Nigerian lawmakers are proposing a bill to limit the central bank's control over economic policy. The bill, currently in the Senate, seeks to establish a committee headed by the finance minister to coordinate monetary and fiscal policies. This proposal comes as Nigeria grapples with a 28-year high inflation rate of 33.69% in April, amid sluggish economic growth and currency issues. The central bank would still manage monetary policies, but the new committee would oversee the coordination of both monetary and fiscal policies. Economists warn that this could undermine the central bank's autonomy . "The federal government tampering with the central bank's autonomy could disrupt monetary policy," said Abuja-based economist Kelvin Emmanuel. The International Monetary Fund has also cautioned Nigeria against compromising the central bank's independence, highlighting potential risks to inflation control and economic stability. The bill, backed by 32 ruling party members, requires Senate approval and the President's signature to become law. The central bank governor’s term would change to a single six-year term, instead of two five-year terms. Godwin Emefiele, the previous governor, faced criticism for currency restrictions that impacted the economy. Additionally, the bill proposes reducing temporary advances from the central bank to the government, which were increased during Muhammadu Buhari's presidency. Continue Reading Full Article By Author Name Author Name Home Comment Jun 1, 2024 May 15, 2026 2 min read Copy link Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Published Updated: Abuja-based economist Kelvin Emmanuel. Nigerian lawmakers are proposing a bill to limit the central bank's control over economic policy. The bill, currently in the Senate, seeks to establish a committee headed by the finance minister to coordinate monetary and fiscal policies. This proposal comes as Nigeria grapples with a 28-year high inflation rate of 33.69% in April, amid sluggish economic growth and currency issues. The central bank would still manage monetary policies, but the new committee would oversee the coordination of both monetary and fiscal policies. ADVERTISEMENT Economists warn that this could undermine the central bank's autonomy . "The federal government tampering with the central bank's autonomy could disrupt monetary policy," said Abuja-based economist Kelvin Emmanuel. The International Monetary Fund has also cautioned Nigeria against compromising the central bank's independence, highlighting potential risks to inflation control and economic stability. The bill, backed by 32 ruling party members, requires Senate approval and the President's signature to become law. The central bank governor’s term would change to a single six-year term, instead of two five-year terms. Godwin Emefiele, the previous governor, faced criticism for currency restrictions that impacted the economy. ADVERTISEMENT Additionally, the bill proposes reducing temporary advances from the central bank to the government, which were increased during Muhammadu Buhari's presidency. Trending Now US Democrats' Rwanda Record: Peaceful Change and Congo Sovereignty . Policy and Reforms Tanzania Community Grants: Who Benefits and What Comes Next . Government Announcements Ghana–Canada Seafarer Deal Does Not Guarantee Jobs . Job & Opportunity South Africa Elections 2026: DA Leads Gauteng as Count Advances . Elections Monitoring Popular Today ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Related Articles Tags

Rwandan artist France Mpundu has collaborated with Ivorian star Paulo Chakal during a cultural and music-focused visit to Côte d’Ivoire. Rwandan artist France Mpundu has recorded a new song with Paulo Chakal , one of the rising music figures in Côte d’Ivoire, during her recent stay in the West African country. Mpundu traveled to Côte d’Ivoire with her partner, Moctar , after arriving from Benin. Since her arrival, the artist has taken part in several professional and cultural activities, including meetings with creatives and visits to media and entertainment institutions. Among the places visited was Canal+ , where Moctar previously gained international attention after winning the reality television show The Secret Story . The visit also included engagements that highlighted their growing visibility within the regional entertainment industry. During the same trip, Mpundu toured the Sony Music offices in Côte d’Ivoire. Sources familiar with the visit indicate that discussions are ongoing regarding potential collaboration opportunities, although no official announcement has been made. In addition to these meetings, Mpundu used the opportunity to work musically with Paulo Chakal , a popular Ivorian artist known for the song “Ya Dieu Dedans,” which he recorded alongside renowned rapper Didi B , a leading figure in Francophone West African music. Details regarding the release date of the new collaboration have not yet been disclosed. Mpundu has also not commented publicly on the outcome of her discussions with Sony Music Afrique. However, sources indicate she is expected to return to Kigali during the end-of-year festive period, when further information about her recent projects may emerge. Source: IGIHE Continue Reading Full Article ENTERTAINMENT France Mpundu Records New Song With Ivorian Artist Paulo Chakal By Witty Pascal Entertainment Editor Witty Pascal Home Comment Dec 20, 2025 May 15, 2026 2 min read Copy link Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Published Updated: Rwandan artist France Mpundu has recorded a new song with Paulo Chakal , one of the rising music figures in Côte d’Ivoire, during her recent stay in the West African country. Mpundu traveled to Côte d’Ivoire with her partner, Moctar , after arriving from Benin. Since her arrival, the artist has taken part in several professional and cultural activities, including meetings with creatives and visits to media and entertainment institutions. ADVERTISEMENT Among the places visited was Canal+ , where Moctar previously gained international attention after winning the reality television show The Secret Story . The visit also included engagements that highlighted their growing visibility within the regional entertainment industry. During the same trip, Mpundu toured the Sony Music offices in Côte d’Ivoire. Sources familiar with the visit indicate that discussions are ongoing regarding potential collaboration opportunities, although no official announcement has been made. ADVERTISEMENT In addition to these meetings, Mpundu used the opportunity to work musically with Paulo Chakal , a popular Ivorian artist known for the song “Ya Dieu Dedans,” which he recorded alongside renowned rapper Didi B , a leading figure in Francophone West African music. Details regarding the release date of the new collaboration have not yet been disclosed. Mpundu has also not commented publicly on the outcome of her discussions with Sony Music Afrique. However, sources indicate she is expected to return to Kigali during the end-of-year festive period, when further information about her recent projects may emerge. Trending Now US Democrats' Rwanda Record: Peaceful Change and Congo Sovereignty . Policy and Reforms Tanzania Community Grants: Who Benefits and What Comes Next . Government Announcements Ghana–Canada Seafarer Deal Does Not Guarantee Jobs . Job & Opportunity South Africa Elections 2026: DA Leads Gauteng as Count Advances . Elections Monitoring Popular Today Biography Poco Lee Biography: Age, Real Name, Dance Career and Songs . Biography Eric Omondi Biography: Comedy, Activism and Public Life . Biography Who Is Snit Habteab, Eritrea’s Miss World Trailblazer? . Entertainment Poco Lee UK Case Sparks Consent Debate Among Nigerian Stars . Entertainment FOLA Leads 2026 Headies Nominations Ahead of Toronto . ADVERTISEMENT Source: IGIHE ADVERTISEMENT Related Articles Biography Poco Lee Biography: Age, Real Name, Dance Career and Songs Inside the Nigerian dancer’s rise from Ojo street shows to Afrobeats stages, music and global fame. . Biography Eric Omondi Biography: Comedy, Activism and Public Life How Eric Omondi rose through Churchill Show and became a prominent Kenyan activist. . Biography Who Is Snit Habteab, Eritrea’s Miss World Trailblazer? The neuroscientist and educator became Eritrea’s first Miss World entrant and reached the Top 6 . Entertainment Poco Lee UK Case Sparks Consent Debate Among Nigerian Stars The dancer faces five sexual offence charges and returns to court on September 15. . Tags Entertainment Entertainment Rwandan Entertainment Rwandan Entertainment Rwanda Rwanda

FARDC says it retook four localities near Minembwe and is now pushing toward the airfield as clashes continue. The Congolese army says it is pushing to regain control of the Minembwe Centre airfield after FARDC forces retook four localities near Minembwe following heavy fighting with M23-RDF rebels and allied forces in South Kivu. According to the army spokesman in southern South Kivu, Lieutenant Mbuyi Kalonji Reagan, FARDC regained control of Kitavi village, Irundu, and Ugeafi positions in the Madegu area after clashes on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 according to local reports . The army also accused rebel forces of bombing Minembwe General Hospital and civilian homes early Wednesday, June 17. No independent casualty toll was immediately provided in the initial report. The latest advance follows earlier FARDC claims of gains around Minembwe, including the recapture of Mikenge after fighting with M23-RD F forces. Security monitoring by Critical Threats has also reported continued clashes between pro-Congolese government forces and M23-aligned fighters in the South Kivu highlands. Colonel Apoko Bangala, cited by the army spokesman, said operations would continue as FARDC seeks to restore state authority around Minembwe. Fighting was still reported near the airfield at the time of the latest update. Continue Reading Full Article WAR IN EASTERN DRC FARDC Moves to Retake Minembwe Airfield After capturing 4 Localities By Serge Kitoko Tshibanda Political Analyst Serge Kitoko Tshibanda Home Comment Jun 17, 2026 Jun 17, 2026 1 min read Copy link Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Published Updated: The Congolese army says it is pushing to regain control of the Minembwe Centre airfield after FARDC forces retook four localities near Minembwe following heavy fighting with M23-RDF rebels and allied forces in South Kivu. According to the army spokesman in southern South Kivu, Lieutenant Mbuyi Kalonji Reagan, FARDC regained control of Kitavi village, Irundu, and Ugeafi positions in the Madegu area after clashes on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 according to local reports . ADVERTISEMENT The army also accused rebel forces of bombing Minembwe General Hospital and civilian homes early Wednesday, June 17. No independent casualty toll was immediately provided in the initial report. The latest advance follows earlier FARDC claims of gains around Minembwe, including the recapture of Mikenge after fighting with M23-RD F forces. Security monitoring by Critical Threats has also reported continued clashes between pro-Congolese government forces and M23-aligned fighters in the South Kivu highlands. ADVERTISEMENT Colonel Apoko Bangala, cited by the army spokesman, said operations would continue as FARDC seeks to restore state authority around Minembwe. Fighting was still reported near the airfield at the time of the latest update. Trending Now US Democrats' Rwanda Record: Peaceful Change and Congo Sovereignty . Policy and Reforms Tanzania Community Grants: Who Benefits and What Comes Next . Government Announcements Ghana–Canada Seafarer Deal Does Not Guarantee Jobs . Job & Opportunity South Africa Elections 2026: DA Leads Gauteng as Count Advances . Elections Monitoring Popular Today Policy and Reforms US Democrats' Rwanda Record: Peaceful Change and Congo Sovereignty . War in Eastern DRC Muyaya: Congo's War Has Nothing to Do With the Constitution . Infrastructure DRC Signs Contracts to Modernise 13 Airports, First Deliveries in 2028 . Economic Reports DRC and IMF Reach Staff-Level Deal on Programme Reviews . | Economy DRC Opens London Forum Seeking Partnerships, Not Aid . ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Related Articles Policy and Reforms US Democrats' Rwanda Record: Peaceful Change and Congo Sovereignty Will Democrats support Kagame after the 2026 midterms? Blinken's statements, Biden's Rwanda policy . War in Eastern DRC Muyaya: Congo's War Has Nothing to Do With the Constitution In London, the DRC government spokesperson rejects constitutional politics as a cause of the eastern . Infrastructure DRC Signs Contracts to Modernise 13 Airports, First Deliveries in 2028 Four firms will rebuild runways and terminals from Kalemie to Muanda under a Treasury-funded plan . Economic Reports DRC and IMF Reach Staff-Level Deal on Programme Reviews Board vote set for December; minister says up to $771 million could follow if approved . Tags DR.Congo DR.Congo Wazalendo DRC Wazalendo DRC DR Congo News DR Congo News FARDC Congo FARDC Congo FARDC FARDC

