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.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
For the first time in its history, the World Public Summit will be held on the African continent. On 29–30 July 2026, Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, will host the World Public Summit. Africa — “A New World: Africa in Shaping a Shared Future.”
The Summit is organised by the World Peoples Assembly in cooperation with African partner organisations. It will bring together leaders of public diplomacy, representatives of international intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, academics, experts, representatives of the education and cultural sectors, youth leaders, socially responsible businesses, media professionals, and civil society institutions from across Africa and other regions of the world.
The World Public Summit. Africa continues the work initiated during the First World Public Assembly “A New World of Conscious Unity,” held in Moscow in September 2025, and serves as one of the key milestones in preparation for the Second World Public Assembly “A New World: Values That Unite,” which will take place in Moscow on 18–19 September 2026.
Today, Africa is emerging as one of the principal centres of global development. Rapid demographic growth, expanding entrepreneurship, strengthening regional integration, rich cultural heritage, and the growing role of civil society institutions make the continent an increasingly important contributor to the future architecture of international cooperation.
The Summit will focus on issues of genuine sovereignty and sustainable development, public diplomacy, preservation of cultural and historical heritage, international cooperation in education and science, youth engagement, innovation-driven development, creative industries, and the formation of new partnerships among countries and peoples.
The main business programme of the Summit will take place on 30 July 2026 at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa. Holding the Summit at UNECA highlights its pan-African dimension and creates opportunities for broad international dialogue on humanitarian cooperation and public diplomacy.
The programme will include plenary sessions, strategic dialogues, and expert panels dedicated to values-based development, education, culture, youth leadership, innovation, and international cooperation.
Participation has already been confirmed by Professor Saidou Madougou, Director of the Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the African Union; Rita Bissoonauth, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office to the African Union and UNECA in Addis Ababa; Zuzana Schwidrowski, Director of the Macroeconomics, Finance and Governance Division of UNECA, as well as ministers, leaders of public organisations, and representatives of the business community from a number of African countries.
On the same day, the ADWA Victory Memorial Museum—Ethiopia’s national memorial complex dedicated to the Victory of Adwa and an important centre for preserving the historical memory of the Ethiopian people—will host the award ceremony of the regional stage of the V International Competition “Leader of Public Diplomacy”, followed by a large-scale cultural programme.
One of the key outcomes of the Summit will be the adoption of the African Communiqué, reflecting proposals and recommendations aimed at strengthening humanitarian, educational, cultural, and public cooperation between African countries and other regions of the world.
The outcomes, initiatives, and recommendations were developed during the World Public Summit. Africa will be presented at the Second World Public Assembly “A New World: Values That Unite”, to be held in Moscow on 18–19 September 2026.
According to Andrey Belyaninov, General Secretary of the World Peoples Assembly, “the Addis Ababa Summit is an important step toward building a new world founded on mutual respect, cultural diversity, dialogue and sustainable development.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Kingdom will get its seventh Prime Minister in 10 years as Mr Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday.
The Minister said he is stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party and will leave office within weeks, scarcely two years after being elected in a landslide.
Mr Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until a new Labour leader is chosen by the party.
Mr Starmer made the announcement after facing growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try to revive the government’s flagging fortunes.
He led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024, but since then, his popularity and that of the party have plummeted.
His departure was triggered by the victory of Mr Andy Burnham in a special election last week. The popular ex-mayor of Greater Manchester planned to challenge the existing PM for the Labour leadership.
Mr Starmer made the announcement outside the prime minister’s 10 Downing St. residence with a brief statement on Monday.
“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Mr Starmer said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.
Mr Starmer is the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside 10 Downing Street and announce a premature departure.
It comes the day before Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still affects the country’s economy and politics.
Over the past decade, 10 Downing Street has had six occupants, including Mr David Cameron, who left office in 2016 after the Brexit referendum and was succeeded by Ms Theresa May. She was followed by Mr Boris Johnson, whose tenure covered Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. After Mr Johnson came Ms Liz Truss, whose 49-day premiership was the shortest in British history. Mr Rishi Sunak then took office before being succeeded by Mr Starmer, the outgoing occupant of Number 10.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A financing facility of up to $60 million has been secured by AXIAN Energy, the energy division of the AXIAN Group.
The funding package was provided by MCB, one of the leading financial institutions in the Indian Ocean region.
It comprises a $40 million revolving credit facility with a three-year tenor and extension option, and $20 million in unfunded instruments, providing AXIAN Energy with enhanced financial flexibility, enabling the company to rapidly mobilise resources and seize development opportunities across its target markets.
The energy firm is expected to use the capital to deliver large-scale energy infrastructure projects across Africa.
Over the past two years, AXIAN Energy has significantly accelerated its growth by expanding its renewable energy project pipeline, with solar projects currently under development in Senegal, Benin, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, and Burkina Faso.
Building on this momentum, AXIAN Energy now operates a portfolio comprising 350 MW of installed renewable energy capacity, supported by 77 MWh of energy storage capacity, positioning the AXIAN Group as a major contributor to Africa’s energy transition.
The chief executive of AXIAN Energy, Mr Benjamin Memmi, said, “This transaction marks a key milestone in AXIAN Energy’s growth trajectory. It provides us with the financial capacity to sustain the momentum we have built over the past two years, further strengthening our renewable energy portfolio and expanding our presence across new African markets.”
Also commenting, the Global Head of Structured Finance at MCB, Mr Mathieu Delteil, said, “We are proud to support AXIAN Energy in structuring this facility, reaffirming our commitment to enabling transformative projects across Africa.
“By leveraging our sector expertise and deep understanding of regional markets, we have delivered a tailored financing solution that aligns with AXIAN’s long-term renewable energy ambitions.
“This partnership highlights our role as a strategic financial partner, mobilising capital towards investments that drive sustainable growth and accelerate the energy transition across the continent.”
The financing agreement between the two organisations strengthens their long-standing relationship because it is driven by a shared commitment to supporting infrastructure development and economic growth across Africa.
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