African voice issue 508 by African Voice Newspapers UK

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013 ISSUE 508

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SINCE 2001

B R I TA I N ’ S N O . 1 A F R I C A N N E W S PA P E R How PM marked end of Black History Month

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Help to buy puts new generation of home owners on housing ladder SEE PAGE 12

SEE PAGE 4

Clampdown on counterfeit drugs in Liberia

SEE PAGE 22

Court backs asylum for gay Africans By Alan Oakley Europe’s highest court has ruled that gay and lesbian citizens who face jail as a result of their sexuality can be granted asylum in any EU state.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) made the ruling after the Netherlands Council of State petitioned for guidance on three gay Africans from Sierra Leone, Uganda and Senegal who had applied for asylum. The Netherlands previous standard for asylum seekers was whether they faced torture or death in their home countries. Dutch authorities had ruled that homosexuals could “exercise restraint” to avoid legal penalties; a view rejected by the ECJ on the grounds that someone’s “sexual orientation is a characteristic so fundamental to his identity that he should not be forced to renounce it.” Clarifying EU asylum laws, the ECJ ruled that gay Africans may seek asylum if they are fleeing a country where homosexuals are actually jailed in practice, since dozens of African countries persecute or even criminalise homosexuals without routinely incarcerating them. It was left to individual EU member states, however, to decide “whether, in the applicant’s country of origin, the term of imprisonment… is applied in practice.” As the highest legal authority in Europe, the European Court of Justice ensures that EU law is applied uniformly in all member-states.

The Court also settles disputes between member-states and institutions. In June, Amnesty International published a report on the growing discrimination and violence against gays in sub-Saharan Africa. According to Amnesty, homosexuality is illegal in 38 countries in the region. Though, as the ECJ suggested, not every country enforces these laws, Amnesty explains how the “rising tide of homophobia means that LGBTI

people face increasing harassment, persecution and denigration across the continent, with activists reporting attacks, arbitrary arrests, evictions and blackmail.” The fact that homophobia is enshrined in law can only encourage extra-legal homophobic persecution and violence in those countries. In some states, outlawing homosexuality is not enough. Uganda has spent the past year considering the infamous

“Kill the Gays” bill that would authorise the death penalty for cases of “aggravated homosexuality.” The Amnesty report also noted campaigns to toughen punishments for consensual same-sex relations in Burundi, Liberia, and Nigeria, among other countries. With help from the ECJ, victims of these draconian laws can now be viewed by EU members as refugees.

Continued on page 2

After an engagement ceremony in 2009, Tiwonge Chimbalanga and his partner Steven Monjeza were sentenced to 14 years jail in Malawi before being pardoned

ttee

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Home Office wants your feedback

The Home Office is inviting visa applicants to comment on their experience with a view to improving its service. The following has been posted on the Border Force website: “If you are making a visa application in the UK you now have the opportunity to tell us about your experience through a new customer satisfaction survey. The survey is currently open to customers making visit, work, study, family and permanent migration applications in the UK. It does not include intermediaries (sponsors, representatives, etc), asylum applicants or cases dealt with by our immigration enforcement team. You can take part whether you use our standard service or our public enquiry office premium service. From December, the survey will also be available to customers who have made applications to UKVI from overseas. The aim of the survey is to find out how well the application process meets your needs and how we can improve in the future. When you receive your decision letter, it will include a web link and QR (quick response) code to a 10 minute online questionnaire, asking you about the service you have received. Your feedback will be completely anonymous; it cannot and will not be linked with your application in any way.

News

Immigrants to UK ‘make net contribution’ Immigrants to the UK since 2000 have made a “substantial” contribution to public finances, a report says.

The study by University College London said recent immigrants were less likely to claim benefits and live in social housing than people born in Britain. The authors said rather than being a “drain”, their contribution had been “remarkably strong”. The government said it was right to have strict rules in place to help protect the benefits system. Immigrants who arrived after 1999 were 45% less likely to receive state benefits or tax credits than UK natives in the period 2000-2011, according to the report by Prof Christian Dustmann and Dr Tommaso Frattini from UCL’s Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration. They were also 3% less likely to live in social housing. “These differences are partly explainable by immigrants’ more favourable age-gender composition. However, even when compared to natives with the same age, gender composition, and

Prof Christian Dustmann

education, recent immigrants are still 21% less likely than natives to receive benefits,” the authors say. Those from the European Economic Area (EEA - the EU plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) had made a particularly positive contribution in the decade up to 2011, contributing 34% more in taxes than they received in benefits. “Given this evidence, claims about ‘benefit tourism’ by EEA immigrants seem to be disconnected from reality” Report co-author Prof Christian Dustmann Immigrants from outside the EEA contributed 2% more in taxes than they received in the same period, the report showed.

Over the same period, British people paid 11% less in tax than they received. Despite the positive figures in the decade since the millennium, the study found that between 1995 and 2011, immigrants from non-EEA countries claimed more in benefits than they paid in taxes, mainly because they tended to have more children than native Britons. The report also showed that in 2011, 32% of recent EEA immigrants and 43% of non-EEA immigrants had university degrees, compared with 21% of the British adult population.

tunity to state clearly that to criminalise consensual same-sex conduct ultimately amounts to criminalising people for who they are and, therefore, amounts to persecution per se, regardless of how often sentences of imprisonment are enforced,” said Sherif Elsayed-Ali, Amnesty International’s Head of Refugee and

Migrants’ Rights. The ruling also does not address the methods used to determine whether asylum seekers are actually gay, such as in the UK where authorities have reportedly demanded photographic and video evidence of “highly personal sexual activity” from asylum seekers to prove their claim.

Court backs asylum for gay Africans Continued from front page

Publisher and Editor-In-Chief Mike Abiola Editorial Board Adviser Dr Ola Ogunyemi News Editor Peter Olorunnisomo Managing Editor Alan Oakley Sports Editor Peter Olorunnisomo Assist. Sports Editor Olubunmi Omoogun Arts Editor Golda John Columnists Ryan Holmes Photo Journalist Isaac Adegbite Graphic Designer Ryan Holmes Legal Adviser Nosa Kings Erhunmwunsee London Office: Unit 7 Holles House Overton Road London SW9 7AP

Tel: 0203 737 3077

Email: africanvoicenews@gmail.com

African Voice is published by African Voice UK.

Pro gay protester and a jailed victim

While the ruling makes it easier for African victims of homophobia to find asylum in Europe, many are still left vulnerable to anti-gay laws and sentiments. In a statement, Amnesty International held that the ruling did not go nearly far enough. “The Court skirted around the real issue in this case and missed a key oppor-

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Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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News

How PM marked end of Black History Month By Peter Olorunnisomo

African Voice had the privilege of accompanying Mr. David Cameron, Prime Minister to Birmingham when the PM made a visit to the DRUM art centre as part of the celebration of the Black History Month (BHM). The BHM had among other features over the years showed quite an input in the area of arts which has been a core feature of black history in Africa and in diaspora. The culture of art, in its various manifestations, as history, painting, song and dance, music, story-telling, drama among others attracted the interest and attention of the PM such that his decision to associate with black heritage could not be lost on the youths and assemblage of artists and artistes that were on hand to welcome him and his entourage. Significantly, it was one of those rare occurrences that African Voice, one of the media organizations on this trip, decided to hold back a little to give adequate vent to the visit and indeed the works of arts and facilities at Drum, Birmingham. If the prime Minister wasn’t doing this every year, it certainly did show that the Black History Month was certain to enjoy consideration of personal and political interest in his administration. In Birmingham, the Drum plaza was not only presenting itself for a prime ministerial audience, it was also setting the stage for the prospects of the history of black heritage and contributions to Great Britain. It was an occasion that must not be lost just as well as the interest and political will of the Prime Minister need be sustained to take this acknowledgement to the next level. And this was how it all went from our Editor-in-Chief who was with him. To mark the end of this year’s Black History Month the Prime Minister met with members of the African-Caribbean community in the West Midlands to highlight the vital role of Britain’s black community in supporting the country’s economic recovery. Chiming with this year’s BHM theme of ‘social mobility and aspiration’ the Prime Minister joined local community representatives, entrepreneurs and business, faith and educational leaders to discuss how to best realise the full potential of Britain’s African-Caribbean communities – not just for the community but to the benefit of the entire country. The Prime Minister spoke of the vital role of Britain’s Black community in the recovery with over 40% of Government-backed start up businesses from black and minority ethnic entrepreneurs, and the number of apprenticeships started by people with African-Caribbean heritage has trebled compared with the previous three years. 4

PM addressing youths/artists at The Drum, Birmingham

Marking the end of Black History Month the Prime Minister visited The Drum arts centre in Aston, Birmingham. As well as meeting with local community network he took a tour the BHM photo exhibition and spoke with young artists about their work. Praising Black History Month the Prime Minister said: “I think Black History Month is still important and should still be backed the whole point about Black History Month

is it’s been trying to shift the dial and make sure there really is proper attention to black history and to black people in British history who have played such an important role. This was not stuff I was taught at school, so this is a real step forward. Speaking about his vision for Britain’s diverse communities, the Prime Minister said: “My vision is for a country where people feel, whatever their background,

The PM, Drum administrator, community leaders with artistes

whatever their race, whatever their creed, they can make it to the very top. “You know, more than 40% of the people taking advantage of our start-up loans are from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. And I think that tells you something about the untapped reservoirs of entrepreneurialism in our black communities,” he added.

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News

Archbishop of Canterbury visits Cenotaph on Armistice Day

The Archbishop of Canterbury has paid a poignant visit to the Ministry of Defence and the Cenotaph, coinciding with the 95th anniversary of the armistice that ended the First World War.

The Most Reverend Justin Welby, who became the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury in February 2013, was greeted on the steps of the strategic headquarters in Whitehall by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Lord Astor, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Sir Nick Houghton. Accompanied by The Chaplain-in-Chief, The Venerable (Air Vice-Marshal) Ray Pentland, the Archbishop was updated on current military operations before taking the opportunity to meet with Chaplains of the Armed Forces, alongside military and civilian staff in the Memorial Courtyard. Following this, the Archbishop joined Service personnel at the Cenotaph for the Act of Remembrance led by the Western Front Association. The moving ceremony began with the “Last Post” sounded by a bugler from The Scots Guards, the final note marking exactly 95 years since the guns fell silent in France and Flanders on 11 November 1918. The Most Reverend Justin Welby,

Lord McNally

The Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury said: “At this time of year it’s essential that we remember and give thanks for all those who gave their lives for the sake of freedom in the two World Wars, and also remember those who still risk their

lives as Servicemen and women in our Armed Forces. It’s a time to recommit ourselves to the cause of peace and to seek to play our own small part as agents of reconciliation.”

General Sir Nick Houghton, Chief of the Defence Staff, said: “It was both a pleasure and a privilege to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury and highlight the hard work of Service personnel and defence civilian staff. Christianity stands alongside other faith groups as a foundation for many within the Armed Forces and we are delighted to further our strong relationship with the Church.” Acts of Remembrance took place simultaneously across the United Kingdom, encompassing services such as the Act of Remembrance at the Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire, and the collective paying of respects by members of the public for the Royal British Legion’s Silence in the Square at Trafalgar Square, London. In Belgium, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh attended a ‘Sacred Soil’ ceremony alongside soldiers and horses of the Household Division, Belgian soldiers, and school children from both the United Kingdom and Belgium. The soil, gathered from some 70 First World War battlefields and Commonwealth War Grave Cemeteries, will be brought back to the UK to form the centrepiece of a Flanders Field memorial garden at Wellington Barracks, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the commencement of the First World War.

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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News

New study critical of government immigration target them in the UK

Easy hits But the report says the changes are ‘easy hits’ and it is not easy to see where further big reductions will be found. The report continues, “If government action and other factors were to cause net migration to fall below 100,000 by 2015, it is not clear what happens next”. It also says that there is “evidence of collateral damage caused by action to cut workrelated, student and family migration.” Examples of such ‘collateral damage’ are a loss of income to the UK’s export education sector caused by the loss of tens of thousands of students paying for education in the UK. There is also evidence that businesses are no longer able to bring skilled workers into the country to work on vital projects because of a tightening of the Tier 2 visa rules. Blunt instrument The government is committed to reducing net immigration by 2015 by a similar amount to that which it has been able to achieve since 2010

The government’s target to cut net migration to the UK to below 100,000 by 2015 is neither a useful tool nor a measure of policy effectiveness, according to a new discussion paper by top academics. Professor John Salt and Dr Janet Dobson, academics at University College London, published the report criticising the Coalition government for its policy of reducing net immigration to ‘tens of thousands’, a target that was seized upon after David Cameron, then the leader of the opposition, told BBC interviewer Andrew Marr in 2010, “We would like to see net immigration in the tens of thousands rather than the hundreds of thousands. I don’t think that’s unrealistic.” ‘Tens of thousands’ has always been taken to mean less than 100,000 a year. This ‘tens of thousands’ target became a manifesto commitment of the Conservative Party. Although the Conservatives did not win an outright majority and were forced to enter into a Coalition with the smaller Liberal Democratic Party in order to govern, the government has committed itself to reducing immigration to below 100,000 a year by 2015, when the next general election will be held. Net immigration is calculated as the difference between the number of people entering the country and the number leaving. Therefore, reducing net migration means reducing immigration, increasing emigration – or both. The target applies to all immigrants and emigrants, including British citizens and those from other countries in the European Econom-

ic Area (EEA), whose movements are for the most part beyond government control. The government has, consequently, focussed its policies almost entirely on Non-EEA citizens. Under the last Labour government in 2010, net immigration stood at about 250,000 a year.

Salt and Dobson argue that the single target is a blunt instrument. They say “having publicised the target, a government is under pressure to prioritise

which may be in the national interest or the interests of individual citizens and to act hastily to reach it within the promised time-scale”. The report warns that, in any event, the level of net immigration “is only partly determined by the UK government”. It says “The coming and going of British citizens, the decisions of other EU citizens, civil wars thousands of miles away, the migration policies of other countries and the state of the world economy are all factors (to name but a few) which can affect net migration figures and over which the government has little control.” The report concludes that “what is required is a policy which does not focus on a single net migration target but one which strikes a balance between minimizing the economic and social costs of migration while maximising the benefits”. It continues, “If governments wish to set targets for non-EEA immigration, they should be based on estimates for different migration streams – labour, student, family and asylum, each perhaps broken down into component parts rather than a single overall figure to be met regardless.”

its achievement over other considerations

Slowing decline

The Coalition government has introduced many changes to the UK’s immigration system and by 2012 had reduced annual net immigration to around 175,000 but the report says that this decline may have slowed or even stopped. The Coalition government has attempted to reduce numbers of immigrants coming in almost every immigration category. Among other changes it has: • Abolished the Tier 1 (Post Study Work) visa which allowed foreign graduates to work in the UK for two years after graduation • Abolished the Tier 1 (General) visa which allowed ‘highly skilled people (mainly graduates) to come to the UK and work • Introduced a cap of 20,700 on the Tier 2 (General) visa for skilled workers. (The cap is never reached but UK immigration has made it harder to qualify for the visa) • Barred over 600 English colleges from sponsoring foreign students for Tier 4 student visas • Prevented UK citizens who earn less than £18,600 a year from bringing their foreign born spouses to live with

David Cameron may have a headache finding additional ways to cut net immigration by 2015 7

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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African agriculture could become trillion dollar industry by 2030

A farmer and her crops

African farmers and the agribusiness sector could create a trilliondollar food market by 2030 if they could access more capital and electricity, better technology and irrigated land, according to

a World Bank report released in March 2013.

