Africa

1. Top universities
2. Satirical art
3. News influencers
4. More unity

Also, a Nigerian-American fashion designer at the center of cultural expression.

Hello! Welcome to Semafor Africa, where we try not to overindulge in satirical wordplay. I first met Gado, the Tanzanian-born cartoonist a few years ago in Nairobi and was impressed by how seriously he takes the responsibility of his craft while being disarmingly self-deprecating and witty. His interview with Muchira in this edition, as the subject of our Creative Thinkers series, captures a lot of what I thought that first time. Cartoonists in African newspapers have a particularly important role in many countries where even though they are ostensibly democratic and free, the media often is not allowed to be so.

There’s sometimes a bit more leeway given to cartoonists than journalists but it is not without risks, as Gado explains. It could be something as seemingly trivial as an exaggerated physical feature (as cartoonists are wont to do) which triggers a threat to shut down the entire newspaper. And yet, there’s a need for the powerful to be able to laugh off caricatures of themselves while enjoying the spoils of power as a reasonably fair trade for functioning democracies. It’s like Gado says here: “Regimes come and go, but we have to ensure that we do not let our guard down.”

🟡 It was another tearaway week of news as Martin kept tabs on the unfolding tax protests in Kenya (more below). We also pored over the Semafor Media podcast transcript with the US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenifeld’s strong views on Sudan war coverage. Alexander wrapped up the week covering the plan to send a Nigerian to space.

Best of the rest

Egypt might have the most places of African universities on the 2025 QS Top Universities global ranking but it is South Africa which again has the top universities in Africa. The University of Cape Town was the highest placed African institution though ranked just 171st in the world. It is one of four South African schools in the top five. Egypt’s top placed school was Cairo University at fifth in Africa, but 350th globally. Overall just 40 African universities made the list of some 1500 institutions globally.

Creative Thinking: the art of satire

Godfrey Mwampembwa, popularly known as Gado, is an editorial cartoonist, animator and comics artist of over three decades. Gado, who is Tanzanian, is the co-founder of Nairobi-based Buni Media and the creator/producer of XYZ Show, a satirical puppet show. Gado’s cartoons have won multiple awards and been collected in books.

💡 What inspires your work?

Curiosity. I have always been very intrigued by social and cultural issues, global politics and their dynamics, and contemporary events. I started out as an editorial cartoonist right from school eager to make sense of the world, but soon realized I was uninformed on a broad range of issues. That realization pushed me to interrogate issues more deeply.

💡 How has the political leadership in East Africa changed since you’ve been a cartoonist?

In Uganda and Rwanda, top political leadership has remained the same for decades, but that’s different from Kenya and Tanzania, for example. Thing is, regimes come and go, but we have to ensure that we do not let the guard down. The objective has been to consistently acknowledge and protect the gains of free press. Sometimes, I draw a cartoon and it strikes me that I drew a similar one over two decades ago. That just goes to show things have not changed much, from a political standpoint.

💡 How does criticism from those you poke fun at influence your work?

I get scathing feedback for my cartoons. The political class particularly hates being caricatured. I have been sued by politicians for cartoons they did not like. I also have maintained a love-hate relationship with my editors because my work brought too much pressure on them. My family has also been targeted because the powers that be didn’t like how I represented them. But that is part of my job. The attempts to get to me have not moved me.

💡What’s your favorite dish that you would serve on Semafor Africa’s visit to yours?

Ha! I’m a foodie who loves exploring cultures and places through food. Matoke, an East African dish made from green bananas, served with beef or pork, would be a great option.

— Muchira Gachenge

Follow Semafor Africa’s WhatsApp channel!

1️⃣ Click here to join.

2️⃣ This is important, click on the 🔕 icon in the top right corner of your screen to unmute notifications.

We’d love to hear from readers on what you’d like to see on WhatsApp that’d be better or different from our newsletters. Also, listen to our Song of the Weekend!

The revolution is being televised…on TikTok

NAIROBI — Mainstream media coverage of the youth-led protests in Kenya is being overshadowed by protesters’ use of social media to shape narratives about the finance bill they oppose through shared videos, photos, memes and live streams.

TikTok and X have become the go-to platforms for many Kenyans looking to keep up with the protests, reflecting the composition of the movement itself. The protests so far have featured mostly Gen Z and millennial protesters in a country with relatively high internet access rates and widespread smartphone usage. Notably, around 75% of Kenya’s population is under 35 years of age, and the median age is 19.

Countless protest-related videos have gone viral on TikTok before being widely reshared on other platforms. This lines up with new data from the Reuters Institute 2024 Digital News Report which found Kenya leads the world in terms of consumption of short-form video news content by share of population, with 94% of Kenyans consuming short-form online news videos at least once a week.

