Botswana’s 4×400 relay team celebrating their gold medal (Source: Reuters/Eloisa Lopez)
Africa had an awesome show at the World Athletics Championships last week, which took place in Tokyo, Japan, from Sept 13 to 21.
First of all, congratulations to Botswana which cemented its place by winning the country and continent’s first ever gold in 4 x 400 mrelay in the men’s discipline. On Sunday, Botswana’s team of LeeBhekempilo Eppie, Letsile Tebogo, Bayapo Ndori and Busang Collen Kebinatshipi edged out the US, the winners of the last 10 world titles, in a rain-drenched race, while South Africa took third position; the team had previously earned the silver medal in the Men’s 4x400m relay at the Paris Olympics last year. This gold victory has caused the country’s president to declare Monday September 29 a public holiday to celebrate the country’s victory in the Men’s 4×400 metres in Tokyo. President Duma Boko hailed the gold medal as a “historic African win“, in an online address praising the team for their performance. From New York where he is attending the UN General Assembly, President Boko added, “I’ll be sure to tell everyone, Botswana’s natural diamonds are not just in the ground, they are our World Champion athletes.” The country finished 5th in the medal tally behind the US, Kenya, Netherlands and Canada, with 2 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze medals. Busang Collen Kebinatshipi won gold in the men’s 400 m, while Bayapo Ndori took silver in the same discipline.
Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet, gold, and Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, silver, react after the women’s 5,000 meters final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. (Source: Pic/AP, PTI)
Our Kenyan sisters Beatrice Chebet and Faith Kipyegon did not disappoint. They were on fire! Beatrice Chebet triumphed in the Women’s 10,000 m and 5,000 m winning gold in both; she became the third woman to ever completethe 5,000m-10,000m double at a World Championships. Faith Kipyegon came through with a gold in the Women’s 1500 m, and silver in the 5000 m; she has now matched retired men’s world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj as the only other athlete in history to amass four 1500 m titles at the championships. Lilian Odira and Faith Cherotich took gold in the Women’s 800m and 3000msteeplechase, while Peres Jepchirchir took gold in the Women’s marathon. Dorcus Ewoi took silver in the Women’s 1500 m. The men did not disappoint either with Emmanuel Wanyonyi taking gold in 800 m, while Reynold Cheruiyot and Edmund Serem both claimed bronze medals in the Men’s 1500 m and 3000 msteeplechase respectfully.
Tanzania’s Alphonce Simbu won the gold medal in the Men’s marathon – making it the first gold medal for the country at the World Athletics Championships.
Flag of Ethiopia
Ethiopia took silver in the Men’s 10,000 m with Yomif Kejelcha, while Gudaf Tsegay took bronze in the women’s version of the discipline. Tigst Assefa took home silver in Women’s marathon and SemboAlmayew bronze in women’s 3000 m steeplechase.
Djamel Sedjati of Algeria won the silver medal in the Men’s 800 m.
Soufiane El Bakkali won silver medal in the Men’s 3000 m steeplechase.
Our Nigerian sister Tobi Amusan did not disappoint, taking home the silver medal in the Women’s 100 mhurdles, her country’s sole medal at these world championships.
As stated earlier, the South African men’s team, made up of Lythe Pillay, Udeme Okon, Wayde van Niekerk, and Zakithi Nene, won the bronze medal in the 4 x 400 m behind Botswana and the US.
Kudos to our African athletes, and we hope to see more and more victories in the future.
Flag of Kenya
While at the Berlin marathon, Kenya made a clean sweep with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s. Sawe finished in 2h2min16s to make it 3 wins in his first three marathons. Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third. In the women’s marathon, Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru – also of Ethiopia – coming third.
There was a lot to celebrate in Africa in 2023. Below are just a few in the sea of celebrations.
The different ministers of Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso met to sign the agreement (Source: https://thenews-chronicle.com)
1. In January, Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso, three West African countries , all of whom have recently undergone military takeovers amid rising public national anger against France, have agreed to a Bamako-Conakry -Ouagadougou axis, with enhanced cooperation on matters ranging from trade to the fight against insecurity.
