ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT - The African Mirror

Apr

27

2026

The king never left the stage

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

LET us begin with a confession. When Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba - the man the world knew simply as Papa Wemba - collapsed on the stage of the Festival des Musiques Urbaines d'Anoumabo in Abidjan on the evening of 24 April 2016, many in the crowd initially assumed it was part of the show. Because with Papa Wemba, you never quite knew. He was that good. He was that theatrical. He was, in the fullest and most literal sense of the word, extra. Ten years later, the Head of State of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi, made…

Apr

25

2026

By ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT

Ferre Gola brings the soul of Kinshasa to the City of Gold – and the continent holds its breath

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THERE is a sound that rises from the banks of the Congo River at dusk - a sound as wide and ancient as the river itself. It is the sound of rumba, of soukous, of guitars that seem to speak in tongues, of voices that carry grief and celebration in the same breath. For generations, that sound has defined the heartbeat of Central Africa. This May, it arrives in Johannesburg. Ferre Gola - Le Padre, the patriarch of a new Congolese golden age - will step onto a Joburg stage for the first time in his storied career. The date…

Apr

17

2026

By The African Mirror

Grammy-nominated R&B queen Tamia headlines Epic Women’s Month tour in South Africa

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

SMOOTH as Cape velvet and fierce as a Joburg sunrise, Grammy-nominated R&B superstar Tamia is set to set South African stages ablaze this August, headlining The Biggest Women’s Month Celebration Tour Experience - a glittering ode to sisterhood, soul, and unapologetic power. The tour’s itinerary is locked and loaded: 6 August at Grand Arena, GrandWest in Cape Town; 7 August at Durban ICC in KwaZulu-Natal; and 10 August at SunBet Arena, Time Square in Pretoria. Tamia, whose honeyed hits like "Officially Missing You" and "Imagination" have amassed billions of streams, promises a sensory explosion of live vocals, high-energy choreography, and…

Apr

17

2026

By TOOCHI GABRIEL, BIRD STORY AGENCY

The Nigerian nomad growing Africa’s digital future

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ENUGU, known locally as Coal City after its early source of wealth, today presents a serene contrast to the frantic pace of Nigeria’s larger coastal metropolises. Nestled beneath the rolling greenery of the Udi Hills, the city is defined by its wide, tree-lined avenues and a slower, more intentional rhythm of life. This is where Sophia Ahuoyiza has chosen to build. The software and content developer began her career in Lagos, where she learned to code and started working in software development. Today her work includes a far more diverse portfolio; she moves across software development, mentoring students, and participating…

Apr

09

2026

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Zimbabwe backs homegrown content with new funding drive

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ZIMBABWE is backing its creative sector with targeted public funding, setting aside US$10 million for local content production as part of an effort to strengthen national broadcasting and expand homegrown storytelling. The country is targeting both the cost of filming and the economics of building studios, signalling a broader move to treat storytelling as a supply chain rather than an output. “This is about moving up the value chain,” said Tinotenda Machida, a Harare-based producer familiar with regional production dynamics. “If you don’t have post-production locally, you are exporting your margins. What Zimbabwe is trying to do is keep that…

Apr

09

2026

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

‘The Fisherman,’ a Ghanaian story of dreams, comedy, and a touch of magic

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE lights dim at Westgate Cinema in Nairobi, and within minutes, a retired fisherman appears large on the screen, arguing with a fish that talks back. Around him, younger companions debate money, risk, and opportunity, while the audience laughs, loudly and often, at scenes that feel both absurd and familiar. By the time the credits roll, the film has done more than entertain; it has landed as part of a broader shift in how African stories are being told and where they are being seen. ‘The Fisherman’, directed by Zoey Martinson, recently arrived in Kenyan cinemas as part of a…

Apr

08

2026

By ALICE KAYIBANDA, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Jemima Kakizi is rewriting the future of Rwandan art

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE drill-like sounds of a tufting gun cut through the quiet of a hilltop neighbourhood on a sunny morning in Kigali, Rwanda. With focused precision, Ethiopian artist Tsega Zewde Rago guides the handheld machine, punching multicoloured yarn through a taut canvas. Rago is a graduate of the prestigious Alle School of Fine Arts and Design at Addis Ababa University. When her family moved to Kigali about two years ago, she sought a creative shift and taught herself to tuft using online videos. She had been an active member of the art community in Addis and was eager to collaborate with…

Apr

07

2026

By DYLAN VALLEY

Inside The Manosphere exposes online hate and the dying voice of traditional media

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

BRITISH-AMERICAN journalist and filmmaker Louis Theroux has a long history of documenting outlandish and extremist communities, from the Westboro Baptist Church in The Most Hated Family In America to The Settlers in the West Bank. His deadpan, nerdish delivery, in contrast to his interviewees’ more animated behaviour, has become a signature style. The humour in these awkward scenarios makes him a bit of a legend in the internet era. He gave South Africa one of its earliest memes when he interviewed a gangster for his documentary Law and Disorder in Johannesburg. With a new documentary, Inside The Manosphere, on Netflix,…

Apr

01

2026

By JOVIAL RANTAO

The groom who never got his day

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THERE is a particular cruelty in dying on the cusp of joy. Not in the middle of grief, not in the depths of struggle - but right there, at the threshold of the most beautiful morning of your life, with the flowers ordered, the guests invited, and love standing patient on the other side of the door. That was the precise geography of Gofaone Gabriel Modise's passing - a man taken from us on Sunday, 29 March 2026, only days before he was to stand at the altar and pledge his life to the woman he loved. Botswana has lost…

Apr

01

2026

By YAKUBU MESSENI , BIRD STORY AGENCY

From bean to bar: How Viviane Kouamé is building the “Made in Cote d’Ivoire” brand

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

INSIDE a humming workshop in Abidjan, black-gloved hands move with rhythmic precision, sorting through mounds of roasted beans. Behind industrial machines and stainless steel vats, a master artisan leans over a workstation, her chef’s collar stitched with the national colours of Côte d’Ivoire. Only as the machines begin to pour does the true scale of this transformation become clear, as the raw harvest finally melts into thick, glossy ribbons and gold-painted squares. At her location on Rue Sol-Béni in Riviera 3, a bustling area of Abidjan's Cocody district, Viviane Kouamé is hard at work in the workshop she founded in…