Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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ISSUE 490
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
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UKBA shelled out £13m in final year legal fees
Home Office seeks to ban Boko Haram in UK
SEE PAGE 7
SEE PAGE 13
GRAND SLAMMED £1,000 fine for housing illegal Enraged 50 Cent disowned son during text tirade
SEE PAGE 14
immigrants under fire
By Alan Oakley
The government has said landlords who let accommodation to individuals who are not legally allowed to live in the UK will have to pay at least £1,000 in penalties.
The announcement was made during consultation around the controversial Immigration Bill, which will make it illegal for landlords to let to many individuals without first checking their immigration status. The Bill was first made public as part of last month’s Queen’s Speech, causing anger among thousands of homeowners who have tenants and among landlord associations. Now the penalties for landlords and letting agents who let to so-called ‘illegal immigrants’ have been announced as running run to £1,000 per tenant for the first offence, and £3,000 per tenant thereafter. Licences for homes in multiple occupation could also be revoked. Initially, the intent was that all landlords had to conform, but changes now suggest this law will only be applied in ‘problem areas’ around England. Representatives of BME and other immigrant homeowners have criticised the change as likely to disproportionately target their communities. The Bill has also come in for criticism from other quarters. Landlords are concerned as to how tenants might react to be-
ing subjected to the types of security questions and checks normally imposed only by enforcement officers. Politicians have also entered the fray. During the debate that followed the Queen’s Speech, Labour MP Fiona Mactaggart said: “I am not sure how a landlord is supposed to be able to prove to their own satisfaction whether someone is qualified [to live in the UK] or not. In order to operate the proposal sensibly, it will probably require a register of landlords.” Commenting on an increase in bureaucracy that is at odds with the Government’s ‘Red Tape Challenge’ pledges, Residential Landlords Association chairman Alan Ward said: “The private rented sector is already creaking under the weight of red tape, so it is little wonder that landlords are so clearly opposed to this flagship government measure. “For a government committed to reducing the burden of regulation, it is ironic that they are now seeking to impose a significant extra burden on landlords.” According to the Residential Landlords Association, there are currently over 100 rules and regulations governing private sector letting. While they accept some of the continuing changes are good news; they say others will simply end up adding more regulation that good landlords and letting agents will abide by and rogues will ignore.
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Labour MP Fiona Mactaggart predicts that a “register of landlords” may be necessary to administer the proposed Immigration Bill
Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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Continued from front page
£1,000 fine for housing illegal immigrants under fire
As few local au-thorities have the resources to moni-tor rogue landlords, fine them and take them to court, in practice extra regulation will do little to curb their activity. There had been speculation that the proposals may be watered down or scrapped altogether, but this week’s announcement suggests that the Bill’s provisions are likely to be implemented. If so, there are several vital things that landlords should keep in the forefront of their minds. The first is the importance of proper tenant referencing. By ensuring that tenants’ credit history, previous landlords, and employment status are checked, landlords can minimise the risk of non-payment and other problems. Secondly, as Cooper and Mactaggart pointed out, the prospect of a nationwide register of landlords remains a real one. Registers have already been introduced in parts of the UK, and landlords should be prepared for a national list in the future.
Publisher and Editor-In-Chief Mike Abiola Editorial Board Adviser Dr Ola Ogunyemi News Editor Peter Olorunnisomo Managing Editor Alan Oakley Sports Editor Abiodun Teriba Assist. Sports Editor Olubunmi Omoogun Arts Editor Golda John Columnists Ryan Holmes Ben Savill Photo Journalist Isaac Adegbite Graphic Designer African Voice UK Legal Adviser Nosa Kings Erhunmwunsee London Office: Unit 7 Holles House Overton Road London SW9 7AP
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African Voice is published by African Voice UK.
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News Proposals for tougher sanctions against employers who exploit illegal migrant Measures to toughen civil penalties against rogue businesses employing illegal migrants, while cutting red tape for legitimate employers, have been unveiled by the Government.
These proposals are part of the Government’s plans to make it more difficult for illegal migrants to live and work in the UK, and to take tougher action against the rogue employers who exploit them. It is also intended to ensure that the country’s immigration policy is built into the benefits system, health system, housing system and the provision of services across government. The proposals outlined in today’s consultation will simplify and strengthen the current civil penalty scheme to prevent illegal working. The plans will form part of the Immigration Bill, being introduced later this year. Immigration Minister Mark Harper said: “This government is committed to taking action to effectively tackle illegal working. Illegal working encourages illegal immigration, it undercuts legitimate businesses by illegal cost-cutting activity, and is often associated with exploitative behaviour like tax evasion and harmful working conditions. “We will not allow the growth of a shadow economy for illegal migrants, so we are proposing to get tougher on employers who exploit illegal labour. “At the same time, we want to make it easier for legitimate businesses by reducing the administrative costs of complying with right to work checks.” Proposals being considered to toughen civil penalties for businesses employing il-
Immigration Minister Mark Harper
legal migrants are: an increase in the maximum penalty to £20,000 per illegal worker, targeted at those employers who repeatedly break the rules; simplifying the way civil penalties are calculated; simplifying the way unpaid penalties can be enforced in the civil courts; and measures to allow recovery of a civil penalty from directors and partners of limited liability businesses following failure to pay by the business. At the same time, the government has unveiled a number of proposals to help legitimate businesses including: reducing the number of documents an employer needs to check to establish a right to work; replacing annual follow-up checks for non-EEA nationals with ones to coincide with the expiry of permission to be in the country; simplifying the operation of the scheme and the guidance for employers; and helping prevent undercutting by rogue employ-
ers. The government’s consultation on these proposals will run for six weeks, until 20 August 2013. It follows two Home Office consultations that were launched on 3 July looking at reducing access to free NHS care and rented accommodation for illegal migrants. The Immigration Bill, to be introduced later this year, will tighten immigration law, strengthen our enforcement powers and clamp down on those from overseas who try to abuse our public services. By reducing access to free NHS care and rented accommodation for illegal migrants, we will make it more difficult for them to stay in the country leading to more returns and removals. This Bill is the next step in the reform of the immigration system which has led to a reduction in net migration - now at its lowest level for a decade.
Intimidatory tweets land Home Office in firing line The Home Office Twitter feed has come under scrutiny again, this time for featuring a tweet promising that ‘there will be no hiding place for illegal immigrants’.
The tweet was posted on 3rd July 2013 along with pictures of immigration enforcement officers placing several men of Asian appearance in a Home Office van. An attached video clip showed Immigration Minister Mark Harper talking about proposed changes to immigration law while standing at the scene of an immigration raid. Two people were arrested during the raid. The Home Office posting caused a stir on Twitter. One tweeter responded ‘You’d fit right in in Germany circa 1936’. Another suggested ‘you might want to consider how you’re approaching this whole social media thing really’. Another said that the Home Office tweet was in ‘the long noble tradition of making humans live in fear of ‘the knock on the
door’. Another said ‘Truly chilling tweets from @ukhomeoffice on #immigrationbill. Orwellian is overused but this is pure ‘Boot stamping on a human face’ stuff.’ The Home Office did not respond to journalists’ requests for comments. The Home Office has been criticised for its tweets about immigration enforcement before. In August 2012, civil rights campaigners complained about the Home Office placing pictures of immigration raids on the social networking site. After one immigration raid in Atlantic Road, Brixton, Dr Nando Sigona, an academic working in immigration at Oxford University said that the raid, and others like it, were ‘mainly a PR exercise…carried out in the hope to recover some credibility after a number of migration and border management fiascos’. Dr Sigona went on to warn that the raids ‘may turn out not to be the media success that they hope for’ and ‘can potentially exacerbate tensions in local communities. He said that the Home Office’s campaign featured images of non-
white males in places like Brixton, and that this was ‘a very partial and convenient representation of the population of undocumented migrants in London’.
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Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
News
Jury finds Angolan deportee was unlawfully killed in custody G4S guards escape charges By Alan Oakley The family was forced to leave Angola after the regime had killed his wife’s father and threatened him and his family because of his activities as a student leader. His wife had fled a few months earlier with their young son, and after a long legal battle the family were granted exceptional leave to remain and they made a new life in London.
Adrienne and Jimmy pictured at a friend’s wedding A jury has found that an Angolan adding that they had been pushing Mr who died after being restrained Mubenga’s head down to keep him quiet and that they had claimed Mr Mubenga was on the ‘plane on which he was pushing his own head down as a means of being deported from the UK was explaining what the other passengers had unlawfully killed. seen. Jimmy Mubenga died in hospital after After an eight-week hearing, the inquest three G4S guards held him face down tojury returned a nine to one majority verwards a seat for over 30 minutes, despite his dict in favour of Mr Mubenga’s wife and complaints that he was unable to breathe. family at Isleworth Crown Court. ReturnThe ‘plane was stopped on the runway at ing the verdict of unlawful killing, the jury Heathrow airport for Mr Mubenga to be foreman said: “Based on the evidence we given urgent medical care, but paramedics have heard, we have found Mr Mubenga were unable to revive him. was pushed or held down by one or more of Passengers on the British Airways ‘plane the guards (..) We find that this was unreareport hearing the 46-year-old father of five sonable force (..) The guards would have pleading for help. Several witnesses came known that they would have caused harm forward, saying that they heard Mr Mubento Mr Mubenga, if not serious harm.” ga tell the guards he could not breathe and Despite the seriousness of the accusathat one guard replied “Yes, you can.” tions, no charges were ever brought against Guards Terence Hughes, Stuart Tribelnig the three guards. Almost two years followand Colin Kaler, accompanying Mr Mubening their arrest on “suspicion of serious ga on the flight in October 2010, gave evicriminal offences”, the Crown Prosecution dence saying they had not heard him shoutService decided not to press charges. The ing for help and that he had been” resting outcome of the inquest may prompt calls his head on the seat in front”, voluntarily for the case to be reviewed. pushing it down towards his knees despite Jimmy Mubenga and his wife, Adrienne the position carrying a risk of suffocation. Makenda Kambana, had been living in IlHenry Blaxland QC, representing Mr ford, east London, after arriving in the UK Mubenga’s family, suggested the guards from Angola in 1994. were trying to “teach Mubenga a lesson”,
Protesters hold up a banner at a vigil marking one year since Jimmy Mubenga was killed
He worked there for 16 years as a fork lift truck driver, and they had four more children. He was in the process of applying for permission to stay in the country permanently when it was decided he should be deported after serving two years in jail for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, resulting from a fight in a nightclub.
Family and friends of Jimmy Mubenga lead supporters on a march from Angola’s embassy to the Home Office in 2010
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Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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News
Pope visits island of African immigrants
Pope Francis this week made his first pastoral visit outside of Rome since his election in March by visiting Lampedusa, a tiny fishing island lying between Italy and North Africa which is one of the first gateways into Europe for thousands of African immigrants fleeing poverty and conflict. The choice of Lampedusa, which lies about 80 miles from Tunisia, for his first official trip was a symbolic one for the bishop of Rome, who has often emphasised his concern for the world’s most needy and has already been styled “the pope for the poor.” Francis arrived at the port onboard a coastguard vessel accompanied by a flotilla of fishing boats. Thousands of islanders welcomed the pope, who threw a wreath in the sea as he came ashore, in memory of the many people who have drowned trying to reach Europe. “You’re one of us,” read one banner hanging at the port. Tens of thousands of migrants have made the dangerous crossing in recent years, usually packed into rickety wooden fishing boats and at the mercy of the elements. The Pope said that news reports of the deaths at sea of those crossing from North Africa have been like “a thorn in the heart.” Upon arrival, he spoke to a number of young African migrants before celebrating mass in a playing field that served as a reception centre for the tens of thousands of mainly Muslim migrants who fled the turmoil of 2011’s North African “Arab Spring”, greatly increasing an influx that had already gone on for years. In his homily he saluted the migrants, many of whom are preparing to commence their Ramadan fast, and thanked the native islanders for taking them in and setting an example of solidarity to what he called a selfish society sliding into “the globalisation of indifference.” “We have lost a sense of brotherly responsibility,” he said, and “have forgotten how to cry” for migrants lost at sea. “Who has wept for the people who were on the boat? For the young mothers carrying their babies? For these men who wanted something to support their families?” he asked. “We are a society that has forgotten the experience of weeping, of “suffering with”: the globalization of indifference has taken from us the ability to weep!” He continued: “The culture of well-being, that makes us think of ourselves, that makes us insensitive to the cries of others, that makes us live in soap bubbles, that are beautiful but are nothing, are illusions of futility, of the transient, that brings indifference to others, that brings even the globalization of indifference. In this world of globalisation we have fallen into a globalisation of indifference. 4
Pope Francis greets young African migrants on the island
We are accustomed to the suffering of others, it doesn’t concern us, it’s none of our business.” During the open-air mass he used a painted fishing boat as an altar and a wooden chalice carved from the wood of a migrant vessel by a local carpenter. He denounced the traffickers as “people for whom the poverty of others is a source of income”, as well as asking for pardon for “those, whose decisions at a global level have created the conditions which have led us to this drama.” Francis, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is himself the son of an immigrant accountant, who fled from Italy to Argentina with the rise of the Fascist regime in his homeland. Just a few hours before the Pope arrived, a boat carrying 165 migrants – according to some reports from Mali, according to others from Eritrea - docked into port, while the day before, 120 people, including four
pregnant women, were rescued at sea after the motors in their boat broke down 7 miles off the coast. According to figures from the United Nations, 8,400 migrants and asylum seekers landed in Italy and nearby Malta in the first half of the year, the vast majority of them from North Africa. That figure is almost twice as many as last year, but down on 2011’s peak. In that year, when over 62,000 arrived in Italy, dozens of boats carrying hundreds and sometimes thousands of people were arriving in Lampedusa each and every day. So far, the UN said 40 people were known to have died crossing from Tunisia to Italy this year, dramatically less than in 2012 when almost 500 were reported dead or missing. The improvement is the result of better coordination between Italy and Malta. Francis’ address may well pose a problem for the Italian right, whose actions
African migrants who arrived just hours before the Pope, waiting to be processed
towards immigrants have often been less than accommodating. Though forthright in their proclamations of respect for Catholic teaching, the followers of former PM Silvio Berlusconi and the Northern League backed a deal with the late Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi that involved repelling seaborne migrants before they had a chance to apply for asylum. Meanwhile the 5,000 islanders of Lampedusa, who are sometimes outnumbered by the numbers of immigrants waiting to be transferred to Sicily and mainland Italy, have seen their quiet home transformed into a refugee centre, with improvised campsites sprawling across the hills above the port. Yet in spite of this they have largely welcomed the migrants with generosity and tolerance and there have been few reports of tensions or problems. Most of the islanders’ protests have been directed at the authorities’ failure to provide them with sufficient resources.
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News Judge urges re-think over “unjustified” sponsor income requirement On Friday (July 5), the High Court handed down its judgment in a Judicial Review of the minimum income threshold for spouses/partners and children applying to come to the UK via the ‘family visa’.
Under the new family migration policy only British citizens, or those with refugee status, who earn at least £18,600 a year can sponsor their non-European spouse’s visa. This rises to £22,400 for families with a child, and a further £2,400 for each extra child. The court concluded that the policy was not unlawful on the basis of discrimination, or due to a conflict with the statutory duty to regard the best interests of children, but that the earnings threshold was disproportionate if combined with one of the four other requirements in the rules - for example, an inability to supplement a shortfall in income with savings, unless the savings were over £16,000. Mr Justice Blake said that while there may be sound reasons in favour of some of the individual requirements “taken in isolation”, the combination of more than one of the five requirements of the rules was “so onerous in effect as to be an unjustified and disproportionate interference with a genuine spousal relationship”.