Read KiDi’s verified biography: real name, age, son, songs, awards, Lynx exit and 2026 album Where Do We Go From Here. KiDi , born Dennis Nana Dwamena, is a Ghanaian singer, songwriter and producer who carries highlife melody into Afrobeats, Afropop and R&B. He won MTN Hitmaker in 2015, broke into Ghana’s mainstream with “Say You Love Me” and “Odo,” then reached a much wider audience through “Touch It.” His authenticated X profile tracks a career now entering a new phase: on 27 August 2026, he released his third studio album, Where Do We Go From Here . The project follows his departure from Lynx Entertainment and gives fresh context to a catalogue that already includes Sugar , The Golden Boy , the Blue EP and 4Play . Who is KiDi? KiDi is the stage name of Ghanaian singer, songwriter and producer Dennis Nana Dwamena. He rose from the University of Ghana and MTN Hitmaker to national awards and international recognition, led by “Odo,” “Enjoyment” and the platinum-certified “Touch It,” before releasing his third album in August 2026. The New Album’s Defining Moment The immediate reason readers are searching for KiDi again is Where Do We Go From Here . Apple Music lists the album as a 15-track, 39-minute release dated 27 August 2026. Its credits place the project under Black Boy Joy, with an exclusive global licence to Encore Recordings. Guests include Sarkodie, Lasmid, AratheJay and Kwesi Arthur. The release arrived at roughly midnight in Ghana, or 3:00 a.m. East Africa Time, placing it inside XTRAfrica’s current Rising-Person detection window. Public interest had been building through the rollout. A MyJoyOnline announcement identified it as KiDi’s third studio album and noted planned listening activity in Accra and London. His official YouTube channel also framed it as the continuation of a ten-year journey. In the official album announcement , KiDi described the moment in compact terms: “10 years of hits, memories, and timeless moments with you.” That decade matters. The new album is not an introduction to KiDi; it is the first full-length test of what follows an established label era. XTRAfrica previously reported that KiDi confirmed his Lynx Entertainment exit in 2026. The album now turns that business change into a public body of work rather than a statement about future plans. Before Fame: Accra, University and MTN Hitmaker Continue Reading Full Article BIOGRAPHY KiDi Biography: Real Name, Albums, Son and Career By Witty Pascal Entertainment Editor Witty Pascal Home Comment Aug 27, 2026 Aug 27, 2026 11 min read Copy link Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Published Updated: KiDi , born Dennis Nana Dwamena, is a Ghanaian singer, songwriter and producer who carries highlife melody into Afrobeats, Afropop and R&B. He won MTN Hitmaker in 2015, broke into Ghana’s mainstream with “Say You Love Me” and “Odo,” then reached a much wider audience through “Touch It.” His authenticated X profile tracks a career now entering a new phase: on 27 August 2026, he released his third studio album, Where Do We Go From Here . The project follows his departure from Lynx Entertainment and gives fresh context to a catalogue that already includes Sugar , The Golden Boy , the Blue EP and 4Play . Who is KiDi? KiDi is the stage name of Ghanaian singer, songwriter and producer Dennis Nana Dwamena. He rose from the University of Ghana and MTN Hitmaker to national awards and international recognition, led by “Odo,” “Enjoyment” and the platinum-certified “Touch It,” before releasing his third album in August 2026. The New Album’s Defining Moment The immediate reason readers are searching for KiDi again is Where Do We Go From Here . Apple Music lists the album as a 15-track, 39-minute release dated 27 August 2026. Its credits place the project under Black Boy Joy, with an exclusive global licence to Encore Recordings. Guests include Sarkodie, Lasmid, AratheJay and Kwesi Arthur. The release arrived at roughly midnight in Ghana, or 3:00 a.m. East Africa Time, placing it inside XTRAfrica’s current Rising-Person detection window. Public interest had been building through the rollout. A MyJoyOnline announcement identified it as KiDi’s third studio album and noted planned listening activity in Accra and London. His official YouTube channel also framed it as the continuation of a ten-year journey. In the official album announcement , KiDi described the moment in compact terms: “10 years of hits, memories, and timeless moments with you.” That decade matters. The new album is not an introduction to KiDi; it is the first full-length test of what follows an established label era. XTRAfrica previously reported that KiDi confirmed his Lynx Entertainment exit in 2026. The album now turns that business change into a public body of work rather than a statement about future plans. Before Fame: Accra, University and MTN Hitmaker KiDi’s real name is Dennis Nana Dwamena. Multiple Ghanaian profiles give his birth date as 18 August 1993, making him 33 as of 27 August 2026. He grew up in Accra and later attended the University of Ghana, where he studied Economics and Information Studies. Music developed alongside university life through campus performances and cover recordings rather than through an immediate professional route. The decisive early test came in 2015. Graphic Online’s report on the MTN Hitmaker final records that KiDi won the fourth season and secured the competition’s recording prize. The result gave him a route into Lynx Entertainment and a structured period of artist development. His early mainstream records showed that he was more than a vocalist. KiDi wrote, arranged and produced “Say You Love Me,” then widened his audience with “Odo” in 2017. A remix featuring Davido and Mayorkun linked the record to Nigerian pop audiences, while “Adiepena” and later “Enjoyment” helped establish his reputation for romantic songwriting carried by bright, recognisable hooks. ADVERTISEMENT Sound, Songs and Awards That Changed the Scale KiDi’s catalogue moves between highlife guitar language, Afrobeats rhythm, Afropop polish and R&B phrasing. The connecting element is melody: even when a record is built for dancing, his vocal lines tend to keep the intimacy of a love song. The KiDi songs page on XTRAfrica gathers current releases and shows how that sound has continued through “Babylon” and “Signature.” His debut studio album, Sugar , arrived in 2019 and was accompanied by a film project built around the music. The Blue EP followed in 2020, led by songs including “Say Cheese.” The Golden Boy arrived in 2021 and became the home of “Touch It,” the record that changed the international scale of his career. “Touch It” travelled through social-video dance culture before moving into formal chart and certification milestones. MyJoyOnline reported its platinum certification in India in June 2022. The song also received a remix with American rapper Tyga, showing how a Ghanaian pop record could cross markets without losing the rhythmic directness that made it work at home. The award season that followed confirmed the shift. Ghana Business News recorded five KiDi wins at the 2022 Ghana Music Awards, including Artiste of the Year, Album/EP of the Year for The Golden Boy and Most Popular Song of the Year for “Touch It.” Those honours placed a long run of singles inside a broader body of work. Selected achievements include: Winning MTN Hitmaker Season 4 in 2015. Building a Ghanaian breakthrough through “Say You Love Me,” “Odo” and “Adiepena.” Releasing the studio albums Sugar , The Golden Boy and Where Do We Go From Here . Winning the 2022 Ghana Music Awards Artiste of the Year prize. Earning an India platinum certification for “Touch It.” Expanding his 2026 catalogue through “Babylon,” “Signature” and a third album. Ghanaian Roots and a Cross-Border Pop Identity KiDi’s music is Ghanaian in its melodic instincts, especially where highlife guitar and conversational romance meet contemporary pop production. At the same time, his catalogue has never been limited to one national market. The “Odo” remix connected him with Davido and Mayorkun, “Touch It” travelled through India and global social platforms, and later collaborations placed him beside artists from different African scenes. That combination explains why his work often sits inside both Ghana-focused and continent-wide conversations. XTRAfrica’s wider ranking of African artists with global reach gives useful context for the competitive space in which Ghanaian pop now operates. KiDi’s strength in that space is not that he abandons highlife; it is that he makes its melodic habits legible inside modern Afropop. The 2026 album sharpens that identity through Ghanaian collaborations. Sarkodie, Lasmid, AratheJay and Kwesi Arthur appear across the track list. Rather than treating cross-border success as a reason to erase home, the project keeps Ghanaian voices central while distributing the release internationally. Fatherhood, Relationships and the Person Offstage Fatherhood entered KiDi’s life before his public breakthrough. In a 2026 discussion about becoming a parent while at university, he described feeling unprepared and credited family support with helping him complete his education. Oyerepa’s account of the interview records his explanation that the responsibility affected his studies but also pushed him to continue. ADVERTISEMENT KiDi has publicly confirmed that he has one son. He has spoken about wanting more children in the future, but he has also said he does not want to rush that decision. Current marital or partnership claims require more caution. A 2025 MyJoyOnline interview about marriage recorded him saying he wanted marriage one day and was not in a relationship at that time. His 2026 comments discuss the woman he may eventually settle down with, but do not establish a current status. XTRAfrica therefore does not turn older statements or co-parenting into a claim about his present relationship. The distinction matters because biography should explain public life without treating relatives as promotional material. His son is relevant because KiDi has deliberately discussed fatherhood and its effect on his education, responsibility and ambitions. The identities and private lives of family members do not need to be expanded beyond what the artist has chosen to place on record. Career Timeline Year Event Significance 2015 Won MTN Hitmaker Season 4 Opened a professional route into Ghana’s recording industry 2017 Released “Say You Love Me” and “Odo” Established his mainstream identity as a singer, writer and producer 2019 Released Sugar Turned a successful singles run into a debut album and film project 2021 Released The Golden Boy and “Touch It” Created his biggest international crossover chapter 2022 Won Ghana Music Awards Artiste of the Year Confirmed his standing at the top of Ghanaian pop 2026 Confirmed his Lynx exit and released Where Do We Go From Here Began a new business and creative phase with a third studio album Impact and Legacy in Ghanaian Pop KiDi’s importance lies in continuity as much as virality. He entered through a national talent competition, learned inside an established Ghanaian label system and built a catalogue in which songwriting, production and performance reinforce one another. “Touch It” supplied the dramatic global moment, but the career around it is supported by albums, Ghanaian award recognition and a steady ability to collaborate without becoming anonymous beside guests. He also represents a generation that has made genre boundaries less rigid. A KiDi record may be described as highlife, Afrobeats, Afropop or R&B depending on the song, yet the catalogue remains recognisable because melody and romantic storytelling keep returning. That flexibility has helped Ghanaian pop move between local radio, African collaborations, diaspora concerts and international streaming playlists. The 2026 chapter adds a different kind of legacy question: whether an artist formed inside a major local label can carry the audience, standards and identity of that era into a more self-directed structure. Where Do We Go From Here is the first substantial answer. Looking Ahead After Where Do We Go From Here The next measurable stage will be how the new songs settle after release day. KiDi has already built multiple entry points: “Signature” and “Babylon” introduced the era, while collaborations with Sarkodie, Lasmid, AratheJay and Kwesi Arthur invite several audience clusters into the album. Live performance will be equally important. The rollout announced a London headline show for September 2026, giving the project an early diaspora test after its Accra launch activity. For XTRAfrica readers, the useful question is no longer whether KiDi can produce a hit. It is how he will organise a third-album career after the competition victory, label development, national awards and global crossover that defined his first decade. Frequently Asked Questions About KiDi What is KiDi’s real name? KiDi’s real name is Dennis Nana Dwamena. He uses KiDi as his professional stage name. Trending Now US Democrats' Rwanda Record: Peaceful Change and Congo Sovereignty . Policy and Reforms Tanzania Community Grants: Who Benefits and What Comes Next . Government Announcements Ghana–Canada Seafarer Deal Does Not Guarantee Jobs . Job & Opportunity South Africa Elections 2026: DA Leads Gauteng as Count Advances . Elections Monitoring Popular Today Biography KiDi Biography: Real Name, Albums, Son and Career . African Culture Kofi Mole Biography: Real Name, Songs, Awards and Career . African Culture Ria Boss Biography: Real Name, Songs, Album and Career . African Culture Black Sherif Biography: Age, Songs, Albums and Career . Entertainment Shatta Wale Explains Burna Boy Friendship Fallout . ADVERTISEMENT How old is KiDi? KiDi was born on 18 August 1993 and is 33 years old as of 27 August 2026. Where is KiDi from? KiDi is Ghanaian and was raised in Accra. His music draws strongly from Ghanaian highlife while also using Afrobeats, Afropop and R&B. Which competition did KiDi win? He won the fourth season of MTN Hitmaker in 2015, a result that helped begin his professional recording career. What song made KiDi internationally famous? “Touch It” became his largest international crossover, travelling through social-video dance culture and earning platinum certification in India. How many studio albums has KiDi released? As of August 2026, KiDi has released three studio albums: Sugar , The Golden Boy and Where Do We Go From Here . What is KiDi’s latest album? His latest album is Where Do We Go From Here , released on 27 August 2026 with 15 tracks. Is KiDi still signed to Lynx Entertainment? KiDi said in 2026 that he had left Lynx Entertainment. XTRAfrica reported that confirmation before the release of his third album. Is KiDi married? His current marital status is not publicly confirmed as of August 2026. Older statements should not be treated as permanent proof of his present status. Does KiDi have children? Yes. KiDi has publicly confirmed that he has one child and has discussed how becoming a father while at university shaped his life. ADVERTISEMENT Related Articles Biography KiDi Biography: Real Name, Albums, Son and Career Meet Ghana’s KiDi: his age, family, breakthrough, awards and 2026 album . African Culture Kofi Mole Biography: Real Name, Songs, Awards and Career Discover Kofi Mole’s real name, Kumasi roots, university decision, hit songs, awards and 2026 music. . African Culture Ria Boss Biography: Real Name, Songs, Album and Career Explore Ria Boss’s Ghanaian-Burkinabé roots, 11-EP run, REMEMBER album and latest music. . African Culture Black Sherif Biography: Age, Songs, Albums and Career Explore Black Sherif’s age, real name, Konongo roots, songs, albums, awards and 2026 music. . Tags Ghanian Musics Ghanian Musics Musics Musics Ghana Ghana KiDi KiDi

