Ep10 Africa Calling Special on Land Rights: Kenya, Liberia, Burkina Faso and Ghana

For episode 10 of Africa Calling, we're taking a break from this week's news and focusing on land rights across the African continent-- one of the most important issues that figures into every story. Our correspondents traveled far and wide to get the story.

Africa Calling © RFI

Some problems stem from the colonial era, when land was redistributed without consulting the owners. We’ll hear from our correspondent Lenny Ruvaga in Kenya on how people have been made squatters on their own land—and are trying to fight back.

Or with the case in Liberia, where land rights laws were recently passed, but rural landowners are still trying to figure out exactly how they benefit from these laws. Liberia correspondent Darlington Porkpa traveled to rural Big Joe Town in Grand Bassa County to find out what people, and officials, had to say.

While most fights over land occur in from the rural areas, in Burkina Faso, surprisingly it’s urban dwellers who feel most threatened. We’ll be speaking to expert Ibrahima Ka, sub-Saharan Africa Coordinator of Prindex, an internaitonal survey organization, on his new report on land insecurity in Ouagadougou and other cities in the country.

And finally, gender can be a big stumbling block in trying to acquire land, especially in places like Ghana, where traditional rulers are the ones who decide who gets farming plots. In the past, women were not allowed land. Correspondent Zubaida Mabuno Ismail hung out with female farmers in northern Ghana who are pushing for change… and more land to cultivate.

Music maven Alison Hird thought we should end the last Africa Calling podcast of 2020 on a high note to bring in positivity for the new year, and has selected Hugh Masekela's ode to the land of his ancestors, 'Abongoma', or 'The Healers', in Zulu.

Africa Calling is a podcast from Radio France Internationale. Editor and host: Laura-Angela Bagnetto, producer: Daniel Finnan, recording and editing by Erwan Rome

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