What’s Trending brings you a selection of the latest trends from and around the continent. Expect to find your usual dose of news, categorised by country, alongside WOA’s handpicked song of the week, getting you through the week until Friday!
South Africa: #Rhodes Must Fall
Beginning on the 9th of March, the popularly known #RhodesMustFall hashtag took to the forefront of South African social media. This occurred at the same time as a protest movement with the intention of removing a statue commemorating Cecil Rhodes gained traction at the University of Cape Town.
Protests at UCT © UCT Facebook
Rhodes was an imperialist and renowned “philanthropist” as well as an avid businessman whose accumulated wealth stemmed largely from mining in Southern Africa. He was also the colonial driver instigating the creation of the Rhodesian territory. After gaining global attention as a movement to decolonize the education system of South Africa, the UCT Council voted for it to be removed the statue was removed. The movement describes the removal of the statue as symbolic. The protestors, many described as being from South Africa’s “Born Free” generation (those born after Apartheid ended in 1994) see the statue to represent colonialism and its effects. In adding pressure resulting in its removal, protestors seek to an institutionally oppressive education system, where education fees are too high, marginalising those that need it most – particularly those from low socio-economic backgrounds. This movement also highlights the lack of representation among black South Africans in the education system, many protestors advocating for more black professors and equal opportunities for black students.
Protests at UCT © UCT Facebook
It comes after the death of Mandela, and his struggle to create equal opportunities for black South Africans experiencing forced segregation and oppression. Despite the end of Apartheid, many white South African’s benefit from the privilege of being part of a race still seen as superior in today’s society. BBC Africa spoke to some of the young protestors to gain some insight on their experiences as well as their reasons for protesting, one being Ntokazi Nkushubana, 21. She told the BBC “My mother is paying for my fees and the rest covered by NSFAS. It’s a real struggle for her. Making tertiary education so difficult to acquire is a big problem – especially when it’s being done by the [governing] African National Congress (ANC) which has been promising us free education since 1994. Tertiary education is now a privilege or for the rich in this country and it shouldn’t be like that, anyone who is academically deserving should be able to further their studies if they want to.” Oratile Mashazi, editor of South African Youth Bubblegum Club blog told What’s On Africa “This movement is about to change the world”. The world continues to watches as this movement unfolds.
UK: Tinie Tempah’s playful new video shot in South Africa
London rapper Tinie Tempah has been in the limelight more than usual especially within the continent. If you don’t know Tinie from his “Wifey Riddim” days, before Grime gained mainstream popularity, you were definitely introduced to him through this bass heavy hit, ‘Pass Out’.
When he’s not making music, you can find Tinie being photo bombed in Nigeria, by a beautiful bread seller that soon after became a signed model through the help of himself and TyBello. Visuals for the stylish rappers latest track ‘Girls’ featuring Zara Larsson have been shot amidst the stunning back drop of Cape Town. The artist says he’s heavily inspired by South African house. This has manifested in the form of a visually appealing video that includes a vibrancy an energy typical of the landscape. Have a look below. Tinie’s latest mixtape project, Junk Food is out now.
Super Sunday 2016: 5 African countries, 5 elections
The term ‘Super Sunday’ refers to the elections that began taking place across Africa on the weekend, Sunday 20th March. In Congo, Denis Sassou-Nguesso ran for re-election. He has been in power for 32 years.
Niger held its first ever run-off vote for President. However, the opposition stated they won’t recognise the results and their intentions to boycott the second round. Benin held the second round of its presidential election. Senegal held a referendum on whether to reduce presidential terms from seven years to five. On the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, security forces were deployed ahead of a re-run of the October 2015 presidential vote – it was cancelled after the election commission said voting laws were violated.
Read the full story and follow the elections live here.
Nigeria: Song of the Week
“Sisi” is the first single off the album FAMOUS by Praiz. It features Nigerian afrobeats star Wizkid and it does not disappoint. Praiz, also Nigerian, was the second runner-up in the first edition of Project Fame West Africa. Soon after, his career began to take off. With this track, we can see why. Grab your headphones and enjoy, wherever you are. Follow Praiz @Praiz8
Kenya: App of the Week NikoHapa (meaning “I am here” in Swahili), a social location app allowing users to discover new locations and connect up with friends. It also acts as a loyalty program by rewarding users who visit certain locations, retailers and restaurants, spend money and share these locations with their friends. Users scan their phone’s address book to automatically detect when friends have joined NikoHapa and connect with them seamlessly. Download NikoHapa here.
Cover Photo of Lagos © Jolade Olusanya, 2016