Boma Akpore says his relationship ended after his partner’s family rejected him over concerns tied to his fame and public image. Former Big Brother Naija housemate Boma Akpore has disclosed that a relationship he intended to take to marriage ended after his partner’s family declined to approve their union. In a podcast interview with Chude Jideonwo, Akpore said the rejection was based on concerns about his public persona and the scrutiny that comes with his career in the entertainment industry. He revealed that he had planned to propose to his partner in August and had intended to travel to the United States to purchase an engagement ring. However, the relationship came to an abrupt end when her family opposed the marriage plans. According to Akpore, the family’s disapproval was rooted in perceptions shaped by his visibility as a public figure. He described the situation as discouraging, noting that the relationship had been largely positive despite minor disagreements. He added that being in the public eye often exposes aspects of a person’s life to judgment and misinterpretation, which he believes played a significant role in the family’s decision. Akpore concluded that the experience highlighted the personal challenges that can arise from fame, especially Continue Reading Full Article MUSICS Boma Akpore says partner’s family rejected him over public image By Witty Pascal Entertainment Editor Witty Pascal Home Comment Nov 28, 2025 May 15, 2026 1 min read Copy link Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Published Updated: Former Big Brother Naija housemate Boma Akpore has disclosed that a relationship he intended to take to marriage ended after his partner’s family declined to approve their union. In a podcast interview with Chude Jideonwo, Akpore said the rejection was based on concerns about his public persona and the scrutiny that comes with his career in the entertainment industry. He revealed that he had planned to propose to his partner in August and had intended to travel to the United States to purchase an engagement ring. However, the relationship came to an abrupt end when her family opposed the marriage plans. ADVERTISEMENT According to Akpore, the family’s disapproval was rooted in perceptions shaped by his visibility as a public figure. He described the situation as discouraging, noting that the relationship had been largely positive despite minor disagreements. He added that being in the public eye often exposes aspects of a person’s life to judgment and misinterpretation, which he believes played a significant role in the family’s decision. ADVERTISEMENT Akpore concluded that the experience highlighted the personal challenges that can arise from fame, especially Trending Now US Democrats' Rwanda Record: Peaceful Change and Congo Sovereignty . Policy and Reforms Tanzania Community Grants: Who Benefits and What Comes Next . Government Announcements Ghana–Canada Seafarer Deal Does Not Guarantee Jobs . Job & Opportunity South Africa Elections 2026: DA Leads Gauteng as Count Advances . Elections Monitoring Popular Today Entertainment Omah Lay Injury Reports: What the Accounts Establish . Biography Marie-Célestin Karondwa Biography: UDPS Role, Death and Legacy . Biography Keivo Biography: Victor Ikpe, Age, Career and BBNaija Exit . Entertainment Black Market Sets Film-Screening Record in Lagos . Biography Poco Lee Biography: Age, Real Name, Dance Career and Songs . ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Related Articles Entertainment Omah Lay Injury Reports: What the Accounts Establish Reports describe a rehearsal incident, but medical details and performance changes need confirmation . Biography Marie-Célestin Karondwa Biography: UDPS Role, Death and Legacy Who was the Butembo UDPS official killed after a radio appearance during the Ebola outbreak? . Biography Keivo Biography: Victor Ikpe, Age, Career and BBNaija Exit Meet Victor Ikpe, the web developer whose BBNaija Season 11 run ended in disqualification. . Entertainment Black Market Sets Film-Screening Record in Lagos Organisers say 51,000 people completed the Nollywood film screening at Tafawa Balewa Square. . Tags Nigerian Entertainment Nigerian Entertainment Musics Musics

ANC threatens legal action after DA refuses to remove billboard mocking Gauteng Premier Lesufi during water crisis. South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has threatened legal action against the Democratic Alliance (DA) over a billboard mocking Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi following controversial remarks he made during Johannesburg’s water crisis . The dispute erupted after the DA unveiled a large billboard on 3 March depicting Lesufi taking a shower, referencing comments he made in February that he had sometimes gone to hotels to bathe during water supply disruptions. According to the ANC, the image was digitally manipulated and used without authorisation. In a letter sent on 5 March, attorney Mongezi Ntanga demanded that the opposition party remove the billboard and related social media posts within 12 hours. The ANC argues the image is demeaning and damages the reputation of the Gauteng premier. The party warned it could seek court action under the Electoral Act’s Code of Conduct if the material remains online or displayed publicly. The controversy stems from remarks Lesufi made on 11 February during a briefing on Johannesburg’s worsening water shortages. At the time, he said that in some cases he had gone to a hotel to bathe before attending official commitments. The comment drew sharp criticism from residents frustrated by recurring water outages, prompting the premier to later apologise. The DA quickly turned the incident into a campaign message, placing Lesufi’s image in an advertisement divided into two sections. One side, in ANC colours, shows the premier showering , while the other, in DA blue, carries the slogan “Vote DA to put water in your taps.” DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille said the party would not comply with the ANC’s demand to remove the billboard. She argued the ruling party had not provided a valid legal basis for its request and framed the dispute as a question of political expression. “The ANC cannot cite any legal reason as to why the billboard should be removed,” Zille said, adding that the party would not meet the 12-hour deadline. ANC Gauteng spokesperson Mzi Khumalo criticised the billboard as insensitive to residents struggling with unreliable water supply, saying the opposition was turning a complex infrastructure challenge into a campaign gimmick. The dispute now raises the possibility of a legal confrontation over political advertising and the use of AI-generated images in campaigning. The ANC’s legal argument references the Electoral Code of Conduct, though the code generally applies only once an election date has been formally announced. Online reaction to the controversy has also been significant, roughly 25,000 posts on X discussed Lesufi’s hotel-bathing comments, quickly turning the issue into a high-visibility political flashpoint. Continue Reading Full Article POLITICAL PARTIES ANC threatens court action over DA Lesufi shower billboard By Neema Asha Mwakalinga Travel & Culture Expert Neema Asha Mwakalinga Home Comment Mar 6, 2026 May 15, 2026 3 min read Copy link Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Published Updated: South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has threatened legal action against the Democratic Alliance (DA) over a billboard mocking Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi following controversial remarks he made during Johannesburg’s water crisis . The dispute erupted after the DA unveiled a large billboard on 3 March depicting Lesufi taking a shower, referencing comments he made in February that he had sometimes gone to hotels to bathe during water supply disruptions. According to the ANC, the image was digitally manipulated and used without authorisation. In a letter sent on 5 March, attorney Mongezi Ntanga demanded that the opposition party remove the billboard and related social media posts within 12 hours. The ANC argues the image is demeaning and damages the reputation of the Gauteng premier. The party warned it could seek court action under the Electoral Act’s Code of Conduct if the material remains online or displayed publicly. ADVERTISEMENT The controversy stems from remarks Lesufi made on 11 February during a briefing on Johannesburg’s worsening water shortages. At the time, he said that in some cases he had gone to a hotel to bathe before attending official commitments. The comment drew sharp criticism from residents frustrated by recurring water outages, prompting the premier to later apologise. The DA quickly turned the incident into a campaign message, placing Lesufi’s image in an advertisement divided into two sections. One side, in ANC colours, shows the premier showering , while the other, in DA blue, carries the slogan “Vote DA to put water in your taps.” DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille said the party would not comply with the ANC’s demand to remove the billboard. She argued the ruling party had not provided a valid legal basis for its request and framed the dispute as a question of political expression. ADVERTISEMENT “The ANC cannot cite any legal reason as to why the billboard should be removed,” Zille said, adding that the party would not meet the 12-hour deadline. ANC Gauteng spokesperson Mzi Khumalo criticised the billboard as insensitive to residents struggling with unreliable water supply, saying the opposition was turning a complex infrastructure challenge into a campaign gimmick. Trending Now US Democrats' Rwanda Record: Peaceful Change and Congo Sovereignty . Policy and Reforms Tanzania Community Grants: Who Benefits and What Comes Next . Government Announcements Ghana–Canada Seafarer Deal Does Not Guarantee Jobs . Job & Opportunity South Africa Elections 2026: DA Leads Gauteng as Count Advances . Elections Monitoring Popular Today Elections Monitoring South Africa Elections 2026: DA Leads Gauteng as Count Advances . Business Trends Killarney Mall Transfer Completed in R397.5 Million Deal . Elections Monitoring South Africa Election 2026: ANC Leads, MK Wins KZN Councils . Elections Monitoring South Africa Election Results: How to Read the Count . Elections Monitoring South Africa Elections 2026: Voting Hours, IDs and Ballots . ADVERTISEMENT The dispute now raises the possibility of a legal confrontation over political advertising and the use of AI-generated images in campaigning. The ANC’s legal argument references the Electoral Code of Conduct, though the code generally applies only once an election date has been formally announced. Online reaction to the controversy has also been significant, roughly 25,000 posts on X discussed Lesufi’s hotel-bathing comments, quickly turning the issue into a high-visibility political flashpoint. ADVERTISEMENT Related Articles Elections Monitoring South Africa Elections 2026: DA Leads Gauteng as Count Advances Gauteng's DA lead and other council results show why the municipal count remains unsettled. . Business Trends Killarney Mall Transfer Completed in R397.5 Million Deal Octodec confirms the sale, while AJP’s plans include support for two black women entrepreneurs. . Elections Monitoring South Africa Election 2026: ANC Leads, MK Wins KZN Councils Early results show MK Party victories in KwaZulu-Natal and a Service Delivery Party breakthrough. . Elections Monitoring South Africa Election Results: How to Read the Count A practical guide to partial tallies, projections, ward winners and municipal council seats. . Tags South Africa South Africa South Africa News South Africa News African Union African Union

A Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel announced the Russian private military company’s (PMC) withdrawal from Mali, declaring “mission accomplished.” Russia’s controversial private military company (PMC), Wagner Group, has officially announced its withdrawal from Mali, signaling the end of a turbulent chapter marked by combat operations, political entanglements, and questions of sovereignty. But while Wagner's exit may mark a transition, it does not spell the end of Russian military involvement in Africa. The declaration came via a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel on June 6, stating "mission accomplished" after years of involvement in Mali’s internal conflict. Yet experts say the move is largely a bureaucratic rebranding. The personnel, command structure, and logistics once tied to Wagner are now being folded into a new Russian Ministry of Defense-controlled entity: Africa Corps. Following the 2023 deaths of Wagner’s founders, Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, Russia has gradually formalized Wagner’s African operations under official military oversight. This transformation is especially visible in Mali, where Wagner’s previously independent field commanders are now answerable to Africa Corps' rigid command structure. The change comes with significant implications. Africa Corps, unlike Wagner , is known for its centralized decision-making and aversion to operational risk. This shift could clash with the expectations of Mali’s military junta, which had grown accustomed to Wagner’s direct, often aggressive battlefield tactics. In Mali, Wagner’s presence began in 2021 as a strategic partner in the fight against jihadist groups and internal insurgents. Despite the formal role as advisors to Mali’s armed forces (FAMa), Wagner units often operated autonomously. Their success on the ground, similar to earlier interventions in the Central African Republic (CAR), solidified their reputation. But the transition to Africa Corps was far from seamless. With Russia’s focus on Ukraine draining resources, a full replacement of Wagner’s combat-ready units proved logistically challenging. Some Wagner fighters resisted joining Africa Corps, and operational independence lingered in the field even as formal control shifted. The recent withdrawal announcement is thus less a retreat and more the final phase of negotiations between Wagner units and Russian defense officials in Bamako. It marks the incorporation of Wagner's presence into Africa Corps’ more structured framework. While Mali has witnessed the most publicized transformation, Russia’s broader military strategy in Africa is still evolving. In Libya, Wagner forces have been fully absorbed into Africa Corps and bolstered with new weaponry and units. The country has become a strategic hub, with the port of Tobruk functioning as a Russian logistics base and Haftar-controlled territory hosting aviation assets. In Sudan, the involvement is less overt. Though Africa Corps lacks a formal footprint, military specialists reportedly support General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in his struggle against the Rapid Support Forces. Continue Reading Full Article By Author Name Author Name Home Comment Jun 16, 2025 May 15, 2026 4 min read Copy link Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Published Updated: Russia’s controversial private military company (PMC), Wagner Group, has officially announced its withdrawal from Mali, signaling the end of a turbulent chapter marked by combat operations, political entanglements, and questions of sovereignty. But while Wagner's exit may mark a transition, it does not spell the end of Russian military involvement in Africa. The declaration came via a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel on June 6, stating "mission accomplished" after years of involvement in Mali’s internal conflict. Yet experts say the move is largely a bureaucratic rebranding. The personnel, command structure, and logistics once tied to Wagner are now being folded into a new Russian Ministry of Defense-controlled entity: Africa Corps. Following the 2023 deaths of Wagner’s founders, Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, Russia has gradually formalized Wagner’s African operations under official military oversight. This transformation is especially visible in Mali, where Wagner’s previously independent field commanders are now answerable to Africa Corps' rigid command structure. The change comes with significant implications. Africa Corps, unlike Wagner , is known for its centralized decision-making and aversion to operational risk. This shift could clash with the expectations of Mali’s military junta, which had grown accustomed to Wagner’s direct, often aggressive battlefield tactics. ADVERTISEMENT In Mali, Wagner’s presence began in 2021 as a strategic partner in the fight against jihadist groups and internal insurgents. Despite the formal role as advisors to Mali’s armed forces (FAMa), Wagner units often operated autonomously. Their success on the ground, similar to earlier interventions in the Central African Republic (CAR), solidified their reputation. But the transition to Africa Corps was far from seamless. With Russia’s focus on Ukraine draining resources, a full replacement of Wagner’s combat-ready units proved logistically challenging. Some Wagner fighters resisted joining Africa Corps, and operational independence lingered in the field even as formal control shifted. The recent withdrawal announcement is thus less a retreat and more the final phase of negotiations between Wagner units and Russian defense officials in Bamako. It marks the incorporation of Wagner's presence into Africa Corps’ more structured framework. While Mali has witnessed the most publicized transformation, Russia’s broader military strategy in Africa is still evolving. In Libya, Wagner forces have been fully absorbed into Africa Corps and bolstered with new weaponry and units. The country has become a strategic hub, with the port of Tobruk functioning as a ADVERTISEMENT Russian logistics base and Haftar-controlled territory hosting aviation assets. In Sudan, the involvement is less overt. Though Africa Corps lacks a formal footprint, military specialists reportedly support General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in his struggle against the Rapid Support Forces. Elsewhere, including Burkina Faso, Niger, and Equatorial Guinea, Russian intervention began post-Prigozhin. Africa Corps now leads training and equipment maintenance missions in these nations, roles previously handled by Wagner. The Central African Republic remains the last major outpost where Wagner still operates under its original structure. Its leaders there have been lobbying to preserve autonomy, arguing that Wagner’s blend of military, commercial, and political capabilities surpasses that of conventional missions like those of the EU. For now, the Kremlin appears willing to tolerate this exception. Still, a superficial rebranding of Wagner’s presence in CAR may be on the horizon, even if the personnel and strategy remain intact. The bigger question is how Russia will sustain these overseas operations as costs mount and domestic pressures grow. Trending Now DR Congo and Russia Establish Permanent Economic Commission . Economic Policies Tanzania, Russia Deepen Trade and Transport Ties During Samia visit . International Relations Kenya moves to repatriate citizens recruited by Russia . International Relations . Popular Today Economic Policies DR Congo and Russia Establish Permanent Economic Commission . International Relations Tanzania, Russia Deepen Trade and Transport Ties During Samia visit . International Relations Kenya moves to repatriate citizens recruited by Russia . . . ADVERTISEMENT Russia’s ambitions in Africa are far from waning. Institutions like Rosatom, the state nuclear energy agency, are poised to deepen their presence in Africa. Building nuclear infrastructure in unstable regions would necessitate robust security measures, perhaps the perfect job for Africa Corps. Moreover, if the war in Ukraine slows or ends, Russia will face mounting pressure to repurpose or redeploy soldiers returning from the front. Africa, with its security gaps and strategic opportunities, may become a release valve for this manpower. Wagner’s “mission accomplished” in Mali is more symbolic than substantive. The private army’s role in Africa may be changing names, but Russia’s footprint is far from shrinking. As the Kremlin balances cost, influence, and military pragmatism, Africa Corps is becoming the new face of Moscow’s enduring, and evolving, ambitions across the continent. ADVERTISEMENT Related Articles Kidnapping Incidents WHY Sahel kidnappings of foreigners surged in 2025 ACLED data shows more abductions in Mali and Niger as JNIM targets tourists and mining workers . Mali’s transitional President, Col. Goita Could Remain President Until 2030 Without Election . Economic Policies DR Congo and Russia Establish Permanent Economic Commission A new bilateral commission will coordinate trade, technology, technical cooperation... . Russia Recalibrates in Africa: Wagner Out, Russian-Backed Corps In, as Mali Rethinks Security Alliances . Tags Russia Russia Mali Mali Wagner Wagner Wagner Group Wagner Group

Ghana’s GoldBod is consulting on a 2027 mining support programme. Here is what is confirmed about its purpose, partners and unanswered funding questions. ACCRA — Ghana’s Gold Board has begun stakeholder consultations on a proposed programme intended to help eligible artisanal and small-scale miners enter a regulated system and obtain financing support. Its statement dated 24 October 2026 confirms consultation ahead of a planned 2027 rollout, rather than the opening of an application window. The GoldBod mining support programme links an economic ambition more productive local mining businesses with a difficult public-policy question: how to help operators comply with the law while preventing further environmental damage. What is GoldBod’s proposed mining programme? It is a planned 2027 initiative combining formalisation and financing support for eligible artisanal and small-scale miners in Ghana. Consultations are underway. The published announcements do not specify a programme budget, lending terms or application opening date, and they do not grant automatic permission to mine. A route into regulated mining GoldBod calls the proposal the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Formalisation and Financing Support Programme. In its 20 October announcement , the Board set out objectives including improved productivity, employment and reduced environmental damage. Formalisation, in this proposal, means helping eligible operators move into lawful, monitored activity. It is intended to connect compliance with access to support, rather than treating regulation only as enforcement. The Board presents lower operating costs and better gold recovery as possible benefits; these are objectives, not demonstrated results of a programme that has yet to roll out. The distinction matters for mining households and businesses. A proposed support mechanism does not establish who will receive assistance, what conditions they must meet or when that assistance will arrive. Those decisions will determine whether the policy changes everyday operations. Who is involved in the consultations? Channel One’s 24 October report says the consultations involve government agencies, miners’ associations, civil society organisations and other industry participants. Their stated purpose is to incorporate stakeholder views into the programme’s design. Continue Reading Full Article | ECONOMY GoldBod’s 2027 Mining Programme: Funding and Eligibility By Kamau Bahati Entertainment Editor Kamau Bahati Home Comment Oct 25, 2026 Oct 25, 2026 5 min read Copy link Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Published Updated: ACCRA — Ghana’s Gold Board has begun stakeholder consultations on a proposed programme intended to help eligible artisanal and small-scale miners enter a regulated system and obtain financing support. Its statement dated 24 October 2026 confirms consultation ahead of a planned 2027 rollout, rather than the opening of an application window. The GoldBod mining support programme links an economic ambition more productive local mining businesses with a difficult public-policy question: how to help operators comply with the law while preventing further environmental damage. What is GoldBod’s proposed mining programme? It is a planned 2027 initiative combining formalisation and financing support for eligible artisanal and small-scale miners in Ghana. Consultations are underway. The published announcements do not specify a programme budget, lending terms or application opening date, and they do not grant automatic permission to mine. A route into regulated mining GoldBod calls the proposal the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Formalisation and Financing Support Programme. In its 20 October announcement , the Board set out objectives including improved productivity, employment and reduced environmental damage. Formalisation, in this proposal, means helping eligible operators move into lawful, monitored activity. It is intended to connect compliance with access to support, rather than treating regulation only as enforcement. The Board presents lower operating costs and better gold recovery as possible benefits; these are objectives, not demonstrated results of a programme that has yet to roll out. ADVERTISEMENT The distinction matters for mining households and businesses. A proposed support mechanism does not establish who will receive assistance, what conditions they must meet or when that assistance will arrive. Those decisions will determine whether the policy changes everyday operations. Who is involved in the consultations? Channel One’s 24 October report says the consultations involve government agencies, miners’ associations, civil society organisations and other industry participants. Their stated purpose is to incorporate stakeholder views into the programme’s design. The partners named by GoldBod include the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the University of Mines and Technology and the Mineral Income Investment Fund, with technical support from South Africa’s Rand Refinery. Naming an institution as a collaborator does not identify a committed funding contribution or establish that loans have been approved. For the process to become useful to prospective participants, it will need clear participation arrangements and published decisions. The announcements examined do not provide a public consultation deadline or a detailed schedule of meetings. Miners therefore cannot use them as a complete guide to joining the process or applying for support. ADVERTISEMENT The financing questions still unanswered The programme’s title promises financing support, but the published announcements leave the financial mechanism unspecified. They do not identify a total budget, disbursement schedule, interest rate, repayment period, collateral requirement or allocation per operator. Nor do they establish whether support will take the form of loans, guarantees, grants or another instrument. These are consequential distinctions. A loan creates repayment obligations; a guarantee supports a different financing arrangement. Neither should be described as a grant without explicit terms. Equally, an investment ambition is not money already disbursed to miners. The same caution applies to jobs and production. GoldBod says it wants higher output and employment, but the