Africa #2

Africa #2
TikTok in Kenya Sexism in the press Looted art Migrants returning to Nigeria

Published every Tuesday

Daily Maverick

ROOM AT THE INN: Here’s what hotel visits post-lockdown will look like

The restaurant industry has been making its voice heard over the past couple of weeks, but what about the broader hospitality industry? While restaurants have been able to trade – albeit fractionally – hotels, guest houses, and B&Bs all closed their doors on March 27, 2020 and have had virtually zero custom until recently.

Daily Nation (Kenya)

TikTok, gaining huge popularity in Kenya, faces a ban in America

Mathias Keya, best known as Makokha Dot Makacha from his role in the comedy series Vioja Mahamani, recently uploaded a funny video online.

New York Times

‘The Biggest Monster’ Is Spreading. And It’s Not the Coronavirus.

It begins with a mild fever and malaise, followed by a painful cough and shortness of breath. The infection prospers in crowds, spreading to people in close reach. Containing an outbreak requires contact tracing, as well as isolation and treatment of the sick for weeks or months.

Mongabay

Saved from poisoning, these rare African vultures take wing again

Swift reporting of poisoning enables sites to be decontaminated, limiting the number of vultures and other species affected.

The Conversation

Sexism Is Rife in the Nigerian, Kenyan and South African Press. and It’s Left Unchecked

Uncovering systemic abuse against disproportionately women and girls, but also men and boys, has been coined the Me Too movement. Started in 2007 by American Tarana Burke, #metoo has empowered many survivors to speak up about their abuse, and hold their abusers accountable. Powerful figures, whose abuse spanned decades and affected thousands of lives, have been implicated.

Foreign Policy

Is It Time to Repatriate Africa’s Looted Art?

On the eve of Feb. 9, 1897, the ancient Kingdom of Benin, now part of modern-day Nigeria, stood as a marker for the achievement of Black civilizations. Archaeologists describe Benin City’s earthworks as the world’s largest built before the mechanical age, and its city walls were estimated to have been “four times longer than the Great Wall of China.” But the next day, the British military entered the city to overthrow Benin’s king by force. By Feb. 18, soldiers had burned Benin City to the ground. After Benin’s fall, the British donned blackface and faux native dress to celebrate.

The New Humaniarian

The double pain of Nigerian migrant returnees

The EU is doubling down on reducing migration from Africa, funding both voluntary return programmes for those stranded along migration routes before they reach Europe while also doing its best to increase the number of rejected asylum seekers it is deporting.

The Independent (Nigeria)

Testing Time For FIRS As Experts Knock New Property Tax

ABUJA – Nigerians have continued to kick against the newly introduced stamp duty tax regime by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in its quest to strengthen other revenue sources for Nigeria in the face of the dwindling oil revenue.

Quartz ($)

Africa’s largest retailer is pulling out of the continent’s largest economy

In early 2012, Shoprite, the largest supermarket chain on the continent, believed it could expand its footprint in Nigeria up to 700 outlets. But eight years later, that outlook is very different as the South Africa-owned retail giant is discontinuing operations in Nigeria as it considers reducing or selling its entire stake in the Nigerian division.