Remembering the Nelson Mandela legacy

Remembering the Nelson Mandela legacy

July 20, 2026 · 23 min

About this episode

The episode reflects on Nelson Mandela's legacy through music and commemorative events, featuring interviews with artists and a scientist.

Every year, July 18 is marked as the Nelson Mandela International Day. It is a moment not only to celebrate the life of South Africa's first democratically elected president, but also to reflect on the values he championed which include justice, reconciliation and service to humanity. This year's commemorations included a live concert at London's Trafalgar Square, where artists gathered to honour the man affectionately known as Madiba. We speak to South African musician Asanda Mvana, better known as Msaki, about the role music can play in preserving Nelson Mandela's legacy as well as South Africa's minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie. And how do scientists go about discovering new species of animals? We hear from Junior Amboko, the scientist who named the recently discovered species of monkey in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna Producers: Keikantse Shumba, Victor Chege, Ayuba Iliya and Blessing Aderogba Senior Producers: Caroline Mwangi and Charles Gitonga Technical Producer: Maxwell Onyango Editors: Rhoda Odhiambo and Maryam Abdalla

People in this episode

Host: Nkechi Ogbonna

Guests: Asanda Mvana, Gayton McKenzie

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC World Service

Places: South Africa, London, Trafalgar Square, Democratic Republic of Congo

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