African voice newspaper issue 510 by African Voice Newspapers UK

Friday, 29 November – Thursday, 05 December 2013 issue 510

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SINCE 2001

B R I TA I N ’ S N O . 1 A F R I C A N N E W S PA P E R Yero gets thumbs up for Kaduna

£1.00

Investigations expose exploitation of Care sector workers

SEE PAGE 13

SEE PAGE 6

Celebrities pledge support for national HIV Testing Week

SEE PAGE 22

World Service debates UK attitude to Africans By Alan Oakley

BBC World Service’s Africa Debate for November discusses how welcoming the UK is to African migrants.

Recorded in a church in Slough, Berkshire, BBC Africa presenter Akwasi Sarpong will host a panel of experts, including Fiona Mactaggart, Labour MP for Slough; Dr Dalhatu S Tafida, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the UK; and Kahiye Alim, who is an immigration lawyer and Conservative Party representative. Together with a specially invited audience of politicians, academics and African migrants, the panel will examine the impact the new Immigration Bill could have on the UK economy and business, and on African communities. Other key guests include representatives from UKIP and pro and anti immigration campaign groups. The BBC’s Afrique, Somali and Swahili services will also be hosting a debate from Slough on the same topic. BBC World Service’s Africa Debate for November discusses how welcoming the UK is to African migrants. Recorded in a church in Slough, Berkshire, BBC Africa presenter Akwasi Sarpong will host a panel of experts, including Fiona Mactaggart, Labour MP for Slough; Dr Dalhatu S Tafida, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the UK; and Kahiye Alim, who is an immigration lawyer and Conservative Party representative. Together with a specially invited audience of politicians, academics and African migrants, the panel will examine the impact the new

Dr Dalhatu Sarki Tafida OFR, CFR, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the UK Immigration Bill could have on the UK The BBC’s Afrique, Somali and Swahili economy and business, and on African services will also be hosting a debate from communities. Slough on the same topic. Lorries have Other key guests include representatives been sent onto the streets of London carryfrom UKIP and pro and anti immigration ing the billboard message, campaign groups.

“In the UK illegally? Go home or face arrest.” But the frequently uttered contention that goes something like: “If you’re here legally, you have nothing to worry about,” is quite simply crass.

Continued on page 2

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Need help to learn English?

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has announced a new scheme aimed at helping immigrants with little or no English to improve their language skills. Research has shown that traditional English language classes are not reaching those who speak poor English and so the Department for Communities and Local Government has established a programme of informal classes, often run by volunteers, to be held in temples, mosques and churches and even in supermarkets. Pilot schemes will be held in fifteen London boroughs and in several regional towns and cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester, Sheffield, Bristol, Luton and Slough. Mr Pickles said: “Far too much money has been wasted by councils on translation services, reducing the motivation to learn English and leaving too many people isolated at home and unable to get on. “We want to give more people the opportunities to participate fully in their communities without being held back because they can’t speak the language”.

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

Tel: 0203 737 3077

Email: africanvoicenews@gmail.com

African Voice is published by African Voice UK.

News World Service debates UK attitude to Africans Continued from front page

I am aware that many of those “in the UK illegally” look just like me, a Black Briton from birth. I am also acutely aware that this fact is not lost on the British indigenes. I would, therefore, not be worried by the presence of a van, but discomforted by the notion that just one person I am sharing the street with might be prompted to even

look at me askance because of it. In addition, the new immigration bill being debated in Parliament would force landlords to check the status of tenants or face fines; see bankers making checks before offering accounts; make temporary migrants pay towards the cost of the National Health Service; and urge registrars to inform the Home

Office of planned weddings between UK citizens and those from outside Europe, in an attempt to cut down on ‘sham marriages’. The Africa Debate programme airs on Friday 29th November and marks the end of a week of programmes on BBC World Service focusing on the issue of migration.

SA claims Blair plotted Zimbabwe coup South African president Thabo Mbeki has claimed that South Africa was under pressure from the Labour regime of British former premier Tony Blair to co-operate in a military invasion of Zimbabwe to depose President Mugabe and Zanu-PF, but Pretoria refused. Mbeki made the revelations in an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday (November 23), saying the British wanted to replace President Mugabe with their ‘cat’s paw’, MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, who is on record pledging to violently unseat President Mugabe. The three main British political parties mooted the MDC under the ambit of the Westminster Foundation, and have been sponsoring the party since its launch on September 11 1999 in a bid to effect regime change in Zimbabwe, but the move has failed with Zanu-PF’s resounding victory in the harmonised elections touted by executive director of the Royal African Society Richard Dowden as the heaviest defeat for Britain’s Africa policy in 60 years. Speaking on the programme “Talk to Al Jazeera”, Cde Mbeki said: “There is a retired chief of the British Armed Forces (Lord Charles Guthrie) who said he had to withstand pressure from then prime minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, who was saying to the chief of the British Armed Forces you must work out a military plan so that we can physically remove Robert Mugabe. “We knew that because we had come under the same pressure that we needed to cooperate in some scheme. It was a regime change scheme, even to the point of using military force and we were saying no.” Lord Charles Guthrie was quoted in some sections of the British media as saying he had warned the blundering Blair that it would be suicidal to pit British troops against “the tried and tested veterans of the Congo,” in apparent reference to the Zimbabwe Defence Forces’ exploits during Operation Sovereign Legitimacy in the DRC that helped repel US-backed Ugandan and Rwandan rebels to usher peace that enabled the DRC to hold its first elections in 45 years. Cde Mbeki, who facilitated inter-party talks that led to the formation of the now defunct inclusive Government made up of Zanu-PF and the MDC formations in 2008,

took a swipe at the West for interfering in the domestic affairs of sovereign nations, particularly in Africa and the Middle East in a veiled bid to effect illegal regime change. “Then we said no. You are coming from London you say you don’t like Robert Mugabe for whatever reason, people in London don’t like him we are going to remove him then you are going to put someone else in his place. Why does it become a British responsibility to decide who leads Zimbabwe?” he asked. “We were saying no. Let Zimbabweans sit down. Let them agree what they do with their country. Our task is to make sure we stay with them. We work with them. So, the GPA they signed in 2008 was negotiated by the Zimbabweans. We facilitated. We chaired the meeting and so on, but it was them who negotiated the agreement.” Cde Mbeki said the Syrian crisis and other similar global conflicts could only be resolved through negotiated settlements as opposed to the West’s regime change template. He said the West believes that the Syrian crisis could only be resolved by removing the government of president Bashar al-Assad and warned such an approach was bound to fail. “Let the Syrians get together,” said Mr Mbeki. “We will assist them to get to a solution which sorts out the Syrian thing, no different to a position we took with regards to Zimbabwe. Let Zimbabweans sort out their problem; let Syrians do the same.” Retired Lieutenant-General Mike Nyambuya described Tony Blair’s military ploy as naive. “It just shows how naive the British are. Zimbabwe is a very unique country that has a crop of soldiers which is very seasoned, well trained and well experienced in fighting wars. Not only do we have people who participated in the liberation struggle, even after independence we fought in Mozambique and participated in peace operations in Somalia and the DRC, among other countries. We have shown that the country does not have a rag-tag army but a professional army that can stand up to anyone including the British. It could have been a miscalculation by the British,” he said. Zimbabwe National War Veterans Association leader Cde Jabulani Sibanda said the British still harbour those intentions even today and urged the nation to remain vigilant.

“What Mbeki is saying is true. What is happening in North Africa and the Middle East is the same strategy that they want to employ in southern Africa. The only difference is that the strategy has worked in the northern side of the equator, judging by the history of coups in North Africa, on the southern side of the equator, they have a problem with the strategy because most of the parties that are running governments are former liberation movements and they have been resisting such moves,” he said. Cde Sibanda said Zimbabweans must remain on high alert politically and militarily as the enemy was not giving up on his intentions. Political analyst and Midlands State University lecturer Mr Christopher Gwatidzo said Mr Mbeki must be applauded by all Zimbabweans for his Pan Africanist values and urged the country to remain vigilant as the West still harbours intentions to effect illegal regime change. “He is an example of a Pan Africanist. We must also awaken to reality, the Western world still harbours regime change intentions and as we engage them through our foreign policy or through tourism or any other forum, we must always doubt their sincerity. We must not trust them. When on the table with them, we must use a long fork because anything is possible with them.” University of Zimbabwe political scientist Dr Charity Manyeruke slammed the British government for trying to install a puppet regime in Zimbabwe. “Behind the closed doors are big regime change agendas. We are Africans and even if you become friends with the British prime minister you will never become a British. We appreciate a lot of what Mr Mbeki has done.” Tony Blair released a statement denying that he put pressure on South Africa while he was in office to help remove Mugabe in a military operation. A spokesperson for Blair denied this had happened, according to AFP, saying the former statesman “long believed that Zimbabwe would be much better off without Robert Mugabe and always argued for a tougher stance against him, but he never asked anyone to plan or take part in any such military intervention”. Mbeki’s spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga told AFP the former president stood by his words.

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Comment

EU to Push for World Without Poverty BY BERND RIEGERT

The target of halving poverty globally by 2015 will only be partially achieved. Experts and politicians are still debating what the development goals are going to look like beyond that date. At the world’s biggest-ever summit in September 2000, 180 leaders set what became known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Extreme poverty was to be cut in half by 2015, access to food, water, education and health care was to be dramatically improved. Two years ahead of that deadline, scientists, aid workers and politicians have convened at the EU’s Development Days in Brussels. Around 5,000 people attend the annual event, spread over 80 working groups. But there are no concrete agreements to be expected. “It’s just a discussion forum, a kind of family gathering to mull things over,” according to EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs. Barroso and Dlamini-Zuma at the EU’s Development Days in Brussels

Millenium goals will fail

Taking stock of what’s been achieved so far is a sobering task. According to the World Bank, few of the 24 goals have been reached. The number of extremely poor people - those living on less than one euro a day - has actually been halved, when taking an average global reading. But regional differences are stark. While China, India and some other parts of Asia have improved, extreme poverty is still widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. “We have to admit that our progress report on achieving the MDGs is uneven,” Jamaica’s prime minister, Portia Simpson-Miller, said. “Much more needs to be done to close the gap between the haves and have-nots to reduce and eradicate inequity, inequality and exclusion in our world.” Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who represents the African Union, pointed out that Africa had made progress but that economic development was not sufficient. “Africa is the world’s second-fastest growing region, poverty has declined faster since 2005 than over the preceding 15 years... However, given the low place from which we started, it’s not fast enough to reach the target of halving poverty by 2015.”

Political instability hampers development

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is part of a UN commission to further the MDGs, says access to clean water has 4

From left: Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, with UN commissioners

improved as well as access to education for girls and women. But there has been no progress in the fight against malaria, for example. Some governments in Africa, she says, have to take more responsibility and resolve conflicts, both domestically and with neighboring countries that are hampering development. Johnson Sirleaf herself has been leading a country since 2006 that had been torn apart by civil war. “While countries like mine are making steady progress, we continue to confront new conflicts and crises,” she told delegates. “Conflict and fragility affect us all, these are phenomena that can appear in many places and forms, including in countries that are not currently seen as fragile.” Africa is not the only region with fundamental problems, Johnson-Sirleaf said The Liberian president, whose policies are contentious in her own country, and other African leaders have set out their vision for Africa 2030. By then, poverty in Africa is to be eradicated. The leaders envisage a new global partnership under the auspices of the United Nations. “We negotiated not as North-South, EastWest, poor or rich, but as members of one humanity, with a common destiny,” Johnson Sirleaf told delegates. Speaking in Brussels, she deliberately and confidently pointed out that Africa was by no means the only region in trouble. “Economic transformation is a not a priority for Africa alone,” she emphasized.

“The recent economic meltdown that plunged the world into recession, the widening gap between rich and poor... the rising scourge of youth unemployment clearly show that transformation is needed everywhere, not just in Africa.”

