From this week's @thecontinent.org It's very concise yet every paragraph contains a violent truth.

In 2022, the only mortal remains of Patrice Lumumba, a single gold-capped tooth, were returned to his family, more than 60 years after his murder. Only now are Belgian prosecutors planning to go after anyone for their role in the 1961 killing.

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The US Food and Drug Administration has approved injectable lenacapavir for HIV treatment. But there is always a but. The drug could cost as much as $28,000 or as little as $100 – depending on where you get it.

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Zambian women are being lured to work in terrible conditions in Pakistan, then abandoned without their passports or hope of getting home. And the man responsible is still profiting, despite the authorities knowing about. @thecontinent.org investigates continent.substack.com/p/unmasked-t...

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii !!! Mais quand le monde va-t-il s'occuper d'autre chose que de ce que porte les femmes !!!

All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 202 of The Continent It's Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice, but droughts in Algeria have left lambs scarce. To keep tradition alive, the government is importing sheep and distributing them via lotteries. Get this week's edition here: bit.ly/202_TC

Sidi Ould Tah's AfDB presidency could be an opportunity to bring Africa fairer and more autonomous financing. If the centre holds.

Two DJs played a 24-hour set in an unfinished arts centre in Kampala — not for clout, but to help build it. Locals danced, kids joined in, and their livestreamed gig raised money to get the job done. As DJ Kampire puts it, "The only antidote to despair is to do something."

All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 201 of The Continent. Travel with us to Bissau Biennale, West Africa’s most improbable art fair. Get your copy of this week's edition here: bit.ly/201_TC

We Built This City is a limited series of photo essays by The Continent on African cities. This week, we are in Lilongwe with James Jamu.

The rumours were wild: Zimbabwe’s ruling party was encouraging its supporters to vote in Mozambique’s presidential election with fake IDs. But when undercover reporters investigated, they too were offered the chance to commit cross-border electoral fraud – and they weren’t the only ones.

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Arab artists are leaning east towards the Gulf states, which are pouring billions of dollars into culture to push past their ‘petrostate’ image on the world stage. It’s hurting feelings in Cairo.

All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 199 of The Continent Cairo, long the beating heart of Arab culture, is getting anxious as Arab artists lean out – towards Gulf money. Get your copy of this week's issue here: bit.ly/TC_199

Hey, who wants something nice? So I was on tour this month, and when I was doing my event for the Princeton University Library and the Princeton Public Library, I ended up at the graveyard, where I found this gravestone:

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It was a conservationist’s dream. Three years ago, nearly 300 elephants were moved into a park on the Malawi-Zambia border. Now 10 people have been killed by elephants and a lawsuit claims 12,000 others have paid the price for that alleged conservation success story. @mcbrams.bsky.social reports.

Long after whistleblowers hold the powerful to account, the powerful hold them ransom. Protection laws, where they exist, are hardly enforced. You can't ask Babita Deokaran or Ahmed Hussein-Suale. They were killed for trying to tell the truth. #WorldPressFreedomDay

All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 197 of The Continent At the Zambia-Malawi border, what Big Conservation sold like a fantasy in Disneyland has turned into a recurring nightmare. Nobody seems to have thought about the people living in the area and now 10 people are dead. bit.ly/TC_197

Book launch: No Last Place to Rest — Coal Mining and Disposession in South Africa by Dineo Skosana Date: 15 April 2025 Time: 17:30 for 18:00 Venue: Humanities Graduate Centre Seminar Room (Wits, East Campus)

While we are away, you can catch up on all 196 of our previous issues here.

Our team is taking a publishing break to focus on our plans for world domination. We need your help in this – for our 200th edition we want to launch our very own merch, and we want that edition to be all about you. Lend us your brain, and five minutes to help us.

