudan.
Orbituary:
- Kenyan Shooting: The DusitD2 complex attack was a terrorist attack that occurred from 15 to 16 January 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya, which left more than 20 people dead.
- Ethiopian Airlines Crash: An Ethiopian aeroplane, Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft crashed six minutes after takeoff, killing all 157 people aboard.
- Mohammed Morsi: The former Egyptian president fainted in a courtroom while giving testimony and was later pronounced dead.
- Robert Mugabe: The man was instrumental in the liberation fight of Zimbabwe died in a hospital in Singapore after a long illness. He was 95 years at the time of his death.
- Oliver Mtukudzi: An international culture icon of Zimbabwe and Afro-Jazz musician. He died at the age of 66 in a hospital in Harare after a long battle with diabetes.