‘A world without poverty in our generation’

EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also set out his development vision post-2015. He said the progress made so far was encouraging despite all the setbacks. “For the first time ever, we have what it takes to eliminate poverty in our lifetimes, and to ensure sustainable prosperity within the boundaries of what our planet can provide,” he told delegates at the Development Days. He is convinced that a world without poverty can be achieved if there is a strong enough political will. Europe, he said, certainly will not stand in the way, but “will be at the forefront” of efforts to fight poverty. Aid organizations pointed out that few countries have implemented the official target of setting aside 0.7 percent of gross domestic product annually on development aid. Barroso promised delegates to press EU member states to push to fight climate change and global warming. After the rather labored “deal” reached at the recent UN climate conference in Warsaw, his promise may sound rather hollow to some.

Simon Maxwell from the UK’s Overseas Development Institute in Brussels sees a direct connection between poverty and climate change. He says the effects of climate change like flooding or loss of crops often reverse progress that’s been made in the fight against poverty.

Europe stands to benefit

Barroso emphasized that achieving the millennium goals was important for Europe too. He mentioned the deaths of hundreds of African refugees off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa. “Recent events like the tragedy off the island of Lampedusa make it painfully clear that the world’s misery and lack of hope unavoidably affect Europe as well,” he said. “I’ve visited Lampedusa myself... and the shocking things I saw will stay with me forever. I see them as another appeal that global problems demand European engagement, a forward-looking development agenda and true, international cooperation.” The message seems to have got through, according to the EU’s Eurobarometer opinion poll. Around 70 percent of EU citizens believe that fighting poverty in developing countries affects Europe in a positive way. Almost half of EU citizens are prepared to pay more for food if the

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News

Investigations expose exploitation of Care sector workers

More than 2,400 workers in the care sector were underpaid the National Minimum Wage (NMW) in the last two years across the United Kingdom. Over the twoyear period, HMRC looked at jobs across the sector and investigated 224 employers. Some investigations are ongoing, but to date 88 cases have been found to be non-compliant.

These investigations have identified nearly £340,000 in arrears for over 2,400 workers and also over £110,000 in penalties to employers for breaking the law. Jo Swinson, Employment Relations Minister, said: “Anyone entitled to the National Minimum Wage should receive it. Paying anything less than this is illegal and unacceptable. Government will take tough action on employers who break the law, as we can see through HMRC’s investigation into the care sector. As well as financial penalties, employers who don’t play by the rules can be publically named and shamed and may even be prosecuted. “If workers feel they aren’t getting the minimum wage that they are legally entitled to, then they should contact the free and confidential Pay and Work Rights Helpline.”

Employment Relations Minister Jo Swinson

The results of targeted enforcement carried out by HMRC found that the main reasons offered by care sector employers for not paying the minimum wage included: making illegal deductions such as uniform costs; not paying for time spent training or travelling between care jobs; charges for living accommodation; incorrect hourly pay rates; and incorrect use of apprentice

rates. HMRC’s work is helping to better understand the reasons why some employers break the law and what can be done to prevent this, such as helping raise awareness of how NMW rules apply to the care sector. Richard Summersgill, Director for Local Compliance at HMRC, said: “Concerns had been raised about abuse

of the rules in the care sector and so HMRC decided to take a closer look to ensure that care workers were getting a fair deal. We checked that employers were operating the rules correctly and when we found the rules were not being followed, we acted quickly.” “Our investigations found that the reasons for not paying the legal wage varied from unpaid working time spent training or travelling between care appointments to making deductions from workers’ pay that brought their pay below the minimum wage. Most employers are honest and pay their staff the correct rate, but this sends a clear message to the care sector that paying the National Minimum Wage is the law, and we will act when we find people not following the rules.“ HMRC’s investigation highlighted some useful steps that employers can take to make sure they are abiding by the law. These include keeping full records of the precise hours, being aware that deductions from workers pay can result in workers receiving less than NMW rates, as well as being aware of the amount of the accommodation offset and ensuring that this is factored into workers’ pay where accommodation is provided.

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News

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European Somalian Business Chamber established in London

The launching of the European Somalian Business Chamber (ESBC), which took place in London recently is to promote business relations and commercial activity between the Somalia and Europe business communities by providing networking and developing trade initiative opportunities that are of benefit to both Somalia and Europe. The chamber which is chaired by the Rt Hon Lord Tony Baldry, a conservative member of parliament, is supported by several leading public figures such as ESBC director, Mr. Sarosh Zaiwalla, a senior partner at Zaiwalla & Co and also the first Asian to set up an Indian law firm in the city of London. The Chamber represents businesses of all sizes and sectors from across Europe and Somalia and beyond delivering business information, advice and services. It hopes to achieve in making Somalia a business destination for companies

His Excellency, Abdullahi Mohamed Ali Ambassador of the Somali Federal Republic to the Court of St. James and Rt Hon Lord Tony Baldry

and a foreign direct investment coup. Key services included: Promotion of commercial opportunities and introductions to political and industry decision-makers, potential partners, clients, investors and in-country agents through participation in our programme of networking and trade events. Assistance in addressing specific business-related problems and legal issues, including applications for multientry business visas. Provision of business intelligence and market research, delivered to members in the form of newsletters, email updates, exclusive reports and one-to-one briefings. The ESBC worked hand-in-hand with the Somali business communities to set up a Somali embassy in London. This is to provide European businesses a first point of contact for any matter relating to the country and trade relations with UK.

Ethiopia planning $100bn energy strategy

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

As part of its plan to become a regional energy exporter, Ethiopia says it is working on a new power strategy to boost electricity production.

On Tuesday (November 26), prominent Ethiopian and foreign experts began consulting on ways to implement Addis Ababa’s 25-year power master plan. Head of the state utility, Ethiopian Electric and Power Corporation (EEPCo), Mihret Debeb, told reporters that the new power policy will enable Ethiopia to generate 37,000 mega watts (MW) of electrical energy by 2037. Ethiopia’s current power production stands at around 2,300 MW. However, experts say the stated amount of power is not enough to produce the increased demand in the countries industrial sector and taking into account the country’s fast economic growth. Under the country’s 2010 ﬁve-year growth and transformation plan, Ethiopia has plans to increase its power generation to 10,000 MW and to sustain its economic growth at 11-15% per year until 2015. Experts told Sudan Tribune that under the new plan Ethiopia will eventually be able to export over 4,000 MW of hydro8

power to some nine countries in the East African region. This could eventually be extended to North and South African nations. Last year Ethiopia’s energy industry grew by around 18%. According to the experts, the 25-year energy strategy will cost Ethiopia $100 billion. The funds are expected to be secured from local sources and from international funds. As part of the plan, Ethiopia will build over 16,000km of high voltage transmission lines in the next 10 years. If Ethiopia succeeds with its ambitious strategy of the next quarter of a century, the experts say that the East African nation will be able to control a huge regional market giving Addis Ababa a strategic economic and political advantage in the region. Currently Ethiopia is exports 60MW of electricity to neighbouring Djibouti and around 100MW to Sudan, boosting the country’s income considerably. According to the EEPCo, Ethiopia has a potential to produce some 45,000 megawatts of electricity from hydropower alone. Edited by Alan Oakley

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India

Life for wealthy parents who slit daughter’s throat

After ﬁve years of legal wrangling and public conjecture, a wealthy Delhi couple have been jailed for life for murdering their teenage daughter and a male servant in a case beset by police bungling and trial by media.

Dentists Rajesh and Nupur Talwar are said to have killed 14 year-old Aarushi and Nepalese house servant Hemraj Banjade, 45, after discovering them in an “objectionable” situation in 2008. Aarushi was found in bed with her throat cut with, according to the prosecution, “clinical precision”. After initially being regarded as the prime suspect, the missing Benjade was later found dead on the roof of the house. He had a similar injury to that which killed Aarushi and he also had blunt object wounds to the head. Police attention then turned to Mr and Mrs Talwar, who were believed to have murdered the pair as an ‘honour killing’ despite the absence of solid evidence. A theory that another party or

Sweden

Nurpur and Rajesh Talwar arrive for an earlier court date

parties had attacked Aarushi and killed Benjade after he came to her aid was rejected by the prosecution after three suspects passed lie detector tests. The case has maintained a high proﬁle in India because of what has been termed police incompetence as well as the relative afﬂuence of the perpetra-

Stats paint bleak picture for unemployed migrants Statistics released this week appear to show that Sweden is the worst country in the EU when it comes to closing the long-term unemployment gap between foreign-born workers and people born in the country. The ﬁgures, which somewhat contradict Sweden’s migration-friendly image, come from a study carried out by Statistics Sweden between 2001 and 2013 that dealt exclusively with long-term unemployment. Researchers found that when it came to long-term unemployment in 2012, Sweden was the EU country with the largest gap between those born in Sweden and those born elsewhere, in terms of time spent unemployed. The report found that Sweden nevertheless had one of the most promising records when it came to the percentage of the population that was unemployed long term, with 2012 records showing that only 37.1 percent of Sweden’s unemployed were jobless for longer than six months, and only 18.9 percent for longer than 12 months. Norway was the only European country with lower long-term unemployed ﬁgures, clocking in at 35.7 percent for longer than six months, although 19.9 percent were out of work for 12 months or more. The 2012 EU average, meanwhile, was 62.4 percent. But the most glaring discrepancy for Sweden was the difference between longterm unemployment times when comparing workers born in the country and those born elsewhere. In 2012, 31.3 percent of unemployed workers born in Sweden were considered

long-term unemployed. The corresponding ﬁgure for foreign-born workers, however, was 48.1 percent. In other words, almost one in two unemployed foreigners in Sweden endured an unemployment period of longer than six months, while less than one in three Sweden-born suffered the same fate. No other country had such a large discrepancy, according to the study, which included the 28 EU member states and Norway. The only country with a marginally comparable statistic line was Norway, where 33.1 percent of the total unemployed domestic-born population was long-term unemployed, while 41.2 percent of those born abroad had a six-month or longer period of joblessness. In some countries, such as Malta and Poland, statistics indicated the opposite, with people born in Poland accounting for 61 percent of the country’s long-term unemployed, while only 33 percent of Poland’s long-term unemployed were foreign-born workers. On average, the discrepancy between the domestic- and foreign-born long-term unemployment rates was relatively small across the EU, with a slightly higher percentage of workers born in-country, 62.5 percent, considered to be long-term unemployed, compared to 61.8 percent for foreign-born workers. The report provides a somewhat different picture than another Statistics Sweden report that found roughly seven of ten new jobs created in Sweden since 2006 went to people born overseas.

tors. The police failed to seal off the crime scene, leaving potentially crucial forensic evidence to be disturbed by journalists, curious onlookers and the Talwars themselves, who were not arrested until a week later. There was also a 24 hour gap between the discovery of Aarushi’s body and that of Benjade,

which was just metres away. The prosecution based its entire case on the so-called ‘last-seen theory’ – that the victims were last seen with the accused – and the notion that the Talwars probably came home to find Aarushi and the servant in an uncompromising position. The term “clinical precision” used by the prosecution of the victims’ wounds also pointed the finger of suspicion towards an assailant with surgical training. The dearth of substantial evidence even moved the prosecution to attempt to close the case in December 2010. A judge rejected this application, ordering the Talwars to stand trial. In sentencing on Tuesday (November 26) Judge Shyam Lal stopped short of the available death sentence in favour of life imprisonment for both defendants. Defence lawyer Satyaketu Singh said after sentencing that “there is no evidence against them” and expressed confidence that “this judgment will be overturned.”

