Africa Here and NOW

About Africa Here and NOW

The conversation you've always wanted to have about Africa.Combining in-depth knowledge with exclusive analysis of events and trends affecting the continent. Our team has vast experience in Africa and has an extensive network of contacts from Cape Town to Cairo and from Addis to Accra, which will help us provide fresh commentary presented with wit and style.We believe there is a growing demand for accurate, incisive information about Africa and we are dedicated to asking the questions that matter and offering, at least, some of the answers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Martine Dennis

Category

news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

31 Oct 2023

Latest episode

9 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

76 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   9 Oct 2026

   PLO Lumumba: Africa Will Be Eaten For Breakfast

   PLO Lumumba on ethnicity, Traore's rule, power in the Sahel, and Africa’s future We speak with Patrick Loch Ochieng Lumumba, widely known as PLO Lumumba, about African politics, identity, and the continent’s struggle to build stable, people-centered governance. PLO reflects on his own journey as a public intellectual, from his name and upbringing to his education in Belgium, his martial arts background, and how he wants to be remembered PLO Lumumba explains how he came by the name PLO: which comes from his initials, and why the name became part of his public identity. *He discusses the legacy of being named after Patrice Lumumba and how that shaped his awareness of African history and anti-colonial politics. *He shares how studying in Belgium happened through scholarship and academic opportunity rather than a deliberate plan. *He argues that public speaking comes naturally to him and says his public persona is different from his private one. *He traces his political thinking to Pan-Africanists like Julius Nyerere and Samora Machel, especially their emphasis on moving beyond sloganeering and ethnic allegiance. *He says ethnic identity has been weaponized by political elites across Africa to win office, access resources, and entrench power. *He proposes proportional representation and rotational office holding as possible ways to reduce the zero-sum nature of politics in ethnically diverse countries. *He says constitutional reform alone cannot eliminate “political bad manners” if the deeper culture of politics remains unchanged. *He argues that prosperity and better resource management can reduce the intensity of ethnic competition for power. *He points to Ghana and Tanzania as cautiously hopeful cases, while saying Rwanda, Burkina Faso, and the Sahel remain uncertain or too early to judge. *He warns that expelling former colonial powers only to invite new external powers can amount to “swapping one slave master for another.” *He says Africa is still disorganized regionally and continentally, making it vulnerable in a new global scramble for minerals and influence. *He describes himself as a committed public intellectual, not just an orator, and says he values disagreement because it sharpens ideas. *He recalls being deported from Zambia after comments about the treatment of opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema. *He closes by saying he wants to be remembered as a warrior for truth, justice, and an Africa that stands on its own feet. 00:00 - Burkina Faso, foreign influence, and whether regime change is truly a success 00:27 - Who PLO Lumumba is and why his name matters 00:56 - Why Martine Dennis went to Nairobi to speak with him 01:22 - The burden and meaning of being named after Patrice Lumumba 03:16 - How he ended up studying in Belgium 04:14 - Private self versus public persona 05:13 - What shaped his Pan-African politics 06:39 - Samora Machel, ethnicity, and the “tribe must die” idea 07:05 - Why identity politics is resurging across Africa 08:29 - Can African constitutions solve ethnic politics? 10:25 - Why he supports proportional representation and rotation 12:50 - Why prosperity matters more than constitutional words 13:20 - The Congo example and the cost of disorganization 16:11 - Ghana, Tanzania, and other countries that give him hope 18:08 - What would have to happen for Rwanda to become a model 18:36 - Why Burkina Faso is too early to call a success 20:25 - The danger of replacing Western influence with Russian, Chinese, or other influence 21:49 - The rise of executive power grabs across the continent 23:15 - Politicized armies, ethnic capture, and weak institutions 24:08 - The new scramble for Africa and why regional blocs are failing 26:27 - How he sees himself as a public intellectual 28:45 - Why he tries to be measured and write to leaders first 29:14 - The Zambia deportation episode 30:06 - How he wants to be remembered 31:01 - Martial arts, discipline, and what he does for fun #plolumumba #kenya #traore Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   24 Sept 2026