announcements do not provide programme-specific delivery baselines and verified outcomes. Future reporting can assess those promises once funding, beneficiaries and milestones are published. Formalisation is not permission for prohibited mining The consultation announcement accompanied a political dispute over remarks by chief executive Sammy Gyamfi. In its 24 October statement , GoldBod rejected claims that he had endorsed illegal mining and said a circulating clip removed context from a March 2026 engagement. That account is the Board’s response, rather than an independent finding about the video. Graphic Online reported on 23 October that Gyamfi distinguished potentially regularisable operations from mining affecting water bodies, forest reserves and dangerous public or community locations. His position makes eligibility central to the proposal: it cannot safely be read as a blanket offer to legalise every existing operation. Trending Now US Democrats' Rwanda Record: Peaceful Change and Congo Sovereignty . Policy and Reforms Tanzania Community Grants: Who Benefits and What Comes Next . Government Announcements Ghana–Canada Seafarer Deal Does Not Guarantee Jobs . Job & Opportunity South Africa Elections 2026: DA Leads Gauteng as Count Advances . Elections Monitoring Popular Today Job & Opportunity Ghana–Canada Seafarer Deal Does Not Guarantee Jobs . Tech Trends Mahama Backs TraffiTech, Calls for Speed-Camera Warning Signs . Transport and Logistics Ghana Transport Shutdown Claim: What Is Confirmed? . Community Safety TraffiTech-GH Motorist Guide: Tickets, Payments and Appeals . Business & Investment Ghana textile policy: from investment targets to factory work . ADVERTISEMENT Prospective participants should also distinguish the proposed programme from GoldBod’s existing gold-trading licensing categories . Those categories cover activities such as buying, aggregation, smelting and refining. A trading-licence page is not an application form for the proposed financing programme, nor evidence of permission for a particular mining site. Processing plans provide a second test of delivery A related proposal concerns processing facilities. In an interview reported by Citi Newsroom on 21 October , Deputy Lands Minister Yusif Sulemana said government was engaging private investors on processing centres for small-scale mining cooperatives, with a planned rollout beginning in the first quarter of 2027. He said the facilities would improve traceability, reduce mercury and cyanide use and improve recovery. These remain stated plans and expected benefits. The report does not establish that centres are already operating, identify a completed investment package or demonstrate measured environmental improvements. The next concrete milestones are published eligibility rules, a financing structure, a consultation timetable and identifiable delivery commitments. Together, those would show whether Ghana’s proposed pathway into regulated mining is becoming an accessible service for operators and how its environmental conditions will be enforced. ADVERTISEMENT Related Articles Job & Opportunity Ghana–Canada Seafarer Deal Does Not Guarantee Jobs Certificate recognition could widen opportunities, but hiring and Canadian approvals remain separate. . Tech Trends Mahama Backs TraffiTech, Calls for Speed-Camera Warning Signs President defends road-safety cameras as drivers question fines, signage and road conditions. . Transport and Logistics Ghana Transport Shutdown Claim: What Is Confirmed? Operators threatened to park vehicles over TraffiTech-GH; a nationwide stoppage is unconfirmed. . Community Safety TraffiTech-GH Motorist Guide: Tickets, Payments and Appeals How to check a traffic notice, review the evidence and respond within the stated deadline. . Tags Ghana News Ghana News Ghana Ghana

DR Congo is preparing to host its first group of US third-country deportees, with temporary housing planned in Kinshasa. The Democratic Republic of Congo is preparing to receive its first group of third-country deportees from the United States this week, according to a Reuters report . The migrants are expected to be housed near Kinshasa’s main airport as authorities begin implementing the new arrangement. Sources cited by Reuters said the first group could include more than 30 people, all from countries other than Congo, with at least some coming from Central and South America. The report said they may stay in a hotel for 10 to 15 days while the longer-term plan remains unclear. The move follows an earlier announcement that Congo would begin receiving deportees this month under a temporary agreement with Washington. Another report said that in Kinshasa the arrangement as temporary and said the United States would cover the logistics. Reuters also reported that the International Organization for Migration could provide post-arrival humanitarian assistance if requested by Congolese authorities. On its official platforms, IOM says the DRC is already facing one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, underscoring the sensitivity of any new migration-related arrangement. The arrivals would mark the first known transfer of non-Congolese deportees to the DRC under the deal, extending Washington’s broader use of third-country deportation agreements in Africa. Questions remain over how many people will ultimately be sent and what will happen after the initial accommodation period. Continue Reading Full Article AFRICAN POLITICS DR Congo prepares for first US deportee arrivals under new deal By Neema Asha Mwakalinga Travel & Culture Expert Neema Asha Mwakalinga Home Comment Apr 15, 2026 May 15, 2026 2 min read Copy link Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Published Updated: The Democratic Republic of Congo is preparing to receive its first group of third-country deportees from the United States this week, according to a Reuters report . The migrants are expected to be housed near Kinshasa’s main airport as authorities begin implementing the new arrangement. Sources cited by Reuters said the first group could include more than 30 people, all from countries other than Congo, with at least some coming from Central and South America. The report said they may stay in a hotel for 10 to 15 days while the longer-term plan remains unclear. ADVERTISEMENT The move follows an earlier announcement that Congo would begin receiving deportees this month under a temporary agreement with Washington. Another report said that in Kinshasa the arrangement as temporary and said the United States would cover the logistics. Reuters also reported that the International Organization for Migration could provide post-arrival humanitarian assistance if requested by Congolese authorities. On its official platforms, IOM says the DRC is already facing one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, underscoring the sensitivity of any new migration-related arrangement. ADVERTISEMENT The arrivals would mark the first known transfer of non-Congolese deportees to the DRC under the deal, extending Washington’s broader use of third-country deportation agreements in Africa. Questions remain over how many people will ultimately be sent and what will happen after the initial accommodation period. Trending Now US Democrats' Rwanda Record: Peaceful Change and Congo Sovereignty . Policy and Reforms Tanzania Community Grants: Who Benefits and What Comes Next . Government Announcements Ghana–Canada Seafarer Deal Does Not Guarantee Jobs . Job & Opportunity South Africa Elections 2026: DA Leads Gauteng as Count Advances . Elections Monitoring Popular Today Policy and Reforms US Democrats' Rwanda Record: Peaceful Change and Congo Sovereignty . War in Eastern DRC Muyaya: Congo's War Has Nothing to Do With the Constitution . Infrastructure DRC Signs Contracts to Modernise 13 Airports, First Deliveries in 2028 . Economic Reports DRC and IMF Reach Staff-Level Deal on Programme Reviews . | Economy DRC Opens London Forum Seeking Partnerships, Not Aid . ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Related Articles Policy and Reforms US Democrats' Rwanda Record: Peaceful Change and Congo Sovereignty Will Democrats support Kagame after the 2026 midterms? Blinken's statements, Biden's Rwanda policy . War in Eastern DRC Muyaya: Congo's War Has Nothing to Do With the Constitution In London, the DRC government spokesperson rejects constitutional politics as a cause of the eastern . Infrastructure DRC Signs Contracts to Modernise 13 Airports, First Deliveries in 2028 Four firms will rebuild runways and terminals from Kalemie to Muanda under a Treasury-funded plan . Economic Reports DRC and IMF Reach Staff-Level Deal on Programme Reviews Board vote set for December; minister says up to $771 million could follow if approved . Tags DR.Congo DR.Congo DR Congo News DR Congo News African Union African Union Felix Tshisekedi Felix Tshisekedi

In a thought-provoking series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), popular Nollywood actress Etinosa Idemudia has boldly expressed her unwavering support for abortion in Nigeria. She contends that, in certain circumstances, abortion is a more compassionate choice than subjecting children to a lifetime of hardship. Idemudia’s argument centers around the plight of innocent children who endure hunger and suffering. She questions the prevailing societal stance against abortion, emphasizing that these children never asked to be born into challenging circumstances. Her poignant question resonates: “If your own future is uncertain, why bring an innocent life into the world?” The actress challenges the romanticization of parental sacrifice, particularly the notion that a mother’s hunger and sacrifice somehow justify a child’s existence. She asserts that parents bear responsibility for their children and should not burden them with unnecessary suffering. Furthermore, Idemudia sheds light on the abuse faced by women who seek abortions. She criticizes partners who neglect contraception, leading to unplanned pregnancies. In her view, bringing a child into the world under such circumstances should be considered a crime. She advocates for empathy and understanding, recognizing that abortion can spare both parents and children from unnecessary struggles. While acknowledging the religious implications of abortion, Idemudia highlights its potential to alleviate suffering and prevent children from inheriting their parents’ mistakes. Her candid perspective has ignited a robust debate on the ethical and practical aspects of abortion and parental responsibility. As we engage in this discourse, it is essential to approach the topic with empathy and consider the complex realities faced by individuals in challenging circumstances. Abortion remains a deeply personal and multifaceted issue, and Idemudia’s advocacy encourages us to reflect on the well-being of both parents and children. Continue Reading Full Article By Author Name Author Name Home Comment Apr 20, 2024 May 15, 2026 2 min read Copy link Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Published Updated: Etinosa Idemudia has passionately advocated for abortion as a means to spare unintended children from a life of suffering. Credit: Empireafrica In a thought-provoking series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), popular Nollywood actress Etinosa Idemudia has boldly expressed her unwavering support for abortion in Nigeria. She contends that, in certain circumstances, abortion is a more compassionate choice than subjecting children to a lifetime of hardship. Idemudia’s argument centers around the plight of innocent children who endure hunger and suffering. She questions the prevailing societal stance against abortion, emphasizing that these children never asked to be born into challenging circumstances. Her poignant question resonates: “If your own future is uncertain, why bring an innocent life into the world?” ADVERTISEMENT The actress challenges the romanticization of parental sacrifice, particularly the notion that a mother’s hunger and sacrifice somehow justify a child’s existence. She asserts that parents bear responsibility for their children and should not burden them with unnecessary suffering. ADVERTISEMENT Furthermore, Idemudia sheds light on the abuse faced by women who seek abortions. She criticizes partners who neglect contraception, leading to unplanned pregnancies. In her view, bringing a child into the world under such circumstances should be considered a crime. She advocates for empathy and understanding, recognizing that abortion can spare both parents and children from unnecessary struggles. While acknowledging the religious implications of abortion, Idemudia highlights its potential to alleviate suffering and prevent children from inheriting their parents’ mistakes. Her candid perspective has ignited a robust debate on the ethical and practical aspects of abortion and parental responsibility. As we engage in this discourse, it is essential to approach the topic with empathy and consider the complex realities faced by individuals in challenging circumstances. Abortion remains a deeply personal and multifaceted issue, and Idemudia’s advocacy encourages us to reflect on the well-being of both parents and children. Trending Now US Democrats' Rwanda Record: Peaceful Change and Congo Sovereignty . Policy and Reforms Tanzania Community Grants: Who Benefits and What Comes Next . Government Announcements Ghana–Canada Seafarer Deal Does Not Guarantee Jobs . Job & Opportunity South Africa Elections 2026: DA Leads Gauteng as Count Advances . Elections Monitoring Popular Today ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Related Articles Tags