Mexico

40 and counting found in drug cartel ‘graveyard’

Investigators load the latest corpses found at the impromptu La Barca graveyard sa, Michoacan, some of whom confessed More than 40 bodies, many of them they had handed over the officers and other bound and gagged, have been found people to New Generation gunmen. The in clandestine graves in western missing detectives have not been located Mexico as investigators continue to nor have their bodies appeared so far in the uncover evidence of drug-related graves, though excavations continue. Some slayings. of the bodies appear to have been buried The graves are in La Barca near the borfor a year or more. der between Jalisco and Michoacan states, Meanwhile, in Fresnillo in the northin a remote area popular among tourists and central state of Zacatecas, officials reported American retirees. The region has become that they had found the bodies of two womthe site of a turf war between the Knights en hung from a pedestrian bridge. The pair Templar and the New Generation cartels. were found at dawn and the cause of death Agents were led to the 22 mass graves is still being investigated. Photos published by local police officers who confessed to by local media showed that a hand-written working with a drug cartel. banner like the ones often used by drug The investigation started off as part of cartels to leave threatening messages was a search for two missing federal detectives. hung close to the bodies. Investigators detained 22 local police officers from the nearby town of Vista Hermo9

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Osun State has experienced dramatic alterations in several spheres of infrastructural and human capital development in the last three years since the advent of the Rauf Aregbesola administration. Three years ago when Aregbesola was inaugurated, he pledged that he would offer the people of Osun a friendly government, a government totally committed to unlocking the latent potentials of Osun people. The education sector is perhaps one of the most noticeable and talked about sectors that have received the imprint of the Aregbesola administration. It ﬂowed from the education summit spearheaded by renowned Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka and other stakeholders in the education sector, which was convened by the current administration shortly after assuming the mantle of leadership of the state on 27th November 2010. Prior to the inception of the present administration in Osun State or the State of Osun as the Aregbesola has restyled the

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (2nd right); Acting Managing Director, Jaiz Bank Plc, Hassan Usman (2nd left); Head, Corporate and Retail Banking, Jaiz Bank Plc, Alhassan Abddulkarim (left) and Corporate Banking, Jaiz Bank Plc, Azeez Oyegunle, during a Courtesy Visit to the Governor in Osogbo, the State of Osun

state, no one would ever have imagined the changes. Public education had been so badly managed that only pupils whose parents could not afford the ﬁnancial implications of a private school were left in the public schools. The students, especially those in primary schools were roughly dressed and mal-nourished. School buildings were in dilapidated state, students’ performance both at the internal/external examinations were abysmally poor. One of the steps taken by the current administration in sharpening the sector is the provision of two pairs of uniﬁed school uniforms to each of 750,000 pupils in all the public primary and secondary schools across the state to boost the morale of the students and further promote unity among the public schools in the state. The provision of the uniforms free of charge reportedly gulped a whopping N800million aside from N1.8billion being injected for the running of basic education. No fewer than 3,000 tailors were contracted by the government to sew the new uniforms made of Adire batik. The material was chosen to empower the artisans and Adire makers in the state and as well make the state a reference point for its creativity to others. The administration is also injecting a whopping sum of N30billion to give a new lease to the structures and classrooms under which pupils studied going by the recommendations of the summit. Under the arrangements, the state government is constructing 170 new model schools across the state to replace the dilapidated buildings with state of the art fa-

cilities expected to enhance and stimulate the teaching and learning environment. To further stimulate the interest of students to learning, the government said it is reducing the burden of having to go to school by replacing books with computer tablets invented for that purpose. The device designed in form of an iPad called “Opon Imo,” has a software containing the entire senior school syllabus, including Yoruba traditions, past questions of the West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Examination Council (NECO) and Joint Administration and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for 10 years in the software design for the system. The government’s achievements in the education sector have, however, been trailed with controversy, notably in the reclassification scheme of the schools. That scheme has been especially criticized by the opposition in the state and the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN which has flayed it as a scheme directed against Christians. The administration has also made landmarks in security to the extent that Osun State is today one of the most peaceful states in the country. Apart from the regular police manning the state, government set up dedicated crime response teams nicknamed Swift Action Squad (SAS), who are now visible in strategic areas in the state as well as identified troubled sports. Not done yet, additional 100 patrol vans were also to be provided for the SAS and seven more police state to be built. Currently, a state –wide distress management system, which would allow security agency to respond within 40 minutes, is being developed so as to guarantee effective and efficient crime, detection, crime prevention and crime control. In addition to this, a community policing network is also evolving to boost security network across the country. Because security must be all-rounder, government recently purchased a helicopter for SAS for area surveillance of the state. Aregbesola’s government intends to make the state crime-free. The administration has also made strategic improvements in the health sector and embarked a social security system tagged Agba Osun (Osun Elders), under which the government selected about 1, 600 most vulnerable people across the state and placed them on monthly stipend of N10, 000 for their upkeep. The youths have also been boosted with an empowerment scheme dubbed Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme otherwise called OYES. Culled from Vanguard Newspapers.

Photos: Taofeeq Adejare

Aregbesola’s three unusual years in Osun

Friday, 29 November – Thursday, 05 December 2013

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Nigerians Investors to access long tenure Following the recent visit of the Nigerian President to the UK for a parley with investors, one of the fall-outs of that event which looked at the issue of enabling Nigerian investors better yielded Government’s revelation that concerted efforts are being made to ensure that entrepreneurs can access Long Term Loans, as the country aims to be among the top 20 economies in the world by 2020. Government officials at the fifteenth session of the Honorary International Investment Council (HIIC) in London on Friday, stressed that availability of long term affordable finance in Nigeria would encourage more local and foreign investments. The Co-Chair of HIIC, Baroness Linda Chalker, stressed that such loans were essential to make the economy more competitive. “The council supported the need to ensure holistic approach covering entire financing value chain so that all aspects of financing, including debt finance, capital market as well as alternative financing should be available,” she said.

President Jonathan and Baroness Linda Chalker

Access to affordable ﬁnance to bring to life their ideas is a major problem to entrepreneurs in Nigeria. As the government places priority on access to loans, the country’s major source of revenue – crude oil – is being syphoned. Crud Oil theft is affecting the actual revenue generated from the sales. Also, corruption and bureaucracy have affected the availability of funds for ﬁnancing of loans and as such, hinder investors’ access to affordable loans. These and other issues were discussed copiously at the Investors council meeting and suggestions proffered. Among the dignitaries on the President

A-G announces conviction of terrorists The Federal Government has announced that 11 Boko Haram insurgents have been convicted in the last one year. The Minister of Justice and AttorneyGeneral of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Adoke said this at the 12th session of the Assembly of State Parties, World Forum Theatre, The Hague. He said that the Federal Government was working on a compensation and rehabilitation scheme for victims of Boko Haram attacks in line with the recommendation of the presidential committee, which recently submitted its report. Mr. Adoke added that the preliminary ﬁndings by the prosecutor and the president of the International Criminal Court had galvanized support for the government’s efforts to address security challenges associated with Boko Haram. Attacks by the Boko Haram sect have been most devastating in Northern Nigeria with the State of Emergency recently extended in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States. However government’s efforts have started yielding results. According to Mr. Adoke, government’s efforts have started yielding positive results. He said,” The prosecution of those responsible for these crimes that the ﬁndings of the prosecutor, categorised as crimes against humanity has recorded 11 convictions in the past one-year; while the prosecution of several suspects for these crimes is ongoing. “Nigeria is articulating a scheme of com-

pensation and rehabilitation for victims of Boko Haram attacks in line with the recommendation of a presidential committee on dialogue and reconciliation.” The AGF said Nigeria was supportive of the trust fund for victims of international crimes and called on state parties to contribute generously to the fund. He noted that the court could only succeed in its mandate with the cooperation and goodwill of state parties. He stated that the country was concerned about the frosty relationship between the Court and the African Union. This, Adoke said, appeared to have worsened over the years. The AGF said, “The overwhelming number of indictments issued by the court in Africa, the court’s tendency to focus more on the pursuit of justice to the detriment of measures aimed at fostering peace and reconciliation and the non-recognition of customary international law immunities for serving Heads of State and Government have been thorny issues.” He said Nigeria welcome the special segment dedicated to the issue of the indictment of sitting heads of state and government and its consequences on peace, stability and reconciliation. According to him, Nigeria hopes that the frank exchanges between state parties will bring the challenges to the fore with a view to proffering solutions. The solutions, he said, would further reinforce Nigeria’s support and cooperation with the court.

entourage was the governor of Delta State, Emmanuel Uduaghan, who emphasised that crude oil theft required technical process and that only people with such ideas could be involved in the crime. “The people that know what to do are those that are directly working with oil companies or contractors to the companies. “I appeal to International Oil Companies (IOC) to look inwards in that area,” he suggested. A council member and investor, Alec Erwin, pointed out that there were improvements in the registration of companies in Nigeria.

“The impression that many investors have of Nigeria is improving very very quickly,” he said. The Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, had on Friday tasked the council to look at issues hindering competitiveness and investments in Nigeria. “Competitiveness ultimately drives proﬁtability which is what investors are seeking world wild,” he said reiterating the government’s commitment to making the Nigerian economy more competitive. The HIIC was inaugurated in 2004 by a former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, as an advisory council to the Nigerian government on economic growth. The council, which meets every six months, is an organization of prominent investors from around the world that advises the Nigerian government on matters pertaining to the country’s economic development including reducing political corruption, making the best of oil production and attracting more investments. The idea is also to see Nigeria lose the identity of crime, violence, poverty, political instability and other vices often associated with the country’s image.

FG reviews bilateral agreement with Russia

Mr Mohammed Adoke

THE Federal Government has sought the review of its bilateral agreement with Russia following change of domestic policy on higher education in Russia.

Director/Secretary of the Federal Scholarship Board, Ms Ifeoma Agunwah, who made this request when she led a delegation of fact-ﬁnding mission to Russia, raised some issues which she said had gone against the spirit of the existing BEA between both countries. A statement in Abuja, on Wednesday, from the Federal Ministry of Education, said Agunwah spoke recently at a meeting held between ofﬁcials of the Federal Scholarship Board (FSB) and the International Department of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, in Moscow, Russia.

The meeting was part of the series of consultation sessions held by officials of the FSB, who were on a fact-finding mission to Russia. She pointed out that while the current scholars under the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) were awarded scholarships to study up to Master Degree level, the Russia Government has changed its domestic policy such that the Nigerian Scholars might end up with certificates not recognized in Nigeria. Responding, leader of the Russia team Mr Boris Zhelezou, explained that the new policy affected both foreign students and Russia nationals, further remarking that it was a significant policy shift which requires a redesignation of mandate and scope of higher institutions in Russia. He was of the opinion that Nigerian students affected by the policy should first accept a first degree and later seek admission for Master degree in institutions licenced to award such degrees. However, he said all issues pertaining to the new policy would be tabled before the Nigerian government while negotiating a new Bilateral Education Agreement.

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Special Report

Friday, 29 November – Thursday, 05 December 2013

Stella Oduah: paid for by fate By Peter Olorunnisomo

Stella Oduah may not have been the kind of name that would be ringing alarm bells in the world of Nigerian politics but elsewhere in another side of public service – the humane side – she would be a very noticeable figure. Even then it would be in a rather sublime way. In that part of the world, philanthropy used to belong to the notables and the noticeables who have a long history of wealth and a family bed of several individual millionaires (it doesn’t matter if the source was one pot). She also doesn’t have that kind of name that would have resonated with the high and mighty who people will want to look at standing up aftermath of the Nigerian civil war when our societies became redefined. Stella hailed from Anambra state which used to be in the East Central state. There people were known for there business acumen and industry and those who went to school did such a good job of it they became politicians of note. But where women will not necessarily be considered for education, Stella had a

Princess Stella Oduah provision with fate which was to manifest in the way she would plough back her life for others. Education she got; and a good quantum of it to challenge the misconception that women, albeit meant to marry, were needless investments for the future. Her years of vintage education paid off for her services in the Nigerian oil industry from where she began to climb the ladders towards her fulfilment and her humanitarian roles. Perhaps it is significant, that knowing who Stella Oduah truly stems not in what

she is paid to do but rather what she does. She was paid to work in the oil industry where she rose to become Chief Executive of the Sea Petroleum & Gas group. Yes, she was paid as Chairman, Board of News Agency of Nigeria; agreed she is paid a salary to be Minister of Aviation but is that Stella true and true? In the world of benevolent elitism and following the beacon of such people as the Bill Gates, John Whitgifts of this world, Stella, probably through her exposition to western society, has quietly replicated such humane activities. Her culture not being far from her, she is dictated to by the adage that ‘charity certainly does begin at home’. Her world, her personal world has since been a world of service to people of her locality and beyond. Providing support to indigent and charitable interest groups and designing strategies of socio-economic empowerment for the people and communities to key into has become the mainstay of her endeavours where the drive for wealth would not guarantee the use for it. That is who Stella is and the kind of person she has become.