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Giving the Home Secretary leave to appeal his decision, the judge also suggested that a more “proportionate financial requirement” might be to reduce the minimum income required of the sponsor alone to about £13,000. The Home Office has temporarily suspended decision-making on some spouse/ partner and child settlement visa and leave to remain applications to enable it to consider the implications of the judgment. A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘Our family changes were brought in to make sure that spouses coming to live in the UK would not become reliant on the taxpayer for financial support and would be able to integrate effectively. We’re pleased that this judgment supports the basis of our approach. ‘We are looking closely at the judgment and its likely impact on the minimum income threshold before we decide how to respond. In the meantime, where an applicant does not meet the minimum income threshold and there is no other reason to refuse it, the application will be put on hold.’ Meanwhile, a group of MPs and Lords known as the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration has called for an independent review of the minimum income requirement. In a review published last month, it looked at more than 175 cases from fami-
Mr Justice Blake suggested £13,000 would be a “more proportionate” income requirement
lies affected by the rules. Baroness Hamwee, chairwoman of the review and Liberal Democrat home affairs lead in the House of Lords, said the parliamentary group had been “struck by the evidence showing just how many British people have been kept apart from partners, children and elderly relatives”.
“These rules are causing anguish for families and, counter to their original objectives, may actually be costing the public purse,” she said. The group said thousands of Britons had been unable to bring non-EU spouses to the UK since the minimum earnings requirements were introduced.
Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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News Government launches promised immigration bill consultation The government has launched two consultations seeking views on proposed immigration legislation.
Proposals on healthcare provision and privately rented accommodation were published last week. The bill will make it more difficult for illegal migrants to live in the UK unlawfully and ensure that legal migrants make a proper financial contribution to key UK public services. The proposals will ensure that immigration policy is built into the benefits system, the health system, and other services. Migrant access to health services in the UK - A consultation on ensuring that migrants contribute fairly to the costs of their healthcare This consultation seeks views on proposals to change the basis on which migrants access health services. These proposals respond to longstanding public concern that the current rules regulating access to those services are both too generous, particularly when compared with wider international practice, and poorly applied. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “We have been clear that we are a national health service not an international health service and I am determined to wipe out abuse in the system. “We need to ensure that those residing or visiting the UK are contributing to the system in the same way as British taxpayers.
“The NHS is a national treasure and we need to work with the entire health system to develop plans and make sure it is sustainable for years to come.”
Tackling illegal migration in privately rented accommodation
This consultation seeks views on government proposals to create a new requirement on landlords to conduct immigration checks on tenants, with penalties for those who provide rented accommodation to illegal non-EEA migrants in breach of the new requirements. The new requirements will be modelled on existing controls which apply to the employment of illegal workers which are well established and have operated successfully for the last five years. Housing Minister Mark Prisk said: “We are determined to root out the rogue landlords that exploit vulnerable people by charging extortionate rents to live in unsanitary and often dangerous conditions. “The measures proposed today will do just that. The rules will be simple to follow for law-abiding landlords, so they can continue to let high quality homes to their tenants. But there will be stiff penalties for those who flout the rules and continue to offer this poor housing to illegal migrants. “And to help councils tackle the problem of slumlords head-on, we’re inviting them to bid for a share of £3million to help them investigate and prosecute cases in their areas.”
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt MP
Immigration Minister Mark Harper said: “The government is determined to build a fairer system and to address the public’s concern about immigration. The proposals will form part of the Immigration Bill, to be introduced later this year, which will tighten immigration law, strengthen our enforcement powers and clamp down on those from overseas who try to abuse our public services.
“By reducing access to free NHS care and rented accommodation for illegal migrants, we will make it more difficult for them to stay in the country leading to more returns and removals. “This Bill is the next step in the radical reform of the immigration system which has led to a reduction in net migration now at its lowest level for a decade.”
UKBA shelled out £13m in final year legal fees The now-defunct UK Border Agency paid out more than £13 million last year to cover immigrants’ legal fees in cases it lost. The Agency, which was abolished at the end of March, saw adverse legal costs – those where the party which loses a case is ordered by the court to pay the costs of the successful party - soar by more than 44% in the year to March 2012 compared with the previous year. The UKBA also wasted £2.5 million on flights originally booked to remove ineligible asylum seekers, which were cancelled due to asylum seekers being granted the right to appeal - a 24% increase on the previous year. The figures have been disclosed in the UKBA’s final annual report after the Home Secretary split the Agency into two bodies, UK Visas and Immigration and an Immigration Enforcement command, which have been brought back under the control of ministers. The critics who called for the Agency to be shut down, say the figures show how troubled the immigration system is. Keith Vaz MP, chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: “I am astonished
that these figures are so high (..) This is a complete waste of taxpayers’ money. Ultimately, the legal fees are the result of poor decision-making by the former UKBA. “If the Home Office had concentrated on fixing the system rather than covering up backlogs this figure would have been less.” The adverse legal costs come under the “special payments” section of the UKBA accounts, which in total surged 37% to £21.9 million in 2012/13 from £15.5 million in the previous year. Adverse legal costs in cases with a cumulative total of less than £250,000 added up to £12.6 million. up 44% from £8.7 million in the previous year. Special payments made in cases with cumulative totals of more than £250,000 increased by 19% year on year to £1.6 million. These included £104,000 in adverse legal costs incurred due to a removal challenged by a family and £138,000 in adverse legal costs paid to five individuals of the same family in relation to an unlawful detention claim. In addition, UKBA paid out £1 million in returned appeal fees after losing chal-
Keith Vaz MP called the UKBA’s legal costs spend “a complete waste of taxpayers’ money”
lenges referred to the Immigration Appeals Tribunal. The UKBA was scrapped after a raft of damning reports, including some based on inspections conducted by the Independent
Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. The Home Affairs Select Committee warned it would take the UKBA 24 years to clear a backlog of asylum and immigration cases the size of Iceland’s population. 7
Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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Uganda announces plan for future development on tick By Alan Oakley
The office of Uganda’s prime minister has announced that the vast majority of the developing nation’s infrastructure projects will be given to Chinese companies.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Amama Mbabzi told a news conference on Tuesday of a plan to pay for the projects using future oil revenue. “Western companies want the old model where they are first advanced money before starting on the projects; whereas the Chinese companies, most of which are owned by government, can start without the money,” he said. Tullow Oil, CNOOC of China and France’s Total are developing Ugandan oilfields estimated to hold 3.5-billion barrels. Uganda is on the verge of an oil boom since the discovery of crude in 2006. The arrangement with China will fulfil what is seen as a vital improvement in the nations power generation and transport infrastructures. It is hoped that the deal will propel Uganda towards middle income status within 2 or 3 years.
Revenue from oil will pay later for Chinese engineering knowhow and manpower now
At present, the East African nation is classified by the World Bank as one of the poorest countries with 38 per cent of the population earning less than US$1.25 per day. This is despite the presence of substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. Trade between China and Africa grew to $160bn in 2011 from $10.6bn in 2000, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news service, while Chinese investment in
the continent stands at $20bn, according to Standard Bank Group. The world’s second-biggest economy is tapping resources in countries ranging from the Democratic Republic Congo, the world’s eighth-biggest copper producer, to Tanzania, the second-largest holder of natural gas reserves in East Africa. China faces growing competition from other countries interested in investing in Africa.
Auto parts groups partner up for SA market
International Automotive Components Group SA, known as IAC, has announced its entry into the South African market with the formation of a new joint venture.
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Last month at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged ¥3.2trillion (£345 billion) of public and private support over five years. US President Barack Obama last week ended a threenation tour of Africa in which he unveiled a $7bn effort to enhance access to electricity across Africa. A further $9bn will be raised by the private sector. Mr Obama said he planned to launch a trade partnership initially focused on the eastern African countries of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda — a region of more than 130-million people. The programme is designed to assist those countries’ trade with each other and with the US. Among the impediments that the US intends to alleviate are physical roadblocks that delay the transport of goods and products. Michael Froman, the US trade representative, said it took 42 days to export coffee out of Rwanda, compared with 14 days out of Colombia.
IAC is collaborating with Feltex Automotive to create IAC-Feltex Pty Ltd. IAC will provide design, engineering and manufacturing expertise for vehicle interior components. In addition to product and process expertise, Feltex brings experience from successfully operating in South Africa since 1937. The IAC-Feltex joint venture will be located in the East London area of South Africa. The joint venture will support current contracts for Ford Motor Co., Mercedes-Benz AG, Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen South Africa. It will also supply interior trim, flooring systems, trunk trim and wheel arch liners to global platforms from the plant. “We believe that the joint venture’s complementary products and design, engineering and manufacturing expertise will provide value to our multinational customers, which are producing vehicles in the Republic of South Africa,” James Kamsickas, president and CEO of IAC, said in a news release.
In June, IAC filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to take the supplier public with an initial public offering. IAC plans to raise up to $115 million in its Initial Public Offering (IPO). Timing of the IPO is unknown at this time. IAC’s expansion into new and emerging markets has remained consistent since the company was established seven years ago. Over the past 24 months, IAC has entered Malaysia and Thailand through joint venture agreements, opened a greenfield manufacturing facility in Romania, a sales and engineering office in Korea, and opened its 11th plant in China. IAC Group is a leading global supplier of automotive components and systems, including interior and exterior trim. The company’s 2012 sales were $4.7 billion. Headquartered in Luxembourg, IAC Group operates 79 manufacturing facilities in 18 countries. The company has approximately 90 total locations in 20 countries, including 22 design, technical and commercial centres, and employs more than 26,000 people globally. The company, formed in 2006 through a series of acquisitions by Wilbur Ross’ New York investment firm, posted a net loss of $14 million on revenue of $1.24 billion for its first quarter this year.
Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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President Goodluck Jonathan visits China As President Goodluck Jonathan visits China, a call has been made by a development economist, Mr. Odilim Enwegbara, to the effect that Nigeria should quit the World Trade Organisation in order to enhance greater tariff benefits to the advantage of exports rather than importation. The Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Deng Boqing, granted an interview to Guardian’s Oghogho Obayuwana on the visit. Excerpts below: What is the current state of the SinoNigeria bilateral relations? China-Nigeria diplomatic relations enters the 43rd year in 2013. Ever since the beginning, we on both sides have been endeavouring to promote our communication and cooperation. In 2005, our close ties were upgraded to a strategic partnership. Ever since then, our relations have witnessed rapid development. High-level exchanges remain active and our political mutual trust enhanced. Also, the economic ties have been strengthened, bringing mutual benefits to people of our two countries. Peopleto-people communications and cultural exchanges between our two sides have been fully dynamic, ensuring vigorous interaction and enhancing mutual understanding between our two peoples. This visit by President Jonathan to your country, what are the expectations of the two countries? What are the likely milestones that could be described as achievements when a review is done? Well, at the invitation of the Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Jonathan is pay-
ing the visit from July 9 to 12. It has been five years since the Nigerian President visited China. During this current visit, it will be the first time for our top leaders to meet after the new Chinese President assumed office. During his stay in China, President Jonathan is to meet his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, and other Chinese leaders. The two parties will exchange views on bilateral relations as well as on international and regional issues of common concerns, consider new channels and approaches to boost China-Nigeria cooperation in political, economic, cultural and other fields, and sign a few documents of cooperation. Now, I strongly believe President Jonathan’s visit to China will further consolidate the traditional friendship between China and Nigeria, enhance strategic mutual trust, expand pragmatic bilateral cooperation as well as promote the further development of China-ECOWAS and China-Africa relations. There are agreements lined up to be signed for infrastructural development, power and much else. They are for the overall benefit of the two countries as we will be able to see later. What is the extent of involvement of Nigerians in the operations of Chinese companies in Nigeria so that there can be indigenous ownership of the projects, etc? The Chinese government always encourages Chinese companies going abroad to localise their teams and shoulder due social responsibilities. And indeed, most Chinese companies in
President Goodluck Jonathan with President Xi Jinping
Nigeria have been aware of the importance of localisation ever since they came here. And accordingly, they have been trying to integrate the local people into their projects. So far, Chinese companies in Nigeria have employed over 100,000 Nigerians, and a lot of Nigerian employees have been acknowledged for their contributions to Chinese companies here in Nigeria. Let me give you an example. Once I was invited to a prize-awarding ceremony held by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) Nigeria Limited in honour of its employees who have been working in the company for over 10 years. What impressed me most is that, among the 10 employees getting the award, five of them are Nigerian natives and by the time they had already been part of the manage-
ment of the company. Localisation is one of the secrets of CCECC’s success here in Nigeria. Can you give us an update of the collaborative efforts between the Nigerian and Chinese governments to assist in bringing back the Nigerians trapped in Chinese jails? It’s been quite a while the programme started? Negotiations between relevant departments are underway. Personally, I sincerely hope that both sides could reach agreement as soon as possible. But I should point out that this could be very complex, as it involves judicial procedures and calls for the cooperation and coordination among different ministries, for example, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Justice, etc.
Court decides ownership of $15m bribe The Federal High court has set aside the 20th September, 2013 for a ruling on the ownership of the sum of $15 million bribe in a suit brought against the federal Government by the Delta State government. The money is alleged to be bribe offered former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, by convicted former Delta governor, James Ibori. Justice Gabriel Kolawole gave the date on Wednesday after counsel to the parties adopted their addresses. The respondents in the suit are the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Central Bank of Nigeria. Justice Kolawole said the parties had 21 days within which to file the addresses while the plaintiff (Delta State Government) had another 14 days to respond to issues bordering on point of law. “In the circumstance, therefore, the judgment is reserved for September 20,’’ he said. The Delta State government had approached the court to claim ownership of
the $15 million. Adopting his address, Charles Ajuyah, the Attorney General of Delta, submitted that the idle money belonged to the state. He said the state had sought the return of the money because “Ibori took the money from the coffers of the state government, while serving as governor of the state.’’ Mr. Ajuyah argued that the plaintiff had reflected, in its affidavit, possible sources where the money could have been taken from. “My Lord, the money belongs to Delta government; the state still pays Ibori pension for serving the state in the capacity of governor. “He took the money while serving as governor of the state. “My Lord, precedence has been set by the decisions of several courts at various times when monies recovered from former governors of Plateau and Bayelsa states, Joshua Dariye and D.S.P Alameseigha, were repatriated to the respective states. “In fact, the EFCC and the Federal Government are not in court to claim the money because the respondents are aware that the
money belongs to Ibori and by extension, Delta. “My Lord, we are taken aback that the money, which is a source of controversy, was not listed as exhibit and placed before the court,’’ he said. In adopting his address, Rotimi Jacob, the counsel to the EFCC, said the plaintiff failed to trace the source of the money to the state. Mr Jacob submitted that the allusion made to the recovered Plateau and Bayelsa states’ stolen monies by Mr Ajuyah was wrong, because the two states were able to convince the court and the sources of those monies were traced. “In the case of Delta, no convincing traces have either been captured in their affidavit or orally presented before the court. “It is our conviction that the plaintiff has no proof of ownership and therefore must be denied access to the money. “It will interest the court to note that the office of the Attorney General of Delta, sometime in 2008, barred the EFCC from investigating the accounting records of the state by an order of court.
“The state government has not complained of any missing money just as it has failed to prosecute the former governor for embezzlement of state funds. “It will be recalled that the plaintiff did transferred the sum of N50 million meant for the building of a four bedroom duplex for the office of the governor to Ibori’s account abroad in 2008. “Similar budget was proposed and approved for the same project in 2009 and the money sent to the ex-governor to prosecute his money laundering case in the UK. “The state does not qualify to access this money as a similar episode may play out. Arguing on a point of law, Mr. Ajuyah urged the court to dismiss the argument canvassed by counsel to the EFCC, saying that Delta had the powers to “deploy its resources to the benefit of the indigenes of the state.’’ “The EFCC and the Federal Government cannot claim ownership of the money; the money belongs to Delta and we humbly urge the court to grant us access,’’ he said. 9
Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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Osun begins N2bn Ede water works rehabilitation
Osun State government has awarded and kicked-off a N2 billion full rehabilitation work of Ede Water Works, which supplies over 70 per cent of the water needs of the state.
