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Today in Africa — September 4, 2026: UN Adopts Map That Finally Shows Africa's True Size, Nigerian Families Wait for News on 600 Abducted Loved Ones

OkayAfrica has scoured the Internet for today’s major news stories, so you don't have to. On Sept. 4, coverage includes: the UN's historic vote to correct centuries of map distortion that minimized Africa's scale; desperate families in Niger State searching for answers two weeks after a mass kidnapping left hundreds missing; and more.

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Lihle Z. Mtshali Today in Africa & Newsletters Editor
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The UN General Assembly voted to replace the old world map with the more accurate Equal Earth projection.

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 across 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.

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UN Votes to Replace the Mercator Map With One That Actually Shows Africa's True Size

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to swap the centuries-old Mercator map for the Equal Earth projection, a version that shows countries' real relative sizes instead of shrinking Africa and blowing up Europe and North America. The "Correct the Map" resolution, led by African Union member states and the Bahamas, passed 164 to 1 today, Friday, September 4, with the U.S. as the sole no vote and six countries abstaining. The push follows years of criticism that the Mercator projection, created in 1569, distorts the globe by making regions farther from the equator look bigger than they are, so Greenland appears roughly the same size as Africa when it's actually smaller than the Democratic Republic of Congo alone. For Africa, the change is about more than a redrawn map — the resolution argues the distortion has helped minimize how the world sees the continent's socioeconomic realities, infrastructure needs, and development potential for centuries.

The Details

  • The African Union adopted the Equal Earth map back in March, then asked the UN to follow suit in April through Togo, which led to this resolution.

  • France announced the same day that it's dropping the Mercator projection too, with its foreign minister saying visual distortions "eventually take root in perceptions."

  • The resolution calls the switch an act of "cognitive justice and memorial reparation" and links map distortion to how the world underestimates Africa's infrastructure, development, and economic potential.

  • Google Maps and other digital platforms still use a Mercator-based projection; the resolution calls on tech companies to adopt the more accurate one too.

  • Some Equal Earth versions also drop London's Greenwich meridian as the default center, opening the door to maps centered elsewhere, like Oceania.

Nigerian Families Say No Word From Kidnappers Two Weeks After Mass Abduction

Two weeks after gunmen raided the northwestern Nigerian village of Dekera, killing dozens and kidnapping hundreds, residents say they've heard nothing from the kidnappers and seen little government action. About 600 people, mostly women, children, and older people, were abducted in the August 22 attack on Dekera and nearby Gidan-Zana and Sabon Gida, with at least 40 residents killed, according to locals; authorities haven't confirmed those numbers, though President Bola Tinubu has ordered security agencies to rescue the hostages. Residents describe a town in ruins — homes burned, schools and markets shut, and families now homeless and hungry as the rainy season sets in. A study has found that Nigerian kidnappers collected close to $5.8 million in ransom payments between July 2025 and June 2026

Families Left Waiting

  • Dekera resident Isa Zaki says 10 members of his extended family were seized, and he's had no contact from the kidnappers since.

  • Civil servant Habibu Salihu says seven family members were killed, and he saw his sister breastfeeding her newborn in a video released by the kidnappers shortly after the attack, but has heard nothing since.

  • No group has claimed responsibility, though analysts suspect a breakaway Boko Haram sect, which typically operates in northeastern Nigeria, may be involved.

  • Some residents fled into neighboring Benin following the attack, according to local authorities there, though exact numbers remain unclear.

  • Niger state police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun says there's no update yet on the hostages' status.

AFC/M23 Reports New Ebola Case in Rebel-Held Eastern DR Congo

Rwanda-backed AFC/M23 rebels have reported a new Ebola case in Kayna health zone, North Kivu, more than two months after declaring their territory free of the virus in late June. The 21-year-old patient arrived from Butembo in government-held territory and was flagged as a suspected case at a health checkpoint on Wednesday, with tests confirming infection the following day; health authorities have since begun contact tracing and stepped up surveillance.

Context on the Outbreak

  • Rebel-held areas had recorded only four Ebola cases in total since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, before this latest case.