Over ten awards including the Order of the Niger (OON), a Paul Harris Fellowship, and a honorary doctorate in Business Administration is not enough to repress who she really is. Asked to be a Minister vetted by the Houses of Assembly states she was found fit to be of service. It is service that has become the operative word to who Stella truly is. A plethora of initiatives supporting people, children, women, cancer, heart, and other health causes, and community infrastructural projects speak volumes of where her fabric for life is stitched from. She is known to have donated health centres, schools, given scholarships, mosque, and fed as necessary as many as would be found needy. And these are not just located in one demography but in diverse locations. This is the Stella that must be applauded, this is the woman who should carry convictions of humaneness, and this is the person to whom others owe their livelihood and who will receive prayers for being blessed in such considerations and benevolence: not the woman robed in political garb who gets ‘accused of farting when she is serving a gathering of people’. Yet she is not the saint that must be a matyr too.

Udoh pursues transformation agenda for Aviation The Aviation industry in Nigeria has been one critical area of public service whose commercialization has been plagued by fallible circumstances arising, not only from the government and policies put out but also from stakeholders and accidents of fate (if that will be admissible). The industry that has gone through a myriad of policy shifts, re-organization, re-shuffles, management re-growth, and all sorts yet it has not satisfied the expected performance levels of all stakeholders. In fact, it has proved more than a balancing act challenging Charlie Chaplin to an order of disorders to serious for jokes and too flab for a garb. However, despite the various attempts of past administrators, political and technical, the challenge has chiefly been to meet a compliance standard to assure safety, give value for money, prove vibrant as a foreign exchange earner to impact on viable and affordable costs for air travel locally and internationally, and a national pride capable of stimulating and reflecting the growth of the nation in the world market. Against a backdrop of air accidents with fatal consequences, the rise and fall of domestic airline enterprises, and the challenges of administering a world rate air management system, the federal Government has included this industry as a core item of the transformation agenda policy. Reflecting the support of President Goodluck Jonathan, there has been a strong under-current of strategic re-positioning not only of human capital but also of focus and 12

Engr. Nnamdi Udoh the deployment of resources. It is these that have enabled the participation by appointment to a management role of Mr. Nnamdi Udoh whose experience in the aviation sector serving on the government side of the Aviation industry for over 30 years brings out the reconciliation of vision, history, vision, and technical best practices for the much desired lift to the next level. Engneer Udoh was interviewed by Christy Anyanwu and these excerpts go to confirm the expected direction of government and the improvement required not necessarily by an over-haulage but by a careful understanding of the context of operations that requires the world to agree with us and recognize the standard and status of the Nigerian industry justifying that Nigeria be rated potentially as one of the best with a high safety record for commercial travel and for the military defence of her territorial integrity.

In what specific ways has NAMA benefited from the Transformation Agenda? Firstly, NAMA itself is transforming in the way we do business. We are now able to offer seamless air traffic control service. We have transited to area radar control. This is the first time this happened the country. We are now vectoring aircraft on area radar control. This has made our air traffic management very seamless, save time for pilots, save fuel for airline owners and make life comfortable and seamless for the traffic controllers. That is transformation. Secondly, with what is going on in the airport development, we are experiencing a great deal of airport remodeling. The vision of the Honourable Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah is to ‘grow’ the airports in terms of the traveling environment and the traffic. So there is massive transformation going on in the aviation sector. Of course, there is the issue of bi-lateral air service agreement that has been decentralized. Several airlines want to come to Nigeria because they see the country as an attractive destination. Besides, we occupy a geographical position in West Africa that puts at an advantage in the sub-region. Is NAMA now properly equipped to track all aircraft within Nigeria’s airspace? I just talked about seamless airspace. By that I mean that NAMA is not only equipped with modern facilities, but it is also backed by well-trained personnel to track every aircraft that flies in our airspace. Yes, NAMA is well equipped to do discharge it mandate effectively.

Does Nigeria have the capacity to check breaches of its airspace?

What do you mean by breaching? With new radar we have now, no airplane will come into Nigeria’s airspace undetected. But in case of violation we will land you safely and of course the principles and procedures for dealing with violation of airspace will follow. But if you are talking in terms of external aggression, then that is an issue for the military. But you’ll be shocked that Nigeria has what it takes to contain and manage airspace traffic in terms of enemy invasion. Nigeria is a very wide country, but if you go to any airport and look around, you will see military installations. At every international airport in Nigeria, there are Airforce Commandants and they are not there to play. We have air-force men working in our control towers; so we are properly covered.

In what other ways are you effecting change as NAMA leader?

We have moved to boost our involvement in Public Private Initiatives. For instance, we are managing the Bonny Airport for the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited. We are also managing air traffic services for Forcados, Escravos and in Warri, whereby we provide services for helicopter operations for the oil sector. We also deploy what we call ADS-B (Automatic Dependant Surveillance Broadcast) to enable us provide effective service for helicopters that fly low in the Niger Delta. That would be part of the surveillance technology that we want to deploy, because those small helicopters flying around need to be properly captured and vectored in the Niger Delta by an ADSB facility.

Friday, 29 November – Thursday, 05 December 2013

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Special Report

Yero gets thumbs up for Kaduna By Peter Olorunnisomo

Kaduna state of Nigeria has always been a core centre reflecting the earliest influences of socio-cultural and infrastructural development for the whole of the north. Very early in the years after independence, Kaduna as a city stood out as the gate to civilisation of the north. Whether north, south, west, or east of it, Kaduna as a city embraced all from the entrepreneurial to the educational institutions, from the vibrant occupationally mobile to the rail transport system, from the multi-ethnic fusion of tribes to the western and eastern faith doctrines lying with traditional beliefs, agriculture and then the military infrastructures. All these set a standard which has remained unbeaten in the whole of northern Nigeria about Kaduna. It was no wonder later then that when the creation of state structures occurred, Kaduna got its geo-political sphere from the former North Central state and was naturally identity branded as Kaduna. It had become the Lagos of the country for the north. Peace and stability in Kaduna has always found a way to diffuse to other parts of the north. It is this same state that has as its Governor today a man whose ascendancy to Office has come in similar guise as Mr. President, Goodluck Jonathan’s. He was a former deputy governor but as it happened, the governor lost his life in a helicopter accident and he was left to take the mantle of state administration and zeal to assure that he was

The Kaduna House of Assembly

His Excellency Mukthar Ramalan Yero Executive Governor of Kaduna State

capable of proving himself as veritable visionary and achiever. He is Governor Mukhtar Yero Ramalan. Since April, 2013 when he assumed the full reins of office, he has embarked on a revitalisation of his vision for the state affecting core areas of the people’s expectation. By the provision of vehicles and buses for commercial usage and ease of public transportation, he tied an entrepreneurial and empowerment philosophy to the scheme. From a pilot scheme of 40 cars for example to use as taxis, the state has granted a subsidy of 50% on costs and a tenure of two years to make repayment. This scheme compels the individual to put the vehicle to work for the people and thus enhance the transport situation and ease of mobility of the people. The same goes for the buses which are used for inter-municipal and inter-state travel. In similar vein, 700 tricycles were also provisioned to affect employment and poverty alleviation to enable those people who at the lower economic rung of

the income ladder to find relevance and sustainable income for their survival and their families.

peace, order, and sense of safety necessary for the socio-economic development of the peoples of the state. Ensuring that education could be better facilitated and delivered certainly reflected a core concern as consultations on a large scale was put afoot to ensure that education received best practices and became a cardinal deliverable to all and sundry in the state. This would certainly affect improved policies on educational processes to mark a fundamental difference to what the people of the state would enjoy. While these are not exhaustive of what Governor Yero has been able to do in less than a year, it definitely portends what his vision for the state can be and how seriously he takes his political responsibility in service to the people.

Commercial vehicles for mass transit

Agriculture also enjoyed encouragement as Governor Yero also invested in the procurement of tractors to boost land use and farming engaged in by peasant farmers given the rich agricultural landscape of Kaduna which is yet to be fully exploited. Water, as an integral part of daily sustenance and rural provision as a responsibility of government, received a massive boost with almost a billion naira investment in provision and facilitating potable drinking water to the people. His concerns for the wellness of the state reflects by his recent distribution forty new Toyota Hilux vans, fitted with communication gadgets, to security agencies in the state is indicative of the very glaring need to help these agencies fulfil their mandate to ensure

Governor Mukhtar Yero Ramalan would, about this time, be in the United Kingdom to receive an award in recognition of services to the people of Kaduna state. Yet it cannot be all smooth sailing as they say that ‘uneasy lies the head that wears the crown’.

Completed overhead water tank at the Zaria Water project site

Friday, 29 November – Thursday, 05 December 2013

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CRIME

Father and son jailed for sex crimes

David Brennan

A 55-year-old man has, 25 November, been convicted of sexually abusing ﬁve young girls over the course of sixteen years, following a three week trial at Woolwich Crown Court. His son also stood trial charged with sexually abusing one of those girls. David Brennan, aged 55 and Sam Brennan, aged 22, both of Horn Park Lane, London, SE12, were convicted of sixteen and four offences respectively, following an investigation by ofﬁcers from the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command (SOECA).

On 8 November 2012, David was arrested at his home address on suspicion of the rape of the primary complainant, which she alleged had taken place on numerous occasions over a four year period, when she was aged between six and ten. Twelve days later, David was further arrested on suspicion of indecency towards another girl, which she stated had occurred over ﬁve years, when she was aged between seven and eleven. During the course of his arrest, a number of hand written notes were found in David’s possession which he had entitled ‘My Life Story or Confession’. In this document David confessed to engaging in a variety of sexual activities with three other girls, all of whom were under the age of 11 years. When the investigating ofﬁcers spoke with one of the children, she alleged that David had forced his own son; who was then under 14 years of age, to pin her to a bed whilst he had raped her. As a result of this information, on 7 January 2013 Sam Brennan was arrested at his home address. As their investigation continued, two further women became known to the police, both of whom alleged that David had sexually abused them between the ages of ten and twelve.

Rough sleeper jailed for attack

John Steele Romanian national Marius Trimitas

A rough sleeper who subjected a woman to a violent rape on a south London street has been jailed for eight years.

Marius Glad Trimbitas, 33 (5.03.80), of no ﬁxed abode, left his victim with numerous injuries. He was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court today, Monday, 25 November, after admitting the offences on Monday, 28 October. Trimbitas will also be placed on an extended license for a period of four years and will be placed on the sex register for life. His victim was saved from further injury and assault after three members of the public fought off the attacker after

they heard the victim’s cries for help. The 24-year-old woman was walking along the New Kent Road, SE1, at around 04:00hrs on Sunday, 6 October, when she stopped to look at a bus timetable. Trimbitas grabbed her from behind and dragged onto a nearby set of steps. He then subjected her to a horriﬁc assault while threatening to kill her. During the attack, three members of the public - two men and a woman - heard the victim screaming and intervened. They pulled Trimbitas off the woman and he then ran off. The two men pursued Trimbitas while the woman looked after the victim but they stopped after Trimbitas confronted them claiming to have a knife. Police were called and the case was investigated by the Met’s Sapphire Command (now the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command). The victim suffered a number of injuries and she required hospital treatment. A shoe found at the scene was analysed at the Met’s Specialist Forensic Services (SFS) lab and identiﬁed that the shoe belonged to Romanian national Trimbitas within 24 hours. Realising the net was closing in, Trimbitas eventually handed himself in

Rap video gang members jailed for attempted murder

Junior Tahir-Akinyele

Kayode Oshin

Two men who boasted about using ﬁrearms and the gang lifestyle on YouTube have today, 26 November, received sentences totalling 78 years.