The government has also set aside another N2.2 billion in the 2013 budget to replace obsolete pipes across the state. Addressing a press conference signalling the commencement of the rehabilitation project, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Water Resources, Mrs Tawa Williams, said the rehabilitation work would be “wide-ranging and ultimately revamp the water works and transform it into what it was originally.” Upon full completion,the project will not only meet the water requirements of a great majority of citizens of the state, it will also present a scenic and environmental beauty, as well as a tourist attraction.She also said arrangements were also near completion for the Iraqi government, through its embassy in Nigeria, to complement the rehabilitation process with the ultimate plan of exporting badly needed treated bottled water to Iraq. She emphasised that the Aregbesola administration was committing such a prodigious sum to water “to exterminate the challenge of water-borne diseases which arise essentially because of the absence of effective and efficient portable water. “We cannot be talking about sound health care delivery system without adequate water supply for the citizenry,” she said. She said that the project, which would be completed within 12 months would raise the production capacity of the water works to close to 100 per cent from the present 30 per cent
She added that the government was in the process of procuring 100 water tankers that would be supplying water to various houses in the state as a bridging process before the completion of the water works and with a view to also frontally solving water needs in other areas of the state. In the rehabilitation process, Williams said that two additional low-lift pump would be installed with twelve high-lift pump, while additional 1500KVA generator has now been provided for the low-lift station, just as 1000KVA generator has also been provided for the low-lift. William further stated that there will be exhaustive repairs of four-unit clarifiers and other ancilliary equipment and rehabilitation of the 16 filter beds. She added: “We are also supplying more dozing pumps and brand new Chlorinators with all pipe work meticulously rehabilitated. “There will also be rejigging of all civil structure, beautification of the environment and regeneration of the staff quarters to elevate staff morale. The restructuring of the power generation system and the modernisation of the power sub-station will include the procurement of two additional transformer and procurement of 33KV outdoor switchgear system”, She said. The Special Adviser reiterated that the government is on course in its strategy to ensure that every resident in the state enjoy access to potable water supply. With a view to ensure the sutainability of the investment being made by the government on potable water supply, William appealed to citizens of the state to partner with the government by paying their water rates promptly to sustain government’s water initiatives. Source: Tribune Newspapers, Nigeria.
From Left – Executive Director Domestic Bank, Kingley Aigbokhaeubo, Managing Director, Ecobank, Mr. Jibril Aku, Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Deputy Governor State of Osun, Otunba Titi Laoye – Tomori and Commissioner for Finance, Economic Planning and Budget, Dr. Wale Bolorunduro during a Courtesy Visit to the Governor, at Government House Osogbo
From Left - Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, First Lady Governor, State of Osun, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola, President Administrative Staff College of Nigeria [ASCON] Alumni Association, Mr. Zack Jonathan and Corps Commander, Sector Commander, Federal Republic of Nigeria [FRSC] Kwara State, Mrs. Marry Wakawa during the award Excellence in Leadership and Good Governance to Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, at Leisure Spring Hotel
From Right – Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, first son of Alhaji Sulaimon Adeeyo, Alhaji Mukaila Sola Adeeyo, First Lady Ogun State, Olufunsho Amosun and First Lady State of Osun, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola during the burial of diseased Alhaji Chief Sulaimon Adeeyo at Inalende Odeolo Ibadan 10
Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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Japan
Fukushima situation worsens
Contaminated water has built up at the rate of an Olympic-size swimming pool every week
The owners of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, announced this week that the situation in the power station – which went into meltdown as long ago as March 2011, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami – is becoming increasingly dangerous. The situation has taken a turn for the worse as radiation levels in groundwater have suddenly soared, suggesting highly toxic materials from the plant are now close to the Pacific Ocean. Tokyo Electric Power Co [Tepco], the operator of the Fukushima station, said that an observation well between the sea and damaged reactor No. 2 showed levels of radioactive caesium-134 were 90 times higher last Monday than they had been the previous Friday. Tepco said it detected caesium-134 at 9,000 becquerels per litre, 150 times above Japan’s safety standard. A becquerel is a measure of the release of radioactive energy. Meanwhile the reading for caesium-137, with a “half life” of 30 years, was some 85 times higher than it had been three days earlier. The latest findings, 25 metres from the sea, come a month after Tepco detected
radioactive caesium in groundwater flowing into its wrecked plant far from the sea on elevated ground. The level of caesium found in June was much lower than the amount announced on Tuesday. The increase suggests that highly contaminated water is spreading toward the sea side of Fukushima from the reactors sitting on higher ground. “We don’t know what is the reason behind the spike,” Tepco spokeswoman Mayumi Yoshida told the news agency Reuters. “We’re still looking to determine the causes behind it.” Tepco has been flushing water over the reactors to keep them cool for more than two years, but contaminated water has been building up at the rate of an Olympicsize swimming pool per week. The Fukushima incident is credited as being the world’s worst nuclear disaster after that at Chernobyl in 1986. This week’s news of the situation worsening comes at the same time as Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority announced the possibility of reactivating some of Japan’s 50 idle nuclear reactors within the next year. The decision has been met with scepticism from the Japanese public.
China
Police shoot monks on Dalai Lama’s birthday
The 14th Dalai Lama, 78, is considered a separatist rebel leader by the Chinese authorities Police in a Tibetan region of “The security forces attempted to prevent southwest China opened fire on a Tibetans from making their offerings and gatherings, but according to two Tibetan group of Buddhist monks who had sources in exile, some Tibetans present argathered to mark the birthday of gued that burning incense was not a crime. the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual “Without warning, according to several leader, seriously injuring at least Tibetan sources, police opened fire on the two of them, a US rights group unarmed crowd and used teargas.” Two monks were shot in the head and several said. others injured, the group said. According to the International Campaign The news comes as Yu Zhengsheng, for Tibet, the incident occurred on Saturday China’s top official in charge of ethnic 6 July in Sichuan province, during a gathgroups and religious minorities, announced ering to make offerings and burn incense to this week that the People’s Republic will celebrate the Dalai Lama’s 78th birthday. be taking a harder line against the Dalai “Large numbers of armed police and Lama, who fled the country in 1959. soldiers were deployed, with one source “For the sake of national unity and the reporting at least seven army trucks and development of stability in Tibetan regions, police vehicles at the scene,” the group we must take a clear-cut stand and deepen claimed on Tuesday. the struggle against the Dalai clique,” he said.
Canada
Train disaster death toll now at least 13 Investigators report that at least 13 have been killed, with a further 37 missing, as they begin to comb the site of an enormous rail disaster in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, where last weekend a runaway crude oil train exploded. Police have stated that they expect the death toll to reach 50. The crash may be Canada’s deadliest rail accident in 50 years, and its worst disaster since the 1998 crash of a Swissair jet off the
eastern Canada coast, which killed 229. The runaway oil tanker train derailed in the town of 6,000 people shortly after 1am last Saturday, causing a huge explosion and deadly ball of flame. The damage has been so great that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper described the town as “a war zone” when he toured the area on Sunday. Police spokesman Benoit Richard said on Monday that at least 12 crime scene investigators were working alongside a major crimes unit and specialised forensics lab personnel. He said the toll of the dead
Those killed by the runaway train explosion may number as many as 50 and missing had risen as more residents called authorities with reports. “Hopefully we’ll get through the whole scene in the next couple of days,” he said. Asked when authorities would declare the missing people dead, he replied: “When we find the bodies.” Many of the missing were believed to have been drinking at a downtown bar when the explosions occurred. One man who escaped from the bar told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that he had been unable to sleep because he
kept hearing the screams of his friends. None of the dead have been identified. At least five of the bodies recovered so far have been sent to Montreal for identification. A spokesperson for Quebec’s coroner’s office asked families of those missing to provide DNA samples to investigators by bringing items such as toothbrushes, hairbrushes, combs, razors and hats. Due to the intensity of the fire, officials have warned that some of the dead may never be recovered. 11
Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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News Zimbabwe’s July poll: free and fair or false and fixed?
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai looks on as Robert Mugabe signs his name to a new Constitution that provides for him to fight for one last term as president
The final deadline for voter registration in Zimbabwe’s watershed elections on July 31 passed this week. What is being billed as Zimbabwe’s first “free and fair” elections for president takes place amid concerns by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who is squaring off against President Robert Mugabe, that Mr. Mugabe will rig the elections in his favour. Opposition figures also worry about violence against Mr. Tsvangirai’s supporters similar to bloody reprisals several years ago. Last week, after vigorous protest and debate, Zimbabwe’s high court ruled that elections would be held July 31, the date
chosen by Mugabe. An election has been promised ever since a new constitution was ratified in May limiting elected leaders to two terms in office. When July 31 was announced, opposition parties and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a regional forum, were keen to delay the vote until well into August to allow an array of reforms to take hold. This led Mugabe to threaten to pull out of the SADC, saying its call to postpone elections interfered with Zimbabwean internal affairs. At this point, Tsvangirai appears certain to defeat Mugabe, considered an old
fox, whose 33-year rule in Zimbabwe has been controversial to say the least. Tsvangirai, addressing thousands of supporters in the city of Marondera, about 50 miles east of the capital, Harare, said last week that “there are no reforms in the media, and [no] other reforms to ensure free and fair elections” and that he will participate in the vote “with a heavy heart.” Some 200 Tsvangirai supporters are believed to have died in politically-related cases in 2008 before the government of national unity was formed, which brought Tsvangirai and Mugabe together into what has been a fractious relationship in government. Zimbabwean political commentators have blasted Mugabe, who is elderly and said not to be in good health, for his latest threat to pull out of SADC. Mugabe did unilaterally pull out of the Commonwealth in December 2003. Political analyst Takura Zhangazha wrote in a recent blog that Mugabe’s statements were “unfortunate.... Zimbabwe’s independence would not have been won without our neighbours.... It therefore becomes important to emphasise that Zimbabwe has an umbilical cord with the Southern African region.” The July 31 elections will also cover votes on parliamentarians, senators, and local government officials in a country that has an estimated population of 13 million people. Mugabe heads what is known as the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). Among the oppo-
sition, Tsvangirai leads the largest party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). On the ground, there have been sharp differences between Mugabe’s ZANU-PF and the opposition over reforms – particularly in the media and security. While Mugabe enjoys the lion’s share coverage of his rallies from the state press, Tsvangirai and others are ignored or asked to pay for them to be covered. When voter registration ended this week, the election supervisory body compiled and published the number of eligible voters. The Army and police are set to cast their votes early since they will be on duty. There are concerns that security forces will vote for Mugabe after reports surfaced that commanders openly told them to vote for the octogenarian leader. Raymond Majongwe, who leads a vocal opposition party called Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) says although the situation on the ground is not satisfactory, it was crucial to vote nonetheless. “Even if Tsvangirai and his allies get 100 more years for the election to happen, they will never be free and fair for as long as ZANU PF is in the equation. “Instead of crying now, Tsvangirai should have demanded the reforms he is talking about [earlier] when he became part of the government. It is now too late. You will never hear a scenario where the lion and a zebra say we are ready to go hunting together,” said Majongwe.
Ethiopia to join WTO in two years Nigerian writer Tope Folarin wins Caine Prize Ethiopia expects to join the World Trade Organisation in 2015 without heeding to demands that it liberalises its state-run banking and telecoms sectors, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday (July 10).
Tope Folarin
Tope Folarin has been adjudged winner for the Caine Prize for African writing. Folarin who is based in the United States of America received the £10,000 ($15,000) prize for his short story, Miracle. The work of fiction was set in an evangelical Nigerian church in the US state of Texas. 12
The judges described it as a “delightful and beautifully paced narrative”. Mr Folarin was among five writers short-listed for the prize, regarded as Africa’s leading literary award. Three other Nigerians also made the shortlist and these are Elnathan John for Bayan Layi, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim for The Whispering Trees and Chinelo Okparanta for America. A Sierra Leonean, Pede Hollist, was the only non-Nigerian short-listed for his short story Foreign Aid.
The Horn of Africa nation applied to join the body in 2003, but its hopes for membership had hinged on Addis Ababa opening those areas to international competition. US officials have publicly asked the country to liberalise both sectors, but Ethiopia says they are “sensitive areas” whose liberalisation may harm national interests. Its chances, however, were given a lifeline last year when the WTO lowered the bar for the world’s least developed countries to join the global trading club by agreeing new membership standards. The new rules allow members to open fewer sectors, liberalise fewer types of transactions, and only open up their markets as their economies develop. “Ethiopia’s accession to the WTO is expected to be finalised in the third quarter of 2015,” a Foreign Ministry statement said, quoting Lesanework Zerfu,
head of the Trade Ministry’s multilateral trade relations department. Addis Ababa, with its strongly stateinterventionist policies, has one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. The government expects growth of 10 per cent in the fiscal year ending next month, boosted by rising agricultural output and huge public spending. Industry, however, accounts for only about 10 per cent of gross domestic product, while major sectors of the economy, such as banking and telecoms, remain in state hands. With an 85 million-strong population - making it Africa’s second-most populous - Ethiopia offers an attractive market with cheap labour for foreign investors. Speaking at a business forum in the Ethiopian capital last month, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said the telecom sector generated around 6 billion birr (£215 million) a year, which the government uses for railway projects. Ethiopia plans to build 5,000 km of railway lines by 2020. “Therefore, the telecoms sector will remain in government hands for years to come,” Hailemariam said.
Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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News
Home Office seeks to ban Boko Haram in UK Home Secretary Theresa May has announced that the government is seeking to make the Nigerian-based extremist group Boko Haram, alongside the UK-based group Minbar Ansar Deen, illegal within the UK. If the Home Secretary’s request is approved by Parliament then membership or support of either of the two radical Islamist organisations will become a criminal offence under UK terrorism laws. The proscription could come into effect as early as this week, the Home Office said. Boko Haram is a militant Islamist group based in Nigeria, where it is led by the country’s most wanted man, Abubakar Shekau. Officially known as the “Congregation and People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad,” its more popular name roughly translates as “Western education is sinful” in the Hausa language. Founded by the since-killed Mohammed Yusuf in 2001, the organisation seeks to establish Sharia law in the country. The group is also known for attacking Christians, bombing churches and attacking schools. Over the past 12 years it has been held responsible for the deaths of around 10,000 people. The activities of the group are usually confined to the impoverished, predominantly Muslim parts of northern and central Nigeria. Historically there is little evidence of Boko Haram targeting the UK, said Raffaello Pantucci, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, the self-described “leading forum in the UK for national and international defence and security.” “Britain’s Nigerian community is 90% Christian,” Pantucci told the BBC, adding that Nigerian terror suspects in the UK were “usually Muslim converts.” However, earlier this year Boko Haram kidnapped a French family in Cameroon. A Nigerian government report revealed the group was paid more than £2 million before releasing its hostages. Pantucci said that the Home Office’s move to ban the group could indicate that it is now becoming more international, or at least “leaning in that direction.” The Home Secretary had already flagged up Boko Haram, among other international extremist organisations, in a speech on terrorism in July 2011. She said: “Increasingly, the threat to Britain comes not just from al-Qaeda’s core leadership itself, but from these so-called al-Qaeda’s affiliates in places like Yemen and North Africa... and from associated groups like al-Shabab in Somalia and Boko Haram in northern Nigeria.” Minbar Ansar Deen, meanwhile, is based in the UK.