For this goal to be achieved, governments and business leaders in subSaharan Africa must place agriculture and agribusiness at the top of the development and business agenda, the report

states. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the UN agency dedicated to poverty eradication in developing countries, called in 2011 for policy innovations and more investments in agriculture and agribusinesses. Makhtar Diop, the World Bank’s vice-president for the Africa region, says, “The time has come for making African agriculture and agribusiness a catalyst for ending poverty.” In addition to untapped water resources, Africa has more than half of the world’s fertile and unused land, notes the World Bank, but warns that land allocations for agribusiness have to be carefully carried out. In 2011 the Oakland Institute, a USbased think tank, reported unfair land deals in South Sudan, under which foreign companies bought up fertile and mostly uncultivated land. Such deals did not clarify land tenure and usage, and worse, even threatened the land rights of rural communities. The World Bank notes that Africa

spends $3.5 billion per year on rice importation. With the right incentives many countries could produce enough rice for domestic consumption. Senegalese farmers, for example, experience difficulties in accessing land, capital, finance for irrigation expansion and appropriate crop varieties. They could produce more rice if not held back by these difficulties. Ten years ago the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) launched the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) “to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty through agriculture” by encouraging African countries to invest at least 10% of their national budgets in agriculture. Strong leadership and commitment from both public and private sectors is critical to increased agricultural production, many analysts believe. “Transforming agriculture in Africa is not simply about helping Africa; it is essential for ensuring global food security,” maintains the World Bank.

Rwanda and South Korea discuss increased bilateral cooperation

The two countries meet to discuss the future of their relationship

The governments of Rwanda and Korea have pledged to maintain the sharing of practices mutual partnership in the fight against poverty. The forum was part of the activities to mark 50 years of the two countries’ cooperation. In a roundtable forum last week, a delegation of private and government officials from Korea engaged Rwandan officials on the best way forward for policies and trade incentives that fast track development. Clare Akamanzi, the Chief Operations Officer of Rwanda Development Board, told journalists at the forum that as Rwanda strives to achieve its aspirations, it seeks to learn from best practices, such as the Korean development model, which advanced the Asian country from one of the poor8

est to one of the leading economies in the world. “A slight look at history of the two countries shows similarities in their geopolitical situation and development aspirations and, therefore, emphasises why Rwanda should reinforce its cooperation with Korea,” Akamanzi said. ”Therefore taking this opportunity of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties with Korea, it will be meaningful and mutually beneﬁcial to look deep into the path and strategies undertaken by Korea to see if we can apply them in our national development strategy.” The Ambassador of Korea to Rwanda, Soon-Taik Hwang, said that Rwanda has the potential to boost its development and eradicate poverty, like Korea did.

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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£1.5m announced for first driverless cars project Automotive companies are being challenged to come up with engine technologies that will make our cars more energy efficient and ultimately change the way we drive, Business Secretary Vince Cable announced.

The £75 million fund will enable businesses to make and test low carbon technologies that will keep the UK at the forefront of engine design and help safeguard up to 30,000 jobs in engine production. They will be the pilot projects of the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), which was announced in July, and will channel £1 billion investment from government and industry to fund the development of new technologies over the next ten years. During a visit to Northampton, Vince Cable also announced £1.5 million for a project that will test driverless cars in a pedestrianised area for the first time. The ‘pods’ will be able to carry two people and will be run on designated pathways in Milton Keynes city centre. It is planned that in 2015, an initial batch of 20 pods will be driver-operated and will run on lanes separated from pedestrians. By mid 2017, 100 pods that are fully autonomous will be running on pathways alongside people and will use sensors to avoid obstacles. The early collaborators on the project are engineering consultancy firm Arup, Transport Systems Catapult, The Au-

Driverless cars are seemingly our future...who drives in London anyway?

tomotive Council, and Cambridge and Oxford Universities. Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “By 2050, very few - if any - new cars will be powered solely by the traditional internal combustion engines, so it is important that the UK car industry is at the cutting edge of low carbon technologies. The Advanced Propulsion Centre, launched as part of our Industrial Strategy, will help to position the UK as a leading innovator while securing jobs and strengthening supply chains. “Driverless cars are another invention that has the potential to generate the kind of high-skilled jobs we want Britain to be famous for, as well as cutting congestion and pollution and improving road safety. ”The car industry has gone from strength to strength – with one vehicle rolling off a production line somewhere in the UK every 20 seconds. But we must look at the long-term challenges and op-

portunities to ensure the sector continues to succeed and grow.” John Miles, Programme Director and Arup Consultant, said: “With the continually increasing number of people living in cities, city authorities are facing some real challenges with regards to ensuring future levels of mobility. This project has the potential to deliver a truly autonomous low carbon transport option within the context of a city centre and we’re delighted to be using this funding to take the project into the first stages of design.” The competition to find the pilot projects for the APC will be run by the UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board. Chief Executive Iain Gray said: “The APC is a key element of the joint government-industry strategy for the automotive sector. This competition will fund a number of projects that will strengthen UK

capability as well as developing the UK’s propulsion systems supply chain. As such the APC represents a new way to embed innovation further into the UK automotive sector, helping us gain a competitive edge in this industry.” During his visit to Northampton, the Business Secretary visited the Silverstone racetrack where he was given a tour of the University Technical College. The visit coincided with Tomorrow’s Engineers Week (#TEWeek13) – a campaign to promote the benefits of a career in engineering to young people across the country, particularly young women. The automotive industry is expected to recruit more than 7,600 apprentices and 1,700 graduates over the next 5 years. He also visited engineering company Cosworth as it announced plans to open a new facility to manufacture components for some of the world’s most advanced engines. The announcements came on the day the Deputy Prime Minister challenged industry and experts to put forward innovative ways to invest £500m to encourage more people to choose vehicles with the lowest possible emissions. In June the government announced that money would be made available to support electric cars and other vehicles that produce almost no carbon as part of its strategy to create jobs and boost economic growth, as well as tackling climate change and air quality issues.

Standard Bank puts London unit for sale as it looks to South Africa

The for sale unit

Standard Bank has announced the latest step in its long-term strategy of selling off its nonAfrican operations with Friday’s Stock Exchange News Service statement advising shareholders that it was engaged in discussions relating to the potential disposal of a controlling stake in its global markets business outside Africa.

The proposed transaction will focus on the lender’s London business, Standard Bank plc. “Such a transaction, should it be concluded, would result in the Standard Bank Group retaining a minority shareholding interest sufficient to maintain the continuity of access for the group’s African network and clients,” the announcement said. Johann Scholtz of Afrifocus Securities said the announcement was not unexpected as the bank had been aggressively reducing its operations outside Africa.

He said Standard Bank had had the London business for a while. “It is the remnants of their previous global ambitions,” said Scholtz, adding that although “meaningful” from a capital perspective it was not from a profit perspective. One speculated purchaser of the London business is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), which holds a 20 percent stake in Standard Bank, making it its largest single shareholder. A price tag of about $700 million (R7.3 billion) has been mentioned for the London assets. The Financial Times reported that Standard Bank had been in talks with ICBC for more than a year in a bid to reach agreement on the commodity trading business. Last month, Reuters reported that Standard Bank had agreed to sell its Asian loan portfolio worth around $1bn to Frenchbased BNP Paribas and others. The loan portfolio included around $350m of loans to Mongolian entities. Last year, Standard Bank finalised the sale of 80 percent of its business in Argentina to ICBC. It also sold off stakes in its units in Turkey and Russia.

As it sells off non-African operations, Standard Bank is continuing to build up its presence in Africa. In August, the bank announced that it was setting up representative offices in Ethiopia and Ivory Coast. The bank began developing its franchise throughout the continent in the early 1990s and has operations in 18 countries. Ahead of the recent acquisition of Barclays’ African operations by Absa, Standard Bank generated a higher proportion of profit from Africa (outside South Africa) than any other bank in the country. On Friday, Standard Bank’s share price firmed 50c to close at R124.51. It is 15 percent up on the year and is near its 12-month high of R127.69, which was reached last month. Standard Bank’s 12-month performance puts it in second place to Nedbank, which has advanced 19 percent over the period. First Rand is up 11 percent on the year, and Barclays Africa Group is the poorest performer of the four big banks, with a gain of just 1.2 percent on the year.

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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Osun state wins award with Opon Imo

The oceanic city of Colombo, Sri Lanka, erupted with a digital climax after a week-long United Nationsbacked World Summit Award Global Congress on E-Content and creativity Saturday night as the Opon Imo, Osun’s Tablet of Knowledge was recognized as one of the best 4 e-learning devices across the world.

Africa’s leading representative, Nigeria, won two awards in eight categories, at the Grand Finale of the ceremony. The award ceremony was the climax of the week-long annual assembly of the world’s most innovative e-content initiatives in the following categories: eGovernment & Open Data, e-Health & Environment, e-Learning & Science, eEntertainment & Games, e-Business & Commerce, e-Culture & Tourism, e-Media & Journalism and e-Inclusion & Participation. The august event was inaugurated by His Excellency, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the President of Sri Lanka. The winning projects, TRANSPARENT

NIGERIA (e-Government & Open Data category), pioneered by Harvard based Mr. Uchechi Iweala (son of Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala), and OPON IMO – Tablet of Knowledge (e-Learning & Science category) from the State of Osun, triumphed over 421 other innovations for the 2013 Awards vetted by the grand jury of global eminent experts. The World Summit Awards (WSA) is a project of the International Centre for New Media, which is organised among 190 UN-member States and runs within the United Nations (UN) framework of the World Summit on the Information Society. The World Summit Awards has been an on-going activity since 2003 in cooperation with UNIDO, UNESCO, ITU, ISOC, UN GAID and UNDP. Osun’s Tablet of Knowledge, OPON IMO received its award based on the following Grand Jury evaluation) “The State Government of Osun in Nigeria, as part of its strategic mandate to meet the educational needs of students in Osun, commissioned delivery of 150,000 units custom-based Android tablets (a li-

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (2nd right); Assistant Chief of Staff, Barrister Gbenga Akano (right) and others, during an Inspection visit to MKO Abiola International Airport, Ede/Ido-Osun,

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right), during an Inspection visit to one of the major bridges on the East bye pass road, at Ofatedo via Osogbo the State of Osun on Sunday

brary of easily navigable text books). The tablets are packed in bear rugged leather to protect from harsh conditions of various remote areas of Nigeria and its schools. What makes the project attractive is the archival availability of content in terms of questions for the last ten years for the Senior Secondary students of all 3 levels. Hoping that the students may not be required to look for physical text books, the tablet is enriched with multimedia contents including video, images, text and referential materials and test questions for practice.” TRANSPARENT NIGERIA received its award based on the following Grand Jury evaluation) “Due to the rampant and widespread corruption in the country and the frustration of the people, Transparent Nigeria (a movement to hold the government accountable for its actions) was established. Receiving the data from Ministry of Finance and having an audience of 150,000, which is growing per day, the movement has started to bring to public knowledge the discrepancies which were

generally unknown before this spotlight. The jury notes and commends this initiative for helping the citizens of Nigeria and hopefully starting a change in the country which will result in a fairer and less corrupt country. The online database of Transparent Nigeria also lets the public know about the spending of the public money by the public servants in Federal and State Governments. In addition to the infrastructure projects that government has promised, cost of these projects, number of jobs, which will be created and even the public servants compensations are also monitored.” The grandeur of the closing ceremony obviously sets the tone for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) coming up at the same venue, same city, in the next two weeks in Sri Lanka. Professor Peter Bruck, Chairman of WSA and, the Secretary to the Government of Sri Lanka, Mr. Lalith Weeratunga drew the curtains on this Year’s event. The next event comes up in 2015.

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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Committee on Boko Haram submits report and ...

Boko Haram Amnesty Committee

The Presidential Committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan to dialogue with the Boko Haram dreaded sect has submitted its report to the President.

The committee which had spent 7 months travelling round Northern Nigeria trying to get the leaders of the sect to stop their widely condemned act admitted that the leadership of the insurgent group refused to have any dialogue with them despite all their efforts.

Chairman of the committee, Kabiru Turaki said, “Some of our difﬁculties in having a productive dialogue include the refusal of their leaders to submit to dialogue. However, many of the key members of the insurgents both in detention and at large have positively responded to contacts and have accepted the dialogue option as capable of full resolution of the conﬂict.” It was in this vain that the committee recommended that the President should set up an advisory committee on contin-

uous dialogue to continue from where they stopped. Receiving the report, President Jonathan said that Government will look into all the recommendations, promising to set up a committee to follow up on the dialogue. The president however told them that government will rather provide assistance to the victims of the attacks rather than compensations. Following Boko Haram attacks and the attendant insecurity in the land, Nigeria’s President had in April 2013 set up the committee on dialogue and peaceful resolution of security challenges in the North. Although the committee is winding up, President Jonathan has said that the Nigerian Government remains open to dialogue. In a related development, the United Nations Human Rights Ofﬁce has warned that the Boko Haram sect could be classed as war criminals, as it condemns a bloody attack on a wedding convoy. UN High Commissioner for Human

Rights, Cecile Pouilly, said members of Boko Haram and other groups and entities, if judged to have committed widespread or systematic attacks against a civilian population could be guilty of crimes against humanity. Pouilly called the wedding convoy attack atrocious and condemned Boko Haram’s campaign of attacks against civilians, politicians, members of government institutions, foreigners and the security forces. Besides condemning the sect’s bloody campaign, human rights groups have also slammed government troops for killing civilians and for other violations in the battle zone. Pouilly added that the UN is following up closely with the Nigerian authorities’ allegations of abuses and human rights violations which may have been committed by security forces when conducting operations. She noted that the Nigerian military is in the process of ﬁnalizing a report on people detained in connection with the insurgency, and urges the government to disclose its ﬁndings.

179 get Nigerian citizenship Nigerian murdered in Goa, India THE Federal Government has approved the conferment of Nigerian citizenship on 179 foreign nationals who wished to acquire it. Out of the ﬁgure, 45 individuals were granted citizenship by registration, while 129 applications for naturalisation scaled the hurdle. Information Minister Labaran Maku and his Interior counterpart, Comrade Abba Moro, as well as Finance Minister of State Yarima Lawan Ngama briefed correspondents on the developments Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting. According to Maku, the Council “approved of the report of the cabinet committee to review the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Nigerian Citizenship (ACNC) for the grant of Nigerian citizenship to foreign applicants.” He contended that the high demand for Nigerian citizenship was an indication of the ever-increasing conﬁdence for the country which “cuts across all the countries of the world.” Moro gave a breakdown of the approvals thus: 45 women married to Nigerians were granted citizenship by reg-

istration; 129 by naturalization, while a total of 27 applications were rejected and were not approved by the Council because they did not meet the basic requirements of tax payment and ability to live their lives in Nigeria without being economic burdens and security problems. Most of the applicants came from South American countries such as Venezuela and Mexico. Besides, there are Asians as well as African countries like Thailand, South Korea, Cameroun, Syria Lebanon, Greece, India and Singapore. He added: “In going through this and making recommendation to the FEC, a series of factors were taken into consideration, but much more importantly is the issue of security that has become very serious consideration especially when foreigners from countries that are prone to violence such as Lebanon and Syria apply to become Nigerian citizens.” “The EFCC submitted its report on the 79 applicants referred to it in 2012; and recommended only 51 out of the 79 applicants for citizenship. 24 out 79 applicants were not recommended by the EFCC.”

