Humans of Africa

24/04/2023

The South African choir that performed for Queen Victoria
https://zurl.co/5vhl

An unearthed cache of century-old photographs of a South African choir that had performed in Victorian Britain inspired a choreographer to reimagine what they went through as they toured the country.

21/04/2023

‘I felt seriously cheated’ - Djimon Hounsou
https://zurl.co/Gbc9

From sleeping rough in Paris to being cast as a slave three times in five years, the Shazam! star is no stranger to hardship. Will Hollywood finally give him the great roles he so clearly deserves?

20/04/2023

My teenage cousin pushed me to go to university
https://zurl.co/T7kx

The tutor on my exercise science course pointed me towards literature, and I began to read voraciously. It was the start of a love affair that led to my first novel

19/04/2023

How the Oscars changed the life of a Kenyan woman
https://zurl.co/5uBp

Kenyan fashion designer Nthenya Mwendwa is in Los Angeles with the aim of getting her luxury bags worn and photographed on the Oscars red carpet.

14/04/2023

Searching for my daughter-in-law in the mud
https://zurl.co/xyo7

Violet Frank’s two grandchildren serve as reminders of her missing daughter-in-law. It is feared her name will be added to those of more than 300 who died when Cyclone Freddy struck Malawi at the beginning of the week. The youngsters had gone to stay with Violet just days before and escaped the fa...

13/04/2023

I went into debt, trying to secure a miracle
https://zurl.co/5NPS

Evarline Okello hasn't earned anything for months, so when she heard about a pastor whose prayers could make life better, she wanted to see him. He asked her for $115 (£96; 15,000 Kenyan shillings).

12/04/2023

Long wait for justice over apartheid crimes
https://zurl.co/JYR3

Despite being one of the apartheid era's most notorious crimes, the Cradock Four have never been taken to court even though they were not given amnesty by the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

11/04/2023

Liberia's war and peace: Lessons from 30 years' reporting
https://zurl.co/7adY

In our series of letters from African writers, retiring journalist Jonathan Paye-Layleh reflects on his 30-year career covering the tumultuous events in his home country, Liberia.

07/04/2023

Pictures from above: What a bird's eye view of Africa reveals
https://zurl.co/Tcfk

For the past 40 years, Edward Burtynsky has photographed the impact of human industry on the planet and for his latest collection, African Studies, he travelled across the continent taking photos from above.

06/04/2023

The island paradise held prisoner by he**in
https://zurl.co/DSLB

Some 10% of the local population in the tropical island nation of Seychelles is dependent on he**in in what is now an epidemic, according to the country's government.

03/04/2023

'People were going crazy’ – how the Super Eagles took the world by storm

https://humansofafrica.net/people-were-going-crazy-how-the-super-eagles-took-the-world-by-storm/

31/03/2023

Pharrell Williams: ‘Life without music would be like a human being without sense’

https://humansofafrica.net/pharrell-williams-life-without-music-would-be-like-a-human-being-without-sense/

29/03/2023

The Nigerian AI artist reimagining a stylish old age
https://zurl.co/bi9c

Artworks generated by artificial intelligence (AI) have become a source of controversy, but Nigerian filmmaker and artist Malik Afegbua is making a case that it can challenge us to create a better real world - and a more stylish one for older people.

28/03/2023

Libianca: The true story behind the star's 'more alcohol' song, People

https://zurl.co/U5e2

People (Check On Me), a tender cry for help that captured her at a crushing low point, has been streamed more than 150 million times since December.

27/03/2023

How Pele’s 1969 visit reshaped Nigerian football
https://zurl.co/tLlN

In 1969, with a civil war raging, global football's biggest star arrived in Benin City as part of a visit that would change Nigerian football forever.