Protesters say the sharing of videos also helps protect them from police violence. “We don’t just record because it’s cool or fun, we need to record to keep ourselves safe from police brutality,” said Waiguru Githinji, a protester who recorded TikTok videos during protests in Eldoret, western Kenya on Thursday. But it has also enabled protesters to boost camaraderie and morale among activists, with fun and creative videos, such as those of dancers, creators and artists at the protests going viral.

The protesters have sought to control media narratives by calling out what they consider to be misreporting. Local and international media platforms, including Citizen TV and the BBC, are among outlets that faced significant backlash online over coverage relating to the protests. To their credit, however, legacy media houses in Kenya have retained their status as trusted sources of news during the protests.

Designing for unity

The Bidi Bidi refugee settlement in northwestern Uganda, over 500 kilometers from the capital Kampala, hosts an estimated 200,000 displaced people. That makes it one of the world’s largest refugee camps.

Many of them came to Bidi Bidi after fleeing the South Sudanese civil war in 2016. A recently constructed amphitheater in Bidi Bidi offers the refugees a haven to share in the joys of music and dance, while also aiming to foster peaceful coexistence between local Ugandans and the refugees.

The Bidi Bidi Music & Arts Centre was designed by Australia-headquartered аrсhіtесturе fіrm Наѕѕеll аnd LосаlWоrkѕ, а Kampala dеѕіgn ѕtudіо. Its construction was led by development organization to.org.

Earth bricks made from locally sourced soil were used for the walls. Designers of the building aimed to incorporate traditional northern Ugandan aesthetics into the center.

The performing arts center features a stage for performances and events and a recording studio that can accommodate large groups. The stage includes a back wall that can open up, boosting the facility’s capacity. Engineering firm Arup advised on the building’s acoustics and lighting.

— Martin

Weekend Reads

🇳🇬 African fashion has been at the center of cultural expression within the continent and its diaspora, but has also evolved into a massive business that oozes identity. Renowned Nigerian American fashion designer Busayo Olupona had a vision to create a contemporary fashion brand that would celebrate the Nigerian diaspora which has now grown into the Busayo brand, writes Bianca Betancourt in Harper’s Bazaar.

🌍 African governments’ battles with disinformation might give them an early knowledge -sharing advantage versus other parts of the world, writes Abdullahi Alim for Foreign Policy. Alim notes the increased sophistication in technology including algorithms of social media platforms which have also led to widespread disinformation. Alim recommends African governments spearhead digital literacy efforts and demand accountability of tech companies.

🇸🇳 Senegalese auteur Ousmane Sembène’s shift from novelist to filmmaker was inspired by trade union leaders. These unionists led a historic strike by African workers of the Dakar-Niger railroad line that prompted demands for independence from French colonialists. In an Africa is a Country essay, French and Liberal Arts professor Chérif Keïta traces his familial roots that centers the union leaders in Sembène’s films.

🇳🇬 The exit of pharmaceutical companies from Nigeria including British company GlaxoSmithKline has caused increased stress for asthma sufferers due to increased cost of drugs and their scarcity. Tijani Abdulkabeer writes in Al Jazeera that the drastic impact on the industries follows President Bola Tinubu’s policy decisions including removal of subsidies, which also contributed to record inflation.

🇺🇬 Ugandan artist and activist Leilah Babirye, who fled to the United States after being outed for being a member of the LGBTQ+ community, is using trash to create artworks that explore sexuality, identity and human rights. Her work, including acrylic paint on paper drawings, ceramics made of clay, and sculptures can now be seen at the Venice Biennale.

Week Ahead

June 24 — South African tech and media giant Naspers will report full-year results in which it expects profits to more than double.

June 25-27 — The Global Peace Leadership Conference will bring together more than 600 delegates from 25 countries to Nairobi to discuss sustainable peacebuilding.

June 25-27 —— The global event on Enhancing the Sustainability of Investment for Vaccine Manufacturing in Africa will be kicked off in Nairobi by President William Ruto.

June 26-28 —— The Africa CEO Summit will gather business leaders and policymakers from Africa and beyond to define the future of African leadership.

June 25 — Kenya’s lawmakers are expected to meet and vote on proposed changes to the proposed 2024 finance law after public outcry and protests around the country.

June 29 — Mauritania is set to hold the first round of its presidential election. Seven candidates, including the country’s current president, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, who has been in office since August 2019, will be on the ballot.

• Will the Jan. 6 movement make it to the Republican National Convention stage?
• Why France is veering towards political chaos.
• The Gates Foundation backs an AI wildcard.

If you’re enjoying the Semafor Africa newsletter and finding it useful, please share with your family and friends. We’d love to have them aboard too.

Let’s make sure this email doesn’t end up in your junk folder by adding africa@semafor.com to your contacts. In Gmail you should drag this newsletter over to your ‘Primary’ tab.

You can reply to this email and send us your news tips, gossip, street food recommendations and good vibes.

— Yinka, Alexis Akwagyiram, Muchira Gachenge, Martin Siele, and Alexander Onukwue