Oshin used a powerful Mac 10 machine gun to target his victim who was shot in the neck but miraculously escaped without serious injury. Another man, Junior Tahir-Akinyele, 19 (24.03.94), was also found guilty of possession of a ﬁrearm with intent to endanger life and GBH with intent. He was sentenced to: 14 years imprisonment for possession of ﬁrearms with intent to endanger life 12 years imprisonment for GBH with intent All sentences will run concurrently. Both used the video social networking site to post homemade rap videos making reference to the incident.

Kayode Oshin, 21 (27.04. 92) of Magdala Road, Isleworth, was convicted of attempted murder, possession of a ﬁrearm with intent to endanger life and GBH with intent at the Old Bailey on 21 November. 22 years imprisonment for attempted murder 16 years imprisonment for possession of a ﬁrearm with intent to endanger life 14 years imprisonment for GBH with intent All sentences will run concurrently. 14

Detective Constable Iain Bailey, of the Trident Gang Crime Command, said: “These violent offenders, who were involved in a gang and drug dispute, resorted to firearms to settle their arguments. They were then brazen enough to brag about their offending on the internet.” “Thanks to the work of the Trident Gang Crime Command, with the assistance of Hounslow officers, we were able to gather the necessary evidence to bring about this conviction and prevent further offences.” Officers were called at approximately 01: 06 hrs on Thursday, 6 October 2011, to an alleyway between Kingsley Road and North Drive, Hounslow. The victim’s brother called emergency services saying he was shot in the neck. The court heard that the victim was walking along the alleyway with a group of friends. They were then confronted by three males. One of the three males said something to the group before pointing a firearm towards the heads of the men and opening fire. The victim was shot in the neck causing an entry wound and exiting his body via his upper back causing an exit wound. He was taken to hospital where he was treated for his injuries. Officers from Trident Gang Crime

Command investigated. It was believed that the victim was not the intended target but was another male in the group who was in dispute with the two defendants. Oshin and Tahir-Akinyele were arrested on 6 November 2011 and charged in November 2012.

Man charged with kidnap and robbery Angus Macloughlin, of Richmond, 22, was charged on Wednesday, 25 November, with kidnap and robbery. He appeared at Bromley Magistrates’ Court the same day and was remanded in custody to next appear at Croydon Crown Court on Wednesday, 4 December. Moody was arrested in Greenwich at 10:00hrs on Tuesday, 19 November, following an investigation by ofﬁcers from Bromley CID. The accused is believed to have threaten the victim with what appeared to be knife or screwdriver. He demanded the keys to her car she was able to ﬂag down a passing motorist who wrestled him to the ground.

Friday, 29 November – Thursday, 05 December 2013

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Sounds of Diaspora People of America Are Big Boi and Andre Outkasts no more?

Beyonce’s earnings topped every other Black musician but were nevertheless trumped by nine other music acts

Forbes has just published its list of the top 25 earning musicians for 2013 and, despite the profligate spending and obscene displays of wealth that seem to typify the genre, only three hip-hop acts made the cut.

Sean ‘P-Diddy’ Combs at number 12 was the highest earning hip-hop artist, out-earning Jay-Z at number 19, closely followed by Dr, Dre at 21. Combs earned the bulk of his $50 million from his wildly successful Ciroc vodka deal. The only other Black acts on the list were RnB’s Beyoncé who headed them all at number 10 with $53 million earned, and Rihanna, 17th with $43 million. With the foregoing as notable exceptions, it is clear that other hop-hop and RnB acts, despite their perceived popularity, aren’t doing what it takes to earn the really big bucks. Most of the acts that made the list made the majority of their money from touring, generally on the back of commercially successful albums. Unless an artist is prepared to hit the road to promote an album, no matter how quickly it sells initially, earnings will suffer. An outstanding video used to do the trick to some extent, but a trans-continental tour at least is what it takes to earn the big bucks these days.

Too many of our artists see putting out another recording as a remedy for dwindling earnings. Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and Coldplay all out-earned any Black act simply by getting out and performing, as did younger acts like Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift, lest anyone think living legends of popular music present an unfair comparison. As for what is to be done with all that money; a list of the top 25 spenders in music would certainly prove to be interesting reading and might put Black artistes’ penchant for gold-plated Bentleys and fur bedding into perspective. I fear that when the hits dry up and demand wanes for the merchandise, it will be the other artists on the Forbes list who’ll still have enough assets to keep their accountants busy. Top of the tree was Madonna, who earned a mighty $125 million, largely from her MDNA Tour, which grossed $305 million. Her Madge-esty augments her income with heady merchandise sales at concerts, as well as her Material Girl clothing line and Truth or Dare fragrance. Lady Gaga was a distant second with $80 million. But her own tour was cut short due to a hip injury. Industry insiders predict she would have pipped Madonna had she been able to complete the tour. Forbes’ stats look at income from June 1st, 2012 to June 1st, 2013, using data sources including Pollstar, the RIAA, Nielsen SoundScan, managers, lawyers and many of the artists themselves. They take into account concert ticket sales, royalties for recorded music and publishing, merchandise sales, endorsement deals and other business ventures. The Forbes list is restricted to living artists. Removal of this criterion would have seen the late Michael Jackson rise to the summit with total earnings of $160 million.

Award ceremony given a little TLC

Lil Mama, 24, (left), who played Left Eye in the TLC biopic; pictured with the real Chilli, 42, and T-Boz, 43 – though the age disparity is far from obvious

T-Boz & Chilli performed as a revived TLC last Sunday night at the American Music Awards. And they had Lil Mama join them to tribute Left Eye during their performance of “Waterfalls”.

The group, who tragically lost singer-songwriter Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes in a car crash in 2002, hit the red carpet in all their white Lycra, jewel-encrusted finery for their turn on stage with New York hip

hop artist Lil Mama stepping in for Lopes alongside founding members Tionne “TBoz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas. After the “CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story” biopic got so much publicity and Lil Mama’s role as Left Eye got rave reviews, T-Boz & Chilli took advantage of the opportunity to bring Lil Mama, who performed Left Eye’s rap during the performance, in on an official TLC performance.

Is Kelly Rowland engaged or not? Almost nine years since a previous wedding plan hit the skids at the 11th hour, former Destiny’s Child, Kelly Rowland, is rumoured to have got engaged.

The X Factor judge is reportedly betrothed to her manager, Tim Witherspoon, according to a source said to be close to the couple. This, by the way, is not former World Heavyweight Champion ‘Terrible’ Tim Witherspoon who came from behind to knock out Frank Bruno in 1986. That Tim is nearing 56 years old and somewhat out of shape these days. Rumours surrounding the engagement started when Rowland was seen wearing a large diamond ring in a video on a friend’s Instagram account, according to Us Weekly. Rowland was previously engaged to

the then Dallas Cowboys football player Roy Williams. Their relationship ended in January 2005, two months before their planned wedding ceremony. “I was too young for marriage,” the Kelly told Cosmopolitan UK in 2011. “But sometimes you fall down and you learn from it.” She added that she’d be “ready for marriage when the right time comes.” In her latest single, “Dirty Laundry,” Rowland sings about an abusive boyfriend and her jealousy of former Destiny’s Child group member Beyoncé. “It was very emotional. It took me days to record,” Rowland told Billboard about the track. “I had to get past being so upset and actually sing the song, not sob through it.” Rowland’s fourth studio album, “Talk a Good Game,” was released June 18. 15

Friday, 29 November – Thursday, 05 December 2013

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Gospel

KEEP YOUR HOPE ALIVE!

“Having hope will give you courage...” Job 11:18 By Michael Adekoya

Dear Readers, there’s a mental condition that is essential to the life which God wants us to live. It’s the fuel which our heart runs on. It’s the single biggest difference between those who persevere and those who give up. It’s called hope. Webster Dictionary describes “hope” as, “the desire with expectation of obtainment.”

Hope is the general feeling that some desire will surely be fulfilled. Hope is the engine behind faith. The Bible says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Heb 11:1. Hope is a powerful force that arouses our mind to explore every possibility. It is the something or someone on which expectations are centred. My friend, you need to keep your hope alive in this end-times’. Hope will enable you to overcome any daunting obstacles, problems, hardship or crisis. Hope is what makes couples say, ‘I do,’ without any guarantee, and even later in their relationship, after all the broken promises, will still pick up the pieces and try again knowing it can get better. Hope is why composers agonize over a score and artists over a canvas, believing some glimmer of beauty will emerge from the struggle. Labouring to paint the ceiling of Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo grew so discouraged that he wanted to quit. But every morning hope pushed him up the ladder to fulfil his magnificent vision. My friend, hope is what

made Abraham leave home, leave his family and his nation without knowing where God was taking him. If there is anything you need to activate or jump start within you at this era of darkness, it is your hope! Hope is what made Paul challenge the powers of Rome. It’s what fuelled the Old Testament prophets to keep taking on city! This is not blind optimism, but faith focused, and hope-in God. David said to God, ‘...You have been my hope...my confidence since my youth’ Ps. 71:5. My friend, you can survive the loss of many things, but not the loss of hope. Nobody experienced greater loss than Job, yet he wrote: ‘Having hope will give you courage.’ I don’t know what you’re passing through now. You’re not alone! Everyone is passing through one thing or the other. As we drive toward our destiny in life, we will hit potholes, take wrong turns and occasionally forget to check the radiator. So keep your hope alive

Are you looking for a church?

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

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

by trusting in God! My friend, when you feel like quitting, ‘keep on, keeping on’ , keep praying, keep obeying God, keep serving Him in joy and you’ll get what runners call the “second wind”. That’s the power which propels them to the finish line and makes them winners. It’s why the Bible says, ‘Blessed is the man who perseveres...’ Jam. 1:12. You need to stand firm and let nothing move you (1 Cor 15:58). In Jer. 29:11, God says, “I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you hope and expected end.” What a great promise! So if things aren’t going too well in your life at the moment, this verse is for you! God’s people were living as slaves in Babylon because of their disobedience to God. And worse, Babylon was about as pagan as you could get. It wasn’t the kind of place God’s chosen people should stay; it was a moral and spiritual wasteland. And on top of that, the Israelites’ own preachers

were leading them astray. So God told them, ‘”Don’t let all those so-called preachers and know-italls...take you in with their lies...” Jer. 29:8-9. Yet in the midst of all this, along comes the God of hope saying, “I still have a plan for you. It’s not over till I say so. I’m going to turn things around for you. Your best days are ahead” (Paraphrase.) My friend, in light of what you may be going through now, you may say ‘Bro Michael, how do you know that God still has a plan for me?’ Listen! It is because you’re still breathing! Where there’s life, there is hope! God has a plan for every single person He ever created, and it never goes out of date. Unlike the milk in your supermarket that has an expiry date on it, after which it cannot be used, God’s plans don’t have expiry dates. Even if you’ve missed His plan entirely for years, that plan can still swing into operation the moment you turn your life over to Him and fall in line with His will. Now, your plan might be somewhat modified from what it would have been 20 years ago if you’d paid attention, but that doesn’t stop God. He can adapt to fit anything that comes up, in any life that’s ever lived - including yours. So, there’s hope for you! My friend, no matter where you are at this moment, if you haven’t found God’s plan for your life stop what you’re doing and start looking for it! If you are dating a person and you know within your heart that he or she is not Godordained person for you, you better end that relationship and go

