Tanzania's late president John Pombe Magufuli was a controversial politician, at once condemned as a dictator yet popular as an economic nationalist. To better understand his conflicting legacy in the context of Tanzania's broader history, VOA's Jason Patinkin reached out to Sabatho Nyamsenda at the Political Science department of the University of Dar es Salaam.

Prof Sabatho Nyamsenda on the "mixed legacy" of late Tanzanian President John Pombe Magafuli

*A version of this story originally aired March 15, 2021*

This week the United States government designated two armed groups, one in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and another in Mozambique, as terrorist organizations, resulting in travel bans and asset freezes. The US said the DRC-based Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, and the Mozambique-based Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama, both had links to the so-called Islamic State extremist group. For more, VOA's Jason Patinkin reached out to Dr Akinola Olojo in Dakar, Senegal. Dr Olojo is a counter-terrorism expert and a senior researcher with the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies.

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Dr Akinola Olojo analyzes US terror designations in Mozambique and DRC

Nearly 150 people have been killed in a series of attacks in southwestern Niger in the past week. Gunmen on motorbikes killed 137 people during coordinated raids on villages on Sunday. Reuters reports another ten people killed in raids Wednesday. What's behind this latest violence? And what's needed to bring it under control? To find out, VOA's Jason Patinkin reached out to Nadia Adam in Bamako, Mali. Adam is a Sahel expert and a researcher with the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies.

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Sahel expert Nadia Adam explains what's behind the latest attacks on civilians in southwestern Niger

President Idris Deby Itno, who ruled Chad for more than 30 years and became an important ally to Western nations in the fight against Islamic extremism in Africa, has been killed while battling rebels in the north according to the military. He was 68. The Chadian army has blamed the Tuesday death of President Idris Deby on a rebel group called the Front for Change and Concord in Chad, or FACT. FACT has been based in Libya to Chad's north, and is linked to Libyan rebel General Khalifa Haftar. To find out more about the FACT group, and details of Deby's death, VOA's Jason Patinkin reached out to Chad researcher Jerome Tubiana in France.

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Jerome Tubiana on death of Chad's President Idris Deby

For analysis of what Deby's death may mean for regional security, VOA's Jason Patinkin reached out to Dan Eizenga. Eizenga is a research fellow at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies here in Washington DC. 

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This interview first aired on April 20, 2021

Dan Eizenga on regional and national security implications of death of Chad's President Idris Deby

In the day after the battlefield death of Chadian President Idris Deby, the FACT rebels have vowed to keep pushing south toward the capital N'djamena. Meanwhile, Chad's newly established military council faces questions about whether it is constitutional. To discuss the latest developments, VOA's Jason Patinkin reached out to Richard Moncrieff in Nairobi. Moncrieff leads the International Crisis Group's Central Africa research program.

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Crisis Group's Richard Moncrieff on the latest in Chad after President Deby's death

As the conflict in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region enters its sixth month, the U.N. Security Council broke its silence Thursday to call for scaled-up humanitarian access and “a restoration of normalcy.”

The statement from the 15-nation council also expressed “deep concern” about reports of sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls in Tigray, calling for investigations and accountability, but did not directly condemn them.

Reports of mass rape in Tigray by soldiers have been common, blamed on Ethiopian and Eritrean forces, who are battling the Tigray People's Liberation Front rebels. Ethiopian officials have both denied and admitted atrocities committed by their forces. Eritrea's government has not admitted to any atrocities, but has said cases of sexual violence, if found, should be punished harshly.

For analysis of the UN Security Council statement, VOA's Jason Patinkin spoke to Richard Gowan, who leads the International Crisis Group's UN advocacy in New York.

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Crisis Group's Richard Gowan on why the UN Security Council broke its silence on Ethiopia's Tigray

Chad held a somber funeral today for late President Idriss Deby Itno, who died of combat wounds while visiting troops fighting rebel forces. Several African political leaders, French President Macron and other dignitaries were among those gathered in N’Djamena.

Meanwhile, rebels of the Front for Change and Concord in Chad, or FACT, said warplanes bombed one of their command centers Wednesday night. They accused France, which backs Chad's newly established military council led by Deby's son, of supporting the alleged raid with aerial surveillance. The French army said today it had not carried out any airstrikes this week in Chad, but did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Reporter Moki Edwin Kindzeka traveled to N'djamena for Deby's funeral. VOA's Jason Patinkin spoke to him about what he saw.

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Journalist Moki Edwin Kindzeka reports on late Chad President Idris Deby's funeral

On Monday, Colombia enacted a complete ban on entries of non-residents. But tens of thousands of people from neighboring Venezuela cross into Colombia each day seeking food and medical supplies, on top of 1.7 million  Venezuelans who have fled to Colombia in recent years escaping economic and political upheaval in their home country. For more on the potential impacts of Colombia's decision on Venezuelan migrants, VOA's Jason Patinkin spoke earlier to journalist Megan Janetsky in Medellin.