  • AFC/M23, which controls large parts of North and South Kivu after a lightning offensive last year, has pointed to its Ebola response as proof of its ability to govern.

  • Rwanda denies backing the rebel group.

In Brief: More Stories Today

Body of Uganda's King Oyo Returns Home for Burial After Death From Cancer

The body of Uganda's King Oyo Nyimba, who became the world's youngest reigning monarch at age three in 1995, arrived in Uganda today, Friday, September 4, ahead of his September 12 burial following his death from cancer at 34. President Yoweri Museveni was among dignitaries who received the casket at Entebbe airport before it was flown to Tooro Kingdom, where mourning ceremonies will continue until burial; the kingdom's prime minister said the late king had left an heir, ensuring the "continuity of the Crown."

At Least 21 Killed in South Kordofan Clashes, Doctors Say

Sudan Doctors Network says at least 21 people, including women and children, died yesterday, Thursday, September 3, when rebel group SPLM-N attacked areas near Kauda in South Kordofan, violating a ceasefire the RSF-aligned group never formally joined. The fighting, part of clashes with the Otoro tribe, has displaced hundreds and killed at least 158 people since violence broke out over land disputes in March.

At Least 37 Die From Fumes While Tapping Nigerian Oil Pipeline

An environmental group says at least 37 people died inhaling fumes while attempting to steal crude oil from a pipeline at Okrika in Nigeria's Rivers State late yesterday, Thursday, September 3, though authorities haven't confirmed the toll. Police say others remain missing, with bodies reportedly seen floating in the river, marking the worst known death toll from illegal oil tapping since 2023.

Anti-Migrant Protest in Durban Turns Violent, Injuring Congolese Nationals

A demonstration against undocumented migrants in Durban, South Africa turned violent yesterday, Thursday, September 3, with one foreign national arrested and a community leader reporting five Congolese nationals injured, including two children. The clash occurred at an encampment where hundreds of foreigners, many from DR Congo, have sheltered for 13 weeks amid weeks of anti-illegal migrant unrest that has already killed at least four foreign nationals and driven more than 200,000 people to flee the country.

Tunisia's Top Court Upholds Convictions of Dozens of Opposition Figures

Tunisia's Court of Cassation has upheld prison sentences of up to 45 years for dozens of opposition figures, lawyers, and rights defenders convicted of conspiring against state security. President Kais Saied has defended the prosecutions as necessary for national security, while Amnesty International calls the case politically motivated and has raised concerns over deteriorating prison conditions for detainees, including 82-year-old Ahmed Nejib Chebbi.

UAE Pardons Poet Jailed After Extradition From Lebanon

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has pardoned Egyptian-Turkish poet Abdulrahman Youssef al-Qaradawi, just a week after he received a 10-year sentence following his extradition from Lebanon. Qaradawi, son of the late Muslim Brotherhood-linked cleric Youssef al-Qaradawi, had been arrested after criticizing UAE, Saudi, and Egyptian authorities online, prompting calls from rights groups and UN experts for his release.

South African Rights Groups Push to Pause New Data Center Construction

South African civil rights groups are calling for a halt on new data center approvals until the projects' use of water, land, and electricity is properly investigated, with the country's Human Rights Commission receiving more than 250 submissions on the issue since May. South Africa hosts 70% of Africa's data center capacity, and critics point to a planned Equinix facility in Cape Town — a city that narrowly avoided running out of water in 2018 — as a flashpoint for transparency concerns.

DR Congo Revives Plan to Move Israel Embassy to Jerusalem

The Democratic Republic of Congo is reviving a three-year-old plan to relocate its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, following a September 1 meeting between President Félix Tshisekedi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. No timetable has been set, but the move would mark a return to Jerusalem after DR Congo, then Zaire, severed ties with Israel in 1973 and restored them in 1982 without resolving the embassy's location.

united nations today in africa sudan war sudan conflict south africa news nigeria news nigeria kidnappings news mercator projection latest world map king oyo nyimba home equal earth ebola outbreak dr congo news african news africa un general assembly

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