All Protocol Observed Welcome to The Museum of Stolen History. This season, we profiled eight historical artefacts from every corner of Africa. We call it The Museum of Stolen History, in recognition of the fact that much of Africa’s history has been looted or erased. Read it here: bit.ly/TCMoSH

In studios across Lagos, forgotten in dusty back rooms, are thousands of discarded photographic negatives. A pair of photographers have dedicated their time to preserving, digitising and then archiving these snapshots from the city that would otherwise be lost.

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All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 196 of The Continent Undeveloped photo films are gathering dust in studios all over Lagos. What is on those old camera rolls? Find out here. bit.ly/Continent196

Margaret Nduta, a Kenyan woman, was set to be executed in Vietnam for drug trafficking but was granted a last-minute reprieve after Kenyan diplomats intervened. Her journey began at Bole International Airport in Addis. It’s Africa’s busiest airport and fast gaining a reputation for its lax security.

All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 195 of The Continent Bole International Airport, Africa’s busiest airport, is beloved by travellers and intercontinental drug traffickers alike. Get your copy here: bit.ly/TC195

All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 194 of The Continent Zambia’s pact with copper mines has decimated another river. Read it here: bit.ly/TheContinent...

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Two South African men wanted to take their wives’ surnames and found they weren’t allowed to. It’s now up to the country’s constitutional court to confirm that sections of the Births and Deaths Registration Act discriminated against them on the basis of gender.

My favourite story in this week's edition of @thecontinent.org is this rare interview with Ethiopia's most famous singer, the King of Tizita himself, Mahmoud Ahmed. Take a listen. Even if (like me) you don't speak Amharic, this is indescribably beautiful: youtu.be/5IAKaipKdh0?...

Thanks to @pierredevos.bsky.social who was kind enough to speak to me on such short notice this week. South Africa’s ConCourt will likely confirm that men in the country should be allowed to take their wives’ surnames. Also spare a thought for North Americans and the SAVE Act.

In The Continent: bit.ly/TC193 🇲🇿 Mozambique: Mondlane attacked by unidentified gunmen 🇪🇹 Interview: Ethiopia’s ‘King of Nostalgia’, Mahmoud Ahmed 👺 Museum of Stolen History: Behind the mask 🇨🇩 Travel: Come peace or war, Bukavu is bewilderingly beautiful 📽️ Review: The film that changed African cinema

Our @thecontinent.org newspaper cover from June 2020. The more things change the ...

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Along the Nile Valley in Upper Egypt, tattooing became common in the early 20th century. The once-vibrant tradition of daq is now a relic of a bygone era, consigned to memory.

Weighing in at 3,106 carats (that’s 621 grams), the Cullinan Diamond is the largest rough diamond ever found in Africa – or anywhere else. It was discovered in 1905 in the town of Cullinan in colonial-era South Africa. Now it lives on as several pieces, in Britain’s Crown Jewels.

From yesterday by the way - if any followers of Mozambique's tuna bond saga were wondering what ex-Credit Suisse banker Andrew Pearse is up to these days, here's an update. www.ft.com/content/351b...

Botswana’s government has spent many years, and many millions of dollars, preparing for natural disasters – just not this kind of natural disaster. The state’s attention, informed by decades of meteorological data, was focused instead on responding to drought. Not flooding.

BREAKING: It's the end. #Trump2025 has ordered #HIV projects in SA funded through #USAID to shut down —immediately and permanently. They woke up to the letters. We'll be updating the story throughout the day. bhekisisa.org/health-news-...

The conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is getting worse. But small-scale traders in Goma and Gisenyi – most of whom are women – keep going to work; selling tomatoes in a war zone.

Brussels has been unabashed in its criticism of Rwanda’s support for the M23 fighters who seized two cities in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. In response, Rwanda has killed a $99-million aid deal with Belgium.

The Sudanese Armed Forces are on the offensive in Khartoum. Their plan is to retake the Republican Palace – the symbolic heart of the Sudanese state. For some civilians, dramatic shifts on the frontlines bring new dangers.

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