Prof. (Mrs.)Viola Adaku Onwuliri, Minister for Foreign Affairs

Reports from India indicate that the Federal Government has told India on Tuesday that it feared for the safety of its nationals in Goa following the killing of a Nigerian there and called for immediate action against the culprits one of whom was arrested yesterday. India arrested over 50 Nigerians this month after about 200 of them staged a protest against the killing, chasing a police hearse carrying the corpse and laying the body on the road. Following the demonstration, which blocked Goa’s main highway for several hours, Goa’s Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar asked police to track down Nigerians living illegally in the former Portuguese colony so that they could be deported.

After the protest, a minister in the state’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party government, Dayanand Mandrekar, stirred more controversy by saying: “Nigerians are like cancer”. Nigeria’s High Commission (embassy) issued a diplomatic note and demanded on Tuesday that the security of its nationals be assured. “We have lost one of our nationals in a cold-blooded murder,” said commission press spokesman Tokunbo Falohun, calling for justice and compensation for the family of the dead man. The previous day, another high commission ofﬁcial warned of repercussions against Indians living in Nigeria unless Goa stopped “evicting Nigerians” from the coastal state and caught the killers. The Indian community is about 35,000 in Nigeria, according to the Indian foreign ministry website. Asked if there would be any “repercussions” from the murder, Falohun said Tuesday there would be none if Indian authorities dealt properly with the matter. The Indian government said it was in touch with Abuja and added that Nigeria has sought an ofﬁcial probe.

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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News

Help to buy puts new generation of home owners on housing ladder Just one month after its launch, more than 2,000 people have put in offers on homes under the Help to Buy scheme totalling £365m of new mortgage lending. The applications are backed by a ‘decision in principle’ by RBS and Lloyds Banking Group, the first two participating banks, for 95 per cent mortgages. Ten of the 2,384 applications have already completed. The figures demonstrate that government-backed Help to Buy scheme is supporting responsible lending. On average households have asked to borrow around £155,000 for houses worth about £163,000, which is below the UK average price of £247,000. More than three quarters of the applicants are first time buyers and many in their early thirties, demonstrating that Help to Buy is helping hardworking people realise their home-owning aspirations. The Prime Minister said: “Four weeks in and it’s clear that Help to Buy is already delivering. In just one month, over 2,000 people have been accepted for a Help to Buy mortgage. Or put another way, 75 families every single day have been put on the path to owning their dream home. “But the best thing about Help to Buy isn’t the statistics - it’s who is really benefiting. Most Help to Buy applicants are first time buyers, young and have a roughly average household income. This is all about helping hardworking people get on the first rung of the property ladder - and helping them get on in life. “Owning a home is about more than four walls to sleep at night. It’s about independence, self-reliance, moving on and moving up. Above all, it’s about aspiration. Help to Buy is helping people realise the dream of home ownership - and it’s a key part of my plan for Britain.” Applicants will face average monthly repayments of around £900 and have annual household around £45,000. This means a Help to Buy mortgage represents 24 per cent of borrowers’ gross income, which compares to the historical Council of Mortgage Lenders’ average figure of 24 per cent across the UK. A two-year fixed rate 95 per cent mortgage for the average house under Help to Buy is also £2,557 cheaper per year, compared to the equivalent mortgage from 2007. Help to Buy has seen applications for 95 per cent mortgages massively increase the size of the market - giving first time buyers the same kind of opportunities to buy their own homes as their parents and grandpar12

important for me, as a mother, to provide a safe, comfortable and stable environment for my daughter. And being an estate agent, I appreciated the importance of getting on the housing ladder. Without Help to Buy this wouldn’t have been a possibility.”

Weston-Super-Mare Holly Sykes is a civil Servant and her husband is a teacher. They have two children. They said: “This scheme has given us the opportunity to purchase a home to accommodate our family - without this scheme it would have been harder to move and buy the house we needed.”

Bedford

Orbit HomeBuy: Yaw, Harriet and their children are delighted with their new home

ents. A 95 per cent mortgage has been the route to ownership for most first time buyers over the last 30 years. The banks have received applications from across the country with more than three quarters coming from outside London and the South East. Almost 65 per cent of the UK mortgage market has now signed up to Help to Buy and more mortgage products from HSBC, Barclays, Santander, Virgin Money and Aldermore will be released in the coming months. The Government’s Help to Buy equity loan scheme, launched earlier this year, has had an impact on house building with over 15,000 reservations for newly built homes, while the total number of aspiring homeowners helped in total by Government schemes is now over 42,000. Housing starts are now a third higher than at the same time last year and it is clear house building will remain a critical part of our economic recovery. Today the Prime Minister will meet some of the first people to benefit from the Help to Buy scheme at a reception in Downing Street. Please find below quotes from some of those attending.

Darwen, Lancashire Josh Riley, 22 and Bethany Riley 23 who are newlyweds and first time buyers from Darwen, said: “Help to buy has literally been a dream come true for us. Thanks to this wonderful opportunity we will be on the property ladder and in our own home for Christmas 2013. We are now looking forward to

a long and happy future together without the worry of never owning our own home looming over us.”

Yorkshire First-time buyers Aaron Ward & Victoria Hajba are from York and currently renting in Doncaster. They are buying a house in Goole and are looking to move into their new home later this month. Aaron is 24 years old and a Computer Network Engineer. He said “we had been looking at buying a house for around 6 months, however could never seriously think about moving due to the large deposit required. We saw the help to buy scheme and expected to wait until January for the release. Due to the early arrival of the scheme we have now been able to buy our property much earlier than anticipated. “

First-time buyer Louise Cox from Bedford is 26 years old and a Police Officer. She said: “I have been saving to buy a house for approximately four years. I have been struggling to save a 10% deposit, especially because I want to buy on my own. I was interested when the first help to buy scheme came out. However I did not want to buy a brand new house. I had heard rumours of a second help to buy scheme that may be out by Jan 14. I kept saving and was pleased to hear when the scheme came out 3 months early. I quickly found a house I was interested in buying and was able to get the mortgage on the scheme. I am hoping to move in by the beginning of December.”

South East

First-time buyer Ian Pidgley from Southampton is 22 years old and a marine electrician. Ian is looking to move into his new home in the new year. Ian said: “The Help to Buy scheme started within a few days of me first contacting the mortgage advisor. It was really helpful, as it cut the deposit in half - in fact without it, I wouldn’t have been able to afford to buy at all. Now I can look forward to owning my own home.”

Stacey Judge and Ryan Parks from Maidstone, Kent. Stacey, aged 24 is a nanny, Ryan, 24, is a welder. Stacey said:“We have been saving for a while now and have been working really hard to get enough money for a deposit. We were both very happy to qualify for the Help to Buy scheme as we are now on the property ladder and have a lovely house much earlier than expected. The scheme really does benefit hard working people.” Sharon O’Donnell, Estate Agent, aged 30 from Southampton said: “It was really

Haley Preston and her brother Struan Preston from Edinburgh, the first RBS customers to complete on a purchase said: “We’d been looking at buying a flat together before the scheme launched, but Help to Buy has made moving into one so much easier than we’d hoped. We’ve saved hard to pull together the deposit and owning our own property is a dream come true. I’d say to anyone else with a smaller deposit who thinks they can afford to pay a mortgage to speak to an adviser, like we did.”

Scotland

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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USA

Neo-Nazi’s dark past exposed on TV

Cobb, who has renounced Christianity declaring: “Racism is my religion”, rebuffs Trisha’s sarcastic ﬁst bump

An anti-Semitic white supremacist who is trying to establish an all-white town in the US has been told in front of a TV audience of millions that he has recent Afri-

can ancestry.

Craig Cobb has achieved notoriety for buying up properties in Leith, North Dakota to found a “racially conscious community”. However, DNA tests conducted for a Race in America segment on The

Poland

Activists disrupt Independence Day march

Trisha Show reveal that Cobb is 14 per cent sub-Saharan African, meaning he falls short of his own racial purity benchmark. Confronted with the findings by presenter Trisha Goddard amid howls of approval from the audience, Cobb dismissed them as “statistical noise” and “short science”. He maintained a fixed grin until Black British ex-pat Goddard called him ‘bro’ and attempted to bump fists. Unlike the hysterical Black guest with whom he was sharing the stage, Cobb was clearly not amused and pulled his hand away from his host. When Goddard quipped, “Sweetheart, you’ve got a little Black in you,” 62year-old Cobb responded, “I’ll tell you this; oil and water don’t mix.” He said he would still consider himself a “border guard for the purebreds,” even if another test showed similar results. Cobb, whose activities have seen him deported from Estonia and arrested in Canada, was appearing on the talk show having recently purchased a home and 12 other lots in Leith, with the aim of setting

Saudi Arabia

Migrants killed on verge of returning home

Hooded and masked nationalists line Warsaw’s streets

Violence marred Poland’s Independence Day celebrations for the third year in succession as left-wing and right-wing extremists clashed in Warsaw following an attack on a squat.

Youths threw masonry and improvised petrol bombs at each other and at police who deployed rubber bullets and pepper spray. Some made ﬁre, setting a guard booth alight outside the Russian embassy – a symbol for some Poles of repression during soviet rule. Before the violence broke out at Monday’s march, demonstrators chanted: “God, honour, fatherland!” and waved Poland’s red-and-white national ﬂag. “I believe that ‘Polishness’

is under threat,” said one demonstrator, adding: “The Polish government is incompetent.” Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk denounced the act of aggression against the Russian embassy and Polish policemen guarding it. He partially placed responsibility for the disorder on his main political opponent, chairman of the Law and Justice Party Jaroslaw Kaczynski, according to RIA Novosti. Tusk added that he is ashamed that the unrest should happen November 11, a day when all Poles should demonstrate pride in their country. Police made several arrests. Five ofﬁcers were taken to hospital, according to local media.

up the racially exclusive town he planned to call “Village of the Damned.” Other neo-Nazis have also been attracted to the town. The pre-recorded edition of The Trisha Show is to be aired in America on November 18, although Cobb has appeared on the show a number of times, most recently in October, when he met with Bobby and Sherill Harper, the sole black resident of Leith and his white wife. The couple said that their lives were being disrupted and that their experience in Leith since Cobb moved in was ridden with “turmoil and deception”. According to Cobb, he purchased the properties he now owns from willing sellers who support his belief that like-minded people should be able to live together. The Harpers say they have no plans to move away. The US National Socialist Movement, the country’s largest neo-Nazi party, has stated its ambition to seize control of Leith’s town council.

Ethiopians in Saudi illegally were rounded up last week

Two Ethiopians have been killed in Riyadh during violent clashes between police and illegal immigrants preparing to return home, Ethiopian ofﬁcials said on Tuesday.

A police statement said hundreds of people were arrested in the Manfuhah neighbourhood after an amnesty linked to new employment laws expired. Following the arrests, thousands of mostly African workers gathered in the capital to prepare for repatriation. Police say they intervened after migrants started rioting – attacking Saudi nationals with rocks and knives. Each year, large numbers of Ethiopians move to the Middle East looking for jobs, often as domestic workers. Saudi Arabia is among the preferred destinations.

“The act of killing innocent civilians is uncalled for, we condemn that,” Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti told reporters, saying he had been informed of the death of three Ethiopian citizens, including one earlier in the week. Ethiopia announced last week it would repatriate its citizens illegally living in Saudi Arabia after a seven-month amnesty period allowing immigrants to gain legal status expired. Dina said the government has called for an investigation into the deaths and said that a delegation has been sent to Saudi Arabia to help the repatriation process. “We have asked also for an investigation into the killings,” he said, adding that Addis Ababa had dispatched a team to Saudi Arabia to take care of Ethiopians there, and either register them or bring them home. Around 200,000 women sought work abroad in 2012, according to Ethiopia’s Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Many of those leaving face physical and mental abuse, poor working conditions, low pay and discrimination, the International Labour Organization (ILO) reports. Last month, the Ethiopian government said it was barring young women and men from moving to the Middle East, amid reports of widespread abuse. With 91 million citizens, Ethiopia is Africa’s most populous country after Nigeria, but also one of the continent’s poorest, with the majority of people earning less than £2 a day. Around 13

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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CRIME

Kebab shop sex attacker covicted

A kebab shop worker who sexually assaulted a young customer has been convicted at court. Ali Tok, 50 (3.4.63), of Allwood Close SE26, assaulted the 11-year-old schoolgirl as she waited for her order at the shop in Leahurst Road SE13. He was found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday, 7 November, of sexual touching of a child under 13 and will be sentenced on Friday, 29 November. The victim went to the shop on Thursday, 7 February 2013 where Tok was serving behind the counter. As her order was taking some time,

Tok invited the victim to come and sit in the back of the shop out of public view. He then told her he loved her and sexually assaulted her. The victim was extremely scared and began to cry. When her food was ready, Tok passed it to her and she left. She went straight home, told her mum what had happened and police were called. Officer attended the shop where Tok was still on duty and arrested him. In police interview he claimed the victim had become distressed after dropping her food and his face had brushed against hers as he helped her pick it up. He said he had given her a consoling pat on the back and denied sexually assaulting her. Detective Inspector Jim Pryde, from the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, said: “The young victim has been extremely brave and there is no doubt this assault has rocked her confidence and trust in people. “With the support of specially trained officers, she has seen her attacker convicted and this sends out a strong a message to anyone who sexually abuses children that they will be pursued and brought to justice.”

Man sentenced to 18 years for murder of 88-year-old woman

Imran Douglas

An 18-year-man who murdered a bed-ridden 88-year-old woman in sheltered accommodation has today, Friday 8 November, been named as Imran Douglas, as he was sentenced to 18 years in prison at the Old Bailey.

Reporting restrictions were lifted by the judge so Douglas, who was only 17 at the time he committed the murder can be named. Imran Douglas, (11.10.1985), of Norman Close, Romford, pleaded guilty to the murder of Margery Gilbey. On 24 May 2013 police were called at just after 1630 to care home accommodation in Sonali Gardens, Sutton Street, E1, to reports of a burglary.

A nurse had been walking past Margery’s room when she spotted that the door, that was always open, was closed. As she looked through the letterbox she saw a man in Margery’s room. After she entered the room she found Marjorie suffering from a stab wound, and a rear window was open. Margery was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination at Poplar Mortuary on 26 May gave the cause of death as strangulation and a stab wound to the neck. Douglas was quickly linked to the scene through CCTV seized by detectives at the care accommodation. He was arrested later that same day at an address in East London. Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Gwyn, from the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: “Margery was killed as she lay in her own bed, in a place where she should have been safe. To see such violence used against a defenceless, elderly lady was truly shocking. “Only Douglas can explain why an attempted burglary had to end in murder. “I would like to pay testimony to Margery’s family who have demonstrated incredible dignity throughout this difﬁcult process.

Uncle who assaulted and killed his three-year-old nephew

Ben Igbinedion

An uncle who assaulted and killed his three-year-old nephew in his care has been found guilty of murder following a trial at the Old Bailey.