Home Secretary Theresa May Also known as Ansar al-Sharia UK, the group – according to the Home Office – promotes terrorism by distributing content through a forum on its website, which encourages individuals to travel overseas to engage in extremist activity, specifically fighting, according to the Home Office. Under the Terrorism Act 2000, the Home Secretary can proscribe an organisation if it is believed to be concerned in or connected to terrorism. However, a high threshold, taking into account the threat the group poses to the UK, must be met for the minister to go ahead and proscribe an organisation. If the two organisations are banned, it will be illegal to support or become a member of either group, to arrange meetings or wear clothing in support of them. Offenders could face fines of up to £5,000 or a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. There are currently 49 international terror organisations proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000, including al-Qaeda, al-Shabab and Islam4UK, as well as 14 paramilitary groups connected to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The Home Office has not yet offered further information on why it is pursuing the ban of both groups. Pantucci said that the move indicated that the government sees them as a “potential threat.” Banning the groups would give the police powers to tackle their support networks. Decisions to proscribe the organisations are understood to be unrelated to the murder of the soldier Drummer Lee Rigby near Woolwich barracks in south-east London in May. However, Minbar Ansar Deen’s website has links to Abu Nusaybah, who was arrested after appearing in May on BBC’s Newsnight talking about Michael Ade-
bolajo, one of the suspects in the Woolwich murder. “It is impossible to say that this constitutes ‘a link,’” said Pantucci, “but looking at the group’s website they certainly seem to come from the same ideological constellation.” A Home Office spokesman said: “The government is determined to work with the international community to tackle terrorism and take the steps necessary to keep the UK public safe.
“Proscription of these groups sends a clear message that we condemn their activities.” The news of the UK’s banning of Boko Haram comes the same week as the Nigerian government announced a ceasefire against the group. Details of the decision are as yet unclear, but are understood to be related to the commencement of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which this year runs from 9 July to 7 August.
Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram’s current leader 13
Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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CRIME
Dawda Jallow sentenced for murder of Dogan Ismail
Victim: Dogan Ismail
Convicted: Dawda Jallow
A teenager has been sentenced on Wednesday 10 July 2013 to life imprisonment to serve a minimum term of 13 years for the brutal stabbing of Dogan Ismail in December 2012.
it back. The brothers were led to Latimer House, where the Jallow went into a flat before returning with a large knife that he plunged into Dogan’s chest. Police and London Ambulance Service attended but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Jallow fled and was subsequently the focus of a manhunt that culminated when he handed himself into Southwark Police Station three weeks later. Detective Chief Inspector Matt Bonner, of the Homicide and Serious Crime Command, said: “We welcome the sentence that has been handed down today; this was an
Dawda Jallow, 15, from SE15, was convicted of murder at the Old Bailey on 4 June, after a jury found him guilty of stabbing 17-year-old Dogan who had challenged him over the theft of a mobile phone. The mobile phone belonging to the younger brother of Dogan had been stolen two days before the siblings returned to the Aylesbury Estate, SE15, to try to get
appalling and violent attack on a promising A-level student who was simply seeking the return of his brother’s mobile phone. “Dogan paid the ultimate price for daring to face up to the thieves, while his brother had to endure the tragedy of watching him die in front of his eyes. One can scarcely imagine the heartbreak suffered by Dogan’s family. “Jallow did all he could to evade capture in the weeks following the attack, until he realised there was nowhere left to run. He will now spend a significant amount of time behind bars for the callous crime that he has committed”. In a statement, Dogan’s family said: “Dogan will always be in our hearts and will never be forgotten. We miss him so much that it constantly hurts. “We feel that justice has been served today.” On 28 December 2012, Dogan’s younger brother, aged 15, was visiting a friend on the Aylesbury Estate when he was stopped by a group of youths including the Jallow, with whom he had previously attended the same school. An altercation ensued which resulted in the Jallow stealing the victim’s Blackberry phone. On 30 December, Dogan and his brother returned the estate in an attempt to track down the culprits and reclaim the phone. The brothers met the Jallow, who was with two other youths, and they were taken to the Latimer House block of flats where they were asked to wait outside. Five minutes later, the Jallow returned
to them, holding a large knife in his right hand with which he stabbed Dogan once in the chest with an over-arm action. The wound was sufficiently deep that a postmortem examination on 31 December subsequently showed that it had pierced the victim’s heart - citing this as the cause of death, along with haemorrhage. Dogan was pronounced dead at the scene at 17.04hrs. Following his time spent on the run, the Jallow handed himself in on 17 January and was charged on the same day with murder and theft of a mobile phone. He made his first appearance at Brent Magistrates’ Court on 18 January before his case was subsequently committed to the Old Bailey. On 30 December 2012 a 15-year-old boy [A] was arrested on suspicion of murder and a 39-year-old woman [B] was arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. They were later bailed to return pending further inquiries and subsequently released with no further action taken. On 9 January 2013, [C] Anthony Munroe, 18, an agency worker, of Walworth was charged with theft of a mobile telephone and the murder of Dogan Ismail. After appearing initially at Hendon Magistrates’ Court the murder charge was dropped and he will now face a charge of theft in a separate trial. On 10 January 2013 a 24-year-old woman [D] was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. She was taken to a south London police station and later released with no further action taken.
told by other customers that a lady had been seen to hand the child the bottle before leaving the restaurant. On smelling the contents of the bottle, it was immediately apparent that it contained a bleach type liquid. The child was rushed to hospital but thankfully there was no long term harm caused. Further enquiries confirmed that Joyner had attempted to engage another group of woman, who had children in pushchairs, in conversation earlier in the day in Eltham. However, she had been unable to pass the bottle she was carrying to any of the children. Officers analysed CCTV and identified Joyner - she was arrested the following day and charged on 15 September. Detective Inspector Jonathan Mearns, from Greenwich police, said: “It is impossible to comprehend the actions of Elaine Joyner - only she will know why she deliberately gave a bottle containing bleach to a young child, knowing full well that the child would almost certainly drink from that bottle. “Thankfully, the child involved did not suffer any lasting damage but the potential harm Joyner’s actions could have caused are chillingly clear to see.”
Police are appealing for information regarding the whereabouts of a 13-year-old girl who has not been seen since Saturday, 6 July.
Eltham woman given hospital order after giving child bleach
CCTV identified Joyner
A woman who deliberately gave a young child a baby bottle containing bleach has been given a hospital order.
Elaine Joyner, 53, of Vaughan Williams Close, Deptford, was detained on Monday 8 July, at Woolwich Crown Court under Section 37/41 of the Mental Health Act after being found guilty of administering poison with intent to endanger life and grievous bodily harm. Orders under Section 41 are without limit of time - Joyner will not be discharged
14
without the permission of a tribunal and the Secretary of State for Justice. The court heard how Joyner had been in a McDonalds’ restaurant in Eltham town centre shortly after midday on 13 September 2012 - in her possession was a baby bottle filled with an orange coloured liquid. As she left the restaurant she handed the bottle to an 11-month-old boy in a pushchair whom she did not know. The child drank from the bottle and immediately became ill, retching and dribbling from his mouth. His mother - who had not previously noticed Joyner - was
Appeal to trace missing girl, Hackney
Imani Anderson
Imani Anderson was last seen in the Hackney area and police are becoming increasingly concerned for her welfare.
She is black, 5ft 5inches tall, of medium build and black hair. Anyone with information is asked to call police on the non-emergency line 101. Alternatively you can contact the confidential missing persons helpline on 116 000. In an emergency call 999.
Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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Sounds of Diaspora People of America
Enraged 50 Cent disowns son during text tirade
50 Cent is due in court on domestic abuse charges on July 22
Five months before being arrested recently on domestic violence charges, 50 Cent had a major falling-out with his 16-year-old son after the rapper paid the boy a visit and was left outside. The angry rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson III, told his son Marquise to cut all contact with him in a series of expletiveladen text messages. One message said, coldly: “I don’t have a son anymore.” 50 also demanded a paternity test, accusing former partner Shaniqua Tompkins of being promiscuous during their time together. RadarOnline.com obtained the following series of messages between the father and son, reproduced here in full with only expletives altered: 50 Cent: Hey I’m outside the house at the front door. 50 Cent: I came to the front door then lights went off. What’s up? Marquise: U lying u outside? Marquise: Lol. Marquise: Lol u fronting. 50 Cent: I saw you looking out the window good luck in life. Your gonna need it. Marquise: Lol u fronting hard body now, how u going to see me when I’m in the basement lmao 50 Cent: F*ck you 50 Cent: You are your mother child Marquise: Lol why would u lie about that lol 50 Cent: I need a blood test cause that d*ck sucking b*tch you call mom was f*cking the hole time 50 Cent: I don’t think your funny at all. I drove out here for nothing. Marquise: Pops ur trippen now, why u won’t been get one u had 16 years lol, I know u lying bc u didt even call me too go outside 50 Cent: Are you f*cking crazy I don’t have time to play boy. I told you I would come see you. I came motherf*cker start turning lights out and looking threw the blinds. 50 Cent: Are you f*cking stupid. You had me drive over there why do you think I needed a address sh*t head. I saw the lights go out then some one playing in the blinds and there no party going on. F*ck you to 50 Cent: You your mother and your sister f*ck all of yal. Marquise: I might dumb, come thru then, no need to get upset Marquise: Stop by and say hello too ur son 50 Cent: What the f*ck are you taking about I’m not f*cking with you after this I leave Atlanta in the morning. Marquise: So come thru then
50 Cent: F*ck you Marquise: No need for all that 50 Cent: You are bigger enough to know better so f*ck you stop texting me Marquise: Ight 50 Cent: Tell your mother she won. She has you and ill make another. I will have nothing to do with you. Don’t text me ever again. Marquise: U keep texting me lol 50 Cent: It’s cool I will never go out of my way again. You disrespectful little mother f*cker. Marquise: Lol u never do I don’t know not that doesn’t even call there son for his birthday Marquise: Or get him a gift for his b-day or for Christmas. 50 Cent: You are your mothers son. I don’t have a son anymore. 50 Cent: F*ck you all you want is a gift. Like your mother and your ungrateful sister. 50 Cent: Delete my number. 50 Cent: You never call what the f*ck I’m suppose to call you to give you something sorry Marquise: Welp if u feel that way, I don’t about no gift it’s the thought that means the most, remember this money ain’t everything Marquise: I’m tired of calling u, why don’t call me and please can’t wait to hear this excuse 50 Cent: Good luck with you life man. I tried to come talk to you. You din’t have to have me come all the way out there if you don’t to see me you little ass hole. 50 Cent: I don’t have to make a excuse for anything. I’m a grown ass man boy. You talking about money ain’t everything. Your right but when you don’t have any your gonna understand why I work so hard. I’m done texting you delete my number. Marquise: Thank u, and u know dang well u ain’t come out here too see, but if that’s what u want to stick then I’m sorry, and I know why u work hard, ok, god bless 50 Cent: Are you f*cking stupid. The bad blood between 50 Cent, Tompkins and Marquise boiled over earlier this year when the rapper issued TV channel TLC with a cease-and-desist, ordering Tompkins not to appear on Starter Wives. The one-time couple has been involved in a prolonged legal dispute over custody and other issues since 2007. The couple’s differences have aired several times in public, including when 50 Cent tried to throw Tompkins out of a house he owned — a property which later burnt down.
Paris Jackson off to special school
Paris Jackson slashed her wrists and took pills in an apparent suicide bid
Paris Jackson is set to be enrolled at a boarding school for troubled teens, at a cost of £10 million, when she leaves hospital following her recent suicide bid.
The 15-rear-old has said she is ready to return home but her mother and paternal grandmother are keen for her to first make a full recovery and for her to be sent to the Diamond Ranch Academy in Utah. The pair are also desperate to shield her from the internet and social media, because they are convinced she will have a relapse if she reads cruel taunts about her and her late pop superstar dad Michael. A source close to the family said: “While she’s there she can be around kids going through similar problems and concentrate on getting well again, without pressures from the outside world and all the negativity on the internet. The only stumbling block is the security situation. “(The family) know there will be a lot of attention on Paris while she’s in residence and there’s a real danger obsessive fans might try to break in.” Mother, Debbie Rowe, posted the following on her Twitter account to thank the public for their support: ‘My daughter has asked that I extend a huge thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers and support. (..) She is strong like her father.’
50 Cent faces up to five years in jail and $46,000 in fines after being hit with domestic violence and vandalism charges relating to an argument with another woman who has his child. The woman told police that during the June 23 argument, Jackson began destroying property at her condo before she locked herself into a bedroom. She claimed Jackson kicked open the bedroom door and kicked her, causing injury. The woman told police she had been in a three-year relationship and has a baby with Jackson. 15
Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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Gospel
STRESS IS LACK OF TRUST IN GOD
By Michael Adekoya
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isa. 40:31.
Dear, stress has destroyed many lives and ruined many homes. It is one of the reasons for strained marriages or troubled relationships today. My friend, when was the last time you were frustrated, afraid, distressed or angry? What makes you feel anxious or worried? Is it fear of the unknown, loss of employment, failure in business, marriage on the rock, unfaithful spouse, rebellious child, fear of the future, Reader financial crisis or obsession with the past? You can worry as much as you like, it wouldn’t feed or clothe you. Worry is not going to add more to your life; instead, it can take away your sleep, rest peace, joy, anointing and focus. Today, many people are stressed because they think their needs are not going to be met or their prayers are not going to be answered. We say, “Oh my goodness, I’m not going to have what I need!” “Oh! no resource for that project. My friend, worry is simply lack of faith and trust in God.” Worry leads to stress! Are you going through stress today? Jesus says, “And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” Matt. 6:30. In this Scripture, Jesus tells us
not to worry about what we are going to eat and what we are going to wear. He’s saying only one thing is important – His Kingdom and His righteousness. Jesus says all the things we are worried about don’t even take significance until our deepest needs are met. In other words, He is saying, we are to find our satisfaction in Him first. He is saying, if we don’t find our satisfaction in Him, we are going to be stressed. My friend, are you stressed out about something today? I have a Good News for you. Turn it over to Jesus and turn your focus to Him. Let Jesus meet your needs and transform your heart today. Stress is nothing new. Noah had it when he was building the ark with no rain in sight. Martha had it when she was preparing a meal for our Lord and no help from Mary. Stress is the gap between the demands placed on us and the strength we have in meeting those demands. Stress can occur for as long as we allow it. My friend, it is not a sin to be stressed but it is a sin not to seek a lessening of that stress and allow it to wear or tear you down. Stress can tear your spirit, soul and body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Many Christians came from a line of ancestors who speak faith, but show fear. My friend, have you met people like that? Or are you one of them? You must break such ungodly soul tie today. God is a God of now but sometimes He delays answers to our prayers for a reason and a season. Waiting time is a learning time. My friend, your answer when you are stressed should be
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
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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
in waiting upon the Lord - waiting in the midst of demands. When you learn to wait on Him, God will step in to bridge the stress gap with His mighty strength. Ask God to equip you to be a stress-buster today. Perhaps it is your child, boss, friend, family or your spouse that is “stressed out.” Rejoice in the opportunity you have to share God’s love and grace with them. Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” 2 Cor. 4:7. One thing I discovered a couple of years ago is that we don’t realize our dependency on God until we are burned out from stress - either self-induced stress or stressed caused by circumstances beyond our control. Why is that? Paul says it’s because we are human and fragile. But he doesn’t stop there. He says that God made us this way so that His power may be known through us! That’s revelatory and powerful insight! It blesses me so much! My friend, maybe you are stressed right now and someone told you, “Oh, just tie a knot and hang on!” But please remember that sometimes God wants you to let go of the rope because it is keeping you tied down to a destructive mind-set, thought, attitude or habit. You must totally dependent on God so that the love of His Son may be made known through you to the world. Why? It is because He never fails! He is the Saviour of the World! The Bible says, “For I the Lord your God will hold your 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
The Golden Gospel Choir
right hand, saying unto you, Fear not; I will help you.” Isa. 41:13. This is the word of the Lord for you today! But you have to believe it strongly. Yesterday, despite the busy schedules; I had another opportunity of having quite time in the presence of God, listening to what His Spirit is saying to me. I drank in His words, as usual. I listened and kept my mouth shut. His statements went straight to my heart. He reminded me again and said, “There is no panic in heaven, only purpose and plans.” My friend that is how God operates - no panic. Did you know the Holy Trinity never meets in an emergency session? God has never stepped down from His throne. Jesus has not left His right hand, and the Holy Spirit has not stopped interceding for you, for me and many other people. My friend, are you under panic attacks occasionally or always? Today is the last time you would go through such demonic attack in Jesus name. Are you under pressure of any kind? Are you 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
stressed out? Fear not and don’t allow yourself to be stressed. Refuse to listen to Satan’s lies of fear, despair, discouragement or confusion. You are a winner and victor. God is in control! The doctor is not the answer. Depart from evil. Have faith in God and trust Him. Repeat this statement today and possibly everyday…”God is in control of my life. He will not leave me. His right hand will sustain me all the length of my days. He will come strong for me in due season and answer me. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will be in His presence forever and ever in Jesus name”. God says, “Ask of Me, and I will give you the heathen for your inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.” Psa 2:8. My friend, we are living in that day. And you and I are part of it. What a privilege! But, we must know God intimately and believe that when we ask, He’ll give! When we knock, He will open the door. 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, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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Africa Newsround
South Africa
Tutu warns against Mandela family feud Archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu has urged the Mandela family not to “besmirch” the former president’s name with their squabble over the reburial of three of his children, likening their behaviour to “spitting in Madiba’s face.” Tutu asked the family to put their differences aside and dig deep within themselves to find the grace that Mandela and the country deserved at this time. “Please, please, please may we think not only of ourselves? It’s almost like spitting in Madiba’s face,” he said in a statement. “Your anguish, now, is the nation’s anguish - and the world’s. We want to embrace you, to support you, to shine our love for Madiba through you. Please, may we not besmirch his name?” His comments come as the long-running feud within the Mandela clan has intensified over the last four weeks, with the former president in a “critical” state in hospital. Following last week’s fight for the remains of three of Mandela’s children between the two opposing branches of the family, nominated clan leader Mandla Mandela, the former leader’s grandson, launched a scathing public attack on his
The former archbishop has joined the outcry over the Mandela clan’s behaviour
rival family members, claiming they were looking for revenge after he had refused to support their legal case to oust three of the former president’s aides from companies he had set up. Tutu’s comments were echoed by those of Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe. “It’s all very sad, but we’ve got to continue keeping the family and Madiba in our prayers and hope, continue to hope, that Madiba will recover and also that the family will manage its own affairs in a dignified manner,” he told a Johannesburg radio chat show.
