World
Lumumba Resonates With Russia’s Geopolitics, Education and Media

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
During the Soviet times, Patrice Lumumba resonated with Soviet propaganda, especially in Africa. It was closely linked with educational institutions for educating and training specialists for Africa’s development and economic growth. Thousands of young African specialists were trained and educated at the Patrice Lumumba University named after the Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba, and that practice continues until today. Established in 1960, it primarily provided higher education to Third World students during the Soviet days.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the name of the Congolese leader, Patrice Lumumba, was removed. But that was fixed back in April 2023 to influence African leaders to attend the second Russia-Africa summit. It is Russia’s most multidisciplinary university, which boasts the largest number of foreign students and offers various academic disciplines.
With the heightening of a new geopolitical architecture and the rapidly changing multilateral relations which guarantee an emerging multipolar world, Russia has been exploring attractive mechanisms and instruments to influence public perceptions and to establish a foothold across Africa.
Lumumba has indeed become a Russian brand. African students in any part of Russia, it could be in a shopping mall, cultural park or even in a street, are referred to as Lumumba. Early October 2024, after serious negotiations, Russia Today (RT) decided to hire Kenyan Professor Lumumba to boost and boast its media among African and global audiences. It has launched an African TV programme in which the host Lumumba will explore the history, challenges, and opportunities of the continent for its millions of viewers and listeners.
The latest Africa show to premiere on Russia Today is titled ‘Lumumba’s Africa’, which will delve into past and present issues affecting the continent. Filmed in Kenya, the program has been aired globally since October 3, 2024. In addition to the English-language RT International channel, the show will be broadcast in French and Arabic.
Hosted by Professor Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba – a celebrated scholar, author, and former director of Kenya’s Anti-Corruption Commission and the Kenya School of Law – the show will spotlight Pan-Africanism and the pursuit of African-led solutions to the continent’s challenges. Lumumba is a Kenyan lawyer, and social and political activist who graduated with law degrees from the University of Nairobi and from the University of Ghent in Belgium. His Ph.D thesis is entitled Exclusive Economic Zone, the Use Delimitation of Economic Zones. Lumumba has been growing in his profession travelling across Africa, and his estimated net worth stands at about $5 million.
“The history of Africa has always been told by others, and when one looks at the media, one sees a very negative depiction of Africa,” Professor Lumumba said, commenting on the significance of his new role to the channel Russia Today. “Via this platform that we’ll have through RT, we have an opportunity to showcase Africa that is not heaven, but it is not hell. My motivation with this show is to demonstrate that Africans are a people with a history, we are people with a purpose, we are people with conviction.”
According to the RT media report, ‘Lumumba’s Africa’ will explore various themes relevant to modern Africa: why certain economies on the continent succeed while others falter, the roots of conflicts and their lasting impact, and the enduring influence of colonialism on Africa’s progress. The show will pose critical questions and will ask if colonialism has been truly eradicated, or if its remnants continue to hinder Africa’s future.
“Professor Lumumba is recognized and respected across all of Africa,” said Anna Belkina, RT’s deputy editor-in-chief. “We are excited to bring Professor Lumumba’s unique and compelling perspective to RT’s audiences worldwide, and with it to continue debunking colonialist narratives about Africa that remain pervasive in the Western mainstream media.”
The RT report further indicated that Lumumba joined a prestigious list of RT hosts, past and present, including former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, late broadcasting legend Larry King, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Pulitzer Prize winner and Emmy-nominated journalist Chris Hedges, and former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond, among others.
Professor Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba was featured in two episodes of ‘Lumumba’s Africa’, where he delved into key issues affecting the future of the continent. Lumumba talked about the relevance of Pan-Africanism in the modern era during the first episode, ‘Pan-Africanism – is it still relevant?’ The second episode, ‘Common African currency’, was followed by a discussion on how a unified African currency could help combat economic manipulation and international financial fraud.
In today’s academic world, Professor Lumumba has been exceptionally one of the highly qualified academics, utilizing the power of modern media to drive political concepts such as pan-Africanism, a well-refined politics without much Western inference, and the ability to create grassroots prosperity, especially in the context of transformative capabilities based the available untapped resources in the African world. Lumumba has fiercely criticized the majority of African leaders who are stuck in ancient mentalities of dependence on Western political concepts, engulfed with foreign debts through excessive borrowing from multinational financial institutions while their economy still stagnates and leaves the population in abject poverty.