Ben Igbinedion, 43 years (25.10.69) of Darent House, Brangbourne Road, Bromley assaulted his nephew Daniel Evbuowman in the early hours of 2 March 2013 after Daniel had wet the bed they were sharing. Igbinedion then put Daniel back to sleep in a different bed but when family members tried to wake him in the morning, he did not respond. An ambulance was called and Daniel was taken to Lewisham 14

Hospital where he died. The court heard how Daniel had come to stay the night at Igbinedion’s, who was also left in charge of his three children while his wife went to work. At bedtime, Igbinedion stated that Daniel and his youngest son should sleep in his room, while the other children slept in their own room. In the early hours of the morning, one of the children was woken by Igbinedion telling off Daniel for wetting the bed. Igbinedion then moved the victim into the children’s bedroom, where he remained until the morning. Daniel’s cousins had attempted to wake him but after several attempts he slumped from the bed to the ﬂoor. An ambulance was called and despite attempts to resuscitate him, Daniel died in hospital. A post mortem examination at Great Ormond Street Hospital revealed that Daniel had suffered a major trauma to his pelvis and ribs. The examination concluded that the injuries could not have been caused by an accidental fall from the bed where Daniel was sleeping. Igbinedion was arrested but his version of the night’s events were contradicted by other testimonies from his children. He was subsequently charged with Daniel’s

murder on 7 March 2013. Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Gwyn, of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: “Ben Igbinedion’s violent actions resulted in the death of a threeyear-old boy who had no chance of defending himself and devastated the lives of two families. “Throughout the time since Daniel’s death, Igbinedion has continued to deny any involvement. However, a jury has seen through his story and convicted him of murder.” Daniel’s mother, Augustina Kunu, said in an impact statement read to the court; “How do I describe the loss of my only child Daniel? Daniel’s death has left me empty, heartbroken, lonely, lost, devastated and confused. I cannot concentrate or focus on my studies, I am unable to sleep and when I am able I wake up in tears because I can no longer see him lying by my side. I cannot get over Daniel’s death because of the bond we had. He was a brilliant son, a friend, a star, a hero and a help-mate. He would look into my eyes and say “Mummy how are you?”” “His death has affected my marriage, leaving it empty because Daniel was our dream, the pride and crown of our mar-

riage. His dad, Victor, has been left brokenhearted, confused, lonely and empty. This whole matter has pulled our family apart. My prayer is that God will restore peace to our families.” Igbinedion will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 22.11.13.

Poppy appeal robbers arrested Two charged with theft from the Blackhorse Garage, Sheen Road, Richmond. Leon Cowley, 31 (31.03.82) of Chaucer Avenue, Richmond has today been charged with the theft of a Poppy Day Appeal tin. He will appear in custody at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 4 November. Charlene Molloy, 28 (7.02.85) of Chilton Road, Richmond has today been charged with theft - unrelated to the Poppy Appeal tin. She will appear at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 20 November.

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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Sounds of Diaspora People of America Twin awards for Mandela co-stars

X Factor’s Rebecca to release second album

Rebecca Ferguson has fought fiercely to retain creative control over her output, possibly at the expense of commercial success

Londoners Naomie Harris and Idris Elba have each achieved international acclaim

British actors Naomie Harris and Idris Elba, who co-star in the forthcoming Nelson Mandela biopic, were each recipients of awards a prestigious ‘Women of the Year’ event at Claridge’s, London hosted by Harper’s Bazaar magazine.

Harris, who plays Winnie Mandela in Long Walk to Freedom, took the Best British Actress title, while Elba, who plays the lead in the movie, which premiered recently in Johannesburg,

collected the special Man of the Year prize. Harper’s Bazaar editor-in-chief, Justine Picardie, said the awards were “a timely reminder of the incredible achievements that women have made in the worlds of fashion, art, business, books, philanthropy, film and theatre”. “This year’s winners are all truly remarkable, with talents and ambitions that are matched by their heartfelt commitment and compassion,” she added.

X Factor runner-up Rebecca Ferguson has unveiled the touching video for ‘I Hope’, her first single from her highly-anticipated second album.

‘I Hope’, out on 24 November, is an uplifting track which at first sounds like a sensible goodbye to an ex-lover but the video promo shows it’s also about wishing the best to anyone experiencing a hard time. The Liverpool-born songstress’ second album ‘Freedom’, which follows her million-selling debut ‘Heaven’, comes out on December 2. Ferguson has claimed £100,000 went missing following her stint on X Factor.

The platinum-selling singer said she was conned by fake friends, while making her debut album back in 2010. She told Daily Record: “I had money, well over £100,000, stolen from me from people I trusted who sought to gain from me. It’s really disgusting.” The mother-of-two reported the incident in March leading to the suspects being arrested on suspicion of fraud before being given bail. However, Ferguson said she is doubtful she will ever see the missing money again, but hopes justice will be done. She said: “I think they spent it. Again it’s more the betrayal of trust of people, who got really close to me.

Leona proves she can fill a stocking Leona Lewis has unveiled the cover image and track list for her upcoming album, Christmas, with Love. The art work features nine pictures of Lewis in different holiday poses. The LP features three original tracks (“One More Sleep,” “Your Hallelujah,” “Mr. Right”), along with several holiday classics like “Winter Wonderland,” “I

Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday” and “Silent Night.” “This has been such a busy year for me having been on tour, shooting my first movie and being in the studio,” said Lewis in a statement. “I cannot wait to get out there this Christmas and perform these songs. I had such fun recording this record and that really comes through in the songs.”

Aretha back on stage after illness Aretha Franklin is returning to the concert stage with a December performance in her hometown of Detroit after recovering from an undisclosed illness. The Queen of Soul will perform on December 21 at the MotorCity Casino Hotel’s Sound Board.

Aretha is recording an album for Clive Davis and Sony Music in November, produced by Don Was and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds. Speaking of her illness, she told reporters that the side effects from her treatment for the mystery condition were “rough” and she is “glad to be back.”

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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Gospel By Michael Adekoya

WHAT YOU BELIEVE MATTERS A LOT

“Believe in the Lord, your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” 2 Chro. 20:20.

One of the most significant messages I am hearing from the Holy Spirit right now is that God is looking for believers - readily available and dependable people around the world who will carry out God’s divine purposes on earth. But, what He is seeing instead are believers who have become like the nobleman mentioned in 2 Kings 7:2. The Scripture declares that there was a terrible famine in the City of Samaria at one time. It was so bad that food prices soared astronomically. The great famine lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty pieces of shekels; a cup of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of shekel and the people were eating each other. The king of Samaria blamed this national economic crisis on God and on Elisha. He then sent his messenger to Elisha to kill him but later came to inquire of the Lord from Elisha.

Elisha replied the king and said, “Listen to this message from the Lord! This is what the Lord says: By this time tomorrow in the markets of Samaria, a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel and two measures of barley for a shekel.” 2 King 7:1. And the Bible says, “The officer assisting the king said to the man of God, “That couldn’t happen even if the Lord opened the windows of heaven!” 2 King 7:2. My friend, can you imagine that? The man mentioned in the verse was a leader in Samaria - a lord - on whom the king depended. Yet, he had trouble believing the words of the Lord, spoken by Prophet Elijah. Typical! Isn’t it? The man saw only the impossible. He didn’t see that tomorrow could

bring change. Doesn’t that sound a lot like us today? Yes, we pray and pray but do we really believe in the promises of God? Listen! In this day and age, it matters what and who you believe! Unbelief is the most deadly virus that can poison a human soul. It is the monarch sin, the parent sin, the deadly sin, the contagious sin and the masterpiece of Satan. It robs. It blinds. It grinds and dooms. And the devil is trying to chloroform even the Lord’s redeemed, even church leaders, with this pestilent potion. My friend, it might shock you if you could know how much unbelief there is in many Christian hearts. How many lands of promise we are prevented from entering because of our unbelief! Many of us, instead of trusting God and going forward, are being driven back from the border of the Promised Land of salvation, deliverance, healing, victory and blessing. Today, many Christians are excluded from the peace and joy which might be theirs, shut out from fullness of power, deprived

Are you looking for a church?

Not settled in any particular congregation? Perhaps now is the time to pray about it If you are not yet saved try one of the following: Jubilee International Churchmeets at 2,30pm on Sundays at Kings Avenue, school, park hill. London SW4. Part of Jubilee International Churches worldwide. For information, you may call (020)8697 3354 New Wine Christian Church- 11am holds meeting at Ringcross Tennants club, Lough Road, Holloway, N7. a member of the Icthus fellowship

worldwide. For more information call 020 7609 959 or 07957 757 663. Praise Tabernacle- 10:30am holds meetings at 620 Western Avenue (A40), park royal Business centre, opposite Warner Bros. Cinema Complex, W3. part of The Redeemed Christian Church of God. For information you may call 020 8993 3010 New Life Christian Centre 10.30am & 6.00pm. meetings at Cairo New Road, Croydon. The church has

of usefulness, disarmed for conquest, and robbed of physical and emotional healing! Because of our doubts, we look upon situations as though they can never be remedied; we look at problems as though they can never be solved, we look at conditions as though they can never be changed, we look at diseases as though they can never be healed, we look at troubled relationship as though they cannot be reconciled and restored. My friend, imperative indeed is the need of bringing our unbelieving hearts before the Lord Jesus Christ, crying out, “Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief!” Doubt is fatal. We cannot afford to waiver in faith. Jesus is leaning on us to do something supernatural, but we see only the impossible. This is why we quit praying and fail to accept our spiritual responsibilities in our homes, families, churches, schools, communities, city and nation. My friend, unbelief blocks miracles. The Bible says, “When Jesus had finished telling these stories and illustrations, he left

that part of the country. He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?”… Then they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his own country and in his own house.” Now He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.” Matt. 13:53-58. The people of Nazareth recognized that Jesus had a reputation for performing miracles and speaking with extraordinary wisdom. But, although Jesus was present in their midst, they didn’t receive His wisdom or experience His miracles in their own lives. Why not? The Bible gives two reasons: They looked at Jesus in human terms, as just a man, and they were filled with unbelief. They didn’t believe that Jesus could perform miracles for them. They didn’t have the faith or willingness even to ask Him to help with their problems. This lack of faith prevented Jesus from doing “many miracles there.” They missed their visitation and opportunity. Jesus had to move on to other towns where people had faith and didn’t allow their biases to block the work of God. Today, these two hindrances still keep many people from receiving God’s Word, God’s wisdom and experiencing His miracles. Instead of being filled with faith, they approach their problems with doubt and unbelief. They fail to realize that God is still the God of covenant and sudden miracles, and His Word still is true. With Him, nothing and absolutely nothing is impossible (Matt. 17:20). My friend, God is looking

a bible school, primary, is involved in extensive mission work in Eastern Europe, Italy and India. For information you may call 020 8680 7671 Ruach Ministries - holds meeting at 9am, 11am and 6pm. For information you may call 020 8678 6888 International Central Gospel church - Battersea chapel, holds meetings on Sundays from 2.00pm. . For information you may call 020 8684 4934 Jesus Arena International- Sunday service at 11.00am at Broadwater farm centre, Adams road N17 The Bible Life Church UK- They meet on Sunday mornings at 2.30pm at St Giles Centre, Camberwell

Church Street, London SE5 Christ Apostolic church (Full Gospel & Pentecostal) Surrey Docks District 163 Ilderton Rd South Bermondsey London SE16 2UT. Tel. 020 7252 2086. Time of worship: Sunday English service 9- 11.30am. Yoruba service 11.30 -2.30pm. Prophetic counselling: Monday, Tuesday & Thursday 12noon- 5pm, Saturday only 5- 7pm. Holy Cross Church InternationalSunday 10.am- 1 pm at Crown House 71-73 Nathan way London SE28 0BQ Tel: 07904 234 126, 07809 381 886 Times of service:Bible study: Thursdays 8pm. Night Vigil: Friday Forthnightly 12am

at our hearts every time. Are you filled with faith or unbelief? Do you come to God with expectation or doubts? Are you blinded by your biases, discrimination or prejudice? Do you trust God and believe Him for miracles? Maybe you believe in God but do you believe in His prophets? Ask God to help you put aside your human limitations. Be willing to believe God boldly. Truly, He can do all things. He is ready to give you wisdom and miracles if you believe and don’t doubt. Jesus says, “If you will believe, you will see the glory of God.” John 11:40. You must not allow doubt or any form of unbelief to immobilize you this week, in this new month or this year. Even, if what the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Bishop or Teacher is saying seems impossible, you still have to believe the Word of God in his or her mouth. The Word of God says, “Believe in the Lord, your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” 2 Chro 20:20. You still have to believe the man or woman of God even when you know his or her background. You have to be revived back into prayer, into faith and expect your home, church, school, work-place, government, community and nation to turn back to God. You have to believe that in the midst of the present famine (economic crisis), God will bring you to a wealthy place. You still have to pray, have faith in God and expect that by this time tomorrow, next week, next month you’ll be favoured, restored, reconciled, connected, settled and blessed. What you believe is the basis for your conduct, character and destiny. Remain blessed! Sunday Service: Sundays 10am - 1pm Winners Chapel London- part of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, at Unit B1 Galleywall Trading Estate, South Bermondsey, London SE16 3PB meets Sunday 7am & 9am and 11am and Wednesdays at 7pm. For details call 020 7237 7894 CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH GRAVESEND, ST. AIDAIN’S CHURCH, ST. AIDAN’S WAY, GRAVESEND, KENT, DA12 4AG TEL. 01474 355 841, 07956 38 38 70 TIME OF WORSHIP: Wednesday Bible Study: 7:30pm to 9:00pm Friday, Night Vigil: 9pm to 11pm Sunday Worship: 12:30pm to 3:00pm

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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Africa Newsround

Kenya

Al-Shabaab: Westgate attackers martyrs, not cowards

An eatery at the Westgate Mall after September’s siege

Al-Shabaab has rubbished reports that gunmen who massacred at least 67 people in Kenya’s Westgate mall in September died trying to escape – claiming instead the men were special suicide commandos.

Members of a “martyrdom brigade”, the gunmen were “brothers who have volunteered to enter into enemy ranks and cause havoc before being killed by the enemy,” the Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents said in the latest issue of their online magazine.

While not speciﬁcally saying they had died, al-Shabaab dismissed initial reports by Kenya’s army chief, Julius Karangi, that the men had attempted to ﬂee. “Karangi even had the audacity to claim that the martyrdom-seeking mujahedeen were seeking to abscond and escape from the mall,” read the magazine. The magazine -- a special edition released on Tuesday via extremist websites and dedicated to the four-day Westgate siege -- was published a day after four men appeared in a Nairobi court charged with

DR Congo

M23 peace talks stall

Until a peace deal is reached, Uganda is holding off the handover of M23 commander Sultani Makenga

A peace agreement that was supposed be signed between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the defeated March 23(M23) rebels ﬂopped on Monday evening (November 11) after the DRC delegation reportedly said it needed more time to study the peace document.

The deal under the mediation of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was supposed to be signed at State House, Museveni’s ofﬁcial residence in the town of Entebbe, about 37 kilometres southwest of the capital Kampala. ‘‘DRC delegation has aborted the signing of agreement with M23. Meeting adjourned sine die’’, said Ofwono Opondo, the Uganda government spokesperson in a series of posts on Twitter on Monday night.