Meet the Mbuti, Baka and Batwa of the DRC. Explore their diverse cultures, forest knowledge, history, music, land rights and lives today. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo , a landmark law now recognises the rights of peuples autochtones pygmées Indigenous Pygmy peoples. Yet a legal label cannot contain the variety of the people it names. Mbuti, Baka and Batwa communities do not share one language, one livelihood or one historical experience. Even the word “Pygmy” carries a difficult past: it is used in Congolese law and public life, but it can also reduce living peoples to an outsider’s idea about physical appearance or forest life. This guide therefore uses Pygmy peoples when discussing the official national category or the wider historical debate. Wherever the evidence allows, it uses community names. Its focus is the DRC often called Congo-Kinshasa rather than the neighbouring Republic of the Congo. Wider Congo Basin examples appear only when they help explain a pattern, and they are clearly identified. Who are the Pygmy peoples of Congo? They are several distinct Indigenous peoples of the DRC, including Mbuti, Baka and Batwa communities. Their languages, histories and livelihoods differ, but many maintain strong forest relationships while confronting land loss, discrimination, conflict and the unfinished implementation of new legal protections. Who Are the Indigenous Forest Peoples of the DRC? There is no single “Pygmy tribe.” In Congolese public policy, the term refers principally to Mbuti, Baka and Batwa peoples. Names used on the ground can be more specific: Efe communities, for example, have their own language and history in northeastern DRC. Spellings also vary across French, English and local usage, while some names that outsiders treat as interchangeable are not interchangeable to the people concerned. Geography is equally diverse. Communities live in and around the Ituri forests of the northeast, across parts of the east and southeast, and in forest regions farther west and north. Some households spend substantial periods in forest camps. Others live in permanent or semi-permanent villages, farm, fish, trade, take paid work or combine several livelihoods. Movement may follow seasons, work, family connections, insecurity or access to land; it should not be mistaken for rootlessness. The best national overview available still cannot give an exact population. A DRC country chapter written by Indigenous rights advocate Diel Mochire records a government estimate of about 750,000 people and civil-society estimates reaching two million. The same chapter later cites another estimate of more than 1.2 million people in 21 of the country’s 26 provinces. These figures are not a reliable headcount; together, they show why unsupported precision is misleading (Mochire, 2024, pp. 52–53). The 2024 DRC country chapter in The Indigenous World is most useful when read as an account of both official recognition and continuing data gaps. The clearest orientation is therefore simple: these are modern Congolese citizens and distinct Indigenous peoples, not survivors frozen outside history. Forest knowledge can be central to identity without determining every person’s occupation, address, religion or ambition. Why the Word “Pygmy” Is Debated Continue Reading Full Article AFRICAN CULTURE Who Are the Pygmy Peoples of Congo? Culture, History and Rights By Neema Asha Mwakalinga Travel & Culture Expert Neema Asha Mwakalinga Home Comment Aug 25, 2026 Aug 25, 2026 31 min read Copy link Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Published Updated: In the Democratic Republic of the Congo , a landmark law now recognises the rights of peuples autochtones pygmées Indigenous Pygmy peoples. Yet a legal label cannot contain the variety of the people it names. Mbuti, Baka and Batwa communities do not share one language, one livelihood or one historical experience. Even the word “Pygmy” carries a difficult past: it is used in Congolese law and public life, but it can also reduce living peoples to an outsider’s idea about physical appearance or forest life. The photograph offers a glimpse of family life in a forest environment A wide view from Mount Kahuzi across Kahuzi-Biega National Park in eastern This guide therefore uses Pygmy peoples when discussing the official national category or the wider historical debate. Wherever the evidence allows, it uses community names. Its focus is the DRC often called Congo-Kinshasa rather than the neighbouring Republic of the Congo. Wider Congo Basin examples appear only when they help explain a pattern, and they are clearly identified. Who are the Pygmy peoples of Congo? They are several distinct Indigenous peoples of the DRC, including Mbuti, Baka and Batwa communities. Their languages, histories and livelihoods differ, but many maintain strong forest relationships while confronting land loss, discrimination, conflict and the unfinished implementation of new legal protections. Who Are the Indigenous Forest Peoples of the DRC? There is no single “Pygmy tribe.” In Congolese public policy, the term refers principally to Mbuti, Baka and Batwa peoples. Names used on the ground can be more specific: Efe communities, for example, have their own language and history in northeastern DRC. Spellings also vary across French, English and local usage, while some names that outsiders treat as interchangeable are not interchangeable to the people concerned. A locator map highlights Ituri Province in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ituri includes forest territories associated with Mbuti and Efe communities and provides geographic context for several cultural and historical examples discussed in this article. Credit: Profoss; base map by NordNordWest/Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 3.0. Geography is equally diverse. Communities live in and around the Ituri forests of the northeast, across parts of the east and southeast, and in forest regions farther west and north. Some households spend substantial periods in forest camps. Others live in permanent or semi-permanent villages, farm, fish, trade, take paid work or combine several livelihoods. Movement may follow seasons, work, family connections, insecurity or access to land; it should not be mistaken for rootlessness. The best national overview available still cannot give an exact population. A DRC country chapter written by Indigenous rights advocate Diel Mochire records a government estimate of about 750,000 people and civil-society estimates reaching two million. The same chapter later cites another estimate of more than 1.2 million people in 21 of the country’s 26 provinces. These figures are not a reliable headcount; together, they show why unsupported precision is misleading (Mochire, 2024, pp. 52–53). The 2024 DRC country chapter in The Indigenous World is most useful when read as an account of both official recognition and continuing data gaps. The clearest orientation is therefore simple: these are modern Congolese citizens and distinct Indigenous peoples, not survivors frozen outside history. Forest knowledge can be central to identity without determining every person’s occupation, address, religion or ambition. Why the Word “Pygmy” Is Debated The English word comes through a long European history of naming imagined small-bodied peoples. In Central African writing, it became attached to real communities during nineteenth-century exploration and later to colonial administration, racial classification, anthropology and popular media. That history is one reason many writers place the word in quotation marks or avoid using it as a noun for an individual. Anthropologist Barry Hewlett’s regional review identifies at least 15 ethnolinguistic groups across the wider Congo Basin and explains the dilemma directly: “Pygmy” is widely recognised, including by some activists and officials, but it can be pejorative and can falsely imply a single culture. No universal replacement has been accepted. “Twa,” for example, is a meaningful self-name for some communities, not a neutral name for everyone. Hewlett recommends using specific names Aka, Baka, Efe, Mbuti and others whenever the context permits (Hewlett, 2014, pp. xix–xxiii). His introduction to Congo Basin hunter-gatherer diversity remains valuable precisely because it does not pretend the terminology problem has an easy solution. Context changes what respectful usage looks like. In the DRC, Law No. 22/030 uses peuples autochtones pygmées as a protected legal category. Reporting that official term is not the same as calling every individual “a Pygmy.” A good editorial rule is to name the specific people first, explain the national category once, and never use the label as shorthand for primitiveness, isolation or a body type. This also prevents a common continental mistake. The Mbuti are not the Baka; the Batwa of Kahuzi-Biega are not the Batwa of every Great Lakes country; and Congo Basin peoples are not interchangeable with southern Africa’s San or Tanzania’s Hadza. XTRAfrica’s guide to the Hadza people of Tanzania concerns another distinct hunter-gatherer society with its own language, territory and political realities. Languages and Identities Do Not Fit One Box A research-based map illustrates the distribution of languages spoken by Indigenous hunter-gatherer communities across the wider Congo Basin, using green for Bantu languages, purple for Ubangian languages and red for Sudanic languages. Based on Bahuchet’s 2006 classification, it demonstrates why there is no single “Pygmy language.” Credit: Kwamikagami/Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 3.0. There is no “Pygmy language.” Communities speak different languages associated with several Central African language families, and multilingualism is common. Long relationships with neighbouring farmers, traders and towns have produced language contact, borrowing and, in some places, language shift. A language spoken by one Mbuti or Batwa community should not be assigned automatically to another. This matters because language is not just a classification on a map. It carries forest vocabulary, place names, humour, song, kinship terms, historical memory and the practical knowledge used in work. At the same time, speaking a language also used by neighbouring communities does not cancel a people’s distinct identity. Identity can rest on shared history, customary territory, social relations and self-identification as well as speech. Map of Twa populations A scholarly distribution map shows populations identified as Twa across Central Africa. It should be used as a regional orientation graphic rather than a current census map, because “Twa” is a meaningful identity for some communities but is not an appropriate replacement name for every Mbuti, Baka or other Congo Basin people. Credit: Kwamikagami, based on Hewlett and Fancher/Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 3.0. The complexity is visible even inside broad names. “Mbuti” is often used for hunter-gatherer peoples of the Ituri region, but research may distinguish communities such as Efe and groups associated historically with net hunting or bow hunting. Those distinctions are not trivial. They can correspond to different languages, neighbours, subsistence choices and gendered work. A national pillar article should make the diversity legible without turning every local name into a rigid box. Readers should also be wary of old museum labels and travel writing that present community names as timeless biological categories. People marry across boundaries, move, learn new languages, enter schools and churches, organise politically and revise how they describe themselves. Culture has continuity, but identity is lived in the present tense. Forest Livelihoods Are More Than Hunting and Gathering Hunting and gathering remain important to the history and identity of many forest communities, but neither term describes a complete economy. Depending on place and season, livelihoods can include collecting honey, mushrooms, nuts, fruits, caterpillars and medicinal materials; fishing; small-scale farming; exchanging forest products for cultivated foods; wage labour; craft production; and work connected to towns, roads, farms, mines or conservation projects. ADVERTISEMENT A farmer’s hut stands among oil palms in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2015. The image illustrates how agriculture, forest resources and settlement can occupy the same landscape. The source does not identify the residents as Indigenous, so the photograph should be used only as environmental and economic context. Credit: Abel Kavanagh/MONUSCO via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 2.0. The forest itself is not an untouched supermarket. Using it well demands accumulated knowledge: when a plant fruits, where animals move, how weather changes paths, which materials are safe, and how to travel without losing orientation. Such expertise is learned through participation and experience. It can also be undermined when a road, concession, armed group or protected-area boundary cuts people off from familiar territory. Nor is work divided everywhere by one fixed rule. A classic comparison from the Ituri Forest found that women regularly participated in collective net hunting but rarely in bow hunting. The contrast reflected different local systems rather than a universal law about “Pygmy gender roles” (Bailey and Aunger, 1989, abstract). The study of women’s subsistence strategies in Ituri is a useful warning against turning one camp’s practice into a portrait of an entire people. An Mbuti hunter photographed near Epulu in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2005. Hunting remains culturally and economically important in some communities, but it is only one part of diverse livelihoods that may also include gathering, fishing, cultivation, trade and paid work. Credit: Radio Okapi via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY 2.0. Trade with farming neighbours has existed for generations, sometimes through cooperation and mutual dependence, sometimes through unequal patronage, debt or exploitation. Calling communities “isolated” erases that history. It also makes present-day farming or paid work look like cultural failure. In reality, combining forest foods, cultivation and markets can be a rational response to changing access, prices and security. The wider ecological stakes are enormous. The DRC contains much of the world’s second-largest tropical forest system, but the