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

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

back to God in prayer and ask for your own Ruth or Boaz. There’s nothing in your past or your present that He cannot use. Maybe you’ve gone off course; we all have at one time or another. Read the stories of those God used and you’ll discover that ‘blowing it’ isn’t unusual. It’s actually part of the learning curve. When we come into this world kicking and screaming, none of us know exactly what we’re supposed to do with our lives but we just started somewhere. That’s what you must do now! Listen! When God puts your life on track, He begins by giving you a sense of hope. Only God-given hope will sustain you through the tough times ahead. Maybe you’re wondering, ‘Am I ever going to get to where I’m supposed to be?’ If that’s how you feel today, read the words spoken by God to a group of people who’d spent their last 70 years in Babylonian slavery as a result of having done things the wrong way: ‘I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on Me, when you come and pray to Me, I’ll listen. When you come looking for Me, you’ll find Me. Yes, when you get serious about finding Me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed...I’ll turn things around for you’ Jer 29:1114. My friend, these words are from God’s mouth to you today. 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, 29 November – Thursday, 05 December 2013

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Africa Newsround

Angola

Denials as Islam ban rumour gains wings The government of Angola has reacted angrily to reports that it had outlawed the practice of Islam and begun to destroy the country’s mosques. Reports have been circulating throughout Middle Eastern media that the southern African country had become the first state to ban Islam, many featuring a statement said to be from the country’s President, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, in which he hailed the move as “the final end of Islamic influence in our country.” As early as last Friday, Morroccan paper La Nouvelle Tribune had reported on the ban, and quoted the Angolan Minister of Culture Rosa Cruz as saying that “The process of legalization of Islam has not been approved by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. Their mosques would be closed until further notice.” India Today also published the quote, with Silva reportedly claiming the ban was necessary since Islam is “contradictory to the customs

Government representatives have denied quotes attributed to President Eduardo dos Santos does not interfere in religion.” of Angolan culture.” The source added: “We have a lot of But the International Business Times has religions there. It is freedom of religion. cast doubt on the claims, quoting a number We have Catholic, Protestants, Baptists, of Angolan ofﬁcials as denying the existence Muslims and evangelical people.” He also of such a ban. One unnamed source at the pointed out that the country’s president Angolan Embassy in Washington DC, could not have made the comments who requested annonymity due to the attributed to him as he had been “out of “sensitivity” of the topic, said that “The Republic of Angola … it’s a country that the country” at the time, and said that he

Uganda

Ex-pat doctor rages over property seizure

A naturalised Australian cardiologist acquitted of murdering his wife in Uganda is claiming he is the victim of a conspiracy to deprive him of his property.

Seven years ago Dr Aggrey Kiyingi was acquitted of organising the 2005 shooting murder of his wife Robinah Kiyingi - a high-proﬁle lawyer revered for the human rights and corruption cases she pursued. Mrs. Kiyingi, 55, who was an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda, as well as barrister in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia, was gunned down while waiting for her maid to open the gate to her plush Buziga home. Last week Uganda’s high court ordered seven properties belonging to Dr Kiyingi be sold to businesswoman Diana Jacqueline Asiimwe to repay a 1.29 million Australian dollar debt. “They are being stolen,” Dr Kiyingi

said, adding: “They forged my signature. They forged papers for someone I’ve never met and never known. (..) She (Asiimwe) doesn’t exist.” Dr Kiyingi likened Uganda’s government to the maﬁa, saying there are now moves to seize his family’s ancestral lands in Uganda. “They are trying to steal my ancestral land,” he said. “When they do that, that’s it, they’ve killed you. You don’t do that.” Dr Kiyingi says his wife was killed for political reasons and says he was framed for her death. “By getting rid of her, they silenced her. By getting rid of me, they get rid of a threat,” he said. He has taken out full-page advertisments in Uganda newspapers railing against the seizure of his property. Dr Kiyingi moved to Australia from Uganda in the 1980s and still has a practice in Sydney.

could not find any record of the comments purportedly made by the Minister of Culture either. A second unnamed government official also denied the reports, claiming that the first he heard of it was from the media. “At the moment we don’t have any information about that. We’re reading about it just like you on the Internet. We don’t have any notice that what you’re reading on the Internet is true,” he cautioned. Claims the country had actually begun demolishing mosques in response to the ban have also not stood up to close scrutiny after a number of the photos circulating, purporting to be from the scene of such demolitions, were revealed to be several years old, and not even taken in Angola. Angola’s population of 16 million is predominantly Christian, with only 80,00090,000 Muslims, the majority of whom are migrants from West Africa and families of Lebanese origin.

Namibia

Estranged husband shoots stepdaughter, kills himself

A teenager is ﬁghting for her life after her stepfather shot her in the head last week.

Fernando Joas was in violation of a protection order when he attempted to break into the home he formerly shared with his estranged wife. According to a relative, the wife was elsewhere in hiding. After failing to break open the back door, Joas went to the front to try to kick open the main door. 19-yearold student Eleanor Diergaart, Joas’ wife’s daughter from a previous relationship, was standing in the doorway calling the police when Joas shot her in the head. A cousin and a nephew who were hiding in the room pulled the teenager

to safety while her stepfather ﬁred another shot through a bedroom window. Joas then shot himself in the head and died immediately. Relatives have placed the blame squarely on what they see as inaction by the police, who, they allege, failed to respond properly to complaints about previous violations of the protection order, which was issued in another jurisdiction. A family spokesperson claims that because the police prioritised seeking advice from a local Magistrates’ Court over protecting the wife, she was forced to seek refuge elsewhere. Eleanor Diergaart’s condition was described only as “bad” by a relative. 17

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Friday, 22 November – Thursday, 28 November 2013

Friday, 29 November – Thursday, 05 December 2013

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Entertainment News

The African International Film Festival makes a play for the big time It’s the 3rd edition of the African International Film Festival, the setting is the multi-billion dollar Tinapa resort in Calabar, Nigeria, where the scenery is breath taking, the weather gorgeous and the parties wild beyond belief and would rival anything put on in Cannes, LA or Toronto but don’t let that deceive you into thinking this event was one huge party fest, far from it, backed by the Oil dollars of the Nigerian and Cross River State Government’s and spurred on by their new understanding of the importance of the fast growing global African film industry, they encouraged and supported the organisers in bringing together a whole new breed of world class player to the event. The panels were exciting exchanges of information and knowledge; the workshops led by world-class facilitators were vigorous and educational. Filmmakers screened their films under the direction of Keith Shiri as they looked to build audience awareness and secure distribution deals. Actors came looking for Producers and Directors with new projects and major players in this new space for example Paramount Pictures, Talking Drum Entertainment, Sony Pictures, MNET, United Bank for Africa (UBA), NEXIM Bank, Filmhouse Cinemas, Sliverbird Cinemas, Google and Standard Bank just to mention a few came into town to explore distribution, financing and discuss and pick up new film projects. Chioma Ude the Founder/Executive Director eloquently said in her speech “The Africa International Film Festival as found its home and we look forward to building a world class event that will play its role in the global film industry and we hope to be even bigger and better next year”.

Festival Adviser Mahmood Ali-Balogun & Chioma Ude

MD Filmhouse (Kene Mkparu) and CEO Buni TV

From L-R Chuks Chukwujekwu, Desmond Elliot, Oge Okoye, Her Excellency First Lady of Cross Rivers State Barrister Obioma Liyel Imoke and a guest

Wale Ojo and a guest

Ramsey Noah & friends

Star Actresses- Lynn Whitfield and Rita Dominic

Moses Babatope CEO Talking Drum Entertainment & Film Director Kunle Afolayan

Events calendar What’s On & When Friday, 29 November – Thursday, 05 December 2013

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Arts

Theatre, Shows and Musicals By Ryan Holmes

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

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

The Dead Wait Now- December 1st

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

The 39 Steps Now- March 2014

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

Pride Now-November 9th

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

The Scottsboro Boys Now-December 21st

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

One Man, Two Guvnors Now-March 2014

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

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

Warhorse Now - Oct 27th, 2014

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

Bluebird

Now-December 1st

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

truly disarming character. Theatre Royal Stratford East, London

The Island Now- Nov 30th

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

The Fastest Clock in the Universe Now- November 30th

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

The Dumb Waiter Now- November 23rd

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

Friday, 29 November – Thursday, 05 December 2013

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Arts

Poet of the Week: Modikwe Dikobe With its own administration. I, alone, with a wife and child, Am left in this ruin Once, the pride of my administration, Whipped away are those Who vowed: ‘We stand by our leader’ Left in the mercy of the documents. Powerless, hopeless, I lead nobody I am unfeathered Left wingless Dumfounded. South, West, we are being driven in circles Spanning in confusion A mine dump, head-gear, mine column, a lake, A river bend; seamlessly flowing Not as I saw it on demobbed day.

By Peter Olorunnisomo

Dikobe was born in 1913 in Seabe in what was then the northern Transvaal. At the age of ten he moved to Johannesburg, left school after Standard 6 (Grade 8), and worked at various times as a newspaper-seller, a hawker, a clerk, a bookkeeper, a trade unionist and a night-watchman. In the early 1960s he was detained, and then banned. In 1977 he retired to a small plot in the country side.

Not much seemed to have been documented about him but it was clear that he was one of the those who experienced the issues of inequality in South Africa and had such policies impact highly on him. While for a man given to such knowledge and intelligence to have written books such as The Marabi Dance (novel) and The Dispossessed (poetry) his economic engagements for a living does betray some suspicion to how limited a man of his calibre operated in those times. He probably was one of those whose creativity spoke in whispers under the oppressive political policy of apartheid.

Shantytown Removal (1948) I shall never forget that winter morning A rainy November morning They dismantled our shantytown Mindless of sleeping souls Fast asleep as of anaesthesia. Unforeseen convey headlights Heading to our shantytown Motionless as of a ghost

Modikwe Dikobe

Returning to its grave in early morning. Morena! I thought I was dreaming At the bank of the Klip River Sprawled on the bank; demobbed soldiers To demob our peaceful camp In the name of human rights In the year of the allied nations. O! Merciful Lord Am I sleeping in the open As in Lombardy estate In that year of the King’s visit, Or is it a repetition of demobbed soldiers On the banks of Canada stream, Or just a deranged mind? A stinking lavatory hole there, A heap of rubbish here, A stray dog there It’s all that is left. In twice a big town Housing a thousand souls

Hush My Child Sleep, my baby We’re not in Alexandra township The singing that you hear Is not of Zionists It is a song of joy ‘Why are we sleeping in the open, mama?’ Father Ntintili pushed us out For a new tenant Ready to pay new rental Obedient as a servant ‘I am frightened, mama.’ Don’t be frightened, my child, Papa has a baboon Nobody dare bewitch you In the Kalahari your father Travelled by baboon The Masawara has deadly mutis ‘I want to see papa’s baboon.’ Not tonight, my child

The Wives’ Revolt

Once again, J.P. Clark’s literary voice was resonated last Sunday in Lagos at Bogobiri House, Ikoyi when the play, The Wives’ Revolt was performed as part of the activities marking the monthlong celebration of the 10 years of Bogobiri. Bogobiri, an afro-centric cultural centre in Lagos, has hosted tourists and fun-seekers for a decade with its rich cultural assemblage of food, music, theatre, and other art forms.Carved chairs, moderated lights and a make shift acting area constituted the homely theatre ambience for the play. A ballet dancer glided set the mood for the play which begins with Okoro, Koko’s husband. Okoro, equipped with the gong, announces the enforcement of a new law banishing goats in the oil-rich Erhuwaren village. That law sparks a feud in the community between the men and the women

as the latter are the owners of these forbidden domestic animals. The law was considered as repressive by the women. Already, the sharing formula for the oil wealth has been in three parts namely the elders, men of particular age-group and women. The women reason that the elders are the men and the implication is that the menfolk hold the two-thirds of the oil revenue. Hence, the women plan to make men their “domestic animals”. In their bid to be heard, they deserted their homes and their children, leaving their husbands to do the domestic chores such as cooking, sweeping and other menial tasks that the men would otherwise treat as masculine abomination. The women travel through Otughieven, Eijophe, or Igherekan, Imode to Eyara while expecting to be quickly recalled by their lonely husbands. But their husbands are prepared for the worse. At Eyara, the women are accommodated and cared for by Ighodayen, a notorious prostitute.

