3 things we found interesting
Eliud Kipchoge
On Saturday, long-distance runner Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, made history as he dashed across a finish line and into his wife’s arms in Vienna. As the clock hit one hour, fifty-nine minutes, and forty seconds, the eight-time marathon winner and three-time olympic medalist became the first person ever to run a marathon distance in less than two hours. Though his time will not be recorded as an official world record because it was not completed in an open event and he had “assistance” in the form of pacesetters, Kipchoge seems undeterred. For him, this proves that “no human is limited.”
#SexForGrades
A Nigerian anti-sexual harassment law that failed to pass both houses of the legislature three years ago has been reintroduced after a BBC expose outed a number of academics in Nigeria and Ghana coercing female students into sex for grades. The practice has long been an “open secret,” but as the 28-year-old Nigerian journalist behind the exposé explained to OkayAfrica, “what has tipped this story to be so influential at this moment is that it was filmed.” She added, “I feel like if this film does as much as spark a small light, there are hundreds of thousands—in fact millions—of other women who are ready to ignite that fire.”
#AmINext
Last month, demonstrations erupted in South Africa after a postal worker admitted to raping and murdering 19-year-old University of Cape Town student Uyinene Mrwetyana. Tragically, she is not alone. Data reveals that a woman is murdered every three hours in South Africa, and August, the month of Mrwetyana’s death, was the deadliest on record. Women and allies are calling attention to the problem on social media with the hashtag #AmINext, and demanding President Ramaphosa take action.
Did you know that
“Atlantique,” the winner of the 2019 Cannes festival’s Grand Prix, will now represent Senegal at the Oscars | Indiewire
Your favorite chocolate companies are exploiting children in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire | Thomson Reuters
Sudan has it’s own Chronicle of a Death Foretold | Mada Masr
KFC hasn’t made the best first impressions in Senegal | The Africa Report
“Made in Africa” phones are now a thing | SCMP
We are in month nine of the Algerian uprising (always love a Fanon shoutout) | ROAPE
Where Africa’s agric-tech revolution is| Briter
Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, won the Nobel Peace Prize | NYTimes
Oh, also:
A great NPR Code Switch episode on the “Year of Return,” goes back to Ghana, even though the first enslaved people in America were from the Congo…
Though she is not the legendary Ajapa the tortoise, we pay respects to Alagba, the Royal Tortoise in Oyo state who lived to 344. We can’t tell if her intermittent fasting (and millenialism) gave her life or her demise.
We are jamming to:
Peace & love,
Anakwa and Katie