value of that forest cannot be reduced to carbon, timber or a headline price. XTRAfrica’s overview of the Congo Basin’s ecological and economic wealth is best read alongside a rights question: who has authority over the land, who receives benefits, and whose knowledge is recognised when governments and investors assign value to a forest? Sharing, Autonomy and How Children Learn Indigenous women identified in the original archive as “Pygmy women” perform a traditional dance during a United Nations delegation’s visit to the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in Ituri Province in September 2015. The performance documents one public occasion and should not be presented as the music or dance tradition of every Indigenous community in the DRC. Credit: Abel Kavanagh/MONUSCO via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 2.0. Studies of Congo Basin hunter-gatherers often describe strong expectations of sharing, personal autonomy and relatively egalitarian decision-making. In some small camps, successful food acquisition creates an obligation to distribute rather than an unrestricted right to accumulate. Ridicule, conversation, withdrawal of cooperation and movement between camps can help limit domineering behaviour. These tendencies are important, but they are not a constitution shared by every Mbuti, Baka or Batwa community. Research on childhood makes the same point. Hewlett’s review of Aka, Baka, Mbuti and Efe studies describes close physical care, help from people beyond a child’s biological mother, mixed-age play and learning through observation, imitation and participation. Children do not simply wait for formal lessons before contributing; daily activity can bring them into food preparation, carrying, gathering, play hunting and the social practice of sharing. Yet the evidence is uneven. Hewlett notes that most child-focused studies concentrated on Aka-related communities, infants and young children, while Mbuti and Efe research was far thinner and often older. Political insecurity limited fieldwork in the DRC from the mid-1980s. Any confident statement about “how Pygmy children are raised” therefore outruns the evidence (Hewlett, 2014, pp. 245–248). The full review of hunter-gatherer childhoods in the Congo Basin is strongest when its limitations travel with its findings. Formal education adds another layer. Families may want literacy, qualifications and access to wider opportunities while also wanting children to retain language, land-based knowledge and dignity. Barriers can include distance, fees and materials, displacement, missing civil documents, discrimination, an unfamiliar language of instruction and school calendars that do not fit local livelihoods. The answer is not to romanticise exclusion from school, nor to treat forest knowledge as an obstacle to education. A culturally safe system should make room for both. Music, Play and Spiritual Relationships with the Forest Music is one of the most celebrated aspects of Congo forest cultures and one of the easiest to flatten into spectacle. Historical recordings of Mbuti singing reveal layered, interlocking vocal parts, rhythmic play, collective participation and songs connected to work, games and ceremonies. The performance is social: a listener cannot understand it fully by searching for a single star singer or a fixed “tribal anthem.” UNESCO’s multimedia archive, Songs of the Okapi Forest , documents Mbuti, Nande and Pakombe performances recorded in Ituri in 2004. Its track descriptions include musical games and ceremonial contexts rather than presenting one sound as the music of everyone. The UNESCO archive of Ituri forest songs is a helpful public entry point, although recordings should still be approached as moments from named places and communities, not as timeless samples. Forest spirituality is equally specific. Mitsuo Ichikawa’s work with Mbuti communities describes the forest not merely as a store of resources but as an encompassing source of life, continuity and belonging. In his account, hunting and ritual relationships with the forest help affirm the connection between living people, ancestors and the world around them (Ichikawa, 1998, pp. 119–129). The journal overview of Mbuti ecology and views of nature supports a Mbuti-specific reading; it should not be converted into a universal religion for all Indigenous peoples of the DRC. Belief also changes. Christianity, local churches and other religious influences may coexist with or transform older practices. Ceremonies can be private, gendered, age-specific or inappropriate for outsiders to reproduce. Respectful cultural reporting explains significance without publishing restricted knowledge or treating sacred performance as entertainment for tourists. A History Shaped by Outsiders and by Indigenous Agency Mbuti community members photographed with American explorer Osa Johnson in the Ituri Forest in 1930, during the colonial Belgian Congo period. The image is useful for examining how foreign explorers placed themselves at the centre of photographs of Indigenous communities; it should not represent present-day Mbuti life. Credit: Martin Johnson via Wikimedia Commons. Public-domain-marked historical image. Popular accounts often begin Congo forest history when a European traveller entered the forest. That is the wrong starting point. Indigenous communities had their own territories, exchange networks, rivalries, alliances, ecological knowledge and histories long before colonial borders divided the Congo Basin. Oral traditions and place-based memory remain essential sources even when colonial archives barely record them. Colonial rule nevertheless changed the scale and pressure of outside demands. Ivory, rubber, labour recruitment, taxation, missions and administrative classifications reached forest societies through violent and unequal systems. Hunters could be drawn into commercial supply chains that had little to do with household subsistence. Outsiders also produced enduring stereotypes: the childlike forest dweller, the untouched primitive, the naturally servile labourer and the mystical conservationist. Postcolonial conflict, commercial logging, mining, plantation expansion, road building and protected areas have continued to reshape access to land. Indigenous people have never responded in only one way. They have moved, negotiated, traded, concealed knowledge, joined churches, entered schools, worked for wages, formed associations, used courts and demanded new laws. That is agency, even when the choices available are unfair. The record of anthropology must be read critically too. Older ethnographies contain valuable observations but often foreground a foreign researcher while Indigenous collaborators remain unnamed. Contemporary writers can do better by distinguishing direct community testimony from interpretation, checking whether a finding comes from one group or many, and recognising that a decades-old field account is not automatically a description of life today. ADVERTISEMENT When Conservation Separates People From Their Land The tension between conservation and Indigenous rights is stark at Kahuzi-Biega National Park in eastern DRC. The park is internationally known for biodiversity and eastern lowland gorillas. XTRAfrica’s guide to Kahuzi-Biega National Park describes that wildlife landscape, but the conservation story is incomplete without the Batwa people whose ancestral territory lies in and around the park. In a decision adopted in 2022 and placed on its official site in 2025, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights found that the DRC had violated multiple provisions of the African Charter. It recognised the Kahuzi-Biega Forest as the Batwa’s ancestral home, rejected an exclusionary “fortress conservation” model, and called for measures including demarcation and titling, reintegration, compensation, public services and a public apology. The African Commission’s Batwa decision is not an argument against biodiversity protection. It is a finding that conservation cannot be legitimate when it dispossesses the people who have long lived with the forest. The demand is not abstract. In a joint statement following the ruling, an anonymous Batwa victim of eviction asked, “when will we become owners of our land?” The community response published by Forest Peoples Programme carries both hope and impatience: a favourable decision matters only when it changes access, security and authority. There has been reported movement, but not completion. In 2026, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee commended steps including Batwa and local-community representation in the Park Council, a human-rights unit, a complaint mechanism and work on land access. In the same decision, it urged faster implementation of the African Commission ruling and kept Kahuzi-Biega on the List of World Heritage in Danger. That 2026 UNESCO decision on Kahuzi-Biega shows why celebratory and catastrophic narratives are both inadequate: institutional progress, unresolved rights obligations, ecological damage and armed insecurity can exist at the same time. The 2022 Indigenous Peoples Law Changed the Legal Ground Law No. 22/030 of 15 July 2022 is a major shift in Congolese law. It affirms equality and dignity, prohibits discrimination, and addresses justice, public services, education, health, culture, environment, land, resources and work. It also recognises free, prior and informed consent often shortened to FPIC as a collective right to approve or refuse projects likely to affect traditionally possessed, occupied or used lands and natural resources. The land provisions are unusually important. Articles 42–48 recognise rights over lands and resources that communities possess, occupy or traditionally use; prohibit relocation without consent and fair compensation; require consultation before resource exploitation; provide for benefits from third-party commercial activity; and call for legal recognition and protection of customary land. The cultural provisions protect traditions, languages, oral literature, sacred sites and Indigenous knowledge. These are not favours. They are stated rights in the official text of Law No. 22/030 (DRC, 2022, pp. 2, 5–8). A law, however, is not self-executing. Communities need accessible procedures, budgets, accountable institutions, land demarcation, remedies and information in languages they understand. Officials, judges, park agencies, companies and local authorities need to apply the law consistently. Civil registration and legal assistance matter because a right that cannot be claimed in practice remains fragile. On 2 April 2025, the Ministry of the Interior created a multi-actor consultation framework to coordinate implementation. The order describes a plenary assembly, steering committee and permanent secretariat, and provides for an Indigenous representative selected through community consultation and representative decision structures. The 2025 ministerial implementation order is evidence of institutional follow-through, not proof that every right has reached every village (DRC Ministry of the Interior, 2025, pp. 1–3). Community forestry is another practical route. Congolese law allows local community forest concessions that can secure long-term rights over land and resources, although access to mapping, applications and governance support is uneven. XTRAfrica’s report on community forests in the DRC explains their climate potential. For Indigenous communities, the first test is more immediate: whether the process recognises customary tenure, prevents elite capture and puts decision-making power in the hands of rights-holders. Conflict, Displacement, Education and Health Legal reform has unfolded during severe armed conflict, especially in eastern DRC. Violence can force communities from forests and villages, separate families, close schools and clinics, destroy livelihoods, and expose women and children to particular risks. Displacement can be especially damaging where identity, food systems and spiritual life are tied to a customary territory. In April 2025, the Chair and expert members of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues expressed grave concern about displacement, extreme violence and conflict-related sexual violence affecting Indigenous peoples in the DRC. They called for investigations, accountability, protection of women and children, and meaningful Indigenous participation in peace processes. The UN Permanent Forum statement on Indigenous peoples in the DRC is a warning against treating land and culture as peacetime topics detached from security (UNPFII, 2025, pp. 1–2). Health inequalities cannot be explained by “traditional lifestyle” alone. Distance from facilities, cost, discrimination, insecurity, displacement and lack of documents can restrict access to care. Medicinal plant knowledge may remain important, but respecting that knowledge does not justify withholding vaccination, emergency treatment, maternal care or other services. Law No. 22/030 explicitly protects access to health and recognises Indigenous pharmacopoeia; the two should be complementary, guided by safety and informed choice. Education faces a similar false choice. Children should not have to surrender their identity to enter a classroom. Anti-discrimination, instruction that respects language and culture, flexible access for displaced families, trained teachers, and participation by parents and Indigenous organisations are more constructive than assuming low enrolment reflects indifference. Data should be disaggregated with care and consent so that exclusion becomes visible without exposing small communities to harm. Culture Is Changing, Not Disappearing Modern life does not make an Indigenous person less authentic. A Mbuti student with a phone, a Batwa land-rights organiser, a Baka farmer or a family living near a town can remain connected to community, memory and customary territory. The idea that “real” forest peoples must reject schools, markets, Christianity, politics and technology is another way outsiders police identity. Trending Now Kahuzi-Biega