Today in Africa — December 15, 2025: MoMA Spotlights African Portraiture, Abuse Claims Rock Mali, M23 Captures Burundian Troops

Every day, OkayAfrica shares a roundup of news we’re following but haven’t published as full articles. These short updates cover what’s happening on the continent — in culture, politics, and beyond. For more on stories like these, be sure to check out our News page, with stories from across the regions.

MoMA Opens First-Ever Photography Show on African Portraiture

New York City’s Museum of Modern Art opened Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination yesterday, Sunday, December 14, 2025, marking the museum’s first photography exhibition dedicated to African portraiture in its eight-decade history. Curated by British Nigerian curator and scholar of photography and the arts of Africa, Oluremi C. Onabanjo, the show examines how photographic portraits shaped political imagination and Pan-African solidarity during the mid-20th century, linking decolonial movements across Africa with the U.S. Civil Rights era.

The exhibition brings together works by photographers including Seydou Keïta, Malick Sidibé, Jean Depara, and Sanlé Sory, whose images captured everyday life, youth culture, and music scenes in cities such as Bamako, Bobo-Dioulasso, and Kinshasa. It also highlights James Barnor and Kwame Brathwaite, whose work in Europe and North America helped frame Africa as a global political idea, alongside contemporary artists like Samuel Fosso, Silvia Rosi, and Njideka Akunyili Crosby, underscoring the lasting political power of the photographic portrait.

New Report Chronicles Allegations of Sexual Assault by Russian Fighters in Mali

Several survivors and witnesses have shared experiences alleging raping and other sexual assaults committed by the Russian military unit in Mali, as well as the al-Qaida-affiliated insurgent group JNIM. In a new report released by The Associated Press, men, women, and children have been affected by these alleged atrocities, but only a few cases are reported due to the conservative nature of their society. In one of the cases, a 14-year-old girl was raped by Russian fighters, who burst into her family’s tent and also beheaded her uncle. JNIM fighters then came the next day and ordered the girl’s family to leave; she collapsed at the end of the 3-day journey to a makeshift healthcare facility in neighboring Mauritania.

The Russians are part of Africa Corps, a military unit under Russia’s defense ministry involved in operations with Russia’s allies across West and central Africa. Africa Corps replaced the Wagner mercenary coup earlier this year and is allied with the Malian military government as it fights against Islamist insurgent groups that are controlling parts of the country. Sexual assault allegations were already occurring before Wagner became Africa Corps, with one refugee in Mauritania sharing that she witnessed a mass rape in her village in March 2024. Many survivors and witnesses do not share their experiences due to fear of retaliation and stigma, with one survivor saying the details of an assault “stay between God and me.”

M23 Says It Captured Hundreds of Burundian Troops as Fighting Spreads in Eastern DRC

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group says it has captured several hundred Burundian soldiers during its latest offensive in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, even as Washington warns Rwanda that the renewed fighting violates a U.S.-brokered peace deal. The claim came days after M23 seized the strategic town of Uvira near the Burundi border, shortly after the presidents of DRC and Rwanda met U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington to reaffirm the so-called Washington Accords. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Rwanda’s actions breach the agreement and vows the U.S. will act to ensure commitments are honored. Rwanda denies backing M23, though a United Nations experts’ report published in July said Kigali exercises command and control over the group.

M23’s South Kivu governor, Patrick Busu Bwa Ngwi, says the captured Burundian soldiers would be returned if Burundi submits an official request, and called for all Burundian forces to leave Congolese territory. Burundi has not publicly responded. The rebels also warned they could push further south toward mineral-rich Katanga province, citing alleged abuses by Congolese forces. Congo’s military has withdrawn from areas south of Uvira to regroup, while aid group Doctors Without Borders has suspended operations in Baraka due to rising insecurity. The conflict, which has already killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands this year, continues to raise fears of deeper regional spillover.

At Least 37 Killed as Flash Floods Hit Morocco’s Coastal City of Safi

Severe flooding triggered by torrential overnight rains has killed at least 37 people in the Moroccan coastal city of Safi, authorities said today, Monday, December 15, 2025. The Interior Ministry said flash floods inundated around 70 homes and businesses, swept away 10 vehicles, and left at least 14 people hospitalized, as videos showed streets submerged and cars stranded. Schools in Safi announced three-day closures, while flooding was also reported in other parts of the country, including Tetouan and Tinghir. The disaster comes amid increasingly erratic weather linked to climate change, following years of drought that have made parts of Morocco more vulnerable to sudden floods. The deaths also follow last week’s deadly building collapse in Fez, renewing scrutiny of infrastructure, drainage, and local enforcement as youth-led protests over living conditions continue across the country.

South Africa Pushes for Inclusion in 2026 G20 Proceedings

South Africa has formally asked members of the Group of 20 (G20) to object to the U.S. government’s plans to exclude it from next year’s G20 activities. The first meetings of the emissaries to the Presidents of member nations take place between today, Monday, December 15, 2025, and tomorrow, Tuesday, December 16, 2025. In a diplomatic note, the SA government has asked that its exclusion be placed on the agenda for the two-day meeting. “The exclusion of South Africa by the United States of America should also be differentiated from the [U.S.] choosing not to participate in the majority of meetings held under South Africa’s G20 Presidency,” the international relations department stated. U.S. President Donald Trump has made South Africa a target for his ire, amidst his widely discredited claims of a white genocide, refusing to attend November’s summit in Johannesburg.

Uganda Army Finally Admits to Arresting Catholic Priest 

Uganda’s military has finally confirmed that it is holding Fr. Deusdedit Ssekabira, a Catholic priest who was said to have been abducted by security forces earlier this month. In a statement shared yesterday, Sunday, December 14, the Bishop of Masaka diocese, Rt. Rev. Serverus Jjumba said Ssekabira was “kidnapped by men in Ugandan Army uniform, with a drone” on Wednesday, December 3. The military released a statement after Jjumba’s statement, saying that the priest was arrested “for involvement in violent subversive activities against the state,” and as investigations unfold and pending a court date. Ssekabira’s disappearance by security forces comes at a time when political tensions are high heading into January’s election, amidst reports of security forces repressing opposition supporters and government critics through arrests and kidnappings.

Nigeria Opposition Warns of Slide Toward One-Party Rule as More Governors Join APC

Nigeria’s main opposition figures have accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of undermining multiparty democracy by using anti-graft and security agencies to intimidate rivals and pressure opposition governors into defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). In a joint statement, leaders including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and David Mark alleged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was being weaponized ahead of the 2027 elections, warning the country was drifting toward a de facto one-party state. The presidency rejected the claims, insisting defections were voluntary and driven by support for Tinubu’s reforms, while the EFCC said it remains neutral and apolitical. The debate intensified as Taraba State Governor Agbu Kefas was formally registered into the APC, bringing the number of recent gubernatorial defections to six and shifting Nigeria’s political landscape.