African media has lost one of its most endearing figures. Journalist and communications specialist Abdoulaye Benson Diakité passed away on Friday, October 23, 2026, in Bamako. For a whole generation of listeners, his name remains tied to Radio France Internationale, which he joined in 1992. There he formed a close double act with Amobé Mévégué on “Plein Sud”, before hosting “Signe des temps”, “Diaspora” and “Elan”. He later left the international broadcaster to return to Mali, where he became an adviser to President Amadou Toumani Touré.
His life story read almost like a novel. Born in Bancoumana, some sixty kilometres from the Malian capital, he spent his childhood as a herder before radio crossed his path. His first steps behind the microphone came at Africa N°1, where he was one of only five candidates selected out of seventy-two in a competition held during a presenters’ strike. Those who knew him recall his vast culture, his modesty, his kindness and the bowler hat he almost never took off. From RFI to the sets of TM1, by way of presidential communications, he never stopped passing on his craft. His funeral took place in Missabougou on the very day of his death.
In Ouagadougou, by contrast, the mood is one of theatrical celebration. The 14th edition of the Récréâtrales opened on Saturday and runs until October 31 in the Gounghin neighbourhood, built around the theme “Obliger à beauté” (“Compel to beauty”). The phrase is borrowed from Martinican poet Édouard Glissant. For festival director Aristide Tarnagda, it is a collective call to action, urging the world, society and the country towards beauty. The message carries special weight in a Burkina Faso strained by security crises, where organisers want to show that the nation is still standing despite its trials. This edition brings two innovations: an original musical creation, and the involvement of war wounded, orphans and widows to help them rebuild their lives. Between 200 and 250 artists are expected, and the festival hopes to welcome 2,000 to 3,000 spectators each evening. True to tradition, the streets are being reinvented with salvaged materials given a second life.
In France, the diaspora wrapped up two major events this Sunday. In Paris, the AKAA (Also Known As Africa) fair closed its 11th edition at the Carreau du Temple. To mark the bicentenary of photography, it launched AKAA PHOTO, a section devoted to the image, headlined by Cameroonian artist Angèle Etoundi Essamba. Visitors also discovered the portraits of Senegal’s Omar Victor Diop, which rework historical representations of African identity, as well as works by Algerian artist Maya Inès Touam and South Africa’s Zanele Muholi.
On the French Riviera, the Cannes Pan-African International Film Festival ended its 23rd edition at the Espace Miramar. Over five days, it screened feature films, documentaries, animated works, series and music videos, alongside talks, an art market and a fashion show. As every year, it hands out the Dikalo awards, whose name means “message” in the Douala language. Mourning in Bamako, buzz in Ouagadougou, reach in Paris and Cannes: in a single weekend, African culture showed how it can honour the voices it has lost while giving rise to new ones.