FESPACO 2023
2. The biennial African film festival, FESPACO, took place this year from 25 February to March 4. On March4, the winner, Tunisian Youssef Chebbi won the Golden Stallion of Yennenga (Etalon d’or de Yennenga) for his film ‘Ashkal‘ which centres on the investigation into the killing of a caretaker on a construction site in Carthage on the outskirts of his hometown. This year, women directors were celebrated and took home the second and third prizes, with Burkinabe filmwriter Apolline Traore, who picked up the Silver Stallion of Yennenga for the film ‘Sira‘, while the Bronze Stallion was awarded to Kenya’s Angela Wamai for ‘Shimoni.‘ FESPACO 2023: Tunisian Film ‘Ashkal’ Wins the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, and Women Filmmakers are Recognized
3. In March, the Vatican rejected the ‘Doctrine of Discovery’ used to Justify Colonial Quest and Theft of Land. A Vatican statement said the papal bulls, or decrees, “did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of Indigenous peoples” and “therefore [the Vatican] repudiates those concepts that fail to recognize the inherent human rights of Indigenous peoples, including what has become known as the legal and political ‘doctrine of discovery.’” This is the first official acknowledgment of the Catholic Church for his first place participation in the enslavement of people around the globe, and particularly of Africans. We had published here Dum Diversas or The Vatican’s Authorization of Slavery, which highlighted the major role played by the Vatican in the slave trade of Africans over the centuries.
Inauguration of the Place des Tirailleurs-Sénégalais with Tirailleurs aged over 90-years-old on 10 March 2023 (Source: Sylvie Koffi, RFI)
4. Nine Senegalese tirailleurs, men who served for France for its liberation during the wars, have now won the right to receive their pension while living in Senegal. These men, aged 85 to 96 years, have served in the French army during the wars of Indochina and Algeria, and were forced to live in France at least 6 months per year to get their retirement pension! Can you imagine serving for a country that does not even want to pay you a dime for your services (remember Thiaroye?)? As a result, most of them never returned home. This year, they were able to finally go home. At Last: Senegalese Tirailleurs now allowed to receive their pension while living in Senegal
Zambian flag
5. Following months of talks, Zambia successfully agreed new repayment terms with its state creditors on up to $6.3bn (£5bn) debt, including over $4bn owed to China. … Although the details of the deal have not yet been released [as always, populations are kept in the dark, while their future is being signed over], it appears that Zambia will be granted an extended repayment time of over 20 years, including a three-year grace period with interest-only payments. In recent years, the economic debt of Zambia has been making the locals apprehensive; this is a positive step. Zambia breathes a Sigh of Relief after $6bn Debt Deal.
Anatoli Kirigwajjo (Source: 256businessnews.com)
6. Anatoli Kirigwajjo from Uganda, the founder and CEO of Yunga, a local digital security network that enhances neighbor-to-neighbor safety, was awarded “The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation” dedicated to developing African innovators, an award, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK. In a modern world where drums are no longer used to alert communities, it is imperative to find a solution that will be used to alert all neighbors within a community of some impending issue. His innovation is based on the ancestral drum tradition, and the “10,000 household model” – a traditional practice where people use drums to alert their community in case of an emergency. Ugandan Engineer takes Africa’s Top Innovation Award for His Safety Invention.
Faith Kipyegon (Source: WorldAthletics.org)
7. Africans made us Proud at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. There were so many outstanding contributions, and amazing firsts. Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso who took home the gold medal in the men’s triple jump, thereby offering his country its first gold at the World Championships. Letsile Tebogo of Botswana made us proud by becoming the first African to win a silver medal at the World Championships ever in the men’s 100 m, and a bronze medal in the 200 m. Faith Kipyegonof Kenya delivered! There isn’t another athlete as consistently dominant over such a range as Kipyegon, and she was rightfully selected among the best African athlete of the year; at the world championships, she won gold medals in the women’s 1,500 m and 5,000 m in Budapest. Ladies Gudaf Tsegay, Letesenbet Gidey, and Ejgayehu Taye of Ethiopia dominated their events to give us a trio winning gold, silver, and bronze medals respectively in the women’s 10,000 m. Please check out the exhaustive list of winners.
Francis Ngannou knocking down Tyson Fury in the 3rd round (Source: Eurosport)
8. Francis Ngannou, professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer, of Cameroon made us proud in the “Battle of the Baddest” against the undefeated world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, which place on October 28, 2023, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ngannou was able to knock down Fury in the third round, taking the fight all the way to the scorecards, in which the judges awarded Fury the victory in a controversial split decision. To many, not just Africans, the real winner was Ngannou.
Map of Liptako-Gourma region (Source: aha-international.org)
9. Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger signed a Mutual Defence Pact called the Liptako-Gourma Charter, to protect their countries, and fight effectively against terrorists which have been occupying the northern parts of their territories. The Liptako-Gourma Charter establishes the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which aims to “establish an architecture of collective defence and mutual assistance for the benefit of our populations“, Colonel and leader of Mali, Assimi Goïta wrote on X. These countries have shown that we, Africans, can take care of ourselves, without the need of puppet organizations such as ECOWAS.
