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Rufaro Samanga
Oct. 28, 2019 07:38AM EST
Stringer/AFP via Getty Images

The Army Has Been Deployed in Ethiopia Amid Deadly Protests

Reports indicate that at least 67 protesters have been killed and dozens others injured in Addis Ababa and the Oromia region.

Last week, hundreds of Ethiopians in Addis Ababa and the Oromia region took to the streets to protest against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The protests were in response to prominent opposition activist and media owner Jawar Mohammed having announced that the government had removed the security guards assigned to him following his return from exile last year. Supporters of Mohammed showed up outside his house the following morning to show their support for him. However, they later clashed with supporters of the recent Nobel Peace Prize winner and security forces had to subsequently intervene. Army troops are reportedly now being deployed to the Oromia region to calm the unrest.

Thousands of Ethiopians have now joined the growing protests and according to France24, at least 67 protesters have been killed with dozens others having been injured.

Ahmed denounced the killing of protesters this past Saturday. He described the current situation as "an attempt to provoke an ethnic and religious crisis". He went on to add that, "The crisis we are experiencing could get even worse if the Ethiopians do not unite."

His comments speak to the country's longstanding ethnic tensions between the Tigrayans, Oromos, Gedeos and numerous others. In December of last year, at least 2.9 million Ethiopians were displaced as a result of inter-ethnic violence. Mohammed has also called for calm.

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Photo by Jekesai Njikizana/AFP via Getty Images.

Zimbabwe's Nelson Chamisa Removed As Leader of Main Opposition Party

The Supreme Court of Zimbabwe has ruled that Nelson Chamisa is the 'illegitimate' leader of the MDC and has removed him from the position.

Nelson Chamisa has been removed as the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), according to the BBC.

The Zimbabwean Supreme Court ruled that Chamisa is the "illegitimate" leader of the main opposition party and has legally returned him to the position he held back 2015 of Secretary for Policy. Thokozane Kupe will now reportedly assume legitimate leadership of the political party, My Zimbabwe reports.

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Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images.

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Passes Away

The former Egyptian president, who was ousted in 2011 during the Arab Spring Uprising, was aged 91.

Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak passed away yesterday according to reports by the BBC.

The former statesman's death comes barely a year after his successor and Egypt's first democratically-elected president Mohamed Morsi, suffered a fatal heart attack.

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Interview
Justice Mukheli. Courtesy of Black Major/Bongeziwe Mabandla.

Interview: Bongeziwe Mabandla's New Album Is a Calm Meditation On Relationships

We speak with the South African artist about his captivating new album, iimini, love cycles, and the unexpected influence of Bon Iver.

"I've been playing at home for so many years and pretending to be having shows in my living room, and today it's actually happening," Bongeziwe Mabandla says, smiling out at me from my cellphone as I watch him play songs on Instagram Live, guitar close to his chest.

Two weekends ago, Mabandla was meant to be celebrating the release of his third album, iimini, at the Untitled Basement in Braamfontein in Joburg, which would no doubt have been packed with some of the many fans the musician has made since his debut release, Umlilo, in 2012. With South Africa joining many other parts of the world in a lockdown, those dates were cancelled and Mabandla, like many other artists, took to social media to still play some tracks from the album. The songs on iimini are about the life and death of a relationship—songs that are finding their way into the hearts of fans around the world, some of whom, now stuck in isolation, may be having to confront the ups and downs of love, with nowhere to hide.

The day before his Instagram Live mini-show, Mabandla spoke to OkayAfrica on lockdown from his home in Newtown about the lessons he's learned from making the album, his new-found love for Bon Iver, and how he's going to be spending his time over the next few weeks.

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Lueking Photos. Courtesy of emPawa Africa.

Interview: GuiltyBeatz Proves He's Truly 'Different'

The Ghanaian producer talks to us about his debut EP, Different, the massive success of "Akwaaba," producing for Beyoncé and more.

GuiltyBeatz isn't a new name in the Ghanaian music scene. A casual music fan's first introduction to him would've likely been years ago on "Sample You," one of Mr Eazi's early breakout hits. However, he had scored his first major hit two years before that, in the Nigerian music space on Jesse Jagz' and Wizkid's 2013 hit "Bad Girl." In the years to come, the producer has gone on to craft productions for some of Ghana's most talented artists.

In the years to come, the producer has gone on to craft productions for some of Ghana's most talented artists, having worked with the likes of Efya, Pappy Kojo, Sarkodie, R2Bees, Stonebwoy, Bisa Kdei, Wande Coal, Moelogo and many more over the last decade. The biggest break of the talented producer's career, however, came with the arrival of his own single "Akwaaba".

In 2018, GuiltyBeatz shared "Akwaaba" under Mr Eazi's Banku Music imprint, shortly afterwards the song and its accompanying dance went viral. The track and dance graced party floors, music & dance videos, and even church auditoriums all around the world, instantly making him one of Africa's most influential producers. Awards, nominations, and festival bookings followed the huge success of "Akwaaba." Then, exactly a year later, the biggest highlight of his career so far would arrive: three production credits on Beyoncé's album The Lion King: The Gift.

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