Mali
State of emergency lifted The state of emergency in place in Mali since January, when France intervened to help drive out Islamists occupying the north, has at last been lifted, officials say.
The decision follows the Malian army entering the key northern town of Kidal, held by Tuareg separatist rebels, to improve security ahead of the presidential election. Rebels agreed to allow troops into the town as part of a peace deal. The election, to be held on 28 July, will be the first in Mali since the military staged a coup in 2012. Kidal’s occupation had been a major obstacle to organising the presidential election. Tuareg rebels captured the town after the French-led offensive forced militant Islamists out of northern Mali in February. The main Tuareg rebel group, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), last year joined with Islamist militant groups to capture the country’s north. However, the rebel movement later broke with the Islamist groups and instead backed the French military in ousting them.
Somalia
President’s plane allegedly catches fire in mid air The plane of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was forced to make an emergency landing in Mogadishu last Monday after reportedly catching fire during flight.
The president was unharmed in the incident, and there were no reports of any injuries, but local reports say that firefighters scrambled at the airport to put out the flames. One of the first reports of the incident came from the Twitter feed run by the alShabab militant group but it did not say it had attacked the plane. Government spokesman Abdirahman Omar Osman says the plane took off from Mogadishu’s airport at 9:00 a.m. local time but returned to the capital when, about 20 minutes into the flight, a technical problem developed in one of the plane’s two engines. Airport officials said that the plane suffered a punctured tire on landing, but have
President Mohamud was on his way to South Sudan as the plane’s engine failed
so far denied any reports that the plane had caught fire. The president was travelling to South Sudan for that country’s independence day celebrations. He and his delegation later boarded another flight and departed for South Sudan.
Kenya
1000 ‘under-age drinkers’ arrested More than 1,000 children suspected of under-age drinking were arrested in Nairobi over the weekend, as police claim that an ongoing nationwide teachers’ strike has crowded the Kenyan capital’s “reggae music discotheques” with unoccupied children. Bars and clubs were raided after complaints that they had become crowded with schoolchildren during the three-week strike. Police say that most of the children were later released because there were an insufficient number of cells. Musau Ndunda, Secretary General of the Kenya National Association of Parents, said that the fault lied with Kenya’s government, who have failed to resolve the ongoing industrial action. Kenyan teachers are demanding a pay increase from a deal with the government
that dates back to 1997. The government says it is now unable to afford the deal, which would cost it $540m (£362m) in increased allowances for teachers and a further $175m to hire new teachers. “It is the government which should be blamed for not being keen to resolve the teachers strike,” Nduna said. “Instead of playing politics, why not pay the teachers and they will go back to class and our children will definitely stream back to school.” Nairobi central police chief Patrick Oduma said the raids were carried to put a stop to young boys converging on “reggae music discotheques”. “To our surprise we found there is a very big number of under-age children,” he said. “We have arrested the bar operators although we are yet to get the owners.” He added that only 116 of the children have been kept in custody.
Taureg rebels are co-operating with the government as elections loom 28 presidential candidates have been approved by Mali’s constitutional court, including four former prime ministers and a woman. But the head of the electoral commission, Mamadou Diamoutani, doubts that the elections will be free and fair under the current circumstances. Currently, the big challenge is the distribution of 6,867,443 voters’ cards - we have four weeks to do it,” he said. “That job alone is tremendously difficult, given that 800,000 people are displaced or have become refugees.”
St Mary’s school in Nairobi, one of hundreds left empty by the ongoing teachers’ strike
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Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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Entertainment
London’s Fauja Singh Meets India’s Milkha Singh in Southall It was a starry evening in Southall when The Flying Sikh MILKHA SINGH visited SRI GURU SINGH SABHA GURUDWARA to meet Fauja Singh, the ‘World’s oldest Marathon Man’. The community joined them in full force to serenade sporting icon Milkha Singh who in fact inspired Fauja Singh to start his exciting Marathon career. The UK tour of ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ was presented by Mr. Deepak Kuntawala, the multi-award winning entrepreneur who recently charted into new territory when he established DVK Global Entertainment Investment. DVK is the official Global Partner for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and the partnership with the film marks the fund’s official launch in July 2013 and its entry into the Indian film industry, after its successful foray into Hollywood when it brought the cinematic icon Al Pacino
to the London Palladium for a sold-out audience with event in June 2013. During the first ever international tete-a-tete between the two sporting legends, Milkha Singh and Fauja Singh were ecstatic to meet each other and Fauja Singh presented Milkha Singh with a special Sikhs in the City T-shirt as a memento. Milkha Singh said he feels honoured that Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is directing the biopic based on his life and struggle, and hence decided to accompany him during the global promotions for the film’. The soon to-be released, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, which reveals the hardships and inspirational life story of the 78 year-old, features Farhan Akhtar as Milkha Singh. BAFTA nominated film director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag releases worldwide on 12th July 2013 through Reliance Entertainment. Deepak with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.
Stars shine at uk VIP gala screening for Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag An array of Bollywood and international stars turned out on Friday, 5th July 2013 for the UK VIP Gala Screening of Bollywood’s next blockbuster film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (‘Run Milkha Run’) at the plush Mayfair Hotel in Central London.
In attendance were a host of celebrities, entrepreneurs and VIPs including Mr Deepak Kuntawala, the Founder of the international private equity company DVK, the official Global Partner for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Walking the star-studded red carpet were the film’s A-list stars Farhan Akhtar, Sonam Kapoor and Art Malik as well as its Bafta-nominated director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, its writer Prasoon Joshi and the inspiration for the film, the Indian legend Milkha Singh himself. An excited crowd gathered to get a glimpse of their idols as they walked the majestic red carpet. Sonam Kapoor cut a dashing figure in a stylish couture outfit. The UK tour of ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ has been presented by Mr. Deepak Kuntawala, the multi-award winning entrepreneur who recently charted into new territory when he established DVK Global Entertainment Investment. The partnership between DVK and the film marks the fund’s official launch in July 2013 and its entry into the Indian film industry, after its 18
successful foray into Hollywood when it brought the cinematic icon Al Pacino to the London Palladium for a sold-out audience with event in June 2013. Speaking at the UK VIP Gala Screening, Deepak Kuntawala said: ‘Right from a young child, I have always been fascinated by film, whether this be Hollywood or Bollywood. I have very fond memories of watching iconic films with my family on a Saturday afternoon, and being mesmerised by what unfolded on screen. ‘DVK is so proud to be the official Global Partner of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. This is a tremendous film, telling an absolutely epic story. Everyone from the star cast of Farhan Akhtar, Sonam Kapoor and Art Malik to its visionary director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and writer Prasoon Joshi has done a magnificent job. Milkha Singh is indeed India’s iconic sporting hero and a living legend.’ After the gala screening, the stars of the film, VIPs, dignitaries and public figures attended an exclusive after-party. The intimate gathering featured an exquisite Mehfil (courtly entertainment) night of beautiful Ghazals (musical poetry recitations) by acclaimed singer Tauseef, who has been instructed under famed Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh. The majestic event also featured a sumptuous banquet dinner and a rendition of ‘golden oldie’ Bollywood songs from iconic Indian Cinema moments.
Sonam Kapoo
Farhan, Milkha Singh, Deepak
Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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Culture
The Fulani people
The history of the Fulani seems to begin with the Berber people of North Africa around the 8th or 11th century AD. As the Berbers migrated down from North Africa and mixed with the peoples in the Senegal region of West Africa the Fulani people came into existence. Over a thousand year period from AD 900 - 1900, they spread out over most of West Africa and even into some areas of Central Africa. Some groups of Fulani have been found as far as the western borders of Ethiopia. As they migrated eastward they came into contact with different African tribes. As they encountered these other peoples, they conquered the less powerful tribes. Along the way many Fulani completely or partially abandoned their traditional nomadic life in favour of a sedentary existence in towns or on farms among the conquered peoples. The nomadic Fulani continued eastward in search of the best grazing land for their cattle. Their lives revolved around and were dedicated to their herds. The more cattle a man owned, the more respect he was given. Today, some estimate as many as 18 million Fulani people stretch across the countries of West Africa. They remain to be the largest group of nomadic people in the world. Religion and Beliefs: The Fulani were one of the first African tribes to convert to Islam and are today more than 99% Muslim. The devoutly Muslim Fulani have seen themselves as the propagators and preservers of the Islamic faith in West Africa from as early as the fourteenth century. Historically it was a Fulani chief named Usuman dan Fodio, along with nomadic Fulani herdsmen who were instrumental in facilitating the spread of Islam across West Africa through evangelism and conquest. At times they would wage “holy wars” or jihad in order to extend and purify Islam. As the Fulani migrated eastward they spread their Islamic beliefs. As they became more powerful and attained more wealth they began to be more aggressive with their religion. Their adoption of Islam increased their feeling of cultural and religious superiority to surrounding peoples, and that adoption became a major ethnic boundary marker. Some settled in towns and quickly became noted as outstanding Islamic clerics, joining the highest ranking Berbers and Arabs. Today it is difficult to find any Fulani who admits to not being Muslim, no matter how lax his or her practice may be. To a Fulani person: to be Fulani is to be a Muslim. Although they adhere very strongly to the tenets of Islam, it has been surprising to find a high level of belief that certain people possess supernatural powers. Like other West Africans, Fulani will frequent
A Fulani girl being wooed
local religious practitioners who have established reputations for their curative powers. Many such practitioners - witch doctors and medicine men - are also Muslim religious leaders. It is common to hear a Fulani tell stories of those who have the power to move themselves from one place to another supernaturally or perhaps to do harm to another person through some sort of supernatural power or curse. Culture The cows are certainly the most treasured of the animals the Fulani herd. The cows are so special. Many people say that a person cannot speak Fulfulde if he does not own a cow. The Fulani have a tradition of giving a “habbanaya” - that is a cow which is loaned to another until she calves. Once the calf is weaned it is retained and the cow is returned to its owner. This habbanaya is a highly prized animal. Upon receipt of this gift, there is a special ceremony in honour of the gift. The recipient buys special treats and invites his neighbours for this event in which the habbanaya is given a name. The habbanaya is never to be struck under any circumstance. In the Fulani culture there are numerous taboos. One of the foremost taboos says a married woman should never speak the name of her husband, her in-laws or her first born child. Even if there is another person by the same name, she is forbidden to call them by their name. Another taboo in some Fulani groups is against eating goat’s meat. The fear is that if someone eats goat’s meat he or she will become a leper. Yet another taboo is against an infant drinking goat’s milk. It is believed the child will itch if he or she drinks the milk. Various life events such as naming, marriage, funerals, first child and so on are celebrated with some sort of ceremony. The ‘sorro’ ceremony demonstrates to the greater community that a young man has come of age. In it, adolescent boys take turns hitting one another with their walking sticks across the chest. No outward show of pain can be shown. It is common for the
boy being hit to shout or laugh after he is stricken. Although adolescents have died in this ceremony, young men are eager to participate and display their scars with pride. In some cases a Fulani man is not considered a ‘true Fulani’ unless he has participated in this show of strength. In Niger the ceremony is against the law but young men will gather at a local market and have the ceremony away from the eyes of the local authorities. The market plays a very important role in the life of the Fulani men and women. They will take their donkey and carts, bush taxis or walk the several kilometres to the various weekly markets. Many Fulani women sell their milk products, straw mats, calabash bowls, homemade soaps and other assorted goods. They meet with the women from the other villages and catch up on the latest births, deaths, marriages and other important news. The men congregate around the animal market. Many come to buy or sell cattle, goats or sheep. Others come to, like the women, catch up on the latest news from around the greater area. In between markets women or men may occasionally visit one another in their homes.
The Fulani are an extremely hospitable people. They greet visitors warmly and go to great lengths to make a guest feel welcome. It is not uncommon for the visitor to leave from the visit with a chicken or some other small gift from the host “One whose mother-in-law has fallen in a well does not consider the price of the rope.” This is just one example of the many proverbs the Fulani have. It is said that if one can quote the Fulani proverbs then he can truly speak Fulfulde. The Fulani are noted for their oral literature, which serves to define Fulani identity. Fulani oral literature has been influenced both by surrounding peoples and by Islam. The major categories of Fulani literature are poetry, history, story, legend, proverb, magic formula, and riddle. Many of these are sung either by amateurs or by professionals. Many men enjoy sitting around a fire in the evenings listening to others tell stories. Because of the very high rate of illiteracy among the Fulani, the tradition of oral story telling has been maintained. Marriage Following the teaching of Islam, the Fulani allow a man up to 4 wives. However, a man is to only take additional wives if he is able to support them. In the rural areas it is typical for a young man of 18 - 22 to marry as he is able to acquire the finances needed. He must have enough money to present to the bride’s family so they can purchase the necessary items to establish a new home and pay for the ceremony. For some young men it will take 5 or even 10 years to save the money required for marriage. The prices are even more expensive for the men in the cities and they typically do not marry until the late 20’s. For the girls it is not uncommon to be married as early as 13 - 15. Occasionally a girl will be married by age 10, but will live with the parents of her husband for a period of years. The girls in the city tend not to marry until the later teen years.