Ibrahim Traore, President of the Transition, raises the new plate renaming the boulevard after President Thomas Sankara (Source: LeFaso.net)
11. On the 36th anniversary of Thomas Sankara’s assassination, Burkina Faso renamed Boulevard in Honor of Thomas Sankara; the boulevard, one of the main streets of the capital Ouagadougou, was previously known as General Charles de Gaulle Boulevard. Thus, Burkina Faso has replaced the country’s former colonial ruler with its very own leader and inspiration to the nation, Thomas Sankara. We applaud Burkinabes for doing this, and hope to see many African countries follow in their tracks, as many streets and cities still wear the names of European men who wiped out entire peoples (Brazzaville, Port-Gentil, etc).
Woppa Diallo and Mame Bougouma Diene (Source: The Caine Prize/Guardian)
12. Senegalese couple, Mame Bougouma Diene and Woppa Diallo, has made history this week by winning the Caine Prize for African Writing [Senegalese Couple Makes History by Winning Literary Caine Prize for African Writing]. It is the first time in the history of the prize that it is awarded to a couple. Diallo is a lawyer and activist while French-Senegalese American Diene is a humanitarian and a short-story writer. There were also lots of African writers who published acclaimed work this year.
Map of Mali with its capital Bamako
13. Mali military forces succeeded in Kidal where France and Allies could not! The forces were able to liberate the city of Kidal from terrorist groups where France and its allies and the MINUSMA could not. They succeeded in a few days, where it took years for France and co. On November 14 2023, president Assimi Goïta of Mali announced the liberation of Kidal, stronghold of terrorist groups for the past few years. The news was so stunning that even the BBC who has been calling the Mali government, ‘the junta’ and all sorts of names, and always showing ugly pictures of Assimi Goïta, had to, begrudgingly write the article and for once showed him in a decent image :).
Hugues Fabrice Zango (Source: The Straits Times, AFP)
Over the past few days, Africans have made us proud at the 2023 World Athletics Championships which took place in Budapest, Hungary. There were so many outstanding contributions, and amazing firsts.
The list starts with our brother Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso who dominated the field and took home the gold medal in the men’s triple jump. This is his country’s first gold at the World Championships. Zango has consistently improved over the years from bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, to silver at the Eugene 2022 World Championships, to now gold. When interviewed, he said, “I am proud to be the man who keeps his word. I promised to make history and I did it tonight… We have some troubles in our country now and it is an incredible mission to bring some positive emotions to them.” Keep it up brother, we are so proud of you!
Letsile Tebogo (Source: SportNewsAfrica)
Letsile Tebogo of Botswana made us proud by becoming the first African to win a silver medal at the World Championships ever in the men’s 100 m, and a bronze medal in the 200 m. In events dominated by Americans and Jamaicans, brother Tebogo showed that Africans should not be counted out.
Faith Kipyegon (Source: StarConnectMedia)
We held onto Faith, and Faith Kipyegon of Kenya delivered! There isn’t another athlete as consistently dominant over such a range as Kipyegon. She won gold medals in the women’s 1,500 m and 5,000 m in Budapest, capping a year in which she obliterated world records at 1,500 meters, the mile and 5,000 meters in the span of seven weeks this summer. Her compatriot Beatrice Chebet took silver in the women’s 5000 m; while Jacob Krop took home the bronze medal in the men’s 5000 m. Ethiopia‘s DiribeWelteji took home the silver medal over the women’s 1,500 m distance behind Faith.
Mary Moraa (Source: The Star Kenya)
Kenya Mary Moraa won gold in women’s 800 m defeating favorite Athing Mu of the USA… this has been a long time coming since the Mozambican Maria Mutola, and South African Caster Semenya. Her compatriot Emmanuel Wanyonyi took silver in the men’s 800m.
In the 3000 m steeplechase, the Kenyan women Beatrice Chepkoech and Faith Cherotich took home the silver and bronze medals respectively in the women’s event; while their countryman Abraham Kibiwot took home the bronze in the men’s event. MoroccoSoufiane El Bakkali, the Olympic gold winner over the distance, took home the gold medal in the men’s event, while Ethiopia Lamecha Girma took home the silver.
