South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has trimmed down his Cabinet from 36 Ministers to 28 and made it gender balanced for the first time in the country’s history. He has also included younger leaders in his Cabinet, notably former ANC Youth League deputy president Ronald Lamola and ANC Youth League secretary-general Njabulo Nzuza.
Kylie Kiunguyu
Arts and Culture Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o awarded 2019 Erich Maria Remarque Peace Prize
East African literary icon Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o has been awarded the 2019 Erich Maria Remarque Peace Prize for Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature. The collection of essays focuses on language and its constructive role in national culture, history and identity.
Arts and Culture Pilgrims return to Africa’s oldest synagogue for the Lag BaOmer festival
Countless pilgrims converged at Africa’s oldest synagogue, in Tunisia, where one of the last Jewish communities in the Arab world lives, for the annual Jewish pilgrimage and Lag BaOmer festival. For years, the synagogue has not welcomed as many pilgrims because of security concerns in the region.
African identities #Repeal162 is not about the LGBTQI+ community. It is about universal rights and freedoms
The Kenyan High Court has rejected a plea to declare sections 162 (a) and (c) and section 165 of the Penal Code unconstitutional. The plea, filed in 2016 by three Kenyan gay rights organisations, claimed that the sections have led to discrimination and the justification of violence against the LGBTQI+ community or persons presenting as such.
Politics and Society At 21, Itumeleng Ntsube is South Africa’s youngest ever MP
South Africa’s youngest legislator ever, 21-year-old Itumeleng Ntsube of the African National Congress, was sworn into office on 23 May as a member of the National Council of Provinces, the country’s upper House of Parliament.
Arts and Culture South Africa signs MoU with Kenya to facilitate the teaching of Kiswahili in its schools
Kenya and South Africa have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to provide a foundation for the introduction of Kiswahili as an elective language in the South African educational system. This is South Africa’s next step in fully integrating Kiswahili as an indigenous language to promote unity and social cohesion with fellow Africans.
Arts and Culture Tribute to Kenyan author and LGBTQI+ activist Binyavanga Wainaina
We mourn the passing of African literary force and LGBTQI+ activist Binyavanga Wainaina. The Caine prize winner has passed away at the age of 48 after suffering from a stroke.
Africans rising Nuclear physicist Cebo Ngwetsheni published in the Physics Letters journal
University of the Western Cape’s nuclear physicist Cebo Ngwetsheni’s ground-breaking paper on nuclear polarisation has been published in Physics Letters, the journal in which the Nobel-deciding discovery of the Higgs Boson, also known as the God Particle, was published.
Africans rising Josephine Uwase Ndeze of DRC crowned Miss Geek Africa 2019
Congolese innovator Josephine Uwase Ndeze is the winner of Miss Geek Africa 2019 for her mobile platform that enables expectant mothers to monitor their progress, check any symptoms they might be experiencing and connect them to their healthcare providers in case of an emergency.