24/03/2023

How a young musician captured the music of Rwanda

https://zurl.co/Kt4F

The singer, songwriter and producer Michael Makembe has compiled an audio library with almost 1,000 recordings of people singing, clapping and playing traditional instruments

23/03/2023

One woman’s forgotten story reveals a dirty truth about Africa’s written histories
https://zurl.co/T1pu

Regina Twala was an influential writer and political activist of the 50s and 60s. Yet while European men gained acclaim from her work, her name was almost erased from memory

22/03/2023

The secret life of André Leon Talley: what an auction reveals about the late fashion legend
https://zurl.co/rNdq

A sale of Andre Leon Talley’s belongings shows the caring, complicated man behind the unforgettable image

21/03/2023

I am going back to Ukraine to study
https://zurl.co/4StF

Just a year ago, the Nigerian medical student was scrambling to find safe passage out of Ukraine after the Russian bombardment began on 24 February. But with other studying options effectively closed off, he returned to Ukraine later in the year for another term. Now, he wants to travel there again.

20/03/2023

Inside Villa Somalia: 72 hours with the president promising to rebuild his broken country
https://zurl.co/xiuO

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud says Somalia’s factions can find peace, political Islam need not be violent and democracy can grow. Here’s his exclusive interview with the Observer

17/03/2023

Meet Cambridge University's youngest black professor
https://zurl.co/WclN

Diagnosed with autism and global development delay in his early years, Jason Arday was unable to speak until he was 11 years old and could not read or write until he was 18. Now aged 37, he is about to become the youngest black person ever appointed to a professorship at the University of Cambridge.

16/03/2023

The mission to save the biggest frog on earth
https://zurl.co/Zzue

For decades, the goliath frog has been over-hunted for food and the pet trade in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Its habitat beside rivers and streams is fast being destroyed and the frog is now classified as endangered on the official extinction Red List.

15/03/2023

Fernanda Pineda: We counted 150 murders
https://zurl.co/FmLo

Fernanda Pineda photographs young people finding ways to express themselves and avoid gang warfare in one of the country’s most violent cities.

14/03/2023

After 102 children, Ugandan villager says enough is enough
https://zurl.co/qCnb

Musa Hasahya Kasera has so many children he can’t remember most of their names. The Ugandan villager is struggling to provide for his vast family, which he says includes 12 wives, 102 children and 578 grandchildren and now feels enough is enough.

13/03/2023

Christian Atsu: From fisherman's son to 'one in a million' Black Star '
https://zurl.co/7pWy

The son of a fisherman, Christian Atsu never got caught in the trappings of fame. Humble beginnings meant the Ghana midfielder, who lost his life in the recent earthquakes that devastated Turkey and Syria, tried to use his success to help others in their lives.

10/03/2023

‘I’m on the right side of history’: Spike Lee on speaking truth to power – and why Beyoncé was robbed

https://zurl.co/smbD

As the BlacKkKlansman film-maker picks up the British Film Institute’s top honour, he talks about being accused of provoking race riots, why his Malcolm X biopic will endure – and the problem with awards

03/03/2023

Ethiopia's online horrors: 'I saw my father's dead body on Facebook'
https://zurl.co/D1xG

When Ethiopian university student Moti Dereje logged into his Facebook account in late November 2018, he was expecting to see the usual updates from his friends and family. Instead, he saw a shocking post.

02/03/2023

Nigeria election 2023 in Katsina: 'You let kidnappers take me, now you want my vote'
https://zurl.co/NxBx

Many Nigerians live in constant fear of being kidnapped and held for ransom by armed gangs, especially in the north-west of the country, where thousands of people have had to flee their homes. The insecurity means many in the region, which has the country's largest number of registered voters, may n...

01/03/2023

Nigeria election 2023: Who is Bola Tinubu of the APC?
https://zurl.co/aGPQ

Bola Tinubu, 70, widely credited with reshaping Nigeria's commercial hub Lagos, will lead the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) into February's presidential election but he faces a reinvigorated opposition, allegations of corruption, and health issues as he eyes one of Africa's most daunting jo...

28/02/2023

Nigeria election 2023: Who is Atiku Abubakar?
https://zurl.co/gpAb

Atiku Abubakar is hoping it will be sixth-time lucky in his quest to be Nigeria's next president having fallen short on five previous attempts, the first in 1992.