Ladies Gudaf Tsegay, Letesenbet Gidey, and Ejgayehu Taye of Ethiopia dominated their events to give us a trio winning gold, silver, and bronze medals respectively in the women’s 10,000 m. Their compatriot Selemon Barega won bronze in the men’s 10,000 m. Uganda‘s Joshua Cheptegei dominated the men’s event taking home the gold medal, while Kenya’sDaniel Simiu Ebenyo took silver.
Victor Kiplangat (Source: The Africa)
Ethiopia Amane Beriso Shankule and Gotytom Gebreslase won gold and silver respectively in the women’s marathon; they were followed by Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi of Morocco with the bronze medal. Shankule’s countryman Leul Gebresilase took home bronze in the men’s marathon. Uganda‘s VictorKiplangat was victorious, taking home the gold medal in the men’s marathon.
Tobi Amusan broke the world record (Source: Getty Images)
Africa had a really good showing at the World Championships in Eugene (Oregon) in the US, this past week, with quite a few gold medals, multiple medals, broken world records, or simply reaffirmation of their domination on their disciplines.
Tobi Amusan of Nigeria broke a world record to win a Gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdles, thus giving Nigeria its first gold at a world championship. Compatriot Ese Brume (Olympic Bronze long jump) won the Silver medal in the women’s Long Jump.
Hugues Fabrice Zango getting his triple jump (Source: bbc.co.uk)
Burkinabe Hugues Fabrice Zango who had won Bronze in men’s triple jump at the Tokyo Olympics, giving his country its first ever Olympic medal, went farther to win Silver at the World Championships this week.
Faith Kipyegon (Source: WorldAthletics.org)
Kenyan athletes were impressive as Mary Moraa got Bronze in the women’s 800m while EmmanuelKipkurui Korir(Olympics 800m Gold medal) won Gold in the men’s 800m. Faith Kipyegon, the Olympics Gold winner, retained her crown as the women’s 1500m queen of the distance with Gold. ConselusKipruto took Bronze in the men’s 3000m steeplechase. In the women’s 5000m, Beatrice Chebet took Silver, and Jacob Kroptook home Silver in the men’s discipline. The duo of Hellen Obiri (Olympic 5000m Silver winner) and Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi took home Silver and Bronze medals in the women’s 10,000m respectively; while compatriot Stanley Waithaka Mburu took Silver in the men’s 10,000m. Judith Jeptum Korir took home the Silver medal in the women’s marathon
Djamel Sedjati of Algeria took Silver in the men’s 800m.
Gudaf Tsegay celebrating her gold medal in the 5000m (Source: BBC.co.uk)
Gudaf Tsegay (5000m Olympic Bronze medalist) of Ethiopia won Silver in women’s 1500m, and Gold in 5000m; while her compatriot Dawit Seyaumtook the Bronze medal on 5000m. In the 3000msteeplechase, the women Werkuha Getachew and Mekides Abebe took Silver and Bronze respectively; while Lamecha Girma (Olympic 3000m steeplechase Silver medal) took Silver for the men. LetesenbetGidey (Bronze at the Olympics 10,000m) won the Gold medal in the women’s 10,000m discipline. Gotytom Gebreslase took home the Gold medal in the women’s marathon, while her male compatriots Tamirat Tola and MosinetGeremewwon Gold and Silver in the men’s marathon.
Soufiane El Bakkali(Olympic gold 3000m steeplechase winner) of Morocco took home Gold in the men’s 3000m steeplechase.
Joshua Cheptegei crossing the line (Source: Runnersworld.com)
Oscar Chelimo of Uganda won Bronze in the men’s 5000m. The duo Joshua Cheptegei (Olympic 5000m gold winner) and Jacob Kiplimo (Olympic 10,000m Bronze medalist) took home Gold and Bronze medals respectively in the men’s 10,000m.
Ahmed Hafnaoui of Tunisia winning the Gold during the 400m freestyle at the Tokyo 2020 (Source: ca.sports.yahoo.com)
This week more history has been made for Africa at the Olympics. Records have been broken and Africans have responded present with strength.
Tunisia, with Ahmed Hafnaouioffered the African continent its first medal of the games, by winning gold in the 400m freestyle swimming. Then, Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi won silver in the Men’s 58kg Taekwondo.
Hugues Fabrice Zango getting his triple jump (Source: bbc.co.uk)
Burkina Faso got its first ever medal since the creation of the Olympic games. Hugues Fabrice Zango won the bronze medal in the Men’s triplejump. It was really good to watch him, and I am proud for this son of the land of Thomas Sankara. Moreover, he won his medal, Burkina Faso’s medal on the 61st anniversary of the country’s independence (as you know most Francophone countries are not really independent from France because of the FCFA, but this is a story for another day).