When the men receive the agonising news of their wives’ sojourn, they plead for their return without any inkling that the worst is yet to come. The women returned with deadly souvenirs, having been infected by Ighodayen. They became the subjects of ridicule of their husbands who had been brought to their knees to revoke the obnoxious law. Clark’s mastery of playwriting is evident in the even distribution of blame on both sides of the gender divide. Through the character of Idama, the playwright situates the objective eye through which the gender discourse in the play can be perceived. In performance, the director of the play, Conscience Itama Ikuefe consciously placed the characters in the scheme of time, accompanied by the music from the orchestra rendered in Pidgin English, “Wetin man fit do, wey woman no fit do?” (meaning, “What is it that a man can do that a woman cannot do?”) . No doubt, the play is wordy, relying on just three

Papa keeps it somewhere Unseen by the naked eye Eye of a child

A Worker’s Lament From five in the morning, My lean body is crushed against the jostling crowd, For pittance, I make my way among the passengers, Swaying coaches make my heart to jerk in fear, That I may not my little one’s see any more Yet for food and rent I must work. ‘SEBENZA’ The whole day long; The foreman and the Induna scream They should because the boss explained: ‘productivity’. Pale lips; hunger exposes my empty stomach, Starch water only my stomach has breakfasted. Hunger takes away pride from a man’s self-respect But the burning heart for revenge vows: ‘Kahle, a day will come; me boss, you boy.’ The listless sun leaves to the night, To blanket the light Thousands of pattering feet homeward drag And leave the Shops to the watchmen Again I join the jostling crowd, Fifteen miles homeward journey to travel, Crammed like Jeppe Station victims, I stand on a bench to save myself Being crushed to death.

By Yinka Olatunbosun characters to deliver the theme of gender equality to the audience. The mere reference to Titi, a character in the play is symbolic in that she is not just Idama’s wife, but she represents all the women who suffer discrimination through the oppressive social structure imposed by laws,policies and nature. THISDAY had a brief chat with the director, a theatre art graduate of Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education after the performance on his approach in interpreting the play. “The play is about empowering the women. It is a reminder to the men to take care of the women, letting them know that the women play a vital role in the family. “The production process took a month of intensive rehearsals. We are also working on another production of a play written by Hafiz Oyetoro, popularly known as Saka with the title, The Drift. That one would be staged on December 8, right here at Bogobiri and it is a twocast play.” 21

Friday, 29 November – Thursday, 05 December 2013

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Health African celebrities pledge support for National HIV Testing Week Premiership footballer Emmanuel Adebayor, Game of Thrones actor Lucian Msamati, Labour peer Lord Boateng, and TV and stage actress Chipo Chung are among the famous Africans in the UK pledging their support for this year’s National HIV Testing Week (22nd – 29th November). Premiership footballer Emmanuel Adebayor, said: “I’m supporting National HIV Testing Week because it reminds us that if we each pledge to learn about HIV, to talk about it and take a test, we can start to see new infections fall. In most cases HIV is passed on by people who don’t know they have the virus, so getting tested is the best way to protect those you love and the wider community.” Game of Thrones actor, Lucian Msamati, said: “I remember the ‘AIDS kills’ ads on TV growing up in Zimbabwe. I remember how terriﬁed I was of ‘catching it’. Over the years I have lost three family members and a couple of dear friends to AIDS. Fast forward to 2013, and it seems to me that fear is still

Lord Boateng

the greatest barrier to overcoming HIV even though people can now access lifesaving treatment. Free treatment is accessible to all in the UK meaning that if you get a positive diagnosis you can live a normal lifespan. The first step towards overcoming stigma and fear of HIV is knowledge, so let’s take every opportunity to make sure everyone in our communities knows the benefits of an HIV test. For these reasons and for all those out there afraid of that first

step, I support National HIV Testing Week.” Labour peer, Lord Boateng, said: “National HIV Testing Week is an opportunity to checkout your status. Taking control of your own health by getting tested means staying well by being able to access appropriate health care if you are positive. And, if you are negative, keeping that way by staying safe. Knowing your status is a contribution then not only to your own health but to

the wellbeing of the whole community. Let’s make a conscious decision to beat ignorance and the virus and get tested now!” TV and stage actress, Chipo Chung, said: “It can sometimes seem like HIV is a thing of the past – the terrifying ‘90s. Yet just this year a dear friend of mine was diagnosed with AIDS because they’d had HIV for so long without knowing it. We live in a wonderful age when HIV treatment is free in the UK, which can prevent HIV from damaging the immune system and causing AIDS. National HIV Testing Week is a chance to banish fear and stigma, get tested and, if you’re positive, get the medication you need to stay healthy.” National HIV Testing Week runs from Friday 22nd – Friday 29th November, and coincides with the ﬁrst ever European HIV Testing Week. Africans have already been sending their pledges of support for the week to a new section of the It Starts With Me website (www. startswithme.org.uk), coordinated by HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins trust.

‘Myth busting’ World AIDS Day project More than nine out of ten (93%) people with HIV think the public’s understanding of the condition needs improving – with more than six out of ten (63%) describing it as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ – according to a new survey released by HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust ahead of World AIDS Day (1st December). The charity asked 531 people living with HIV about their experiences of public attitudes to the condition. 88% reported they had encountered one or more HIV myths during the last five years, giving a picture of the top six myths that persist around the virus: 1. HIV and AIDS are the same thing (63%) 2. An HIV diagnosis is a death sentence (52%) 3. Someone with HIV still can’t access key financial products, like mortgages or life insurance (51%) 4. Someone with HIV can’t/shouldn’t have a relationship with someone who doesn’t have HIV (47%)

5. HIV is only an issue for gay men (45%) 6. There is a cure or vaccine for HIV (37%) 83% of people with HIV could think of a time when they wanted to disclose their HIV status but didn’t feel able to. The top three reasons for this were listed as: worry about people’s negative reaction (85%), worry that people would tell others (79%), and worry about people’s ignorance (75%). Terrence Higgins Trust has released the survey as part of its World AIDS Day project Ask Me About HIV, which aims to promote facts about the virus and combat myths and misinformation. The charity is encouraging people to get involved by visiting www.tht.org. uk/askme, picking one or more key facts about HIV, and promoting them to friends, family, colleagues and on social media. Lisa Power, Policy Director at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “It’s worrying that we have one part of the public who are stuck in the 1980s when HIV

would kill you, and another who have flashed forward to a cure that doesn’t exist yet. We can’t blame people for being confused; the last national awareness campaign in this country was over 25 years ago. However, ignorance of the facts can make life tremendously difficult for those living with the virus. It’s also a shortcut to getting infected yourself. “Please get involved this World AIDS Day and help us combat misinformation and stigma. Picking a fact and passing it on will only take a few minutes, but it can help people living with HIV, and those most at risk.” Terrence Higgins Trust asked people with HIV the oddest response they’d encountered when telling someone else their status. Responses included: • “It’s really cool that you know how you’re going to die.” • “Does the treatment make you lose your hair?” • “Oh my God! No wonder you’re so skinny!” • “Oh, there’s a pill to get rid of

that now.” • “That’s impossible – you don’t look like you could have it.” • “You should keep your head down.” • “What’s that then?” • “You? That’s weird – you’re nearly celibate!” • “I can’t believe you’re allowed to be a hairdresser.” • “But you get that through sex!!! (My mother)” Survey data was collected from users of Terrence Higgins Trust’s website myHIV.org.uk (the largest network of people with the condition in the UK), other HIV organisations, and from social media. There are currently more than 100,000 people living with HIV in the UK, around a fifth of whom don’t know they have the virus. Terrence Higgins Trust’s free information service THT Direct will be open throughout the weekend of 30th November – 1st December on 0808 802 1221.

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Culture

The Dagomba People of Ghana

Clay hut Dagomba, also called Dagbamba, the dominant ethnic group in the chiefdom of Dagbon in the northern region of Ghana; they speak Dagbani (Dagbane), a language of the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Subject to the Dagomba are a number of peoples and parts of other ethnic groups, among them the Konkomba and Chakosi.

The Dagomba are a large group of people living in northern Ghana. Their kingdom, called Dagbon, was established in the 14th centuries ago and dominated an area near the Dagomba capital of Yendi. Yendi was located east of the White Volta River and north of Tamale. In the 1600’s, the Gonja people began to attack Dagbon from the west, pushing the Dagomba across the White Volta and forcing them to abandon their capital. Yendi was soon renamed Yendi Dabari which means “ruined Yendi”. According to tradition, the Dagomba kingdom was founded by northern invaders. It extended south to the Black Volta River, but it was reduced in size by the conquests of the Guang (Gonja) in the mid-17th century. At the end of that century the Dagomba were subjugated by the Asante, who forced them to pay an annual tribute of slaves; this tribute was paid until 1874, when the Asante were defeated by British forces. The Dagomba are farmers, their chief crops being sorghum, millet, corn (maize), yams, and peanuts (groundnuts). Most farm work is done by men; women often assist in harvesting. Dwarf shorthorn cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, and guinea fowl are kept; hunting and fishing are also practiced.

The Dagomba occupy compact walled villages, each household consisting of related men and their wives, children, and other dependents. The population is divided into commoners and chiefly families. The patrilineage is the basis of social organization among the commoners. Matrilineal descent is recognized and credited with the contribution of an individual’s spiritual attributes. The patrilineages are divided into hierarchically arranged segments; lineage heads, as custodians of ancestral shrines, exercise moral authority. The ancestral cult and an earth cult are the major features of Dagomba religion, although Islam and Christianity have had some success in the area. For the chiefly class, the important kinship unit is a descent group known as the dang, composed of all descendants of a single grandfather or greatgrandfather. In the centralized Dagomba state, only the sons of a previous paramount chief, the ya-na, may rise to that office, which is filled in rotation by

A clay water vessel

one of three divisional chiefs. Today, the Dagomba remain a powerful people. They speak Dagbani, which is a Gur language. The Dagomba are not only skillful farmers, but also are fishermen and hunters, and some even engage in administrative and managerial work. Dagomba craftsmen are skilled tailors, traders, and makers of ropes and mats. Some also specialize as blacksmiths, butchers, and barbers. Parents send their young sons to be trained by these craftsmen. Through observation and practice, a boy will gradually learn a trade and assume his role in the new occupation. In Dagomba society, villagers ar-

His hut stands out above the rest. The village is divided into wards or quarters, all facing the chief’s home. A quarter is identified by its head or by its dominating specialist group. For example, there may be a soldiers’ quarter or a butchers’ quarter. The commoners are scattered throughout the village in round or rectangular huts (for female and male, respectively); there is no physical separation of the commoners from the ruling class. Drummers play an important role in the village, for they not only are musicians, but also are court historians. They must learn and retain much information. In most cases, a drummer’s son follows in his father’s footsteps, be-

Drumming dances are common within the Dagomba

range their houses in a particular order. The chief (eldest man in the village) locates his dome-shaped hut in the center.

coming a drummer and learning from his father the origin of the people and their kingdom. Although almost half of the Dagomba follow the Islamic faith, many also believe in and worship additional spirits and gods. Each village sacrifices to its individual ancestral gods and the entire society collectively worships the more powerful gods. The Dagomba also practice witchcraft and consult diviners to rid themselves of curses. The Dagomba honor their ancestors with a festival called Bugun, which means “fire” or “hell”. The celebration begins with a great feast and culminates when the people gather together with lighted torches near a tree outside the community. There they recite the names of their ancestors and throw their torches into the tree.

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News

Miners Were Prepared to Fight

Police crime intelligence gathered information that protesting Marikana mineworkers were not going to disarm voluntarily before the August 16 shootings last year, the Farlam Commission heard on Wednesday. Brigadier Adriaan Calitz said police believed the more than 3000 armed protesting strikers were prepared to resist any attempts to disperse them from the koppie (hill) near Lonmin’s platinum mining operation at Marikana near Rustenburg in North West. “It was indeed said [by crime intelligence] that there were already 3000 people and they were not going to put down their weapons. They were going to resist the police and were going to ﬁght,” he told the commission sitting in Centurion. That account was communicated to police on the morning of August 16. Later that day, 34 people, mostly striking miners, were shot dead and 78 were wounded when police ﬁred on them while trying to disperse and disarm the group gathered at the hill.

