–– Paul Schlehlein

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Despite the influence of Christianity and Islam on the continent, Africans still attach tremendous honour to their ancestors. Ancestor worship is deeply engrained into the African belief system, its influence reaching the heights of political power.

Ancestor Worship in Africa

For example, in the early days of Cyril Ramaphosa’s first term as president of South Africa, he focused on the country’s need for ancestral intervention. He called upon the leaders of his ANC political party to visit the graves of former presidents. They did this, he said, “to ask for a way forward.”

For millennia, Africans have done this when faced with misfortune. “We go back to our ancestors to talk to them,” Ramaphosa said. So why did the ANC leaders visit the grave of former president Nelson Mandela? “To draw wisdom,” Ramaphosa said.

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The Africa Review in Five highlights African current affairs from a Christian perspective. Listen and subscribe through Youtube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Today is Tuesday, September 5^th, A.D. 2023. This is The Africa Review in Five, written by Paul Schlehlein and presented by Yamikani Katunga.

Oxen with Bad Reps as a Solution to Joburg Fires

In the early morning of August 31, flames erupted out in a five-story building in the CBD of Johannesburg, South Africa, eventually killing seventy-four people, including children, in one of the worst fire tragedies in recent memory. Some of the charred remains of bodies were laid in the public streets.

Residents, family members, and media outlets immediately expressed outrage, believing that the fire could have easily been avoided. The building apparently belongs to the city of Joburg, once used by the courts and later as a shelter for abused women. But the building had become an overcrowded, temporary housing unit for migrants, just like scores of other buildings throughout the city. Gangs have since hi-jacked the premises and now do the rent collecting themselves.

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