Lumumba encouraged African leaders to rise to the challenge of changing the fortunes of the continent. Through his lectures, he preaches new models of education that should be related to employment, emphasizes proven performance and impactful productivity, and internal economic growth that has to be achieved on a grand scale within the framework of a new mindset for advancements. In a nutshell, Lumumba’s revolutionary ideas are focused on practical transformations in multifaceted economic sectors, and based on aspects of the African Union Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, and for continental Africa.
World
Irvine, Dreaminfluence Accelerate Growth of Africa’s $3bn Creator Economy

Irvine Partners, a leading creative communications agency with offices in Africa and Europe, has signed an exclusive licence with Dreaminfluence as their Africa partner. Dreaminfluence, an all-in-one platform that empowers brands to build and scale influencer marketing has executed 1,000s of influencer campaigns and worked with over 20,000 influencers.
This innovative platform’s digital capabilities will support the content creators who are driving Africa’s rapidly expanding $3.08 billion creator economy. Despite creators on the continent taking advantage of platforms like TikTok, African creators still earn significantly less than their counterparts in other regions, despite producing high-quality content. Furthermore, infrastructure limitations and a digital skills gap hinder the progress of the creator ecosystem.
Monetization should not be out of reach for African creators says Rachel Irvine, CEO of Irvine Partners. She adds that “Dreaminfluence provides digital infrastructure and connects creators to brands, backing their work so they too can unlock opportunities while brands can grow their reach with authentic content that resonates with audiences.”
Dreaminfluence CEO, Mads Wedderkopp, explains “We have worked with many leading brands in the Nordics and are excited to finally bring our platform to Africa through this exclusive partnership with Irvine Partners.”
“The decision to work with Irvine Partners as our Africa partner was a no-brainer, given the roster of clients they serve, and their continental and European footprint.”
Some of the leading brands that use Dreaminfluence for their influencer campaigns are Nivea, L’Occitane, and Estee Lauder Group.
How it works
Dreaminfluence was founded in 2018, to transform influencer marketing from being about affiliate links and discount codes to focusing on actual brand ambassadorship. This vision is translated into the features that Dreaminfluence offers, for both brands and influencers.
These brand features include:
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Discovery of influencers: Brands can find the right influencers for their campaigns, without wasting time on influencer outreach
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Campaign analytics: Track campaign performance, report the value and identify the best-performing influencers
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Building relationships: Influencers move from short-term brand campaigns to long-term brand ambassadorship
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Campaign management: Manage influencer payments, product shipping and secure content usage rights
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Paying multiple influencers at a time with one click
For influencers, the features are:
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Apply to join a brand team or campaign through the app
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Be selected as part of the ambassador team
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Join new campaigns when they are published
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Run all campaign admin including payments, content ideas, and approvals through the app
The Dreaminfluence difference
Irvine Partners is constantly working with influencers across Africa on different campaigns for its clients and Dreaminfluence provides an innovative way to streamline agency relations with leading and emerging content creators on the continent.
Mohale Moloi, Content Director at Irvine Partners explains that “creator marketing studies tell us that more than 50% of brands plan to increase their spending on influencer marketing in 2025. But making sure these campaigns deliver results across the whole marketing funnel requires an in-depth understanding of market nuances, which is what we bring to the table.”
By working with a dynamic platform like Dreaminfluence, Irvine Partners will take influencer campaigns to the next level by combining local insights with a platform that makes everything from campaign selection to payments more efficient.
“We are most excited about the actionable campaign data and high ROI that Dreaminfluence offers,” says Moloi.
World
Cameroonian Diaspora Congress: An Essential Vector for Cameroon’s Influence in Russia

By Louis Gouend
The Cameroonian diaspora in the Russian Federation, although relatively recent, constitutes an essential vector for Cameroon’s influence and the maintenance of strong ties with the nation. In this perspective, and following a fruitful video conference on January 27, 2024, with the Minister of Youth and Civic Education, it was decided to organize, on February 8 and 11, 2025, the first celebration of Youth Day within the Russian diaspora.
This unprecedented initiative, benefiting from the Minister’s valuable support, aimed to consolidate patriotism and the spirit of initiative among Cameroonian youth residing in Russia, by offering a framework for exchange and promotion of Cameroonian cultural wealth. It mobilized Cameroonian students, young professionals, and entrepreneurs established in Russian territory.