A Fulani herdsboy with cattle
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Friday, 12 July 2013 – Thursday, 18 July 2013
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Arts
Edinburgh Fringe: An Experience of integration By Peter Olorunnisomo
Scenes from Princess Pyunggang
If there is anything to be said about the creative and entertainment festival at Edinburgh, it is the variety that it proffers; and very abundantly so too. But one of the eye openers for me, and advantageously and informatively so, is seeing cultures from Asia on stage.
For some reason informed by what I have seen on television of international exchange programmes, I have come to conclude that what the oriental east is largely offers is a very strong dose of dance and music which may or not be developed along story lines. Even where these are put on stage, the use of lightings and technical effects, and the characteristic use of colours and costumes adding elegance mark my experiences.
Poet of the week He was born in 1928, at Cape Coast, Ghana and grew up in the eye of the independence struggle. Some of his poems have reflected that sense of strife. A Plea for Mercy is a classic example. He was educated in Ghana and then he travelled widely in the service of the nation. He was orphaned early in life and was raised by a guardian. He remains one of Ghana’s foremost poets and his passing away in 2007 still ranks as a low for the Ghanaian literary landscape. He was a true gem.
South Korea’s entry was all the more revealing to me. In the adapted church building of the venue, I sat unbelieving as I watched Princess Pyunggang. Playing up on royalty and the quintessential masculinity always needing to be proven in the days of aristocracy, a story line is woven themed on love and the rejection of suitable suitors; the daring disobedience of the love-struck and the forlorn elevation of the pauper with noble spirit. I was more than excited by the trouble the cast took to conquer the use of English sufficient to communicate and maintain dialogue. It wasn’t just the strain on, the acts who were all South Koreans except the hero played by an English gentleman, but also the director’s bending all possible conveniences to sell a performance.
Scenes from Princess Pyunggang
This also served another advantage to help the cast through communicative competence and reduce the drama from song and dance which would not achieve, as much, the desired effect on the audience. For a culture which could be considered as ‘quiet ‘ in the west, there was need to make adequate exposition of its cultural philosophies and values on such common recurrent themes which the play carried through. And no better stage than Edinburgh could have accommodated all the goals and simulations required for the Koreans to shoot a ‘creative meteor’ into the world of performance to attract a western attention. Of course, the feedback mechanism was more than alive and instantaneous. The play was very well attended despite what I would see as major handicaps of publicity which they would need to do on
the streets. After the performance which I attended on the last day of their show, I was so enthused I queued up to share my very warm sentiments only to discover that they were not very versed outside the lines of dialogue of the play. But not to be deterred, and just like everyone else, what the lead actor (an Englishman) was unable to do (as he was usually tied down to a spot), we achieve with a few common words of English and a lavish dose of smiles. The effect: they knew they had passed the test; they were appreciated, they were fulfilled. And perhaps the possibility of coming back to Edinburgh the following year with another play, another creative experiment, and more could be justified. But certainly not beyond the logistical issue of costs et al which could challenge such progress.
- Kwesi Brew A PLEA FOR MERCY We have come to your shrine to worship We the sons of the land The naked cowherd has brought The cows safely home, And stands silent with his bamboo flute Wiping the rain from his brow; As the birds brood in their nests Awaiting the dawn with unsung melodies The shadows crowd on the shore Pressing their lips against the bosom of the sea;
The peasants home from their labours Sit by their log-fires Telling tales of long-ago. Why should we the sons of the land Plead unheeded before your shrine? When our hearts are full of song And our lips tremble with sadness? The little firefly vies with the star, The log-fire with the sun The water in the calabash With the mighty Volta, But we have come in tattered penury Begging at the door of a Master.
Kwesi Brew 20
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Arts
Ngugi wa Thiong’o Penpoints, Gunpoints, and Dreams Excerpts of an Interview by Charles Cantalupo
No African writer has as many major, lasting creative achievements in such a wide range of genre as Ngugi wa Thiong’o. His books include novels, plays, short stories, essays and scholarship, criticism and children’s literature. Political exile from Kenya, Ngugi - as he is known worldwide - is currently the Erich Remarque Professor of Languages at New York University, with a dual professorship in Comparative Literature and Performance Studies. This interview focuses on Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s book of essays, Penpoints, Gunpoints, and Dreams: Towards a Critical Theory of the Arts and the State in Africa (Clarendon Press: Oxford, 1998). CC: Many of your first publications appeared in the Makerere University English department’s literary magazine, Penpoints. You call your new book of essays Penpoints, Gunpoints, and Dreams. What are some of the connections between the two? Is the repetition deliberate? NWT: Yes, there is a connection. Penpoints is a good name: penpoints - the power of the pen. I was interested in the power of the pen. The echo is there. CC: The concept of “performance” has become a uniting theme in your work. You write of it “in the narrow sense of representation of an action as in theater and in the broader sense of any action that assumes an audience during the actualization. The concept of performance is opening out new possibilities in the analysis of human behavior, including literature. The exercise of power, for instance, involves variations on the performance theme.” Indeed, you are a professor of Performance Studies. What drew you to this new scholarly discipline? How did your life and writing prepare you, perhaps without your knowing it, for this new field? There is a sense in your writing that you are learning from it at least as much as you are contributing to it with your work. NWT: Of course, I’ve been in theater all my life. I’ve worked in community theater in Kenya: in the Kamirithu Community Educational and Cultural Centre. And this, of course, brought me into conflict with the state in Kenya. My work in theater has been a preparation for this. I have also gained from using the term as a conceptual tool. So much in society depends on “performance. “ It provides new insights into certain behaviors. It is central to so many things. For example, you can’t have religion without performance: performance, weekly, daily.
Ngugi wa Thiong’o
Think of all those festivals. Think of performance in a wide sense. Performance enables people to negotiate their way through the various realms of being. Performance is a means for people to realize their unknown, even if it’s only in the imagination. Performance is a very important concept. I have learned from it, but also I have been involved in it. CC: Orature and performance work together. Is performance a means to embracing orature? NWT: Performance is central. They are not synonymous. Performance is what distinguishes orature from literature, even in the most obvious way: when you are reading a novel, you don’t need a performance. CC: You write that “There is no state that can be in permanent revolution. Art, on the other hand, is revolutionary by its very nature as art”; and “Art has more questions than it has answers... The state, on the other hand, has plenty of answers and hardly any questions. The more absolutist the state, the less it is likely to ask questions of itself or entertain questioning by others.” NWT: Even a novelist at his poorest does not want to reproduce his previous work. I think of art in terms of permanent revolution. Permanent, constant revolution is not inherent in the nature of the state and its operations. Constant revolutionizing, reinventing itself is inherent in the nature of art. The artist considers reinventing himself all the time. The state has to conserve. Therefore, the possibility of conflict is always there. CC: You write “Where...there is no democracy for the rest of the population, there cannot be democracy for the writer.” What is the role of African-language writers in contributing to economic, political, and cultural empowerment, strengthening civil
society and current, emerging democratic traditions and governance, and reforming the language of African political discourse? NWT: All over the world art is constantly attempting to return language to the people. Any moment of exceptional literary achievement in a national tradition signals a writer’s return of language at its fullest to people in their daily life. In the context of Africa, writers need to return to the languages actually spoken by the people to enlarge the space of people’s understanding to include more experiences. A writer makes a language for its speakers to comprehend their universe better than ever before. African languages can play a big role in Africa’s democratization, its spiritual awakening and enhancement. But that spirit is repeatedly crushed because English and French continue to dominate a continent where most people speak African languages. CC: Penpoints, Gunpoints and Dreams contains an extensive re-interpretation of the allegory of the cave from Plato’s Republic. Roughly speaking, you argue that the dominance of European languages in the critical discourse of the majority of African intellectuals sets them, so to speak, forever outside the cave: the space of which they neither re-enter nor open. You also offer Ayi Kwei Armah’s novel, The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, as a kind of alternative to Plato’s story. What led you to Plato? NWT: “The Beautyful Ones Not Yet Born” is a very beautiful phrase. The image of the cave is very distinct.It’s an image with a logic that goes against Plato’s philosophy itself. The assumption of the allegory of the cave that philosophers who see the light must come back - that an elite should come back to the people in a cave - goes against
Plato’s advocacy in the same book of an hierarchical society with categories like philosopher kings, the warriors and guardians of the state as opposed to its more lowly workers. Such an elite in fact does not return to the people. My work in performance has led me to re-examine more and more, or go back to and revisit classical Greece. I’ve found that it was a very oral society. To think of that society being literate in terms of writing is a 20th-century projection. In reality, we see a very oral society. Socrates, for instance, is working within theories of orature, conversing in the market place. Dialogues take place as he’s coming from there or going to a festival. They take place in and around the house, by the fireside. He’s not a writer. In a sense, this society exemplifies a kind of orature and Socrates is actually a philosopher within the oral tradition. Plato’s dialogues assume a kind orality. Even bad translations cannot kill or hide this. It is everywhere. CC: In Decolonizing the Mind (1987), you describe the condition of most African intellectuals being educated only in Europhone languages as “literally ...[a] split between the mind and the body of Africa, producing... nations of bodiless heads and headless bodies. The community puts resources in the education of a people who will never bring home their share of knowledge.” ... Do you see any signs that the African mind and body need not be split by language in the future? As you yourself write, “If some of the best and most articulate of the interpreters of African total being insist on interpreting in languages not understood by the subject of their interpretation, where lies the hope of African deliverance?” NWT: In Greek mythology, Zeus employs Prometheus to make men out of mud and water but, in pity for their state, he steals fire from Olympus and gives it to them. The image of fire is very strong for me. It is central to knowledge...light, technology, heat. Fire changes things. Fire is almost everything. I’m not surprised that many people used to worship the sun. They were not all that wrong in seeing the sun as God, the source of everything. The question is whether Prometheus leaves the fire to the gods or gives it to humans. Does he give them the fire or does he say that they can only use this fire when they come up the mountain. The whole idea is that he brings the fire to them. But where is the fire when we African intellectuals refuse to dialogue in African languages, the language of the vast majority of our people? CC: American slave plantations also had their house hands and field hands. NWT: We are operating with European languages where there are African languages whose space we could be opening out.
To be continued next week
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Nollywood
My Fame Exploded With Jenifa – Eniola By Samuel Abulude Eniola Badmus is one of the best cross over actresses in Nollywood. She gained national prominence with her unique role in ‘Jenifa’. Since then, her career has been on the rise and lately she has been featuring in English movies and making cameo appearances in music videos. Gbogbo Biz Girls as she is fondly called by fans and her neighbours, welcomed SAMUEL ABULUDE into her modest home in Lagos You have been absent from the social scene for a while. Can you tell us what you have been up to? I haven’t been absent from the social scene. However, I have been going for events, at least I was in the Black & White Ball by Encomium Magazine. It’s just my mood, brother. Basically, I have been moving from one location to another. I have been featuring in so many English films lately. I just finished one two days ago with Emem Isong titled Visa Lottery. And then a whole lot of stuffs, travelling to Asaba and other places. I have been doing other stuffs too. I am yet to do my own movie but I will be doing mine in a couple of months. We’ve seen you gradually moving from acting in Yoruba movies to the English movies.... I didn’t move, I still do Yoruba movies. I don’t know for some reasons, if you are good in what you do, producers from all over will call you for different jobs. Can we say that your level has finally changed?
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Abi now, we don’t pray that we should remain in one place. Let us just say my level has changed. What has been your milestone as an actress, how many years now in the industry? It is been long o, close to 15 years. Come to think of it, didn’t you come into the limelight about six or seven years ago? It’s God. It happens like that. At times when you see some people, it seems as if they’ve just started but they’ve been there ever since. It depends on how God wants it, not by might or power, It’s God. My love for acting began way back when I was in secondary school. I used to be a member of a theatre group then and ever since I had love for it. It’s something I love passionately. So I went on to study Theatre Arts in the University of Ibadan and I finished in 2004. Initially I thought I was going to become a lawyer because I knew I was so outspoken but as destiny will have it, I had to switch over. And I received the support of my parents. They didn’t raise a fuss about acting. They just wanted us to be a learned person. Whatever you choose to do is left to you. Recently, you criticised those who made negative comments about your photo shoot. Would you like to comment on it? I realize that my country people underrate you. Because you are big they make you feel wanted in the society. They feel that when you are big, you should be isolated. Really …? Yes, that’s true. I see it from the two sides. This is life. We can’t all be equal. It’s just like having a dwarf and a tall person. It’s not their fault that they are like that. But then, people tend to underrate just to make you feel somehow or to intimidate you. That’s why I say, I don’t see intimidation. If anyone should come out and say ‘Eniola is big! She is that!’ For goodness sake, I like it like that. I’m okay. Besides, my body shape is giving me money and I’m good. I’m living well. I’m healthy. I’m sure I’m healthier than some slim people. All of us can’t be slim. People should stop this bodyshaming pinging. It’s not nice. Even if you want to advise someone that it’s not nice, there is a way you can say it not by insulting people because you feel you can just write or talk anyhow on social media. No! Anybody that insults me on social media, I will insult back. Yes, because it doesn’t make one feel good. In foreign countries, intimidation causes some people to commit suicide. When you are being intimidated, that’s when depression comes up. After depression, you go and die. Me,
➜
Eniola Badmus
die because of what? No oh! This life is too sweet to die, because of words of some people. I’m okay. If anyone doesn’t like me, they should keep a distance. The people that like me will forever be around me. I remember that I wrote, why use panadol for my headache? Every blog carried it that I said I know my stature is a big problem to some. But it’s the truth. Among all of you that are insulting me that Eniola is too big I’m sure your mum is bigger than me. So why not concentrate on the one you have? I know one of your friends is bigger than me, or one of your sisters. Most of the fat babes, the plus size people who watch me want to emulate me because I’m a celebrity. Whatever she does let’s do it. You get it? I know I’m a role model to some people. If I want to shed weight. Are you involved in an NGO? I want to start one that has to do with Asthma. I found out that people battling with Asthma are not well taken care of. I want to use this Non governmental Organisation (NGO) to contribute my quota and give back to society.
What is marriage to you? Obviously, marriage means union, togetherness of two people. Why is everybody asking me when I’ll get married? I will get married in due time. The due time might be tomorrow. But I’m not a loud person when it comes to things like that. I don’t broadcast things like that. Or is it because I am big so you think I can’t get married? Whoever says that is foul because I have best man in this world right now. So what are you saying? Pleases I neither want to talk about my man nor disclose his identity. How did your journey to Nollywood begin? My first movie was an English movie, Brutal Times or is it Love Affairs. So which movie brought you into limelight? I won’t lie to you. Seriously, I really do not know. But I knew when I did 100 years which is a Yoruba movie. When I did 100 years, people tended to know me and speak well of my delivery. I acted as part of the
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Nollywood You have a good command of English Language and seen more in Yoruba movies, do you feel underrated with all the talent you have? Yes o, my brother. That’s why I say whatever you position your mind on is what you see and what you get. It’s no big deal if you call me a Yoruba artiste. If you call me an English artiste, it’s no big deal. To me all that doesn’t matter. What matters to me is the money that I get from whatever I do. If you like underrate me, it doesn’t remove the ‘E’ from my name Eniola. How did you come up with the name Gbogbo Biz Girls? That’s a character’s name in Jenifa. It has become part of me. Despite your physique, you are still agile. How do you keep fit? That is because I go to gym and I play lawn Tennis. There is one G4 a court around my house beside the palace. I play tennis sometimes at 1004 lawn court. I also love swimming.
Eniola Badmus on set of a movie with colleagues
robbery gang in this movie and it was a distinct one and I was credited for the role. This person is around, we think we know you, we can reckon with you. We can give you roles. But the one that actually skyrocketed it dear to my fame is Jenifa. Jenifa brought global fame to me though I have been around before Jenifa. To an extent, I was known but Jenifa took me all over. After Jenifa, Blackberry Babes also added to the fame.