National Park: Land of Gorillas, Volcanoes & Wild Harmony . National Park Visit Virunga National Park – Congo’s Crown Jewel of Nature & Wildlife . National Park Denise Nyakeru Foundation Awards Top Students in Excellentia 2025 . Education EXETAT 2025: Congo Digitizes Exams with AI and Blockchain Tools . Education Popular Today Policy and Reforms US Democrats' Rwanda Record: Peaceful Change and Congo Sovereignty . War in Eastern DRC Muyaya: Congo's War Has Nothing to Do With the Constitution . Infrastructure DRC Signs Contracts to Modernise 13 Airports, First Deliveries in 2028 . Economic Reports DRC and IMF Reach Staff-Level Deal on Programme Reviews . | Economy DRC Opens London Forum Seeking Partnerships, Not Aid . ADVERTISEMENT Change can still involve loss. A language may weaken when children are punished for speaking it. Songs may disappear when displacement breaks the occasions on which they are performed. Forest knowledge can become harder to transmit when access is criminalised. Young people may hide their identity to avoid abuse. These are not inevitable effects of modernity; they are shaped by discrimination and policy. Culture can also generate new institutions. Indigenous associations document abuses, support schooling, map customary lands, advocate for women, negotiate with conservation bodies and explain the 2022 law. Community members adapt performance, radio, video and public events to speak to new audiences. The critical question is who chooses the change and who controls the knowledge being shared. Respectful partnership starts with consent. Researchers, journalists, tourists and organisations should ask before recording people, ceremonies or places; explain how material will be used; agree on attribution; protect sacred or sensitive information; and return useful copies or benefits to the community. Images of unnamed, semi-clothed children used to advertise “vanishing tribes” are not neutral documentation. They repeat the visual language of colonial display. Myths That Flatten Living Communities Myth: They are one tribe Reality: “Pygmy peoples” is an umbrella and legal category covering distinct communities. Names, languages, histories and local institutions differ. Use Mbuti, Baka, Batwa, Efe or another verified name when the subject is specific. Myth: Everyone lives permanently as a nomadic hunter-gatherer Reality: Mobility and forest foraging remain important in many places, but livelihoods vary. Fishing, farming, trade, wage work and village residence may be part of the same household economy. Adaptation is not cultural disappearance. Myth: Forest peoples live outside politics and markets Reality: Relations with farmers, traders, states, missions and commercial networks are old. Today, communities also engage courts, laws, conservation agencies, schools, churches and civil-society organisations. The problem is often unequal power, not lack of contact. Myth: Conservation requires removing Indigenous residents Reality: The African Commission’s Kahuzi-Biega decision rejected exclusionary fortress conservation in the Batwa case. Protecting biodiversity and recognising customary land can reinforce each other when communities hold real authority, consent is respected and abuses have remedies. Myth: Culture can be described without naming a place or source Reality: A Mbuti account from Ituri is not evidence for every Baka or Batwa community. Good reporting names the people, location, date and source, and says when research is old, narrow or contested. The Future Depends on Rights, Not Stereotypes The most important change in how Congo’s Indigenous forest peoples are represented is a shift from fascination to citizenship. Music, hunting knowledge and forest spirituality deserve attention, but so do land titles, safe schools, maternal health, political participation, fair work, language rights and protection from violence. The DRC’s 2022 law supplies a national framework, the 2025 consultation order supplies part of an implementation structure, and the Batwa ruling supplies a regional human-rights standard. None guarantees results on its own. Progress must be measured in communities: whether a family can return safely, whether a woman can seek justice, whether a child learns without humiliation, whether consent changes a project, and whether customary territory receives durable legal protection. There is no need to turn Mbuti, Baka or Batwa people into perfect ecological heroes to defend those rights. Indigenous peoples are entitled to dignity because they are people and citizens, not because outsiders find them picturesque or useful to a climate narrative. The strongest future is one in which communities decide how forest knowledge continues, how culture changes and how development enters their lands. Frequently Asked Questions Is “Pygmy” the correct word to use? It is an official legal and public-policy term in the DRC, but it is also historically burdened and can be offensive when used carelessly. Prefer the specific community name such as Mbuti, Baka, Batwa or Efe when known. Use “Pygmy peoples” for the explained national category, not as a label for an individual or a synonym for “primitive.” Are the Mbuti, Baka and Batwa the same people? No. They are distinct peoples, and broad names can contain further local diversity. They may share experiences of forest connection, discrimination or land pressure, but they do not share one language, origin story, livelihood or political history. Where do the Pygmy peoples live in the DRC? Communities live across many provinces, including forest regions in the northeast, east, southeast, north and west. Population and distribution figures vary by source, and mobility, displacement and weak census coverage make exact numbers difficult to verify. Do all communities still hunt and gather? No. Hunting, gathering and fishing remain important in many places, but households may also farm, trade, make crafts, take paid work or live near towns. Livelihoods differ by community, territory, season, market access and security. What is special about Mbuti music? Mbuti music is known for interlocking vocal parts, collective participation and close links to games, work and ceremonial life. It should be described as Mbuti music from a particular place and occasion, not as a single soundtrack for every Indigenous forest people in Central Africa. What rights does DRC Law No. 22/030 protect? The law addresses equality, non-discrimination, justice, education, health, cultural identity, environment, work, customary land and natural resources. It also recognises free, prior and informed consent for projects affecting traditionally possessed, occupied or used lands and resources. Implementation remains the decisive challenge. What happened to the Batwa at Kahuzi-Biega? Batwa communities were excluded from ancestral land associated with the national park. The African Commission found multiple human-rights violations and called for land demarcation and titling, reintegration, compensation and other remedies. UNESCO reported some institutional progress in 2026 while still urging full implementation of that decision. Sources and Further Reading African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. (2022; official page published in 2025). “Communication 588/15: Batwa of Kahuzi-Biega National Park v. Democratic Republic of the Congo” . Official decision on the merits and remedies. Bailey, R. C., and R. Aunger Jr. (1989). “Net Hunters vs. Archers: Variation in Women’s Subsistence Strategies in the Ituri Forest” . Human Ecology , 17, 273–297. Democratic Republic of the Congo. (2022). Loi No. 22/030 du 15 juillet 2022 portant protection et promotion des droits des peuples autochtones pygmées . Journal Officiel de la République Démocratique du Congo , special issue, pp. 2–10. DRC Ministry of the Interior, Security, Decentralisation and Customary Affairs. (2025). Ministerial Order of 2 April 2025 Creating the Multi-Actor Consultation Framework for Implementing Law No. 22/030 , pp. 1–6. Forest Peoples Programme. (2024). “The African Commission Sets a Significant Precedent for Indigenous Peoples’ Land Rights in the Context of Conservation” . Joint statement with a Batwa community response. Hewlett, B. S. (2014). “Introduction” . In B. S. Hewlett (Ed.), Hunter-Gatherers of the Congo Basin: Cultures, Histories, and Biology , pp. xvii–xxviii. Hewlett, B. S. (2014). “Hunter-Gatherer Childhoods in the Congo Basin” . In B. S. Hewlett (Ed.), Hunter-Gatherers of the Congo Basin: Cultures, Histories, and Biology , pp. 245–275. Ichikawa, M. (1998). “Ecology and a View of Nature of the Mbuti Pygmies in the African Forest” . Tropics , 8(1–2), 119–129. Mochire, D. (2024). “Democratic Republic of the Congo” . In IWGIA, The Indigenous World 2024 , pp. 52–56. UNESCO. (2004). Songs of the Okapi Forest: Mbuti, Nande and Pakombe . UNESCO Multimedia Archives. UNESCO World Heritage Committee. (2026). “Decision 48 COM 7A: Kahuzi-Biega National Park” . United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. (2025). “Statement on Human Rights Violations and Violence Against Indigenous Peoples of the Democratic Republic of the Congo” , 8 April 2025, pp. 1–2. ADVERTISEMENT Related Articles DRC Peace Effort Felix Tshisekedi’s Diplomacy Wins Youth Support at UNIKIN At UNIKIN, Minister Muyaya explains how President Tshisekedi's diplomacy defends Congo . Congo Diplomacy DRC Presents Its Vision for Transformation and Peace at UN SDG Forum At the UN SDG Forum, DRC highlighted its development achievements . Investment Investor’s Guide to DR Congo (2025): Sectors, Reforms & Opportunities Explore how to invest in DR Congo: key sectors, setup steps and legal safety . Tshisekedi Legacy Félix Tshisekedi: Champion of Change and Sovereignty in DR Congo Discover the bold legacy of Félix Tshisekedi, the DRC president transforming his nation . Tags DR.Congo DR.Congo The Pygmy Peoples The Pygmy Peoples

A New Trade Era For the first time, Uganda has set a new precedent in international trade by surpassing Europe, the world's largest market, in bilateral trade figures. This landmark achievement highlights Uganda's strategic expansion and diversification of its trade partners beyond traditional markets, emphasizing the country's growing influence and capability in the global trade arena. Strengthening Regional Ties Key to this achievement is Uganda's focus on strengthening bilateral relations within the African continent, exemplified by recent agreements with Tanzania to enhance trade facilitation and infrastructure development. Such initiatives, including significant reductions in road tolls for cargo trucks and the establishment of cooperative projects like the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), have been instrumental in boosting intra-African trade volumes, showcasing a successful model of regional integration and cooperation. Strategic Partnerships and Future Prospects Uganda's trade strategy also aligns with broader regional trade agreements within the East African Community (EAC) and engagements with the European Union (EU) to foster economic partnerships and sustainable development. These strategic alignments not only bolster Uganda's trade portfolio but also open up avenues for future trade expansion and diversification, setting a positive trajectory for the nation's economic growth and regional influence. This remarkable milestone for Uganda not only underscores the potential and dynamism of African markets but also signifies a shift towards more balanced and diversified global trade relationships, promising a future of increased prosperity and interconnectivity for the region. Continue Reading Full Article By Author Name Author Name Home Comment Feb 23, 2024 May 15, 2026 2 min read Copy link Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Published Updated: President Museveni Kaguta of Uganda and Europe met, marking a pivotal moment in trade relations A New Trade Era For the first time, Uganda has set a new precedent in international trade by surpassing Europe, the world's largest market, in bilateral trade figures. This landmark achievement highlights Uganda's strategic expansion and diversification of its trade partners beyond traditional markets, emphasizing the country's growing influence and capability in the global trade arena. ADVERTISEMENT Strengthening Regional Ties Key to this achievement is Uganda's focus on strengthening bilateral relations within the African continent, exemplified by recent agreements with Tanzania to enhance trade facilitation and infrastructure development. Such initiatives, including significant reductions in road tolls for cargo trucks and the establishment of cooperative projects like the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), have been instrumental in boosting intra-African trade volumes, showcasing a successful model of regional integration and cooperation. Strategic Partnerships and Future Prospects Uganda's trade strategy also aligns with broader regional trade agreements within the East African Community (EAC) and engagements with the European Union (EU) to foster economic partnerships and sustainable development. These strategic alignments not only bolster Uganda's trade portfolio but also open up avenues for future trade expansion and diversification, setting a positive trajectory for the nation's economic growth and regional influence. This remarkable milestone for Uganda not only underscores the potential and dynamism of African markets but also signifies a shift towards more balanced and diversified global trade relationships, promising a future of increased prosperity and interconnectivity for the region. ADVERTISEMENT Trending Now US Democrats' Rwanda Record: Peaceful Change and Congo Sovereignty . Policy and Reforms Tanzania Community Grants: Who Benefits and What Comes Next . Government Announcements Ghana–Canada Seafarer Deal Does Not Guarantee Jobs . Job & Opportunity South Africa Elections 2026: DA Leads Gauteng as Count Advances . Elections Monitoring Popular Today ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Related Articles Tags