News from Africa

Find the best universities in Africa using  Times Higher Education ’s World University Rankings data One of South Africa’s universities appear in the top 200 of the worldwide rankings; the Makerere University is Africa’s top university at position 156. =1.  Makerere University Mekerere University Kampala (MUK) is the largest university in Uganda. It was established as a technical school in 1922 and has become one of the most prestigious universities in Africa. The university is made up of nine colleges and one school, serving around 36,000 undergraduates and 4,000 postgraduates. Many East African political figures have attended MUK, including presidents of Uganda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya. The university was also a centre for literary activity and culture that formed a nationalistic identity in independent Uganda. Academic colleges function as faculties, spanning natural sciences, busin...

Origin and lifestyle of Bantu-speaking people There is a general consensus that Bantu-speaking people originated in Cameroon/Nigeria border some 3000 years ago. They arrived in different waves through the Congo forest and settled in the Great Lakes region. Prior to their arrival, the area was occupied by hunters and gatherers. They were absorbed through intermarriage with Bantu people and the remnants moved deeper into the forest to avoid extinction and still live there in very small numbers. Bantu people brought with them short-horn cattle, goats, sheep, and iron technology. The interlacustrine region (between lakes) – surrounded by Lakes Tanganyika, Kivu, Edward, George, Albert, Kioga and Victoria – where they settled was ideal for a wide range of farming activities. The region was endowed with a cool climate, fertile soils, high and regular rainfall, and numerous rivers. Equipped with iron machetes, axes and hand hoes, Bantus were able to clear wide swaths of land to grow a w...