‘‘President Museveni flew from Karamoja to witness & host the signing of the agreement but was kept waiting for over 4 hours’’, Ofwono Opono added. Karamoja is a semi-arid region located in north-eastern Uganda. The region borders South Sudan and Kenya. The M23 rebels were last week defeated by the Congolese army with support of a United Nations brigade comprising of soldiers from Tanzania and South Africa. The rebel group thereafter dissolved itself and said it was ready to disarm, demobilise and integrate into the Congolese army. In a post on their official social media accounts, the M23 appeared to put the blame on the flopped peace talks on the DRC government. ‘‘DRC Government doesn’t want to sign deal as long as word ’agreement’ is not removed,’’ the vanquished rebel group said. Following the defeat of the M23, their commander Sultani Makenge and about 1,600 fighters crossed into Uganda. Makenge is indicted for war crimes but Uganda has said it will not hand him over to the Congolese government, saying that will be determined by the outcome of the peace deal. A United Nations group of experts and the DRC government accused Rwanda and Uganda of supporting the rebels - something analysts say has made the government suspicious of the Kampala peace talks under Museveni’s mediation. Uganda and Rwanda have denied the accusations With the rebels defeated, the DRC government seems reluctant to sign a peace agreement with the now defunct M23 arguing that the group no longer exists having dissolved itself.

“supporting a terrorist group” over the attack. Slickly produced and written in both English and Swahili, the magazine is crammed with gruesome photographs of the attack, and gloating messages lauding the success of the massacre. “Westgate was not a fight, it was a message,” the magazine read, quoting alShabaab spokesman Ali Mohamed Rage. “The real fight is on the way.” The magazine did not name or say how many gunmen there were, but police believe there to have been only four attackers, and not the dozen that security forces had initially reported. Interpol is assisting Kenya in trying to identify four bodies suspected to be those of the gunmen. However, media have previously speculated the gunmen may have escaped in the chaos of the fighting, although security sources say they died in a final stand off with Kenyan commandos, who ended the fight by firing anti-tank rockets that sparked a fierce fire. Witnesses in the mall described how the fighters stormed the crowded complex,

ﬁring from the hip and hurling grenades at shoppers and staff. The Kenyan Red Cross has said some 20 people are still missing, and there are fears more bodies could be found in the wreckage of the mall. “Westgate was meant to send a message to Kenyans: get out of Somalia and stop your aggressions against Muslims,” the magazine read. It also accused Kenya’s government for the assassination last month of prominent radical cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Ismail in Kenya’s port city of Mombasa, claims the government has repeatedly denied. Kenya invaded southern Somalia to attack al-Shabaab bases two years ago, and later joined the 17,700-strong African Union force deployed in the country. “After Kenya’s deﬁance and its insistence of staying in Somalia, Kenyans should ask themselves when and where will the next attack be. How safe are you in Kenya?” the magazine added. “If you want peace, remove your military from the Muslim lands that they have invaded.”

Central African Republic

UN warns CAR anarchy may turn to genocide The mineral-rich Central African Republic is collapsing into chaos amid a worsening religious conflict between Christians and Muslims that could trigger genocide and bring more upheaval to a region already beset by turmoil, observers warn. “The situation ... is horrendous,” Gerard Araud, France’s ambassador to the United Nations, said last week after the Security Council was briefed on the swelling bloodbath in the former French colony. “The state has collapsed and this country is now simply plundered, looted, the women are raped, people are killed by thugs,” he said. “The country has fallen into anarchy.” “If we don’t act now, and decisively, I will not exclude the possibility of a genocide occurring,” warned Adama Dieng, UN special adviser on the prevention of genocide. The predominantly Christian CAR has been torn by violence since a loose alliance of five Muslim rebel groups known as the Seleka seized the capital Bangui in March, unseated President Francois Bozize and installed one of their leaders, Michel Djotodia, as transitional president. As the bloodletting worsened, Djotodia, the first Muslim to run the country, announced the dissolution of the Seleka in September in an apparent bid to disassociate himself from the rebel savagery, looting and raping that has killed hundreds of people and driven 500,000 from their homes. The World Food Program says 1.1 million people face severe food shortages because of the crisis. The country of 4.6 million people is rich with minerals, including uranium,

gold and diamonds. But decades of instability and endemic corruption have left the CAR trapped in poverty and continual crisis. But several Seleka leaders continue to wage their own wars with Christians who claim to be supporters of the ousted Bozize, who seized power in 2003 in one of the many coups that have plagued the country since the French departed 53 years ago. Djotodia blames the Christians, who have formed self-defence groups to counter the marauding Seleka, for the bloodshed. Oxford Analytica says Djotodia “has become the main perpetrator of violence against civilians.” Bozize is said to be in East Africa plotting a comeback that’s only likely to worsen the crisis. Godfrey Byaruhanga, Amnesty International’s CAR researcher, said Seleka soldiers have been responsible for widespread sexual violence, forcibly recruiting child ﬁghters and recruiting criminals and foreign ﬁghters from neighbouring Chad and Sudan drawn by the volatile situation. “The situation’s totally appalling and the government appears to be either not able or willing to prevent these soldiers from continuing with the human rights crimes,” he said. “Long term, the problem is that this could lead to the CAR people becoming completely ungovernable and it becoming a failed state, and the repercussions will not be felt just in the CAR, but are beyond in neighbouring African countries.” The African Union plans to deploy a 3,600-man peacekeeping force, but that won’t be operational before 2014. 17

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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African Entertainment Travelmusic artist

The ICSN Iri Ji (New Yam) Festival 2013 & 15 Year Anniversary Celebration

This year 2013 being a landmark year for ICSN (15 year anniversary), meant that extra work and preparation was put into this year’s Iri Ji Festival (as well as our other social events). This year’s Iri Ji Festival was not just solely about honouring our culture, and continuing the legacy of the New Yam festival, but also about paying homage, and respecting the lineage of our unique organisation ICSN, hence this year’s titled “ ICSN Iri Ji (New Yam) Festival 2013 & 15 Year Anniversary Celebration”. The London Borough of Hackney was blessed for a second year in a row. Having still not gotten over the beautiful showcase of Igbo cultural pride we displayed last year, the Petchey Academy was yet again the venue for another splendid projection of the Igbo community London. In our towns back in Nigeria there is usually an Iroko Drum, in every village that when hit summons the whole community to stop what they are doing, and congregate at a specific place to hear special announcements. In this case the drum of ICSN on the evening of Saturday 19th October was struck, and judging by the many that attended, the echo off the drum could clearly be heard, all over

In association with

London, the whole of the UK, and even Nigeria. Over 500 people attended this year, the most we have ever had. So many came that we even had to close the doors early. The usual transport issues played their role in delaying proceedings, but that did not stop this movement of Igboness overcoming these issues, enabling the Iri Ji festival to continue. From the outset you could see that everyone had taken extra time in doing their outfits were ready for for the occasion. From the entrance of the venue you could see the incoming of the beautiful outfits, colours, textures, and fabrics, and more importantly the pride in the faces of those wearing them. You could see families wearing identical styles, mothers, and daughters wearing the same coloured head ties. Even the ICSN Executive Committee all had an executive team outfit this year. Kelechi Ify, and his live band kicked off proceeds providing the soundtrack for the early part of the evening. Once the main hall was near full, the host for the evening Charles Emeka stepped up to kick off proceedings. Then it was ...NTA (LIGHTS) KAMERA (CAMERA) NGWAAMME (ACTION)

ICSN Iri Ji (New Yam) Festival 2013 UK Celebration

“Pray for me, I need a husband”- Jenifa, Funke Akindele Nollywood actress and producer of award winning movie, Jenifa, Funke Akindele, may be rich, famous and widely celebrated, but something is still missing in her life: a husband. The actress whose nine months old marriage to Kenny Oloyede crashed about three months ago, bared her mind recently when she said she would want to settle down fast and start bearing children, seeing that age is not on her side. In her mid-30s, Funke said she is praying to God for her own man soon. 18

“Man proposes and God disposes,” she said, waxing spiritual, “so people should keep their fingers crossed and pray for me to meet the bone of the bone of my bone and the flesh of my flesh and not somebody else. “It is one of my dreams to bear children soon and I believe it will come to pass soon. Once I start my home, I hope to cut down on acting so that I can give my family more attention,” she says. Actress Funke Akindele

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Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

Event

Events calendar What’s On & When Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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Arts

Theatre, Shows and Musicals By Ryan Holmes

ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be re-united with Rachel. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart. Simple. Haymarket Theatre,18 Suffolk St, London SW1Y 4HT

Much Ado About NothingNow-November 30th Lenny Henry as Troy and Tanya Moodie as Rose

The Dead Wait Now- December 1st

Apartheid may have ended in South Africa in 1994, but its years remain a heavy burden for those who lived in its squalid shadow. Premiering in London after debuting in the UK in 2002, Paul Herzberg’s powerful play – loosely inspired by his own experiences as a soldier in the South African army – is a kinetic mix of pain, anger and endurance. In the late ’80s, white South African athlete Josh Gilmore (Austin Hardiman) is conscripted and sent into the bloodshed of neighbouring Angola’s civil war. When a village massacre uncovers wounded political exile George Jozana (Maynard Eziashi), Gilmore’s racist commanding officer Papa Louw (Herzberg himself) orders him to carry Jozana back to the South African border. Clifton Terrace, London, N4 3JP

The 39 Steps Now- March 2014

When Hitchcock adapted Buchan’s ‘The 39 Steps’, however, he introduced a love interest in a version which Buchan later conceded was better than his own. In this stage version, Patrick Barlow has continued the honourable tradition of mucking around with Buchan’s original, keeping the love interest (now elegantly played by new cast member Rachel Pickup) and adding a whirligig of self-conscious theatrical effects in a production where four actors evoke everyone from lingerie salesmen to a housekeeper who screams like a steamtrain.. The Criterion,218-223 Piccadilly, London, SW1Y 4XA

Pride Now-November 9th

Set in both 1958 and 2008, ‘The Pride’ sees what appears to be the same love triangle play out in two very different eras. In 1958, closeted married man Philip (Harry Hadden-Paton) grapples violently with his feelings for writer Oliver (Al Weaver), while his fragile wife Sylvia (Hayley Atwell) looks on in impotent despair. And in 2008, the three seem to have been given their time again in a more liberated age… Yet they’re not happy – promiscuous journalist Oliver has scewed up his relationship with straight-laced Philip, and Oliver’s chronic neediness is seriously bringing his BFF Sylvia down. Trafalgar Studios,14 Whitehall SW1A 2DY

The Scottsboro Boys Now-December 21st

The Scottsboro Boys were nine young black men convicted of raping two white women in Scottsboro, Alabama in 1931. Following a mistrial, the overwhelming evidence of their innocence did nothing to persuade a succession of white Alabama juries to find them innocent; their plight did much to lay the groundwork for the US civil rights movement – but that wasn’t a lot of comfort for the poor fellas left to rot in a Southern penitentiary. Young Vic, 66 The Cut, SE1 8LZ

One Man, Two Guvnors Now-March 2014

Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect £6000 from his fiancee’s dad. But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who’s been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers. Holed up at the Cricketers’ Arms, the permanently

Age is the theme and the big talking point at the Old Vic as it plays host to two great theatre pros in Shakespeare’s much-loved comedy. Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones are Benedick and Beatrice: reluctant older lovers, grouchily bickering their way into each other’s hearts. The play is reimagined in a Britain of old too. It’s 1944, and we get a wartime view of the country that perhaps only ever existed in our imaginations. A land of comedy policemen, dashingly handsome GIs and naughty boy scouts – it conjures up images of a particular kind of British sitcom or BBC radio play, a sort of ‘Archers’ does Shakespeare. 103 The Cut, Waterloo Rd, London SE1 8NB

Warhorse Now - Oct 27th, 2014

Five years on, the National Theatre’s ‘War Horse’ has become ubiquitous. The toast of the West End and Broadway, as I write this it’s sold out at the New London Theatre for the next two months – by contrast Its enormous success has negated the impact of Arts Council funding cuts on the NT, to the extent that the show has started to be singled out by some commentators as an example of ‘safe’ post-credit crunch programming. And, of course, there’s the Steven Spielberg film, a curious affair sparked by the director’s genuine love of the play, in which he gives Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 a lavish screen treatment that has everything bar the one thing that made the play so special in the first place. ICA, The Mall, London, SW1Y 5AH

Bluebird

Now-December 1st

The main character in Hattie Naylor’s forceful, often shocking monologue slinks on stage slowly, without you completely noticing, until suddenly he’s there, sat in a leather backed chair, wearing a glinting smile and pinstriped suit and there’s nothing you can do but listen. With a relaxed charm, this wolf in flashy businessmen’s clothing tells us of his sordid, murderous, sadomasochistic encounters with women. His delivery distances him from his terrible deeds. This is one

truly disarming character. Theatre Royal Stratford East, London

The Island Now- Nov 30th

‘Another bloody load of eternity.’ For John and Winston, cellmates at Robben Island, each day brings more of the same. Imprisoned for standing up against South Africa’s apartheid regime, they’re forced to shovel sand all day. It’s a Tartarean task, unending and futile. Each barrowload they dig, they dump on the other’s heap. The two men – comrades, friends, so closely bound they could be Siamese twins – constantly glower at one another. ‘The Island’ captures the grim realities of prison life – the incessant aches of manual labour, the hardness of stone floors, the luxury of a spongebath – but also its poetic and philosophical associations. You see friendship, imagination and hope – basic tenets of human existence – willed into survival in the bleakest of circumstances. Young Vic, 66 The Cut, SE1 8LZ

Now- November 30th

With Jez Butterworth’s ‘Mojo’ opening in the West End and Philip Ridley’s ‘Fastest Clock’ pitching up here in Islington, we’re in the thick of a tiny ’90s revival. And with that comes the decade’s long snarl of designer nihilism where young men strutted in retro fashions and wound up performing some gruesome act of violence. Ridley’s 1992 play is certainly good for all that with the preening hero Cougar as a sado masochistic Dorian Gray. He opens the play modelling underpants, before decorating the sofa in aviator shades, leather jacket and jeans, while sizing up his prey. 418 St John St, EC1V 4NJ

The Dumb Waiter Now- November 23rd

London’s fringe theatres tend to be blessedly free of half-baked Harold Pinter revivals, presumably because the greatest British playwright of the twentieth century was so bloody-mindedly challenging that jobbing directors don’t have the balls to take him on. But Notting Hill’s Print Room is classier and better resourced than many of its peers and in this fine revival of 1960’s ‘The Dumb Waiter’, director Jamie Glover expertly captures the mix of humour and deep unease that characterises this 50-minute play. The Print Room, 34 Hereford Rd, W2 5AJ

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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Arts

Poet of the week: Sonne Dipoko Mbella By Peter Olorunnisomo It was in France that Sonne Dipoko Mbella began making a name for himself as a leading African writer and poet with critically acclaimed poems, short stories and other literary pieces in journals such as Black Orpheus, Transition and Presence Africaine. His plays were also broadcast over the BBC and published in a number of anthologies.

