Focus on Africa

In an exclusive interview with Focus on Africa, Lieutenant General John Brennan, the Deputy Commander of US Africa Command (AFRICOM), says that over 90% of revenue generation and recruitment by Islamic State (IS) terror organisation is now happening in Africa. He also discusses how the US is seeking to deepen its military cooperation with African countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia and Mali.
And ahead of Valentine's Day celebrations, central banks in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have banned the use of bank notes to make cash bouquets - saying the practice destroys the integrity of their currencies.
Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna
Producers: Bella Twine, Daniel Dadzie and Ayuba Iliya
Technical Producer: David Nzau
Senior Producer: Charles Gitonga
Editors: Samuel Murunga and Maryam Abdalla

Over 200 cases of the Foot and Mouth Disease have been confirmed in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province. The highly contagious viral disease that affects cows, sheep, goats and other split hoofed animals has also been confirmed in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini and Mozambique. We hear what this means for farmers and the economy.
Also - between Morocco and Algeria, who really owns the caftan?
Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna
Producers: Keikantse Shumba and Basma El Atti
Technical Producer: David Nzau
Senior Producer: Charles Gitonga
Editors: Samuel Murunga and Maryam Abdalla

Following a months-long delay, the US recently renewed the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) - a key trade deal between Washington and dozens of African countries that was first enacted in 2000. AGOA enables African countries to export select goods to the US duty free. While previous US administations renewed the deal for periods of upto 10 years, President Trump's government has offered to extend it for just one year. We look at what this means for the 32 African countries that currently benefit from the agreement.
And we speak to Ntungamili Raguin, the 17-year-old tennis player from Botswana who made history at the just concluded Australian Open, where he reached the round of last 16 in the junior tournament.
Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna
Producers: Bella Twine, Priya Sippy and Blessing Aderogba
Technical Producer: David Nzau
Senior Producer: Charles Gitonga
Editors: Samuel Murunga and Maryam Abdalla

The UNFPA has warned that world fertility rates are facing an 'unprecedented decline'. In its 2025 report, it said many people are having fewer children than they want, or none at all, because of factors like the cost of living and difficulties finding a suitable partner.
At the same time, a growing number of people are actively choosing a child-free life, and more women are now opting for sterilisation procedures like tubal ligation. Focus on Africa podcast host, Nkechi Ogbonna, spoke to 29-year-old Naisula Sironka, from Kenya, who has chosen to be child-free and underwent tubal ligation in 2024.
Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna
Producers: Fana Negash and Carolyne Kiambo
Technical Producer: David Nzau
Senior Producer: Priya Sippy
Editors: Samuel Murunga and Maryam Abdalla

In Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos, authorities have demolished Makoko - the country's biggest informal waterfront settlement. The Lagos state government says some structures built beneath high-tension power lines pose a serious safety risk. But the scale of demolitions has left thousands of residents displaced and families say they were given little warning and no clear relocation plan.
And in Sierra Leone, President Julius Maada Bio has announced January 18th as Remembrance Day for victims of the civil war. Between 1991 and 2002 the west African country's military alongside UN peacekeeping troops fought against rebel groups, resulting in the killing of thousands of people and displacement of more than half of Sierra Leone's population at the time.
Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna
Producers: Bella Twine, Keikantse Shumba, Chiamaka Dike and Ayuba Iliya
Technical Producer: David Nzau
Senior Producer: Charles Gitonga
Editors: Samuel Murunga and Maryam Abdalla