Africa 54 - June 19, 2020

You are watching Africa 54, your daily news and feature magazine-style program, from the Voice of America. Host Esther Githui-Ewart and a team of correspondents zero in on the big stories making news on the continent and around the world with context and analysis. Top Stories: Kenya was elected to the U.N. Security Council, defeating Djibouti in a second-round of voting by the 193-member general assembly. An initial ballot had failed to produce a clear winner. Mexico, India, Ireland, Norway - who were elected on Wednesday - and Kenya will take up their two-year terms on the 15-member council on January 1, 2021. The security council is the only U.N. body that can make legally binding decisions like imposing sanctions and authorizing the use of force. It has five permanent veto-wielding members - the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia. Zambian police detain award-winning photographer Chella Tukuta for criminal libel. Authorities say Tukuta posted on social media disparaging comments about information and broadcasting minister Dora Siliya, Zambia Revenue Authority commissioner Kinsley Chanda, northern province permanent secretary Charles Sipanje, and former presidential spokesperson Amos Chanda. Chanda says the allegations by Tukuta is causing so much discontent among certain sections of the Zambian society that some people have been mobilizing to attack the photographer. Malawi’s High Court summoned four Malawi Electoral Commission members to explain to the court their appointment. The main opposition Malawi Congress Party had petitioned the court to clarify the appointment of the four. MCP national Publicity Secretary Maurice Munthali says the four are from the ruling democratic progressive party, when, in fact, each major party was supposed to have two commissioners. June 19th, or Juneteenth, is observed by many Americans as the day in 1865 the last slaves in America were told that the Civil War had ended and that they were now free. But this year, strikes and protests may accompany barbecues and celebrations amid a national uprising to demand racial justice. For more on Juneteenth and the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, an event that's among the worst incidents of racial violence in American history, when mobs of white residents attacked black residents and businesses of the Greenwood district in Tulsa, Oklahoma. VOA International Edition host Steve Miller spoke with Scott Ellsworth, a professor in the department of Afro-American and African studies at the University of Michigan about the two events. Saturday, June 20th marks the 19th observance of World Refugee Day. The annual celebration champions the accomplishments of refugees while raising awareness and rallying financial support. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports that this year highlights challenges during the era of covid-19 and the contributions refugees make on the front lines and beyond. A new United Nations report reveals that more and more children are victims of hate, bullying, and violence due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many children are without access to support networks such as educators, friends and extended families they usually find at school – and some children are stranded in abusive homes with no place to turn for help as schools are locked down to control the spread of COVID-19. A54 Entertainment: Kenyan musician, Makadem dropped his new single and its visuals “Plandemic” on June 14th. He calls it "Nyatiti Trap", as in trap music. Host of VOA's Music Time in Africa radio show, Heather Maxwell, catches up with the Makadem to discover how his catchy dance song about coronavirus also trail-blazes the revival of a nearly forgotten traditional instrument.