In 1966, he published his first full length novel, “A few Nights and Days” set in Paris. This was followed by “Because of Women” in 1969, set on the banks of the river Mungo, and then Black and White in Love (1970), a collection of poems that chronicled his decade-long “exile”, with the title poem being about “a Bohemian stint of wandering around Europe and Morocco by bike, bus, train and hitchhiking with a girl from San Francisco.” –Morsberger Dipoko’s literary portfolio consisted of works that alternated between Afrocentric militancy and an overt and unapologetic sexuality unheard of among African writers of his time – a sexuality which disconcerted, intrigued and even infuriated both Africans and Westerners alike. In fact, Heinemann was initially reluctant to publish A Few Nights and Days in its prestigious African Writers Series because it deemed the novel too erotic and unAfrican. Many European and American critics found it difficult to wrap their minds around the novel which departed from the standard

Sonne Dipoko Mbella

African literary fare “about solid tribal wisdom, ghoulish rituals and the inscrutable cruelty of colonialism-not to mention the inclusion of semi-profound proverbs and the utterances of very old men with dry skin and wizened faces“ - Paul Theroux. As one often quoted passage in Theroux’s review of A few nights and days states : “No African novel has described copulation in such feminine terms as Mr. Dipoko`s. It is not only a feminine novel written by a man, it is also a novel with a country; that is, France. An African novel about France? No. A French novel about France by a man who writes like a European woman.” Dipoko’s next two books – especially Because of Women with its “scenes of ecstatic love-making“– were alternatively panned and praised for their eroticism. The

sexual undertones of Dipoko’s writings largely defined him as a writer and shaped public perception of him for the next four decades – a perception which was not too far from the truth. As he recalled in a May 1990 interview with Cameroon Life: “I became for many years, what you might call a travelling lover, a dreamer searching for God between the women’s thighs – those days when I was at the height of my intimate powers. You had to see me! I was like an angel stuffing recoilless erections into just where they are most needed – into the fleshy folds of winter! But I did it with rosy summers too.” Nonetheless, it will be very simplistic and even incorrect to define Mbella Sonne Dipoko solely through the prism of sex and sexuality, for, he was still an engaged writer, even to his last days and to his last poem; one who inspired an entire generation of Cameroonians and Africans with his militant poems. His militancy also came through, among other things, in his legendary disdain for Senghor’s Negritude. As he stated in West Africa magazine in 1971, Negritude was “reactionary, rightwing, irrelevant... [and] absolutely incapable of reinstating the oppressed and exploited Black man in his rightful place in the world” Moesberger does a good job in summing up Dipoko’s literary persona when he points out Dipoko ‘kissing across the color line,’ brash, hip and embracing the European counterculture, is a paradoxical champion of his African childhood and a foe of Westernization. Dipoko did not produce any major work after Black and white in Love even though

Don Questo by Pete Godismo

The challenges had become predictable – politics and ambition created dilemmas. The solutions will be issued as manifestoes for the great deliverance from Armageddon. Every path of intelligentsia had been pursued. Diverse breakthroughs, and conquests, even with limitations, were achieved. Yet there was just one; one more to secure all knowledge, all truths, all capabilities, just all – the ultimate complement. For that, God must be conquered – but with a different spirit. If there was one thing politics had not achieved, it was god.

The earnest search had no path stratagem but simply to look in places where those who purportedly know Him could be induced for revelation. Scurrying through pages of the technological highway provided by the age, there was an indication; at least one source met him. ‘Where is God?’ ‘To find Him, you must climb mountains. Till you climb the mountain, only then might you meet him.’ It does make some sense to search up the hill. That could suit His esoteric tastes. Besides, all others who knew Him seemed to sell a time and a season without a fixed price for His appearance.

The climb’s pathway was littered. Each spectrum a turn-away of its own peculiarity - engaging and subtle. The bible had stated it. He had His space; for reverence. The Greeks and the Romans believed that God and the gods lived on Mt. Olympus. Adrenaline pumping, the uphill task was soon reduced to a magnificent vision of plains below, valleys yonder, and mountains afar. This, indeed, was a nature palace fit for God, and free from Man’s emission. But there was nothing else to see or hear: not even God to answer a call. Dejected, he was met on his descent by a mountain goat. Standing proudly in the splendour of its wilderness, it’s piercing eyes and flared out nostrils held him hypnotically as if determining the wile of his existence. Then in the comfort of its wisdom, acquaints itself with this Man’s situation and proffers from the leverage of speech a recommendation to question the birds. The air was soon random-sampled and a recurring response was the admission that none had ever flown to heaven; and none therefore had ever dared find out if there were whispers from the heavens after the bellows of thunderclap. If that ever were, could that be God? To the deeps, they chirped, its mystery may unfold the truth of God’s abode. And off he went once again, cooling his heels for a toll at the bank before the plunge into the pitch where darkness reigns. He soon

courted a whale for her knowledge and selfesteem. But she wondered why God must live in the deeps and not among men who, it is said, He loves so dear. Shocked and docked, bottled and troubled, he asked himself ‘why not among men?’ The trudge had begun wear him out. Chips of his spirit began to cake and fall off. The burden of the quest hung on the ungainly frame. Weakness must become strength. New strengths, new virtues must be sourced to replenish, replace those gone weak and worn and cast off. There was need for a balance. Yes, perhaps it had all been about balancing out weaknesses to strengths. ‘But the edge…to know…be able…to c-o-nq-u-e-r…’ and, nnnzzzzzzzzzz! Underneath the tree, he stretched out lifelessly as if permitting every limb its freedom for eternity. The silence of his soul was broken into by the mocking birds atop the tree. Still cruising into self control, he heard their chatter about his pursuit. Why he had to think about looking for God when his self belief had clearly shown him he was fallible in more ways than he would admit. ‘What presumptuousness, pride, knowledge, and self-effusing capabilities added up to blindness?’ ‘If he didn’t know where God is, who else should know?’

he continued to write poetry, short stories, plays and literary criticism in French and English. His most popular poems also continued to appear in numerous anthologies, the most popular being `Our History (To Precolonial Africa)` which is still widely used in many literature departments in the West. After a quarter of a century in the West, Mbella Sonne Dipoko returned home in 1985 to his native Misaka in Tiko subdivision in Fako division a different man; the Bohemian who found “God between the women’s thighs” while traveling across Europe, came back as a very spiritual man with a new afro-centric faith called Esimo ya Mboka, of which he was the Chief Priest. He took up farming and fishing, led an ascetic life and shunned most vestiges of the West which he had so readily embraced in his early life. He was always a sight to behold with his overflowing beard, his simple white shirt, and his sanja or traditional loin always matched with either a pair of slippers or sandals. Cameroonians took a long time getting used to, let alone warming up to Dipoko’s eccentric, or “mystic look” as the government daily, Cameroon Tribune (2009) described it. Some even claimed that Dipoko was insane. “They don’t want the beard. They don’t want my look. They are damned scared. They are just philistines who are afraid of originality. They wish to be caricatures of Europeans,” he lamented in his Cameroon Life interview.

Here he was, on a hunt, told by birds that he found it easier to believe what he chose, prove all he thought was not but difficult to believe that he hadn’t it all for proof and dis-proof. Once the goat, later the whale, and now the birds: is there just something he didn’t know that they knew? How much did they really know and how much willing to let out? He had ridden high among the people, borne their hopes and burdens. He had made promises to ‘cure’ the problems that he himself had probably facilitated among others. But there was competition – a rivalry for the great among the greatest. A peoples’ champion with a cantata, a dogma for all seasons, a mantra for all times, a manifesto for all races – so subtle and fierce: a rivalry devoid of chivalry. God was the enigma. He was the concept, the mystery, the illusion and allusion, the fate and the belief. It is He who need be found, courted, and possibly conquered. All these found flowed from within – the dilemma on the inside. Truth, ability, knowledge, power, et al; all from the inside, inside him. More guzzled by the quest, he looked deep into the horizon and saw phased faces of men. At once he knew: God can only be in and among those who can know He is.

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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Health

Clampdown on counterfeit drugs in Liberia

Liberia is cracking down on the sellers of fake or expired pharmaceutical drugs, but has met some resistance from people, especially in rural communities, who say these black market medicines are all they can get or afford. The trafﬁc and sale of old and counterfeit medicine - a multimillion dollar industry - is widespread in West Africa.

It is not hard to ﬁnd one of Liberia’s roving drug salesmen known locally as “black bag doctors.” John Harris walking down a county highway just a few kilometers outside the capital, Monrovia, where a VOA reporter met him. He wore a backpack and carried a bucket. Both were full of unmarked plastic bags of pills that he said were painkillers and malaria drugs. Harris said this is not what he had in mind for his life when he graduated from medical school. “How does the government expect us to survive when there is no job? So I do this, moving from villages and towns and sell these drugs to the people,” Harris explained. “At least we are helping government. Some of the places we go, there are

Fake drugs

no health facilities. So I think we are a help.” But it is a crime to sell medicines in the street without a license. Inspectors from Liberia’s Pharmaceutical Board have been combing the countryside looking for drug peddlers like Harris this year. Chief Pharmacist Reverend Tijli Tarty Tyee said the pills and treatments these

peddlers sell are expired, damaged by sun or humidity, or just fake. “Medicines sold in this manner will not have the basic ingredients that will bring about cures and as a result of that,” Tyee explained, “people taking the medicines, there is a potential of having microbial resistance to the medicines. When we have resistance to our imported medication,

then we are in a very serious, serious situation.” He said he understands that people need medicines and they need them cheap. “They want to have a shortcut in getting medicines but that shortcut is dangerous to them,” Tyee said. The crackdown has met some resistance from local communities and from the peddlers themselves. Tyee says inspectors have been injured during “raids.” It is harder to go after the source. The U.N. Ofﬁce on Drugs and Crime says fraudulent medicines in West Africa are both imported and manufactured locally. It’s a diffuse supply chain with limited government oversight. Flour has been discovered packaged as the antibiotic amoxicillin. Manufacturers try to raise proﬁt margins by reducing the amount of an active ingredient. Or real medicines can make their way into a street peddler’s backpack once they are past their expiration date. Experts say the true scope of the problem is near impossible to measure. The UNODC says even legitimate providers in West Africa, like pharmacists and doctors, can not be 100 percent sure that what they are administering is real.

Wealth plays role in use of long-acting family planning

A couple and their children at a Togolese centre

Wealthy women in Africa, Asia and Latin America are more likely than poor women to use long-acting family planning methods, with the exception of women in South Asia, according to new research from Abt Associates. Although more women globally are gaining access to

family planning methods, the uptake of long-acting and permanent methods of contraception is still low in many developing nations.

The research, presented during the International Conference on Family Planning in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, includes survey data from women in 14 coun-

tries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Even after taking into account the ways that a woman’s age, number of children and level of education might affect her use of contraception, wealth continues to play a signiﬁcant role in women’s using long-acting and permanent methods of contraception (LAPMs). For women in South Asian countries, poorer women were more likely than wealthier women to use these family planning methods. “This study shows that we must identify and address the barriers that poor women face in getting access to long-acting methods of contraception,” said James Gribble, an expert in family planning at Abt Associates who coauthored the study with Jorge Ugaz and Minki Chatterji of Abt. “While more women are gaining access to family planning methods around the world, now is the time for full access and full choice when it comes to offering this important option in family planning.” Researchers also examined the role of wealth in predicting whether a wom-

an received LAPMs through for-proﬁt private or public facilities. Among those who use long-acting and permanent methods of family planning, wealthy women were more likely to obtain LAPMs through the private sector. However, in 4 of 14 countries, between one quarter and one half of the poorest women received LAPMs from the private sector. More development and testing of programs that improve the affordability of LAPMs is needed, the researchers conclude. The research was conducted by the Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development. For a complete list of research from Abt Associates presented during the International Conference on Family Planning, please visit: http://abtassociates.com/ICFP2013. aspx

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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Culture

The San People of South Africa

Hunting is a huge part of life within the tribe

As the original inhabitants of southern Africa, the San lived for millennia as independent hunters and gatherers. The rich heritage of rock art there is attributed to ancestral San. The San represent for many an unspoiled “natural humanity” living in harmony with nature, and the works of Laurens Van Der Post and films like The Gods Must Be Crazy reinforce this romantic image. The reality for present-day San is different. They are second-class citizens in the lands of their birth, and suffer daily discrimination at the hands of other ethnic groups. Not so long ago, Tswana tribespeople referred to their San servants as “bulls” and “heifers.” One Motswana, seeing a group of San children playing, said, “If only they went to school they would be people” The San’s history is not unique. Vir-

A hunter prepares his bow

tually all southern African peoples have experienced wrenching cultural change, war, dispossession, and ethnocide. But the San’s plight was compounded by their status as social outcasts, not only in the eyes of European settlers, but by their fellow Africans as well. As described, surviving Sans were the subjects of special statutes in every country they lived in. Their nomadic ways, essential to their survival, were treated as vagrancy and suppressed. In certain areas repression and violence continue to the present. It is a tribute to San resilience and cultural strength that they have overcome many obstacles to retain their language, culture, and religious beliefs, even if circumstances have forced them to give up foraging. Coming to political consciousness, some San have recreated themselves as First Peoples, and, with the assistance of sympathetic outsiders, have fought successfully for land and civil rights.

While discrimination remains, governments in the region have begun to recognize the San’s uniqueness and to institute at least some policies in support of San development aspirations. This special issue of the Cultural Survival Quarterly will pinpoint areas where serious injustices persist, but will also give examples of communities where small victories have been won in the fight for cultural survival. The San in History Ancestral San peoples have lived in southern Africa since ancient times. The oldest unequivocal remains of Homo sapiens sapiens—dated to 125,000 B.C.E.—have been excavated at Klassies River Mouth east of Cape Town. For thousands of generations the San people lived, hunting and gathering, as the sole occupants of southern Africa. Archaeological evidence records that they lived in small mobile groups with a complex microlithic stone tool technology. Around the time of Christ some of the San hunters began to herd goats and sheep and later cattle, becoming in time the Khoi peoples, also known as Hot-

East India Company landed to establish the first European settlement in what is now South Africa. The ensuing centuries constitute one of the most tragic chapters in the history of European colonialism. As the Dutch expanded north, they conquered the Khoi tribes, who eventually assimilated and reemerged as the so-called Cape Coloured people. But because they resisted Dutch advances so successfully, the San were branded as incorrigible bandits and hunted down relentlessly by the Dutch (now naturalized as Boers or Afrikaners) in annual extermination raids. By the end of the 19th century, San people were believed to be virtually extinct in South Africa. But beyond the reach of Boer guns, in the German colony of South-West Africa and in the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, San peoples survived and even thrived, and it is in contemporary Namibia and Botswana that most of today’s San live. Distance, and the isolation of the Kalahari Desert and its surrounding regions, proved to be the San’s salvation. Nearly 80,000 San are found there today, with smaller

tentots. Both San and Khoi retained the unique click languages for which they are famous. In the early years of the Common Era, proto-Bantu-speaking peoples crossed the Zambezi and began their famous southward migration that led to the formation of the powerful Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, and Sotho chiefdoms whose descendants form the large majority of South Africa’s population today. In the East, San and incoming Bantu peoples mixed and intermarried and the latter adopted the click sounds of the Khoisan languages. In the western part of the subcontinent, however, San and Khoi retained their autonomy. They were at the Cape of Good Hope on that fateful day in 1652 when Jan Van Riebeck of the Dutch

numbers in Angola, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In the 20th century, a number of San groups continued to maintain the smallscale nomadic hunting and gathering way of life recorded by anthropologists and filmmakers. A larger percentage, however, were drawn into oppressive work conditions and deeper poverty under the domination of both African and White powerholders. In a surprising development, the end of Apartheid brought to light in South Africa San peoples speaking languages long believed to be extinct. They had blended into the rural landscape on White farms or on the fringes of towns until the end of Apartheid allowed them to reveal their identities

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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News