There is this belief that English movies pay more money than Yoruba movies. Is this true? I don’t know, that’s what they say. You are an insider and should therefore know about that. I don’t want to start discriminating right now but I won’t lie to you, my height now in Yoruba films I get money, I get paid, I get good money. Even in English movies, I get good money but I don’t want to start saying one pays, one does not pay. It’s all good. Everything is okay now. Your style of acting is unique to you and different from others. How did you hone it? I believe in originality, I belief in my thing, I don’t want to be like some other person. I want to be me, Eniola Badmus, maybe that was the reason. Then, the style, I don’t know, I don’t know even whether I have a style. It’s people that tell me. May be because I’m committed to what I do. It’s people that say, Eniola, we love your style. I just go there and do my thing. What about the challenges you faced in the movie industry? My brother, if we start now, we won’t fin-
ish. When it comes to challenges, a whole lot of it, things I cannot even remember. I won’t lie to you, a whole lot of stuffs. If you want to stay long in this business as a starter, you need to pay dues, which is normal. When you pay your dues, no body can talk you down when you get there. I have paid my dues. There are a whole lot of challenges. Is it when we get on set and we don’t get paid? Or when we are being asked to play a particular role and the second day, you are told that you can’t do it again that someone has been casted for it already. We go on locations and we don’t get paid. Even where we sleep, it is so hard that I take money from my pocket to pay for my hotel room. I started from the bottom now I am here. What I faced before becoming this Eniola Badmus of today, if I should think about it, I am sure I would have quitted. But the passion was there. It was something I like to do. It was the passion, something in me that I wanted to show the world. There was no day or time that I started this that I said I was quitting.
They say so, I am not tough, I am just me. I am from a very good background. Despite the fact that I was born in Shogunle does not make me a local and raz person. Besides, the Shogunle that I was brought up in is the GRA side.
What are the awards you received? I was given the best Cross Over Actress at the Best of Nollywood BON Awards in 2012. Then I was given the Best Supporting Actress in 2011 at the BON Awards. Also in 2011, I was given the Best Supporting Actress in 2011 at the City People Awards. It makes me feel good that some people are watching. Some people are seeing what you are doing. First published by Leadership Newspapers, Nigeria.
That means you must have come from a wealthy background? Ehhn. Let me just say I am from a well- to -do home. I came from a very good background. My parents are not rich and they are not poor but I know I was born with a silverspoon in my mouth. I am the only one in my family that is into acting. What growing up was like? My up bringing was fantastic. I was born and bred in Lagos in Shogunle area. That was where my father’s house is. People born from that area look tough and rugged. 23
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News Anti-govt. bloggers could face 15 years in Gambia jail New legislation introduced in The Gambia has effectively made criticism of the government or public officials over the internet a criminal offence.
An amendment to the Information and Communication Act passed last month specifies that a person commits a criminal offence if he/she uses the internet to spread false news against the government, incite dissatisfaction or instigate violence against the government, caricature, abuse or make derogatory statements against public officials. Under the law, offenders will be jailed up to 15 years and/or fined an amount of three (3) million Dalasis (about US$90,000). The Act could be used to silence activists, online news sites, social networkers and bloggers. Nana Grey Johnson, Minister of Information and Communication, said
this new law provides a deterrent to persons who are engaged in “treacherous campaigns” against The Gambia both internally and outside. Seedy Njie, a member of the National Assembly, said: “It is pertinent that government comes up with these stingy measures to curb the activities of offenders online.” The Media Foundation of West Africa expressed alarm at the amendments to The Gambia’s laws - all aimed at imposing stiffer punishments and stifling freedom of expression in the country. It said: “The Gambian government has refused to act on calls from International and regional governments or groups, demanding for the repeal of or expulsion of such laws that criminalise speech and has instead embarked on imposing stiffer amendments. For instance on April 16, 2013, the National Assembly amended Section 114
Manx angel supports orphanage with fundraising ‘barbie’
Gambia’s government is keen to stamp out public dissention
of the Criminal Code, imposing a jail term of five years and/or a fine of fifty thousand Dalasis (about £900) on persons found guilty of giving false information.”
Until the amendment, the offence of giving false information carried a jail term of not more than six months and/ or a fine of five hundred Dalasis (about £9).
Congo agrees to postpone mineral export ban
Massive minerals remain under-exploited in Africa
Funds raised will go directly towards improving the lives of Sierra Leone’s many orphans
A barbecue to raise funds for a Sierra Leone orphanage is being held in Colby, Isle of Man this Saturday (July 13) at Colby Football Club.
Organised by Amanda Dixon, of Port Erin, funds from the event will go directly on special equipment and toys for a sensory room for blind and deaf children in the orphanage. Amanda has been involved in A Call To Business, the charity behind the orphanage, since 2008. Amanda said: “I have travelled the world by myself and went along for an adventure. “I had no clue how my heart would be drawn by the country, the people and those poor children.” She has visited Sierra Leone nine times and has been involved in fundraising, as well as more direct help, for the building 24
of the orphanage, which is near Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown. The orphanage will be home to children from infants to teenagers, many who have polio and other serious disabilities. Most recently Ms Dixon visited in May and saw first hand how building of the new home was progressing. She will return in September for the official opening, when she plans to take with her the toys and equipment. “These children have nothing and there is a stark contrast to our lives here,” said Amanda, adding: “Seeing the work of A Call To Business first hand spurs me on, and holding fundraising events brings the charity to the attention of others. There are already a number of other supporters for the project here on the island.” Amanda plans to hold a series of fundraising events on the island this year.
The Congolese government has said that it would delay the implementation of a ban on exports of unprocessed copper and cobalt concentrates until the end of the year to allow companies enough time to put in place processing facilities and complete the export of current stockpiles, the information ministry said on Thursday (July 11).
The announcement was made just days before the expiry of a moratorium issued earlier this year, relieving mine investors in Africa’s second largest copper miner, who have been struggling to clear huge mineral stockpiles amid low global copper prices. “The companies now have up to Dec. 31 [2013] to clear stockpiles,” a spokeswoman at the information ministry told Dow Jones Newswires. The Congolese government announced the ban in May in a bid to encourage investments in local processing facilities to add value to mineral exports. Refined products
would allow the central African nation to fetch higher export revenue, rather than letting mining companies export copper concentrates abroad for processing, according to government officials. But mining companies objected to the ban, saying the country lacks adequate processing facilities as well as enough electricity to power largescale mineral processing facilities. Congo, Africa’s second largest copper producer, is expected to produce 800,000 metric tons of copper this year, which would bring it to a par with Zambia, the current top producer. Last year, Congo exported at least 600,000 tons of copper. Companies such as Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLEN.LN), U.S. miner Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. ( FCX ) and Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.T) are among companies that have pumped billions of dollars into Congo’s copper mining sector in recent years, helping to turn around the once ailing sector. Congo’s annual copper output is projected to hit at least 1 million tons by 2014-15 as more projects come on board.
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News
Ethnic minority communities refuse to donate their loved one’s organs Last year there were 1,212 people who donated their organs after their death, but of those just 56 were from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities. People from BAME communities only constitute 5% of organ donors despite representing 27% of those on the transplant waiting list. This year’s National Transplant Week (July 8-14), is an opportunity to highlight the urgent need for people from BAME communities to become organ donors and for those already on the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR) to tell others how important and easy it is to let those closest to them know that they want to be an organ donor. Having a conversation about organ donation is vitally important as one thousand people a year, that’s three a day, die in the UK because of a shortage of organs for transplant. Despite the thousands of lifesaving transplant operations which take place every year, around 7,300 people are on the transplant waiting list in the UK and the number of patients from a BAME background on the kidney transplant waiting list has increased by 15% over the last four years. Faith leaders from all the major religions in the UK* have shown their support for National Transplant Week and are encouraging followers of all faiths to sign up to the ODR and discuss their wishes with their families.
They said: “More than 1,000 people who need an organ transplant die every year because of a shortage of donated organs. National Transplant Week helps raise awareness of this acute shortage and encourages everyone to recognise the need and discuss organ donation with their families. “Organ failure can affect anyone, regardless of their ethnicity, faith or cultural influences so we are committed to encouraging debate amongst our network of followers at a local and national level so that people can make an informed decision about their donation wishes.” The latest statistics from 2012/13 show that just 33% of BAME families agree to organ donation when approached compared to 61% of the rest of the UK population. Sally Johnson, NHS Blood and Transplant’s Director of Organ Donation and Transplantation, added: “We need a transformation in donor and family consent to organ donation regardless of people’s background because the UK’s family refusal rate remains one of the highest in Europe. Until we see a shift in consent, each year thousands of viable organs will be cremated or buried leaving others to die needlessly. “We know there are connections between the numbers of BAME organ donors and people’s expectations and belief systems and we need to look at what we can do to overcome people’s fears and worries. Generally though as far as the UK is concerned, regardless of what community you come from and despite increasing organ donation by 50% over the past five years, our views on the subject actually haven’t
Over 19million people are on the UK donor register
changed. We want more people to consent to organ donation so that the UK can be
proud of a donation record that matches the best in the world.”
Cyber awareness campaign launches The first stage of a new £4 million government campaign to raise awareness of how to stay safe online was launched by Security Minister James Brokenshire as part of the National Cyber Security Programme.
The Home Office, which is leading the campaign, is inviting bids from media, PR and creative agencies to work on a communications campaign with the aim of educating consumers and small businesses on how to avoid falling victim to sophisticated cyber criminals. It will involve a range of digital, on and offline media designed to reach the target audience. This campaign, which will be launched in the autumn, draws on expertise from Cabinet Office, Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and partners from the business sector including Get Safe Online. Security Minister James Brokenshire said: “The digitisation of the UK economy has made our lives easier and has created
huge opportunities, but it has also created individual security risks as well. If we are to meet these new challenges it’s essential we step up our efforts to stay safe online. “The threat of cyber crime is real and the criminals involved are organised and driven by profit. “By making small changes British businesses can remain competitive in the global economy and consumers can have greater confidence using the internet.” The National Fraud Authority (NFA) has shown that minor improvements to poor online behaviour amongst people and small businesses could prevent significant losses online. Many cyber incidents could be prevented by adopting simple steps such as not sharing passwords. An invitation to tender is now on the Government Procurement Service’s online portal which agencies can access. If you think you have been a victim of fraud you should report it to Action Fraud, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through www.actionfraud.police.uk.
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News
Egypt plans election amid bloody turmoil
Egypt’s interim leadership has laid out a fast-track timetable to elect a new president and parliament by early next year, in a move that is almost certain to deepen the anger of ousted President Mohammed Morsi’s supporters but could ease Western concerns about the future of democracy in the key Arab nation.
Under the plan put forward by the interim president on Monday (July 8), two panels would be appointed to make amendments to the Islamist-backed constitution passed under Morsi’s government. Those changes would be put to a referendum within about 4 1/2 months. Parliamentary elections would be held within two months after that, and once the new parliament convenes it would have a week to set a date for a presidential election. The swift issuing of the transition plan reflects a drive on the part of Egypt’s military-backed interim leadership to push ahead with a post-Morsi political plan despite Islamist rejection — and is certain to further outrage the ousted president’s Muslim Brotherhood. The Islamist group contends that Morsi was removed by a coup and that everything that follows is illegal. The “constitutional declaration” announced by interim President Adly Mansour late on Monday coincided with the nation’s deadliest day since Morsi’s July 3 ouster, with more than 50 of his supporters killed by security forces as the country’s top Muslim cleric raised the spectre of civil war. The killings further entrenched the battle lines between supporters and opponents of Morsi, and the ousted leader’s Brotherhood backers called for an uprising, accusing troops of gunning down protesters. The military blamed armed Islamists for provoking its forces. The shootings began during a protest by about 1,000 Islamists outside the Republican Guard headquarters where Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected leader, was detained last week. Demonstrators and members of the Brotherhood said troops descended on them and opened fire unprovoked as they finished dawn prayers. “I was in the last row praying. They were firing from the left and right,” said Nashat Mohammed, who had come from southern Egypt to join the sit-in and was wounded in the knee. “We said, ‘Stop, we’re your brothers.’ They shot at us from every direction.” After a battle lasting about three hours, at least 54 protesters were killed and 435 injured, most from live ammunition and bird shot, according to prosecutors investigating the killings. Funerals for the victims were expected to be held on Tuesday, after their bodies were released to their families, prosecutors said. At a nationally televised news conference on Monday, Army Colonel Ahmed Mohammed Ali said police and troops came
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Prayers amid unrest
Soldiers on guard at Tahrir Square
Increase protest against America
under “heavy gunfire” at around 4 a.m. and attackers on rooftops opened fire with guns and Molotov cocktails. A soldier and two policemen were killed, and 42 in the security forces were wounded, eight critically, he said. While he said troops had a right to defend the facility, Ali did not directly explain how the protester deaths occurred. He expressed condolences but offered no apologies for the deaths.
A collection of videos of the clashes provided by the military to Egyptian TV showed protesters on rooftops lobbing projectiles at troops below, including firebombs and toilet seats. It also showed some armed protesters firing at close range at the troops, but it did not show what the military did. It was also not clear at what time in the fighting the videos were shot. It included aerial views of the clashes.
Several witnesses from outside the protest said the gunfire started when troops appeared to move on the camp. University student Mirna el-Helbawi told The Associated Press that she watched from her 14th floor apartment overlooking the scene, after she heard protesters banging on metal barricades, a common battle cry. El-Helbawi, 21, said she saw troops and police approaching the protesters, who were lined up on the street behind a makeshift wall. The troops fired tear gas, the protesters responded with rocks, she said. Soon after, she heard the first gunshots and saw the troops initially retreat backward — which she said led her to believe the shots came from the protester side. She saw Morsi supporters firing from rooftops, while the troops were also shooting. The Freedom and Justice party, the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, called on Egyptians to rise up against the army, which it accused of turning Egypt into “a new Syria.” The sole Islamist faction that backed Morsi’s removal, the ultraconservative AlNour Party, suspended its participation in talks on forming a new leadership for the country. The group is now torn by pressure from many in its base, furious over what they saw as a “massacre” against Islamists. Reeling from scenes of bloodied protesters in hospitals and clinics, many with gaping wounds, some of Egypt’s politicians tried to push new plans for some sort of reconciliation in the deeply polarised nation. Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the most prominent Sunni Muslim institution, demanded that a reconciliation panel with full powers immediately start work and that those detained in recent days be released. Five prominent Brotherhood figures have been jailed since Morsi’s fall. Struggling whether to fully bolt from the new leadership, the ultraconservative Al-Nour Party denounced what it called incitement against fellow Islamists. Speaking to Al-Jazeera TV, the party’s chief Younes Makhyoun raised the possibility of calling a referendum on Morsi as a compromise measure. There were multiple calls for an independent investigation into the bloodshed as a way to establish the truth and move forward. Egypt’s escalating crisis could further complicate its relations with the US and other Western allies, which had supported Morsi as the country’s first freely elected leader and now are reassessing policies toward the military-backed group that forced him out. The White House said on Monday that cutting off the more than $1 billion in annual aid to Egypt was not in the US’s best interests, though it was reviewing whether the military’s moves constitute a coup — which would force such a measure under US law. SOURCE: Associated Press
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News
Two years from its birth, South Sudan is still falling down Two years ago this week South Sudan gained independence amid high hopes for a bright future. But corruption, rights abuses, and friction over oil with its northern neighbour, suggest it is letting fresh opportunities slip by. On the lead-up to South Sudan’s second birthday, people in Juba were busy dumping tarmac into potholes. They were shoving fresh plants in the beds dividing the roads where freshly painted railings have sprung up. Some residents say that the tarmac and concrete in what was bush just years back shows how far the country has come. Decades of war with Sudan and centuries-old neglect have made it one of the most underdeveloped places on earth. South Sudan ranks in the world’s bottom five per cent for infant mortality and illiteracy, has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world, yet institutions such as the World Bank have found it hard to class it as poor. This is because its major oil earnings should take South Sudan’s per capita income above the poverty threshold. But after two years of nationhood, others are criticising the fledgling government, made up of various rebel movements, of failing to manage the economy and relations with Sudan, deliver basic services or allow dissenting voices. South Sudan split from Sudan on July 9, 2011, after its people voted overwhelmingly for independence in a referendum six months earlier, part of a 2005 peace deal that ended one of Africa’s longest civil wars.
or personalities would rather echo Sudan’s methods of cracking down on criticism to serve their own needs, clans and business cliques. “The feel any political change may hold them vulnerable, and that’s why whoever brings up public concerns, public issues to the light, should be shut down,” he said. “It is just like we are pasting the situation of Sudan in South Sudan, in which we have been struggling for the past 50 years, as we don’t believe in such a society. We are calling for democratic society but what we are now experiencing is that the space of democracy is really reducing and becoming too narrow,” Yakani said.