NamibiaChristine Mboma came back from behind to win silver in the Women’s 200m in front of some of the world’s best. Now remember that Christine Mboma and her compatriot Beatrice Masilingi were barred from running their favorite distance, 400m, just a month ago, and had to all of sudden readjust to run 200m. They were declared ineligible for the longer race because of a genetic condition that raises their testosterone levels. South African Caster Semenya, a two-time Olympic champion in the 800m (2016 and 2012), is the most famous DSD (difference in sexual development) athlete who has been stopped from running in Tokyo. All three 800m medallists at the 2016 Rio Olympics – Semenya, Burundi’s silver medallist Francine Niyonsaba and Kenyan bronze winner Margaret Wambui – were DSD athletes… I am not sure I understand the whole issue, because for me, I wonder how one can be born female and then one day some organization tells them that they are not female. I find it hard to fathom. So let’s see what will happen. Mboma is the first Namibian female to win an olympic medal… she is following in the tracks of the great Namibian athlete Frankie Fredericks (Frankie Fredericks: Sprinting to the Finish for Namibia).
Christine Mboma of Namibia (Source: indianExpress)
Blessing Oborududu of Nigeria won Silver in the Women’s freestyle 68kg. Ese Brume did not disappoint and won Nigeria’s first medal of the Tokyo Olympic Games, taking bronze in the women’s long jump.
Ethiopia Selemon Barega gave Ethiopia its first Men’s 10,000m gold since Kenenisa Bekele in 2008. Lamecha Girma won silver in the Men’s 3000m steeplechase. Gudaf Tsegay won bronze in the Women’s 5000m race, while Letesenbet Gidey won the bronze medal in Women’s 10000m.
Uganda Joshua Cheptegei, the World champion and world record holder, ran a controlled race to take the men’s 5000m gold; last week, he had also won silver in the Men’s 10,000m. Jacob Kiplimo won the bronze medal in the Men’s 10,000m race. Peruth Chemutai became the first Ugandan woman ever to win an Olympic gold medal on Wednesday – triumphing in the Women’s 3,000m steeplechase.
Eliud Kipchoge winning gold at the Men’s marathon (Source: OregonLive.com)
Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, who had been training with legends like marathon world record holderEliud Kipchogethwarted World champion’s Sifan Hassan’s plans of winning a distance treble in Tokyo by retaining the women’s 1500m title by pulling ahead after the bell and winning gold. Her compatriot Peres Jepchirchir won the women’s marathon, defeating world record holder Brigid Kosgei in the closing stages and winning in 2h27min20s, and Kosgei had to settle for silver. Hellen Obiritook home silver in Women’s 5,000m, while Hyvin Kiyeng won bronze in Women’s3000m steeplechase. The men’s 800m gold went to Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir of Kenya, and his teammate Ferguson Rotich took silver. Timothy Cheruiyot took silver in the Men’s 1500m, while Compatriot Benjamin Kiven took bronze in the men’s 3000m steeplechase. Eliud Kipchoge successfully defended his olympic title at the marathon; he is only the 3rd person in the history of the games to win successive marathons.
South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker won gold, and broke the Women’s 200m world record for breaststroke on Friday. This earned her a call from the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, to congratulate her on her victory. Schoenmaker had previously won silver in the Women’s 100m breastrokes, while Bianca Buitendag took silver in surfing,
Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali triumphed in the Olympic Men’s 3,000m steeplechase – ending Kenya’s 41-year unbeaten run on the distance.
Egypt’s Giana Farouk (Lotfy) won bronze in the Women’s kumite karate. Seif Eissa, Hedaya Malak, and Mohammed Elsayed Elsayed all won bronze medals in the Men’s 80kg taekwondo, Women’s 67kg taekwondo and Men’s 67kg Greco-Roman wrestling respectively.
Faith Kipyegon winning the 1500m (Source: si.com)
Ruth Gbagbiof Cote d’Ivoire won bronze in the Women’s 67kg Taekwondo. She had won Bronze also in Rio 2016. Ghana also took home bronze in the Men’s Feather (52-57kg) boxing with Samuel Takyi.
Lastly, Team Botswana (Isaac Makwala, Baboloki Thebe, Zibane Ngozi, Bayapo Ndori) surprised everyone by giving a beautiful performance and winning the bronze amidst some of the world’s bests in the Men’s 4x400m relay.
Overall, it was a good game… As we turn the page of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics which took place in 2021, we do hope that the Paris 2024 Olympics will be better for Africa, and that the world will be in a better place.
African Heritage 