Three robbers face 100 years behind bars

Two unemployed males, who were suspected in a theft of a Nissan Almera taxi cab from its owner, were sentenced to a total of 70 years imprisonment and hard labour by an Accra Circuit Court. Kwabena Badu and Sampson Sam, planned this vicious attack previously as they hired the taxi with the attack in mind. The two men then asked to be taken from Osu to Achimota, and on the way, attacked the driver of the Nissan taxi and made off with his car. Both convicts admitted to their crimi

nal actions in their caution statement, but later pleaded not guilty to the charges of conspiracy to commit crime and robbery before the court. The jury, however, after mulling over the credible evidence against them, was able to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The court, therefore, sentenced them to 15 years each on the ﬁrst count, and 35 years each on the second count. They are expected to serve the sentence concurrently. Narrating the facts of the case, the Senior State Attorney, Ms Comfort Tasiame, told the court that on October 6, 2012, the complainant, who was in charge of a Nis-

san Almera taxi cab, reported at the mile 7 police station that Kwabena Badu and Sampson Sam hired his taxi from Osu to Achimota. She said the complainant stated that at an intersection of the road near the Israel lorry station, Kwabena Badu and Sampson Sam attacked him while behind the steering, held his neck, and threatened him with a locally-made pistol. “Kwabena Badu and Sampson Sam overpowered the complainant and succeeded in snatching the vehicle from him, and thereafter proceeded to the direction of Koforidua in the Eastern Region. “The convicts got to the police check point at Tinkong, and with top speed drove through the barrier and nearly killed the personnel,” the Prosecutor emphasised. According to her, the police, upon this conduct, chased them with another available vehicle, and in the process, Kwabena Badu and Sampson Sam abandoned the complainant’s vehicle and escaped into the bush. Ms Tasiame said luck eluded them when nearby residents assisted the police to arrest them, and later transferred them to Accra for investigation, adding that during

investigations, the complainant identiﬁed Kwabena Badu and Sampson Sam as his assailants. “The convicts admitted to the offence, where Kwabena Badu further confessed having snatched three Toyota corolla cars and one Pontiac Vibe with the late notorious car snatchers, Kwabena Takyi and Nana Kwabena Agyemang, who were killed in one of their recent robbery expeditions,” she stated. Meanwhile, at the same court, a driver was also sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for snatching the handbag of a hair dresser at Agbogbloshie in Accra. Kwasi Debrah attacked the complainant in the night, and forcibly took from her a handbag, which contained two mobile phones, two ladies dresses, shorts, and a mobile phone charger. The complainant raised the alarm, whereby a mob in the neigbourhood assisted her in arresting him to the police station. He pleaded guilty to the charge of robbery, and was convicted on his own plea to serve the said sentence in hard labour.

Tropical cyclone claims hundreds of lives in Somalia

As the world comes together after thousands die in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan, it would seem Mother Nature is not yet through. As many as, 100 people are known to have died in the Northeastern region of Somalia, after a tropical storm battered the area with high scale winds this week. The cyclone storm unleashed a combination of high winds and ﬂooding, which has left areas devastated. Puntland President Abdrahman Mohamed Farole held a press conference declaring a “National Disaster Emergency” in the more affected areas. He also called for a united response, urging international aid agencies help with organising air drops. It is believed the storm could continue inland expanding as it goes, causing more damage to the countries inhabitants. This would further increase the need for supplementary aid and relief efforts as well as continuing to help those already suffering in the aftermath. The government has released a statement in which, it describes the problems faced by those in the harder hit areas. The overlying problems are the lack of

A satellite image of the storm as it moved closer to Somalia

access to food, water and medical care, which are seen as problems only set to get worse as the storm continues. According to the government press statement, the tropical cyclone, known as 03A, made landfall in the vast coastal area of Puntland, particularly between Eyl, Beyla, Dangorayo and Hafun districts along the eastern coast to Alula district at the tip of the horn of Africa. Preliminary information also indicates that homes, buildings, boats and entire villages have been destroyed”

“I have buried 10 members of my family, the icy storm and rain killed more than 100 people here,” a resident of Eyl, Hussein Abdullahi, told a news agency. “I have never witnessed such fatal cold. Some people were blown away and others died after their houses collapsed on them.” Mr Farole called for international help, saying the crisis was “immense”. “Preliminary information also indicates that homes, buildings, boats and entire villages have been destroyed and over 100,000 livestock lost, endanger-

ing the livelihoods of tens of thousands of local people,” the government said, in a statement. Local reports add that faraway Bari regional district of Alula and a number of nearby fishing villages have been witnessing massive destruction and loss of life since Saturday when cyclones with life-threatening flooding began to wreak extraordinary damages in Somalia’s northeastern coastal towns and villages along the Indian Ocean. Reliable sources tell Garowe Online News Agency that nomadic communities remain most affected by the storm and Puntland government has began to deploy teams who would handle the victims amid struggle for survival and set up makeshift evacuation shelters and command posts for the people displaced by the storm surge. Puntland Disaster Management and Rescue Committee which has been appointed today by President Farole and International NGO’s have not confirmed the latest death toll and GO was unable to independently confirm the accurate number of casualty figures.

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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News

Over 200 crocodiles seized in animal cruelty raid Police have conﬁscated over 200 crocodiles from Koma Crocodile Farm in Monkey Bay, Mangochi and charged the owner of the farm with cruelty against animals, which contravenes Animal Protection Act.

In a joint operation with the Lilongwe Society for Protection and Care for Animals (LSPCA), Lilongwe Wildlife Centre and the Department of Animal Health Livestock Management, the police raided the farm following numerous complaints from the public. The grievances against the park were particularly focused on the harsh living conditions that the crocodiles were being forced to live in. Project Director for LSPCA Dr. Richard Ssuna said after receiving several reports LSPCSA approached the police and other stakeholders with the aim of rescuing the crocodiles and ﬁnding a lasting solution on how to help the animals before it became too late. “After visiting the area we found that the complaints were indeed accu-

A picture of a worker holding a crocodile before the recent closure

rate, there was no food or water for the crocodiles, their cages had very little shade, exposing the crocodiles to sun heat. Furthermore, all the ponds were dry, denying them the opportunity to cool themselves off. “So far several crocodiles have died and many more might die if this situation is left unattended to,” said Dr. Ssuna. Efforts to talk to the owner of proved futile as workers at the farm were reluctant to handover contact detail.

Tractors seized in Uganda

Koma Croc Fram, which was established in 1988, is the ﬁrst registered crocodile farm in the country and a once major tourist attraction for those wanting to catch a glimpse of the mighty reptiles, according to the Department of Wildlife. The Farm’s Manager, Macdadly Chiwaya, said due to the declining health conditions of the animals, the farm had witnessed a decline number of visitors over the past years.

“People used to come here to see the majestic crocodiles but now due to the animals’ poor health and living conditions, many people prefer to go to other crocodile farms in the country,” said Chiwaya. He said ﬁfteen adult crocodiles had died on the farm due to starvation and dehydration since July, 2013. Dr. Ssuna said that in order to prevent further avoidable crocodiles’ deaths, the police had conﬁscated the animals until the owners were persecuted in court. He added that in the meantime the crocodiles will be under the care of LSPCA and the Lilongwe Wild Life Center. “We do not have adequate facilities to accommodate the crocodile therefore they (crocodiles) will remain on the farm but we shall provide additional staff, advocacy, food and water,” explained Dr. Ssuna. The farm will remain closed to all visitors till further notice, according to the law enforcers.

A tractor similar to those that have been impounded

Four tractors that were recently donated to farmers in the Tororo region have been conﬁscated by the resident district commissioner (RDC).

RDC Ddamulira Kyeyune conﬁrmed last week that he seized the tractors, to help establish investigations into their source. He said this would help to avoid manipulation of the ordinary peasants, who could fall victims of “dubious deals.” Kyeyune said key players, including the National Muslims Women Development Council, which donated the tractors, failed to convince the district security committee about the source of the equipment and conditions attached. He said he was not opposed to development, but only wanted the equipment to be given transparently. He said the beneﬁting farmers had to form groups of 300 members in every parish in the district and raise

Shs 132m per tractor before they could own it or else the association couldn’t release the tractor. LC V Chairperson Emmanuel Osuna asked the donating body to make clear ways in which the equipment would be owned by the peasants to limit situations that subject them to trouble in case of failure to complete payments. However, Women Council Chairperson Hamida Mukasa said the tractors were secured with full support from government, through the ministries of Finance and Agriculture to support farmers to increase on their production to enhance their incomes and ensure food security. She said the Shs 132m tag was only meant to build sense of ownership of the equipment by the farmers. It would also enable the council secure more tractors for every parish of the district to have one.

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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Report US classifies Boko Haram an international Terrorist organisation

Agency reports say that the Department of State has announced the designation of Boko Haram and Ansaru as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, and as Specially Designated Global Terrorists under section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224.

Boko Haram is a Nigeria-based militant group with links to al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) that is responsible for thousands of deaths in northeast and central Nigeria over the last several years including targeted killings of civilians. Also operating in Nigeria, Ansaru is a Boko Haram splinter faction that earlier in 2013 kidnapped and executed seven international construction workers. These designations are an important and appropriate step, but only one tool in what must be a comprehensive approach by the Nigerian government to counter these groups through a combination of law enforcement, political, and development efforts, as well as military engagement, to help root out violent extremism while also addressing the legitimate concerns of the people of northern Nigeria. All of our

Boko Haram suspects from Niger Republic

assistance to Nigeria stresses the importance of protecting civilians and ensuring that human rights are respected. That assistance and these designations demonstrate U.S. support for the Nigerian people’s fight against Boko Haram and Ansaru. These designations will assist U.S. and other law enforcement partners in efforts to investigate and prosecute terrorist suspects associated with Boko Haram and Ansaru.

Boko Haram has been conducting an ongoing and brutal campaign against Nigerian military, government, and civilian targets. Among its most lethal attacks, Boko Haram carried out indiscriminate attacks in Benisheikh, Nigeria in September 2013 that killed more than 160 innocent civilians, including women and children. Boko Haram has also conducted attacks against international targets, including a suicide bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja

on August 26, 2011, that killed 21 people and injured dozens more, many of them aid workers supporting development projects across Nigeria. Ansaru’s attacks have focused on Nigerian military and Western targets. In November 2012, Ansaru raided a police station in Abuja, killing Nigerian police officers and freeing detained terrorists from prison. Also in January 2013, Ansaru attacked Nigerian security services when its members ambushed a convoy of Nigerian peacekeepers. Ansaru has also conducted several kidnappings of foreigners living or working in Nigeria. The consequences of the these FTO and E.O. 13224 designations include a prohibition against knowingly providing, or attempting or conspiring to provide, material support or resources to, or engaging in transactions with, Boko Haram and Ansaru, and the freezing of all property and interests in property of the organizations that are in the United States, or come within the United States or the control of U.S. persons. The Department of State took these actions in consultation with the Departments of Justice and Treasury.

Boko Haram - When will it end?

The destruction after one of Boko Haram’s attacks

By Hannah David Just two months ago, students at a college in the northeast of Nigeria were shot to death as they slept in their dormitories. As many as 50 students were killed when the attack began at 1am in small town, Gujba. The attack was said to be one of Boko Haram which caused all other 1,000 students of the ag-

ricultural college to flee about 25 miles to a nearby town, Damaturu.

Recently another attack by Boko Haram, Islam extremists, took place at a wedding, 40 people were killed including the groom. As the wedding attendants made their way to the reception venue in Borno state, the Boko Haram opened fire and killed a number of people in cold blood. It doesn’t end there, recently they’ve destroyed many homes and businesses as

they ambushed the small town of Bama, also in Borno state, many lives were lost, businesses and livestock were also lost. These Islam extremists have been trying to turn Nigeria, most especially the north East, where the Boko Haram was formed, into an Islamic state. They have not succeeded, their pleas have been turned down so the only way they believe they can get heard is to kill and hurt so many innocent people. In 2009 the ongoing attacks were kept in and around Borno state but recently these attacks have circulated around most of the North of Nigeria, and has even reached as far as the south of Capital, Abuja. After the attack on the college students, which was only one of many, children of all ages began to fear going to school. The parents are especially afraid of sending their kids to school and not having them come home. In spite of all the attacks and murders of these young children, there are no records of arrests being made or anyone being charged which makes us wander, when will it all stop? Children’s lives

are in danger and so is their education, if these kids have to stop going to school and getting an education because of the Islamist group, who knows what will happen to the next generation of Nigeria. The Nigerian authorities need to provide their protection for these children or these attacks will not stop. It is very unfortunate that even now, teachers are being specifically targeted by Boko Haram which means they too must flee and it hinders the education of all the children who that one teacher is responsible for. Education is extremely important for both the teacher and the student especially for less privileged countries like Nigeria and these attacks hopefully will be coming to an end as Amnesty International Nigeria have pleaded that the Boko Haram stop their attacks. “The Nigerian authorities must provide better protection for schools and ensure that attacks are properly investigated and suspected perpetrators brought to justice.”

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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Reports Nigeria Has Been Victim of Foreign Think-Tank Media - Hagher Ambassador Iyorwuese Hagher is a man of many sides. A two-time minister of the federal republic, the current Pro-Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti state had served as Nigeria’s envoy to Canada and Mexico. In this interview with RALIAT AHMED-YUSUF, Hagher, who is now the Executive Director of the Ohio-based African Leadership Institute in the United States, says Nigeria has been a victim of foreign think-tank media amongst other issues. Excerpts:. You were Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Canada. Can you say that the two Nations have a mutually beneficial relation? I give glory to God for the opportunity of serving my Country as the High Commissioner to Canada and previously as Ambassador to Mexico. In all these postings, substantial achievements were recorded and closer ties now exist between those countries and Nigeria. I had the unique privilege to leverage economic and cultural diplomacy as tools that significantly confronted my challenges and drew new frontiers. In 2008 Nigeria was not considered Canada’s strategic partner or a focus of Canada’s foreign policy. By 2012 when I left, after completing my tour of duty, the bilateral relations were at a very high level. Nigeria became Canada’s strategic diplomatic and foreign trade partner. The volume of trade rose steeply from 400,000 dollars to over 2.5 billion dollars by the end of my diplomatic tour. Canada and Nigeria have now signed a Bi-National Commission agreement and significant benefits accrue to both nations. While Canada benefits from a spike in the promotion of goods and services, diversity of investments locations, and innovative approaches by their private investors in the Nigerian economy, Nigeria benefits from Canadian technology in Oil and Gas, Information Technology, Health, Education and Military Operations in Peace-keeping among others. I am satisfied with the strong ties between the two governments, but even more satisfied with stronger ties between the private citizens of Canada and Nigeria. What continues to be an unfortunate irritant; are the immigration policies of Canada towards Nigeria which still remain inconsistent and unfavourable. Nigerians studying in Canada continue to suffer unwarranted hardships on securing visas and renewals of study permits. The Canadian visa offices in Nigeria put enormous burden on Nigerian visa applicants. This discourages Nigerians from travelling to Canada. I believe that the future of Nigerian-Canadian bi-lateral relation should be deepened by mutual trust, respect, and reciprocity. What does Nigeria getting a non permanent seat

