LIFESTYLE - The African Mirror

Apr

01

2026

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…

Mar

31

2026

By ANDRINO AKUDA KANGELA, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Tisya Mukuna is bringing the story of Congolese coffee to life

LIFESTYLE

COFFEE was once one of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s main agricultural exports. In the 1970s and 80s, the country ranked among Africa’s leading producers of the sought-after commodity, thanks to the country's rich and fertile volcanic soils, plentiful rain and favourable conditions for both arabica and robusta coffee varietals. That prominence has long faded. From the 1990s onwards, conflict, political instability and economic decline, particularly in the country's highly fertile eastern highlands, disrupted the sector. Infrastructure collapsed, plantations were abandoned, and supply chains broke down. Today, the Democratic Republic of Congo produces only a fraction of its former…

Mar

31

2026

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Africa’s intellectual exile networks and archive get a boost from new writing

LITERATURE

FRAGMENTS of Bloke Modisane’s life have long been scattered across continents - from radio scripts in London to correspondence in international private collections. Yet his later career is largely absent from the South African record or intellectual conversation. For decades, Modisane’s story, made famous in his autobiography ‘Blame Me on History’ seemed to end abruptly in 1959, the year he left apartheid, South Africa, for exile. That narrative is now being challenged. A new book, ‘Bloke of All Ages: Perspectives on Bloke Modisane,’ edited by Siyabonga Njica and Siphiwo Mahala, revisits his life and work, revealing a far more expansive…

Mar

30

2026

By The African Mirror

When Hova went to Kasaï

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOBODY asked Jay-Z to do this. That is the most important thing to understand about the cover of GQ's April 2026 issue. Nobody sent Shawn Corey Carter a memo. No delegation from Kinshasa flew to New York. No African Union subcommittee on cultural diplomacy tabled a motion. The man simply sat down — or stood up, or however one poses with a Kifwebe mask — and, with characteristic nonchalance, delivered what may be the most consequential act of African cultural promotion since Miriam Makeba sang at the United Nations in 1963. He did it, as Congolese musician Alesh noted with…

Mar

28

2026

By TINASHE MUSHAKAVANHU

Makemation: a Nollywood movie that shows AI in action in Africa

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

A new feature film, Makemation, is an African coming-of-age story set in a time of artificial intelligence (AI). Makemation was produced by Nigerian AI-developer-turned-filmmaker Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji. As conversations about AI are dominated by external global powers, his film offers a different vantage point: an AI story rooted in African realities. After a successful run in Nigerian cinemas in 2025, it’s now touring internationally, and I attended a screening at the Harvard Centre for African Studies. It was followed by a discussion with its producer and economist Ebehi Iyoha, who researches AI in Africa. The evening foregrounded precisely what the film…

Mar

27

2026

By STACEY KAKEA, BIRD STORY AGENCY

How a “Digital Chef” is changing the culinary game

FOOD

THE heavy, sweet scent of marinated chicken sizzling on a barbecue grill signals the start of the MeatUp Fest in Limuru, Kenya. At the centre of a spiral of smoke is 27-year-old Sarah Sandra, known to thousands of her digital followers as “Chef Sandie Burnie." She moves with practised focus, religiously coating each piece of meat with the precision of someone who knows that in the world of "low and slow" barbecue, patience is the ultimate ingredient. Sandra isn’t wearing the starched white apron of a high-end kitchen, nor is she waiting for any head chef’s orders. Instead, she is…

Mar

27

2026

By BARBARA BOSWELL

Diana Ferrus: the South African poet whose words reclaimed history

LIFESTYLE

SOUTH African poet, storyteller, publisher, editor and activist Diana Ferrus (1953-2026) received a provincial funeral when she passed on 30 January. Ferrus came to embody the resilience of women writing about identity and belonging in the face of colonial oppression and of apartheid (white minority rule) in her country. Barbara Boswell is an author and feminist literary scholar who researches black women writers in South Africa and has published a number of peer-reviewed articles on Ferrus’s poetry. We asked her to share her insights about her friend. Who was Diana Ferrus? Diana Ferrus was a writer and cultural icon who…

Mar

21

2026

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Canal+ leverages AI to win over African audiences

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AFRICAN streaming subscribers could soon see a more personalised and potentially cheaper viewing experience for local content as French media giant Canal+ rolls out artificial intelligence tools following its acquisition of MultiChoice. The company plans to use AI to better understand audience preferences and recommend films, series and sports that resonate with viewers across different African markets. From June 2026, it said subscribers will start receiving tailored recommendations that highlight locally produced shows, regional languages and culturally relevant stories. Currently, subscribers have to scroll through vast libraries and sift through a mix of foreign and local titles to view their…

Mar

21

2026

By FAMA DIONE

A Senegalese all-female music band is blazing a trail for women

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AT Jokko Studio in Dakar, five instrumentalists play out original tunes seeped in a vibrant fusion of reggae, salsa, hip-hop, blues, jazz, rock and mbalax, the neo-traditional pop music of Senegal. They are: Khady Dieng, pianist; Amina Sarr, the lead vocalist; Aissatou Dieng, the percussionist; Ndeye Cisse, the sambar and djembe player; Evora Vas, the bassist. Together, they are Orchestra Jigeen Ñi, which in Wolof means "the women's orchestra." The all-female band was formed in 2018 by cultural entrepreneur Samba Diaité with a mission to champion the rights of women in Senegal and to be an inspiration for girls who…