The commemoration of the 59th anniversary of Cameroon’s Youth Day took the form of a dual celebration: a physical meeting at the Cameroonian Embassy in Moscow on February 8, 2025, and a virtual meeting on Zoom on February 11, 2025. These events brought together a total of more than 150 participants from over 50 cities in Russia, representing diverse backgrounds, including presidents of Cameroonian associations, members of the Diaspocam executive council, deans, honorary guests, and embassy officials.
The diaspora had the honour of welcoming, via video conference, Mr Mounouna Foutsou, Minister of Youth and Civic Education, whose encouragement and vision were a source of inspiration. The Minister outlined the productive initiatives implemented by the Cameroonian government in favour of its youth in the diaspora in Russia, emphasizing the willingness to support projects led by young entrepreneurs through a specific support mechanism and the operationalization of the guarantee fund.
During his address, the Minister recalled the commitments made during the video conference of January 27, 2024, emphasizing the need for increased collaboration between the government and the youth of the diaspora. He stressed the immense potential represented by this youth and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to addressing their concerns.
Among the initiatives put in place to support the youth of the diaspora, he mentioned:
- The Guarantee Fund for Young Entrepreneurs (FOGAJEUNE), which finances projects in four key sectors (agriculture, digital economy, industry/crafts and technological innovation).
- The special DIALYJ window, designed to promote co-ventures between young people from Cameroon and the diaspora.
- The Program to Aid the Return and Integration of Young People from the Diaspora (PARIJEDI), which facilitates the return and integration of young people in Cameroon.
“We express our deep gratitude to the Cameroonian government and personally to Minister Mounouna Foutsou for their support of our initiative,” said the President of Diaspocam, Louis Gouend. “Thanks to their assistance and the support of the Cameroonian Embassy in Russia, we were able to organize this important event, which has strengthened ties between the diaspora and Cameroon.”
Aware of the positive impact of this first celebration, we hope that this innovative initiative will be included in the calendar of activities of the Ministry of Youth and Civic Education for the years to come.
Diaspocam establishes a legal platform to come together, helps each other, interacts and establishes viable strategic networks and partnerships; presents, shares and expands proven diaspora business models; promotes and assists businesses and investments in Cameroon.
It strengthens a good image of Cameroon in Russia while maintaining close liaison with the Cameroonian and Russian governments and any other representative body pursuing objectives similar to those of the Association. Cameroonian Diaspora in the Russian Federation is a public organization which encourages participation, representation, diversity and cooperation between Cameroon, African diaspora and Russian society.
World
African Union Launches Credit Rating Agency to Rival Fitch, Others

By Adedapo Adesanya
The African Union has announced the launch of its rating agency, the African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) to provide accurate ratings for countries on the continent.
According to Kenya’s President, Mr William Ruto, while unveiling the new agency at an AU event held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Friday, AfCRA will address biases by global rating firms.
Global firms like Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor (S&P) are some of the ratings agency which provide insights into African countries to aid investors and stakeholders.
There have been criticisms that these ratings lead to higher borrowing costs for African countries and make it harder for them to access international financial markets.
“Global credit rating agencies have not only dealt us a bad hand, they have also deliberately failed Africa,” Mr Ruto stated during the launch.
“They rely on flawed models, outdated assumptions, and systemic bias, painting an unfair picture of our economies and leading to distorted ratings, exaggerated risks, and unjustifiably high borrowing costs.”
According to President Ruto, improving Africa’s rating by one notch could unlock $15.5 billion in additional funding for the continent, which could help replace a significant portion of official development assistance or be invested in Africa’s infrastructure needs.
Despite Africa’s abundant natural wealth, only two African nations are currently ranked as investment grade.
“It is time for Africa to use the right scale, one that reflects its true weight,” Mr Ruto added.
The African Union has previously criticized global rating agencies’ characterization of African economies. In January, the AU pointed out that Moody’s Ratings’ fluctuating assessment of Kenya’s outlook was flawed.
“As the continent continues its march towards economic integration and resilience, the establishment of the African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) represents a pivotal step in asserting Africa’s position on global financial governance.”
The agency aims to provide fair, transparent, and development-focused credit ratings that reflect the realities and potential of African economies.
The idea comes more than a year since the AU officially announced its plans to move forward with the project since September 2023.
The push for an African credit rating agency became viable in 2022 when Senegal’s former president Macky Sall, then the chairman of the AU, called for a new system to “end the injustices” faced by African countries.
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