   Africa Can't Win the A.I Race as 54 Countries

   Africa can’t win the AI race as 55 states Professor Arthur Mutambara argues that AI is a revolution on the scale of fire, electricity, and the steam engine, and says Africa must respond as one bloc rather than 55 fragmented states. He explains the five layers of the AI industry, the risks of superintelligence and autonomous weapons, and why Africa needs energy, data centers, talent, and continental-scale coordination to have any real leverage. In this episode: Arthur Mutambara lays out why AI is not just another digital trend, but a civilization-level shift with implications for industry, geopolitics, and human development. He says AI has five layers - energy, chips, infrastructure, models, and applications - and Africa must participate in all of them, not just consume the final products. Prof Mutambara argues that without energy and digital infrastructure, there can be no meaningful AI development anywhere on the continent. He warns that AI systems inherit the values and biases of the data and people who build them, which is why Africans must harvest, curate, store, and train on their own data. He makes the case for African unity at scale, saying South Africa, Nigeria, and other individual states are too small to compete alone in an AI economy dominated by China and the US. He links AI to industrialization by pointing to productivity gains, efficiency, innovation, and cost savings across agriculture, mining, education, healthcare, and manufacturing. He says Africa needs data centers on the continent for data sovereignty and AI sovereignty, while acknowledging the land, energy, and water costs they bring. He distinguishes between digital AI and physical AI, saying humanoids, drones, and driverless cars are the next frontier and that China is moving quickly there. He warns that jobs will be modified more than destroyed, but only if African countries develop skills, urgency, and participation across the AI stack. He says recursive self-improvement could arrive around 2028 and artificial superintelligence by 2036, making governance and global regulation increasingly difficult. 00:00 - AI as a revolution on the scale of fire and electricity 00:30 - Arthur Mutambara’s background and why his perspective matters 01:30 - Superintelligence, recursive self-improvement, and weaponized AI 02:34 - AI as a general-purpose technology for development 02:55 - Why AI depends on digital transformation and infrastructure 03:22 - The five layers of the AI industry 04:14 - Africa must build, not just consume, AI 05:18 - Energy, data centers, and critical minerals as Africa’s leverage 05:52 - What a GPU is and why hardware matters 06:55 - Bias in AI systems and the need for diverse creators 08:31 - Why Africa needs scale to compete in AI 09:17 - The talent, funding, and energy needed for AI factories 10:08 - Negotiating with China and the US as a continental bloc 11:07 - How AI supports industrialization and productivity 12:27 - AU awareness, urgency, and linking AI to human development 14:21 - Why Africa-first leadership and integration matter 16:25 - Partnering to manufacture chips using African minerals 17:49 - Geopolitical competition and the governance problem 19:45 - Why Africa should negotiate as one block on minerals 20:33 - Learning from China while protecting African interests 21:39 - AI, climate pressure, and the case for green AI 23:00 - Why Africa needs data centers on the continent 24:55 - Digital AI versus physical AI 26:04 - Job displacement, job modification, and new skills 27:43 - Recursive self-improvement and the 2028 timeline 28:57 - Artificial superintelligence and the 2036 projection 29:44 - What happens if Africa misses the AI revolution He says: *“We must be like China. We must be like India.” *“AI is a game of numbers. It requires scale.” *“We must be creators, not consumers.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   11 Sept 2026

   My Burkina Faso: Four Years of Captain Ibrahim Traore

   My Burkina Faso, Four Years After Traoré This episode examines Burkina Faso four years into Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s rule, using a conversation with Dr. Lamourdia Thombiano, a soil scientist and writer from eastern Burkina Faso. It explores security, sovereignty, indigenous values, and the political mood in the country, with a strong focus on how many Burkinabe people see the changes firsthand.Dr. Thombiano argues that the country has more hope, cohesion, and national purpose than it did before Traoré took power, especially outside the cities. He also explains why many citizens view the current period less through the lens of elections and individual rights, and more through development, social unity, and cultural grounding. Key topics Dr. Thombiano says Burkina Faso feels more vibrant and politically engaged than it did four or five years ago. He links today’s patriotism to the legacy of Thomas Sankara, saying Traoré’s appeal partly comes from continuing Sankara’s unfinished project. Security remains a major challenge, but he frames it as part of a broader package that includes peace, social cohesion, development, and public confidence. He says the army’s morale has improved because soldiers are better equipped and supported by civilians who share information, food, and water. He argues that many Burkinabe people would prefer development spending on health, agriculture, and education over the costs of elections. He describes a shift toward indigenous governance, including traditional leaders handling disputes that are then recognized by the Ministry of Justice. He says Burkina Faso is moving toward a model where democracy is not only about elections, but about good governance and communal responsibility. He highlights concrete agricultural changes, including subsidized fertilizer, government ploughing support, and new crops such as coffee, cacao, plantain, banana plantain, and wheat. He says youth are being trained through “immersion patriotique,” with 65,000 young people reportedly trained this year in values like solidarity, hospitality, fairness, and service. On freedoms and repression, he argues that in Burkinabe culture the collective takes priority over the individual, so public speech is judged by whether it helps or harms the community. Chapters 00:00 — Dr. Thombiano introduces himself and Burkina Faso’s new political reference points 00:56 — Traoré’s rise, his sovereignty message, and the promise to restore security 01:26 — Why many Burkinabe people feel renewed enthusiasm and national momentum 03:50 — Sankara’s influence and Traoré’s revolutionary legacy 04:20 — Security as part of a wider package of peace, cohesion, and development 05:19 — Why Sahel insecurity is viewed as a regional and global problem 06:20 — Improved army morale and stronger public support 07:18 — Dissolving political parties and delaying elections 07:47 — Indigenous values and traditional dispute resolution 09:16 — Democracy through a Burkinabe lens 10:41 — Why many people reportedly prefer development spending over election costs 11:09 — Mobile hospitals, rural healthcare, and agricultural support 12:07 — How Burkina Faso’s agricultural possibilities are changing 13:34 — Innovation, agricultural dynamism, and optimism 14:04 — Why optimism is stronger in rural areas 16:06 — Traoré’s hero status among young people 18:04 — French influence, Russian cooperation, and international alliances 19:59 — Burkina Faso as a country of hope and sovereignty 20:30 — “Immersion patriotique” and training a new generation 21:56 — Personal freedoms, collective responsibility, and cultural perspectives Notable quotes “It’s a country of hope.” “The individual is at the service of the community, not the other way round.” “People realize the amount of money which is being used to organize election, they can use it for health, for agriculture, for education.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Who has been a guest on Africa Here and NOW

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• NNAMDI CHIEKWU
• Ernst van Jaarsveldt
• PETER OBI
• Gilles Yabi
• Marisa Lourenco

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

359,192

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Podcast Authority Score: 30 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

25

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

0