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Colombia closes its borders - Q+A with journalist Megan Janetsky in Medillin

Kenyan musician and storyteller Makadem is stranded in Copenhagen, Denmark by the covid19 coronavirus while on a European tour. The accomplished nyatiti player was in northern Italy performing Milan, Genoa, and Torino when the outbreak hit. Makadem managed get out of northern Italy on February 23, the day the region locked down. Since then, Italy has had the world's deadliest outbreak with over 13,000 killed. He called off the rest of his European tour, which had scheduled stops in Germany, Sweden, Latvia, and Belgium, and is now stuck in Denmark after his flight home to Kenya was cancelled. But Makadem is still making music, including a virtual show last week part of an online Danish performance series called the "Corona Concerts." VOA's Jason Patinkin spoke to Makadem about being a "Coronavirus Refugee" and performing for an audience that he can't see.

Listen to Makadem's music:

https://petelarson.bandcamp.com/album/muhogo-wa-jangombe-obongo-bless-me-new-african-soundz-singles-no-2

https://www.facebook.com/coronakoncerter/videos/3069086836455423/

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"Coronavirus Refugee" - Kenyan musician Makadem stranded in Denmark

A year ago this week, tens of thousands Sudanese protesters began a two-month-long peaceful sit-in in Khartoum that helped oust dictator Omar al Bashir after three decades in power. Sudan's uprising inspired popular protests around the world, but the Sudanese protesters themselves found inspiration through music. The Khartoum sit-in featured near constant live music performances by Sudanese artists, who used song to motivate their comrades. VOA's Jason Patinkin recorded hours of live music at the sit-in last year, and for the anniversary of Bashir's ouster, shares some of those tunes, along with reflections from Sudanese bassist and radio host Islam el-Baeti about what it was like to perform during Sudan's revolution.

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"We believe in the power of music" - The Soundtrack to Sudan's Revolution Plays On

Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the overthrow of former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir after three decades in power. But twelve months after the revolution, many Sudanese are wondering whether their demands of Freedom, Peace, and Justice have been met. VOA's Jason Patinkin reports.

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"A new political order has not been born" - Sudan marks one year after Bashir's overthrow

The combination of police violence against protesters across the country, and US President Donald Trump's threat to crush the protests with the military, have led the human rights watchdog Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect to release an atrocity alert for the United States for the first time. For more, VOA's Jason Patinkin spoke to the Center's Executive Director Simon Adams and here's what he had to say.

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"Warning signs of much bigger conflicts" - Atrocity alert issued for United States

Friday’s Juneteenth celebrations across the United States commemorated the day the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free.  While the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, called for the end of slavery but word didn’t reach the last enslaved black people until 2 years later on June 19th when Union soldiers brought news of their freedom. This year, Juneteenth celebrations took on greater significance amid weeks of anti-racist protests. VOA's Jason Patinkin filed this report.

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"This is the first time I feel like Juneteenth is actually being celebrated"

Our top story today is in Greenland, where an enormous chunk of the region's ice shelf has broken off in the far northeastern Arctic. The iceberg that broke off the N79 glacier is 110 square kilometers in size, according to satellite imagery, and has raised alarm bells among scientists who say it is evidence of rapid climate change. For more on what this means, I spoke to Dr Jenny Turton, an expert in climate and ice at the Friedrich Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany.

Massive ice chunk breaks off from Greenland ice shelf - Q+A with Dr Jenny Turton

There has been widespread global backlash in recent days over US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Morocco's claim of sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, including from senior members of Trump's Republican Party. The Polisario Front, which is the political and military leadership of the self-declared Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic in Western Sahara, says it rejects Trump's move, standing by its longstanding accusation that Morocco illegally occupies the land of the Saharawi people. Morocco, which has held Western Sahara since Spain left in 1975, says it regards the vast desert region as an integral part of its own territory. The UN has said the issue should be solved by a referendum of the people of Western Sahara. Now, there are fears that a flare-up of violence in the region last month between Moroccan forces and the Polisario Front could escalate. For more, VOA's Jason Patinkin reached out to Mouloud Said, who is the Polisario Front's representative to Washington DC, and is currently in Spain. 

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Polisario Front's Mouloud Said says Trump's stance on Western Sahara "violates international law"

US President-elect Joe Biden has picked a congresswoman from the southwestern US state of New Mexico to be the first Native American cabinet secretary in US history. It's part of Biden's pledge to assemble the most diverse cabinet in US history. If confirmed by the senate, Representative Deb Haaland, who hails from the Laguna Pueblo, would lead the US Department of the Interior, which oversees US relations with tribal nations, and manages public lands. For more on the historic appointment, VOA's Jason Patinkin in Washington reached out to Native American journalist and activist Julian Brave NoiseCat, who is Vice President of Policy & Strategy at the Data for Progress policy research group. 

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Julian Brave NoiseCat on Rep Deb Haaland's appointment as first Native American US cabinet secretary

Kenyan musician KMRU grew up playing the guitar. But now, he writes songs using kitchen utensils and car horns. VOA's Jason Patinkin has the story.

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Kenyan musician KMRU makes his name in the global electronic ambient music scene

For more on the Tigray conflict, VOA's Jason Patinkin reached out to Alemayehu Weldemariam. Weldemariam is a Professor of Constitutional Law at Mekelle University in Ethiopia's Tigray region, but he is currently in Boston due to the conflict.

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Popular tracks by Jason Patinkin