By Paul Ndiho,

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government wins the backing of the elected House of Commons for his controversial plan to send migrants to Rwanda. The government fended off right-wing Conservative rebels to win the final vote on the legislation in the parliament’s lower chamber by 320 votes to 276. To learn more about what this means for the asylum seeker who might be sent to Rwanda, VOA’s Paul Ndiho Spoke to Yasmine Ahmed, the UK director at Human Rights Watch, via Skype for more perspective.

By Paul Ndiho

Good coding skills are more crucial than ever in today’s rapidly evolving digital environment. A US-based tech entrepreneur, Afia Owusu Forfie has made it her mission to empower individuals in underserved regions with essential computer and programming skills. Afia Owusu Forfie, the founder and CEO of Coders Who Travel Inc., a not-for-profit organization established in December 2016, works closely with local tech communities to make a meaningful impact. Afia’s commitment to bridging the digital divide and fostering a sense of empowerment through technology is truly inspiring. Her mission is changing lives, one line of code at a time.

By Paul Ndiho

Israel has defended itself against South Africa’s allegation that the war with Hamas amounts to genocide against Palestinians at the United Nations’ top court Friday. Israel vehemently denies the claim. 

Although the case is likely to take years to resolve, South Africa is asking the ICJ to order an immediate suspension of Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip. VOA’s Paul Ndiho Spoke to Yasmine Ahmed, the UK director at Human Rights Watch, via Skype for more perspective.

By Paul Ndiho

In July 2023, Russia hosted 49 African delegations and 17 heads of state for the second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg. Attendance in 2019 was down to 45 delegations. However, Russia’s growing influence in Africa has been increasing, rekindling its Cold War ties in southern Africa since then. For more perspective, VOA’s Paul Ndiho spoke to Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University.

By Paul Ndiho

Women hold only 25% of tech jobs in Tanzania, and just 10% of students earning degrees in computer science are women and girls, according to Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) statistics. Tanzania is actively working to reduce the gender gap in its rapidly growing tech industry. It is committed to increasing women’s participation in sectors traditionally dominated by men, such as the tech industry. Pellagia Njau, a broadcast engineer at Azam TV and Affiliate Station, teaches girls how to code and gives them a chance to shape their future in the tech industry.

More than 37 percent of the world’s population still has no reliable access to the Internet, according to the International Telecommunication Union, a UN agency for information and communication technologies. However, an organization like the Open Foundation West Africa in Ghana aims to change that by providing open education and education programs through its popular wireless software program, Kiwix. That’s shocking, considering that we in the developed world take the Internet for granted. However, in some places around Africa, it’s still hard to have reliable access to the Internet because of cost and lack of infrastructure. Ruby Damenshie Brown, a senior Open Foundation West Africa program officer, joins me via Skype.

Nearly 20 presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place in Africa in 2024, according to The Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy, a not-for-profit organization promoting credible elections and sustainable democracies in Africa. AI’s use in political campaigns raises red flags for the 2024 global elections. However, Political experts say this could be a game changer. To learn more, VOA’s Paul Ndiho spoke with Zeph Shamba, Chairman of the International Political Campaigns Expo 2024 based in Cape Town, South Africa.

It has been a year since African leaders assembled in Washington, D.C., for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. The summit focused on developing economic and strategic partnerships between the United States and African countries. Significantly enhance two-way trade and investment collaborations, boost Africa’s position in the global economy, promote innovation and entrepreneurship, and make advancements in critical sectors. To shed light on the progress achieved since the 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit, VOA’s Paul Ndiho interviewed Michael Jordan, Prosper Africa’s chief-of-staff, via Skype.

The need to connect Rwandans to the social media giant Wikipedia has led a movement of young people dubbed Wikimedia Community Rwanda to empower individuals to contribute to the website in their native language, Kinyarwanda.
Wikimedia Rwanda is an independent team of self-motivated individuals that aims to improve articles on Wikimedia Foundation project websites and promote free and Open knowledge locally in Kinyarwanda. To learn more, I spoke with Ndahiro Derrick, AKA Alter, a Wikipedia team lead in Kigali, Rwanda, about this initiative.

AfriNEXT, a conference hosted by the Atlantic Council and DAI, aims to reframe the narrative around African successes and innovation. It highlights the business case for investing in African markets and emphasizes the importance of partnerships rooted in local contexts. The conference also explores the future of Africa, including the power of its youth, the impact of digitization, and the threat of climate change. Joining us live from Washington, DC, at the AFRI NEXT conference is VOA’s Paul Ndiho.