Africa 2024: Entertainment’s year of triumph and change

By Charles Mgbolu

In many ways, 2024 was a landmark year, filled with blockbuster hits, surprise awards, stunning achievements, groundbreaking performances, and irreparable losses. TRT Afrika highlights a few.

Tyla's year

The Afrobeats Music Awards category saw a seismic shift towards a new breed of performers that garnered the most awards and recognitions.

Traditionally dominated by Nigerian artists, the scene changed dramatically as South African singing sensation Tyla Laura Seethal, known to her fans as Tyla, swooped in and clinched all major awards.

Tyla became the first winner of the newly introduced Best African Music Performance category at the Grammys, defeating Nigerian stars Burna Boy, Davido, Asake, Olamide, and Ayra Starr.

She also made history at the 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards (MTV EMAs), winning the coveted Best Afrobeats, Best R&B, and Best African Act awards.

Her hit song Water, released in July 2023, captivated audiences worldwide and propelled her to stardom, earning her the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Afrobeats.

Pageant row

Chidimma Adetshina, a former South African pageant hopeful, was forced to withdraw from the Miss South Africa event due to a nationality row that made headlines for weeks.

Chidimma eventually accepted an invitation to participate in Miss Universe Nigeria, which she won. As Miss Universe Nigeria, she competed at the Miss Universe International pageant and was crowned the first runner-up.

Slice of Magic

The Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards honoured excellence in African television and film.

While there were many releases worth celebrating throughout the year, Nigerian screenwriter and director Bodunrin Sasore's Breath of Life was the standout success of the evening, winning six awards from 11 nominations.

Talented filmmakers from East, West, and Southern Africa also received prestigious awards in different categories.

Unusual records

Ugandan environmental activist Faith Patricia Ariokot broke the Guinness World Record for the longest time anyone has hugged a tree, wrapping her arms around a trunk for 16 hours and six seconds to "encourage others to plant trees and highlight the need for humans to protect them".

Guinness also recognised one-year-old Ace-Liam Nana Sam Ankrah from Ghana as the new record holder for the youngest male painter.

On the flip side, the organisation deactivated the cooking marathon category on its website after Ghanaian chef Ebenezer Smith falsely claimed to have broken the longest cooking marathon by an individual and allegedly presented a false certificate.

Heritage sites

UNESCO announced the inscription of five new African sites to the World Heritage List following the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee.

These include the archaeological wonders of Melka Kunture at Balchit (Ethiopia), the Royal Court of Tiébélé (Burkina Faso), the Gedi archaeological site (Kenya), and the Pleistocene Occupation Sites in South Africa.

Unsolved murder

Another year went by with no convictions for the murder of South African rapper Kiernan Forbes, alias AKA, on February 10, 2023.

AKA, a multi-award-winning artiste, and his friend, celebrity chef Tebello "Tibz" Motsoane, were shot dead outside a restaurant in Durban.

Five suspects linked to the crime first appeared at the Durban Magistrate's Court last February. Police have been trying to extradite two other suspects arrested in neighbouring Eswatini, but the process has been delayed as they have appealed the extradition order.

The Durban Magistrate's Court has ruled that it could no longer entertain requests for further postponement of the commencement of the trial. The deadline is February 7, 2025, with or without all of the accused present.

A titan's passing

South African author and poet Breyten Breytenbach died in Paris on November 24 at 85, marking the end of an era in which he inspired generations through his writing and activism.

Breytenbach was a celebrated wordsmith, a powerful voice in Afrikaans literature, and a fierce critic of apartheid. His unbridled articulation of racial oppression under South Africa's erstwhile apartheid regime landed him in jail for seven years.

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