Ambassador Iyorwuese Hagher at the United Nations portend for the Nation’s foreign relations? Nigeria getting elected in 2010 and their being elected again in 2013 to serve as non-permanent member of the UNSC is significant. It is worth bragging about. In the first place it is the recognition of Nigeria’s profile as one of the world’s leading peace-keepers, a tradition Nigeria has relentlessly embraced since independence. This membership of the UNSC during this period gives Nigeria a voice at the highest level in diplomacy when momentous and cataclysmic changes are taking place in nearly all nations on earth. The world is in a process of redefining itself and no facet of life will escape scrutiny and reframing. Nigeria as a member of UNSC can add a significant dimension to the global dialogue. Ambassador Joy Ogwu our Permanent Representative is a defining face for informed and qualitative diplomacy. She is a pride to the nation. Nigeria’s role and views on Post-2015 development agenda, peace and mediation, democracy and good governance will be weighted by our team’s pronouncements and our domestic policy. I hope the nation benefits by rising to its true potential and feels challenged by the need to be a full member of the UN Security Council. This will mean walking the talk by investing in a new thinking at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and building new capacities and consciousness at all Nigeria’s Foreign Missions. Do you see Nigeria getting a Permanent Seat at the Security Council in view of South Africa’s strong bid for the same position? Let me tell you a story. I once met two Nigerian Governors at the Chancery of the South African High Commission, one of the Governors was pleading with the South Africa’s High Commissioner “you developed Nations must help us the struggling ones”. Both the High Commissioner and I were embarrassed by his pathetic fawning ignorance. Nigeria has been a big brother to South Africa in many ways. Our exemplary role as a member of the Inter-

national Community outclasses South Africa in significant details. We should get the UN Security Council Permanent Member Seat for Africa, but the present variable does not favour us. South Africa is strategically competitive and focused. It has multiplied its allies, shared the cutting edge of its diplomacy by repositioning her diplomats, and funding her embassies in a manner that leaves Nigeria trailing behind. At the moment, Nigeria needs all the help she can get, to stabilize her domestic policy, deepen democracy and improve human rights records and security of lives and property. These are the credentials that best position Nigeria to clinch that seat when it becomes available. Nigeria has been facing the heat of terrorism for sometimes now. How does this internal challenge affect her diplomacy? International affairs are at all times coloured by perception rather than reality. Nigeria has continued to be a victim of foreign Think-tanks media that portray the Nation as the haven of corruption, a basket case, a hell-hole and Nigeria’s democracy as a tottering one, whose leaders and institutions are critically weak and the whole nation is on the brink of systemic collapse. Boko Haram has more than any other security challenge reinforced global opinion that good governance is in short supply in Nigeria. There is fear and uncertainty, Christians and Muslims are being killed in their thousands by a small group of right-wing Islamic extremists. Yet Western Think-tanks that document violence in Africa claim that the Nigerian government is killing more citizens than Boko Haram in their twisted and perverted violence trackers. These Think-tanks define reality and perception. Nigeria is yet to find a way to counter their machinery. As Founding Pro-Chancellor of Afe Babalola University what specific differences can you say exist between public and private Universities?

The history of Universities in the world shows that Private Universities are more efficient, more result-oriented and garner a significant aggregate of ideas and ideals that drive their visions and missions. Private Universities are not funded by the government as Public Universities; as a result tuition is higher in Private Universities, because Private Universities do not depend on government funding there is no direct interference in the capacity of the Universities to optimise their potentials. Within four years ABUAD has become the fastest growing University in Africa. Our Founder, Chancellor and Visitor Aare Afe Babalola, is a Permanent feature of our campus. He is there to provide resources and answer ambiguity with clarity at all times. Public Universities in Nigeria have become a menace to education and the chief man-power under developing system, because of poor funding and larger sizes of students, the facilities for qualitative education is lacking. Private Universities like ABUAD have a stronger interaction between the students and faculty and personal and enduring mentoring relationships are built between students and their professors and lecturers. At ABUAD every student who gets a degree must have passed through a leadership, entrepreneurship and total health programs. What is the solution to the ASUU strike? Firstly, the Federal Government needs to honour its agreements. It is the only decent thing to do. Democracy is driven by trust. When we no longer trust agreements signed by our leaders there will be anarchy. It is not sensible to claim that the Federal government cannot fund education. We must cut away wastages in the pompous and arrogant lifestyles of the elite and invest this excess consumption in education instead. ASUU on the other hand must be barred by law from withholding teaching and research services of students. The time has come to treat the rights of all Nigerian students as a human rights issue and not to be taken lightly as a political expediency. Do you see the growth of Private Universities inimical to Public Universities? Not really. Private Universities like mine have provided critical high-level manpower as when needed at a time when public universities are on strike and where it takes between 5-6 years to graduate in some public universities in a 4 year degree programme. If the National Universities Commission and the University Councils can hold the Senate, Faculty and Students to rigorous world class standards we should harbour no fears. Some Private Universities are no more than degree mills and mere traps for unsuspecting students and parents. Culled from Leadership Newspaper, Nigeria

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Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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Emenike: Home leg will be even tougher Samson Siasia by skipper Joseph Yobo, insists that the return leg this weekend in the coastal town of Calabar will not be a walkover simply because Nigeria won the first match and have not lost to the Walya Antelopes in two decades. “The game in Calabar will be tougher for us than the one in Addis Ababa. We have to be careful and get ready for another big business in Calabar,” he said citing the possibility of a let-down. “Ethiopia are very good and they will be coming here with more tricks. So, we shouldn’t see the first victory as the end of road.”

be spoken of in the same breath with ‘Ye-King’. “Rashidi Yekini’s shoes are still too big for me to wear. I am only trying to do what I know is best for my fatherland, and I have not done anything yet,” he maintained. “I still have a lot to do to get to the heights reached by such a legend.” Incidentally, it was another top African great, Samuel Eto’o, who Emenike credits for giving him a lift at Fenerbahce after he went seven games without a goal in Turkey. Like Emenike, who played for Spartak Moscow, Eto’o departed Russia in the summer and was also struggling at his club, English Pre-

A tale of two legends Emenike says that his first real memory of the World Cup was in 1994, when Nigeria made their finals debut in the United States. An exciting run led by the likes of Rashidi Yekini, Daniel Amokachi, Sunday Oliseh assumed legendary status as the Africans came within minutes of reaching the last eight at the expense of Italy. Emenike has been widely compared to Yekini, who holds legendary status in the country and remains the all-time national team record scorer with 37 goals in an international career spanning over 14 years. The all-action Fenerbahce striker is on nine goals since his debut in February 2011 and he has insisted he has a long way to go before he could

mier League giants Chelsea, before he finally broke his duck against Cardiff City in October. “I was lifted when I watched Samuel Eto’o celebrating his first goal for Chelsea after he had gone some games without a goal,” said Emenike, who scored his first goal for Fenerbahce at Erciyesspor the following day. “[Eto’o] is a friend and a brother. We have the same vision and wear the same jersey number too.” Emenike’s Istanbul club are top of the Turkish Super League, and he has now scored four times. Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi and the side’s fans are hoping that his rich scoring form will continue against Ethiopia and all the way through to Brazil 2014.

Nigeria superstar Emmanuel Emenike

Goals often define the greatness of a striker and as such Nigeria international Emmanuel Emenike has planted himself firmly at the top of the current crop of Super Eagles stars, and the 26-year-old tells FIFA.com that he hopes to score a lot more of them for club and country. Co-top scorer at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year as Nigeria won their third continental crown, the Fenerbahce striker also scored two vital goals in Ethiopia last month in the FIFA World Cup qualifier. The 2-1 advantage heading into the home leg has

Nigeria’s expectant supporters feeling comfortable about their chance of playing in their fifth, all of which have come since 1994. Success in the AFCON in South Africa has lifted the mood of the team, but the powerfully built centre forward has his eyes firmly planted on Brazil. “I am glad to have played in the Nations Cup and won, but I am dreaming of playing in my first World Cup for Nigeria. That will be the first time I will be at the World Cup and to get to play in Brazil, where they are crazy about football, would be a dream come true.” However, Emenike, who got his break with the national team after he was recommended to then-coach

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013

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Bafana’s experience vs Swazi young guns

Bafana coach Gordon Igesund

South Africa are seeking a friendly victory over Swaziland with a squad dominated by Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs players.

The match in Swaziland on Friday night represents what national team coach Gordon Igesund will hope is the first steps towards preparing for the 2014 African Nations Championship that the country will host in January. And with nine players from Orlando Pirates and a further five from Kaizer Chiefs, it is a selection dominated by the top two teams in South African football. Whether these players will be available for Igesund come January is a matter still to be decided, but he is pressing ahead on the assumption they will and it will provide an intriguing locally-based side for this friendly match. It is the first time ever that South Africa will play in Swaziland, and the first time that these two teams are meeting in a friendly clash.

All three previous clashes have been in the regional COSAFA Cup tournament and have been won by Bafana, with just a single goal conceded. And they come up against a Swazi side who have had plenty of change themselves, both in terms of playing personnel and coaching staff. Swaziland interim coach Harries Bulunga admits that anything other than a loss for his side against South Africa in Lobamba on Friday night will be a bonus. Bulunga had acted as assistant coach to the Belgian Valere Billen prior to the latter’s axing last week, and has been placed in interim charge of the side with the opportunity to make a major statement of his proficiency for the role on a fulltime basis against Bafana Bafana. But having selected a young squad with little international experience, he admits that facing the star-studded line-up of South Africa is daunting.

“We started camp on Sunday and the players have been responding well to how we want to set out our game-plan,” Bulunga told reporters. “We know we are facing a tough challenge, one of the top teams on the continent, but we will try our best to give a competitive game. “We know our short-comings and we are addressing those, any sort of positive result on Friday night would be a bonus.” Much of the Swaziland squad will be unknown to South African fans, but the reverse is true with the PSL hugely popular in the neighbouring state. “We have two players who have played in the PSL before, Wonder Nhleko and Tony Tsabedze, but the rest are youngsters trying to make a name for themselves,” Bulunga continues. “The average age of the squad is 24 and many will be hoping to impress to improve their chances of moving to the PSL. “Many people here follow the SA game and so for us it is a great honour to have these players in Swaziland to perform. It is a huge step-up for us, the team and myself, but we want to make our people proud with our performance.” For Bulunga this match represents an audition of sorts for the national team job on a permanent basis, though it would be a little unfair to judge him so quickly having only just taken over the side. “I am coaching the team on an interim basis for now, but depending on how things work out, I could get the job on a fulltime basis. This will be a big test.”

Mikel, Yaya & Moses leading African Player of the Year

The front runners left to right: Yaya Toure, John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses

Chelsea midfielder, John Mikel Obi, and Manchester City’s Yaya Toure are in pole position to win the 2013 BBC African Footballer of the Year award. Joining the Ivory Coast and Nigeria stars are Nigeria’s Victor Moses, Burkina Faso’s Jonathan Pitroipa and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon, who form the five nominees.

The winner, who will be announced on December 2, will be chosen by a fans’ text and website vote after the shortlist was drawn up by 44 journalists from across Africa. None of five contenders have won the accolade, while Pitroipa and Aubameyang are the first nominees coming out of their respective countries. Mikel and Moses were instrumental to Super Eagles winning the Africa Cup of

Nations for the first time in 19 years in South Africa last February. Toure is experiencing some of his best form in a City jersey, scoring 13 goals so far in the calendar year. The Ivory Coast international has never won the inaugural BBC African Football of the Year award despite having seen his name among the shortlist for the past five years.

Baah wins best defender in Finnish League

Ghanaian defender Gidoen Baah picked up two awards-best defender and rookie of the season-at the Finnish Veikkausliiga Gala on Monday.

The left-back who scored two goals in 29 appearances for FC Honka topped all others in the top-flight. Baah’s defensive and offensive forays caught the eyes of the technical team. The 22-year-old was making his debut season after joining the club from Asante Kotoko on an initial loan deal before being handed a permanent deal. Baah was also adjudged the best debutant for the 2013 season. FC Honka finished the season in second place and have qualified for the 2014/2015 UEFA Europa League.

Zambia face nemesis Egypt

Beaumelle is also still without a win or draw after two games in charge and in the process stretching Zambia’s winless streak to six games since beating Botswana 2-0 on August, 3 in a 2014 CHAN qualifier in Ndola.

Zambia’s best results in this period has been a 1-1 away friendly draw against Senegal in Paris and a scoreless result with Zimbabwe in a CHAN second round, first leg tie in Harare. And on Thursday, Zambia head into their 22nd meeting against Egypt without a win over The Pharaohs since January, 1996 whom they defeated 3-1 in an Africa Cup quarterfinal game in Bloemfontein. Since then, Egypt has won five of their subsequent seven meetings to edge closer to the six victories Zambia has recorded against the seven-time African champions. However, Beaumelle said he is hopeful his side can put up a positive show in Cairo. “This game against Egypt is a good mix with new faces so we will be ready for the battle,” Beaumelle said. The match will mark the return to the fold of TP Mazembe duo of defender Stopilla Sunzu and midfielder Nathan Sinkala after missing the October 15 Brazil friendly due to a club-versus-country row. However, their club mate midfielder Rainford Kalaba has been overlooked due to disciplinary reasons by the Frenchman. And Zambia will also be without the teams’ top scorer on four goals this year, Jacob Mulenga, after the FC Utrecht striker sustained an injury in Dutch league action last Saturday.

Friday, 15 November – Thursday, 21 November 2013 ISSUE 508

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Oliseh: The level is high in UAE SEE PAGE 30

‘Cancel match’ as protest against King Mswati III

By Peter Olorunnisomo

Football’s influence has found itself an expedient tool, perhaps not the intention of the fun sport as an international diet, for political configuration of intentions. Once again, the game has been brought to the door steps of political activism and the cause is better explained from the lands south of Africa.

Trade unionists in South Africa have called for a football match with Swaziland to be cancelled as a protest against King Mswati III’s ‘brutal monarchist dictatorship’. Bafana Bafana, the South African national football team, is due to play Swaziland in a friendly match in the Swazi capital Mbabane on 15 November 2013. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has called on the

South African Football Association to cancel the match in protest against the king who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. In a statement COSATU called King Mswati’s regime a ‘brutal monarchist dictatorship’. It said, ‘This absolute monarch denies the people the most basic of democratic rights. He has banned political parties. He refuses to recognise the legitimate trade union organisation TUCOSWA. He uses force and fear to intimidate and subjugate the people of Swaziland. ‘Meanwhile he continues to loot the state resources to feed himself and his rapacious criminal family, at a time when the Swaziland economy and its health system are collapsing and poverty levels have escalated.’ The call is in line with the federation’s support for an ongoing cultural

boycott of King Mswati’s Swaziland. Prodemocracy groups are campaigning for a ban on political parties to be lifted and for the King’s political powers to be curtailed. COSATU said, ‘But the ruling Swazi elite cannot stop the democratic will of the people from expressing itself. It is unable, despite beatings, bannings and jailings, to suppress the democratic spirit of the brave freedom-loving people of Swaziland. ‘That is why the democratic forces in Swaziland have asked for a cultural boycott, similar to the sport and cultural boycott against apartheid South Africa, which was such a key weapon in the struggle to isolate the racist regime.’ ‘The aim of the boycott is to expose the true nature of the royal dictatorship and show the people that the rest of the world is on their side. It is a campaign

that has been supported by hundreds of artists, musicians and actors from South Africa and around the world, and one in which COSATU has been a key player.’ It added the cancellation of the match, ‘will send a powerful message to the regime that the South African sporting community and the people as a whole reject the dictatorship and denial of human rights and democracy to the people’.

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