Aid agencies looted
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in July 2011
Government praises its own efforts
Rampant corruption
Onyoti Adigo Nyikwec is the leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation MovementDemocratic Change (SPLM-DC), the main opposition party. His party was against the shutting down of oil production in January 2012, as it accounted for 98 per cent of the government’s revenue and there seemed to be no alternative plan. He said that rampant corruption that led President Salva Kiir to ask 75 past and present officials to return $4 billion of stolen money last year makes the oil switch off negligible for the majority. “Whether there was oil or no oil, the government was not doing anything for the benefit of the people of South Sudan,” Nyikwec said. But government officials are starting to realise that they will be accountable to the people in elections in 2015. “Now everyone knows that they are not doing anything, they are not giving service delivery to the community, then they are in hot water. And that is why now, within the ruling party, there’s a lot of wrangling, with members trying to point out others’ failings to deflect from their collective inaction,” Nyikwec said.
Power struggles President Salva Kiir recently stripped his deputy Riek Machar of any real power, suspended two ministers and has relieved
The reduction in political space has already spawned a major rebellion in Jonglei state. In that area, fighters associated with the Murle ethnic group have been clashing with government forces for over a year after a violent disarmament campaign, a lack of political representation and dearth of services. Recently, the army even looted aid agencies such as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and UN stores after charities had to pull out for security reasons, leaving the Murle without any healthcare. Yakani fears that if the government does not step up to the plate in the next few years, South Sudan could easily slide towards Somalia’s level of lawlessness, with armed groups used to fighting over resources turning to organised banditry.
The border separating the two Sudans, showing the contested area of Abyei
two governors by decrees read on state television that seemed to come out of the blue. Many South Sudanese believe that his actions are politically motivated moves ahead of a convention of his ruling SPLM party that has been stalled since Machar announced his intentions to run for the chairmanship. Civil society activist Edmond Yakani says that progress seen during the last tumultuous two years is largely due to private sector investment, which so far has been limited to operators prepared to take high risks. Numerous non-governmental organizations have started healthcare and educational services almost from scratch. This has led to a bizarre spread in NGOspeak, especially the words “implement” and “capacity” for “do” and “can” among the general population. People’s blurring of distinctions of whether foreign aid workers or national leaders look after essential services is a near-abrogation of a state that spends almost half its budget on a bloated army and surveillance force.
Rape, torture, beatings and killings Meanwhile, Yakani complained that the ruling party has hampered vital projects such as reconciliation and a constitutional review needed to heal a war-weary nation. In the last year, South Sudan’s human rights record has also been blighted. The litany of abuses included security forces gunning down around 10 unarmed protesters in Wau, the government expelling a UN Human Rights worker without reason and a string of rape, torture, beatings and killings on an ethnic minority in Jonglei state. South Sudan also dropped 13 places in the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index after the assassination of political commentator Isaiah Abraham, who received death threats warning him to stop writing days before he was shot execution style in front of his home. When Yakani called on the government to investigate, he also received threats warning him that he would “drink his own blood” unless he shut up. He said that rather than responding to the public’s wishes, the political elite and security elements behind various factions
But South Sudan’s Minister of Information Barnaba Marial Benjamin described the work of the government over the last two years as “tremendous.” He lauded the establishment of government institutions, the passing of laws and the diversification of the economy from oil to taxation that has included international charities. He said that, faced with Sudan’s “provocation” over oil sharing that almost brought the two sides back to war, the country has shown itself committed to peace, and is trying to tackle graft. “When there is corruption in a country you use the institutions that are available, and the institutions are there, legal steps are being taken. I think this is the normal way any civilized country can do things. There is so much corruption in Europe and America and everywhere but what do you do,” he said. He denied the ubiquity of luxury government cars clogging the country’s streets but said that with such poor roads, they were “cost-effective” while brushing off rights abuses by claiming that the new nation had signed more rights treaties than any other African Union member. SOURCE DW.de
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Neymar: Brazil played a fantastic match I’m really pleased that things have ended on such a high note, with our best performance to date. How much do you think the goal you scored at the start of the opening game against Japan helped ease the pressure for Brazil and you personally? (Laughs) Well, I wasn’t really too bothered about that, about trying to stop people saying negative things about me. No, not at all. I just wanted to help my team-mates in the best way possible, whether it was by committing a foul, making a pass, scoring a goal or whatever. That day I helped by scoring a goal after only three minutes, a goal that I know was important for the team. At the end of the day that’s what matters: helping the team to win.
Brazil team won the Confederations Cup 2013
The FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 may have lasted for just 15 days, but for Neymar it probably seems like a whole lot longer, the Seleção ace putting the tension and uncertainty of the build-up firmly behind him to turn everything he touched into gold. It was only a few short weeks ago that booing Neymar and questioning his talent seemed to be a national pastime. It all started when the fans at Santos, the team he had played for all his life and with whom he won three Campeonato Paulista titles, a Copa do Brasil and a Copa Libertadores, began criticising his performances as part of a side that had lost its way. Even on his final appearance for the club, at the Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha in Brasilia, there were harsh words from the stands for the young star. The 21-year-old then announced his move to Barcelona before joining up with the national team, where he was booed and jeered at in Brazil’s final warm-up match for the FIFA Confederations Cup, a 3-0 defeat of France. All of sudden his earlier achievements seemed to count for nothing. The general feeling was that he was overrated and still had an awful lot to prove, especially in the famous canary-yellow jersey. Yet that all changed when the tournament got underway, with Neymar showing his ability to deliver on the big occasion, just one of many plus points that Brazil and their fans can take away with them from the competition. 30
From the stunning strike two minutes into the opening game against Japan – a match played at the same stadium where he had been booed on his Santos farewell just days earlier – to the left-footed thunderbolt against Spain and superb individual performance that sealed the adidas Golden Ball for him, Neymar could not have played a more decisive role. Having started the tournament under fire, he ended it with the adulation of the fans ringing in his ears. As he explained in an exclusive interview with FIFA.com after Brazil’s 3-0 win at the Maracana, it is a turnaround he has not yet been able to take stock of, preferring instead to play down all talk concerning his huge individual contribution to his side’s success. Neymar, have you thought about the impact of playing for your country at home
Neymar having a great moment
in a tournament like this will have on your career? Neymar: I’ve got no idea to be honest. I can’t say what impact it will have. All I know is that winning this title is very important. It’s a massive step forward for the team and we are delighted to have achieved it. It was a great game between Brazil and Spain, one that the whole world stopped to watch, and we know that we played a fantastic match. Did you think two weeks ago that the team would be champions and everything would go so well? I honestly didn’t (laughs). I’ve just been speaking to my team-mates in the dressing room about how everything is coming together and how well things are going in every sense.
You helped in the Final in a number of ways and scored a goal that shows just how confident you are right now, weighing up your options and scoring for the second time in the competition with your left foot. I’m always training and training, and I practise with my left foot and my right. My father always said to me, ever since I was a little boy: “You shouldn’t choose which foot to shoot with. If the ball falls on your left side, shoot with your left, and if it falls on your right, then shoot with your right.” I think I got the message (laughs). The ball came to me on my left foot and luckily I was able to get a good shot away. Did your future club-mates congratulate you? Yes, they did, which made me really happy because they’re players I admire and respect, and I’ll have the honour and the delight of playing next to them. Do you think they will respect you more now? (Laughs) Ah, no. I think they’ll respect me in the same way as everyone is respected at great clubs.
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Durban is choice for Man City training camp
Fatigue hit Kenya – Coach Odhiambo Kenya deputy coach Kennedy Odhiambo cites fatigue for 2-2 with Lesotho just hours after landing in Zambia.
Manchester City
Manchester City have opted to use Durban as their base for a 10day stay in South Africa, where they will play two friendly matches and continue with their preseason build-up.
City plan training every day they are not playing or traveling, some times up to three sessions daily in the coastal city. On Saturday they fly to Johannesburg, and then travel onto Pretoria by bus, on the eve of their match against SuperSport United at Loftus Versfeld, which kicks off
at 3pm on Sunday, after which they will return directly to Durban. The match against SuperSport will be the first in charge for new manager Manuel Pellegrini, who took over just a fortnight ago. It will be the only travel element of their tour, with Durban firmly their base for the rest of the 10-day stay. Their second match is against AmaZulu at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Thursday, July 18. The kick off time is 8pm. City will name their tour squad on Tues-
day but it is unclear whether Spanish internationals Jesus Navas, recently signed from Sevilla, and David Silva will accompany the squad. Both have just competed the Confederation Cup in Brazil where Spain finished runners-up and are expected to be given time off for some holiday. City, runners-up last season in England and champions in 2012, depart South Africa on Sunday July 21 for Hong Kong where they play in a four-team tournament on July 24 and 27 along with fellow premier league clubs Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur.
Gambo Mohammed signs for Club Africain
Pillars striker Gambo Mohammed has joined Tunisian side Club Africain on a three-year deal, his club have announced.
“Gambo has agreed to join Club Africain on a three-year deal. He will leave for Tunisia within the week,” said Pillars spokesman Idris Malikawa. “Two other clubs from China and Saudi Arabia wanted Gambo but after we studied all the offers, we agreed that Club Africain’s deal was best for the player.” At a press briefing on Tuesday in Kano, club chairman Abba Yola said he believes Gambo’s move will enhance the player’s career. “This transfer is in the right direction for Gambo. It will make him a better player,” said Abba Yola.
Kenya plans
medal swoop at IAAF World meet
The Harambee Stars stepped on the pitch just eight hours after arriving from Kenya following a three day delay while the call-ups wrapped-up on league commitments over the weekend prior to departure for Zambia. Kenya, who are participating as a guest team at this year’s Cosafa Cup, landed at 10:00 Hours CAT time in Ndola before taking a 30 minute drive to Kitwe to face Lesotho in a Group B fixture. “Late arrival affected us, our players had fatigue,” Odhiambo said. “We were recovering in the game.” Kenya are back on the field on later today for their second Group A match against Swaziland. “We are trying to build a new team. Most of the players who played in today’s game they are under 23,” Odhiambo said. “We are here to learn from our Southern African counterparts and we are here to build a team for the future.” Kenya together with Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland and Kenya all locked on one point each heading into match day two in Group B today in a doubleheader at Arthur Davies Stadium.
Ghanaian starlet Appiah to join Monaco pre-season Gambo Mohammed (left) with a teammate
He enjoined the player to be a good ambassador of the club as well as Nigeria, while thanking him for his total commitment to the club while he was there.
Continued from page 32
It is expected that he will find stiff competition in John Kipkoech (13:01.64), Patrick Mutunga (13:10.40) Lewis Lalang (13:07.13) and world indoor silver medalist Augustine Choge (13:05.31). In other events like the 10,000m very little known Emmanuel Kipkemei Bett (26:51.16) will spearhead Kenya’s attempt to crew a 10,000m squad that will stop the Ethiopian domination in the race at the world level. His rivals will be Vincent Kiprop Chepkok (26:51.68) and Africa 10,000m medalist
The Nigeria international has previously attended trials in Turkey and Egypt. Ezenwa Otorogu and Victor Ezeji are some of the Nigerian strikers who have featured for Tunis-based Club Africain. Kenneth Kipkemoi (26:52.65). World 10km record holder Leonard Komon (27:01.58), former world half marathon winner Wilson Kiprop (27:0198), world cross-country silver medalist Lucas Rotich (27:09.38) and the 37-year-old but ever-green Mark Kiptoo will also be on hand for the challenge. World’s fastest marathoner Geoffrey Mutai, who missed out a place in the marathon line up, will try his luck in the 10,000m, having won the national championships a fortnight ago.
Ghanaian youngster Derrick Appiah will leave Accra on Saturday to begin pre-season training with promoted French Ligue 1 side Monaco. The 18-year-old signed for the club in January this year but could not make his debut for them in the French Ligue 1. He has obtained his work permit and regarded a first team player by head coach Claudio Ranieri Appiah has recovered from a recent injury and raring to prove a point at the nouveau riche club. The former Amidaus Professionals initially joined Italian side Napoli as a trainee but was not given a permanent deal. He was whisked by Monaco who have identified the potentials of the battling midfielder. 31
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ISSUE 490
Gambo Mohammed signs for Club Africain SEE PAGE 31
Kenya plans world medal swoop
Kenyans dominating a race
By Peter Olorunnisomo
The pride of the Kenyan sports industry is always to show its prowess and dominance on the continental and world stages over the long distances where it already has instituted a tradition.
The recent past does not seem to have been good enough for their expectations and so the very timely expedition to bring out the specials from the array of best that the country is endowed with. Kenya is particularly blessed, even by nature to always have an array of potential champions at a moment’s call in the long distances and this is also helped tremendously by the high altitude of her topography. Kenya’s seriousness at taking on the world and leaving no stone unturned is discernible by her preparations toward the International Athletics Association Federa-
tion (IAAF) world meet in Moscow come August, 10th – 18th. Having as many talents as would compare to Brazil having as many footballing talents would seem a daunting challenge to the Athletics administration towards a selection process but this is no problem to Kenya. All roads lead to the Nyayo Stadium where events preparations by all athletes, proven and unproven, converge to fight for a space in Moscow. As a carrot, the Kenyan authorities have promised automatic tickets to the first two athletics to breast the tape in quintessential long distance events while the third spot will be decided by the panel of selectors through a process known as wild card. By Kenyan standards, not very many athletes would love this ‘qualification’ route and so one expects the fight for a
place at the world meet in Kenyan colours to be sweaty on Saturday. By the system of graduation, it is expected that the fight for places will throw up a lot of rookies who have spent valuable years in understudy for the various long distances. Medallists, Edwin Soi and 000m Betsy Saina who are Olympic 5,000m bronze and Africa winners respectively are expected rookies hungry for the world meet. Soi’s win at the America’s Prefontaine Classic in 13:04.75, world-lead time, against double Olympic champion Mo Farah of Great Britain would need be proven to be real and no fluke. He ended Farah’s brilliant run outdoors on track since 2011. Other rookies expeted to shine are Olympic bronze medalist Thomas Longosiwa, former world junior champion Isaiah
Koech Kiplang’at and Africa bronze medalist Timothy Kiptoo. Regardless of who qualifies, the preparations shows what the Kenyans are determined to achieve on the world stage. Longosiwa, who boasts a 12:58.67 personal best in 5,000m, said: “I have prepared well. Let the day come.”
Continued on page 31
African Voice Newspaper is published by African Voice Communications. Unit 7 Holles House Overton Road London SW9 7AP. Tel: 020 7274 3933 Registered at the British Library as a newspaper. ISSN 1475-2166.Email: africanvoicenews@googlemail.com