The violence at the Marikana mine made international news

In the preceding week, 10 people, including two policemen and two security guards, were killed near the mine. President Jacob Zuma appointed the commission of inquiry, chaired by Farlam, in August last year to probe these events. On Wednesday, Calitz was taken to task by the commission’s head of evidence leaders Geoff Budlender SC, regarding remarks he made on the morning of August 16. In his afﬁdavit, Calitz said “conventional policing methods” could no longer be applied as police intervention to curb the strike. Budlender asked: “What you stated in that statement at 8 o’clock, was it the truth?”

Calitz agreed. He explained that at that stage, the police officers deployed at Marikana did not have “sufficient intelligence” to target the protesters’ residences, to search and seize weapons. Such a move would have avoided a confrontation at the koppie. “I have told this commission that a search [of the residences] could not be done because we did not have sufficient intelligence, we did not know where they were staying. It had been mentioned that they put up in the hostels but this was later proved incorrect because they were sleeping on the mountain,” said Calitz. Commissioner Pingla Hemraj asked Cal-

World Food Programme begins rebuilding process in Northern Mali

As displaced people and refugees start to voluntarily return to northern Mali, the World Food Programme is scaling up its operations to help rebuild livelihoods while also responding to immediate food and nutritional needs. Saouda Salihou, who returned to Gao with her young family, explains why this assistance is vital.

Sitting in front of her straw hut, Saouda Salihou proudly watches her two-yearold son Souleymane as he plays with his ‘toy cars’ - two tin cans attached to a length of rope. The toddler mischievously teases his older brother as he plays. Salihou, 27, can hardly believe this joyful, healthy child is the same boy she brought to a health clinic just three weeks ago. During that visit to Gao’s health centre, Souleymane was diagnosed with moderate acute malnutrition. Nurses had weighed him and measured his mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) - a quick method to assess nutritional status. Salihou was given Plumpy’Sup, a ready-to-use nutritional supplement delivered to health centres in Gao by WFP, in partnership with Action Against Hunger. “After I started giving the product to my child, he quickly gained weight,” said Salihou. “The following week, I was amongst the ﬁrst people to arrive at the health centre for my child’s medical appointment.”

itz to explain why he thought normal policing measures would not work. “I compiled that statement in the presence of our legal team. There were threats that were made to us on that day, that is why we prepared the statement,” said Calitz. “I was saying our normal police procedures that we had followed up to that stage [including] the police presence there [at the koppie], everything had not worked. A decision was made on the 16th that we would start with the show of force.” On Tuesday, Calitz told the commission the protesting mineworkers believed they were invincible before the shootings. “We had received intelligence that there was this story around the muti and these people believed that the police would not be able to do anything to them. They believed that their [police] weapons would not be able to do anything. “The police are being subjected to such things on a daily basis, for example in the cash-in-transit robberies. People use muti and believe that nothing will happen to them. At the end of the day, we had to act,” he said.

Egyptian protesters released into desert The Egyptian authorities have released 26 women who were detained on Tuesday during the dispersal of a protest against military trials for civilians.

WFP plans to help those in need within Northern Mali

These weekly appointments allow health agents to monitor vulnerable children’s nutritional status. Mothers also receive information on nutrition, and are given cooking demonstrations, using local products like peanuts, millet and maize. Salihou attended many of these cookery classes, but said she often did not have enough money to cook the nutritious meals she was shown. She is not alone. In northern Mali, three out of four households are food insecure and heavily reliant on food assistance, according to the results of a joint survey carried out by WFP and the government of Mali in September this year.

Salihou returned to Gao in mid-October after spending around 18 months in the capital Bamako following her family’s ﬂight from the conﬂict that gripped northern Mali. But her husband was unable to return to Gao with her as they could not afford the transport fees. He sends a little money to the family, and Salihou uses this to buy and resell condiments in Gao market. But the little she earns is never enough. This is why WFP’s school meals programme in Gao is so important. One of the reasons Salihou returned was to send her children to school in their home region.

The released detainees were later found on a desert road in the outskirts of Cairo, according to a tweet by activist Salma Said. At least 24 other protesters are still detained for four days pending investigations, according to an interior ministry statement. Tuesday counts as the ﬁrst application of the widely-criticized new protest law on Sunday. The law mandates that protesters notify the authorities of demonstrations at least three days prior to it. They must also notify the authorities of the number of protesters and slogans they plan to chant. The police used water cannons and teargas to disperse the protest. “The arrests that took place during the break up of the protests was because protesters did not follow the required legal procedures to start a protest and not because of the subject of protesting,” Interior Minister Aide Abdel Fattah Othman said.

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News

‘Witches’ excite in court showdown There was a shocking moment when two elderly women went toe-to-toe in a chief’s court after trading accusations over witchcraft. Ms Maggie Moyo was hauled before Chief Mkoba’s traditional court in Lower Gweru after Mrs Keppy Ncube claimed that she had used her to commit acts of witchcraft. Mrs Ncube told the court she was initiated into witchcraft and later coached by Ms Moyo, but she wanted out because of pain she claimed was being caused by a nail driven into her spine during a ritual. Hundreds of villagers turned up to hear the bizarre case, and Chief Mkoba invited news crews to witness. The chief told the villagers: “Lower Gweru people you are experts in witchcraft. I invited journalists to this traditional court so that they expose your practices, maybe you might change for the better.” Chief Mkoba sat both women down, and asked Mrs Ncube to make her case against Ms Moyo. “I was herding my goats some months ago when I met Maggie (Ms Moyo). Maggie told

Witchcraft is the focus of constant debate within Zimbabwe villages

me that a person can be trained and be coached to be a witch,” she began. “I didn’t read much into her words until I started experiencing mysterious things. I would wake up to ﬁnd my hair shaved, a piece of cloth from my petticoats would be cut, or I would be stark naked even though I slept with my panties on. “Foolishly, I would wash my panties and wear them again. I suspect this is how I was initiated into witchcraft.” She said her witchcraft practices only

Man falls down Victoria Falls lives to tell the tale

Victoria Falls

A man who yesterday fell into the Victoria Falls gorge, which is about 110 metres deep, was retrieved alive in what could be described as a miracle that left him shaken. A combined team of Livingstone Fire Brigade, Zambia Police Service and Bundu Adventure yesterday retrieved alive the 45-year-old Chinese national who fell into Victoria Falls near the knife-edge bridge as he was taking pictures of one of the seven natural wonders of the World. Southern Province Police chief Charity Katanga and Livingstone City Council public relations manager Emmanuel Sikanyika conﬁrmed this in separate interviews. Ms Katanga said Wang ShunXue, who was booked at Zambezi Sun Hotel, was retrieved around 09:30 hours with no serious injuries. He was taken to the hotel’s clinic for a medical checkup.

came to light recently at a church service when a prophet told her she was being used as a witch, allegedly by Ms Moyo. “The prophet ﬁrst asked me why we ride hyenas in our area. They promised to come and rid the area of hyenas belonging to Maggie and myself. They said someone was using me unknowingly as a witch at night. I knew automatically that it was Maggie’s doing,” she said. Mrs Ncube said as a member of the apostolic church sect which did not condone such evil practices, she now wanted to quit practicing witchcraft. She said her leg was also hurting as a result of the nail stuck in her lower spine. “I came to you my elders so that we help each other end this evil practice. There is nothing admirable or good in witchcraft. People are suffering because of witchcraft and it is now time to end this. “I have pain in my back, I had a nail driven into my spine). This has prompted me to come to you my elders as I can’t bear the pain that I’m going through. I now want to quit,” said Mrs Ncube. Ms Moyo was not given a chance to give her evidence. She kept asking the

court to give her time to give her side of the story, but the chief would tell her to be quiet. Mr Jacob Maseko, a brotherin-law to Ms Moyo, said her brother’s widow had a case to answer. He said the two women, Mrs Ncube and Ms Moyo, were behind most of the problems his family was experiencing. “I can hardly walk because of these two. They threatened me ﬁrst and now I have a wound that won’t heal. If I apply medicine to the wound on my leg, the medicine disappears mysteriously,” he said. “My children are dying under mysterious circumstances. I also lost my ﬁrst wife under unclear circumstances. I’m prepared to go to jail if people who engage in witchcraft like these two are allowed to operate freely.” Chief Mkoba could not conclusively deal with the matter as he limited himself to gathering information only. He said the law does not allow his court to handle such cases, adding that he would make a referral to the Gweru Magistrates’ Court. After the traditional court had been concluded, the two elderly women traded insults and nearly exchanged blows.

Mr Sikanyika said officers from fire brigade received a call yesterday around 08:23 hours that a man had fallen into Victoria Falls and rushed to the scene to rescue him. The fire brigade officers worked together with State Police and Bundu Adventure, a company which conducts bungee jumping activities at the bridge, to rescue the Chinese national. “From what they saw, the victim sustained some bruises and he was rushed for medical check-up and treatment. “The Chinese national did not get to the surface of the falls as he was rescued at the edge of the falls cliff,” Mr Sikanyika said. He urged tourists and other visitors to the Victoria Falls to follow guidelines to avoid such accidents. A Times of Zambia crew that rushed to Victoria Falls yesterday saw Mr Wang walking out of the falls in the company of some Chinese nationals and other officials. 25

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Blatter: My audience with the Pope Pope’s wish that we greet each other this way. In football, this type of greeting should continue to be a sign of peace in the future, but above all, a message of peace to the world.” “The man who stood in front of me is not only the most senior Catholic on earth but also exudes incredible serenity and dignity. It was a very special meeting for me. I will remember it fondly for ever.” On Qatar: “We have sent a clear message to the Emir of Qatar regarding working conditions in his country. We are in constant contact with all the parties involved. However, let me make one thing clear: we only ever talk about Qatar. Some of the companies responsible for the construction work there

Sepp Blatter and Pope Francis

Following his private audience with Pope Francis, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter answered the questions of journalists from around the world at the Rome office of the Associazione Stampa Estera in Italia (Foreign Press Association in Italy). Blatter began by reporting on his meeting with the Holy Father, while the FIFA President’s answers on several issues are summarised below. On the Papal audience: “We have been in contact with the Vatican since the Papal election in March. In our exchange of letters, we asked the Holy

Father to grant us an audience at his convenience. I had butterflies in my stomach before the audience. It was a fascinating moment – one of the best moments of my life.” “It was a meeting between two people who love football. We discussed football, of course, but we also spoke about many other issues. Above all, though, we spoke the language of football. For example, I told the Holy Father about my trip to Iran. For his part, the Pope emphasises the significance of football. He asked me personally to give hope to the poor through football. He also requested that we use our footballing efforts to promote, intensify and continue to strive for world peace.” “We greeted each other like two footballers before a game, with what is known as the “Handshake of Peace”. It was the

come from Europe, and they must be held to account in the same way.” On racism in football: “I have continuously stressed that racism and discrimination have no place in football, and we are fighting it with all the resources at our disposal. FIFA will continue to intensify its efforts. Our primary task is to protect football, and we will do that with all our might.” On kick-off times at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™: “We will address this issue at a meeting timed to coincide with the World Cup group draw at the start of December.”

Two wise men engage in a hand shake

Serero nets as Ajax stun Barca South African Thulani Serero scored as Ajax Amsterdam became the first side to beat Barcelona this season.

Ajax won 2-1 in their Group H match on Tuesday to stay in contention for a place in the next round of the competition. Serero and Danny Hoesen scored to give Ajax a surprise half-time advantage but straight after the break defender Joel Veltman was red carded for a tackle on Neymar and Xavi pulled a goal back from the penalty spot. Injured-plagued Barcelona applied continuous pressure thereafter in search of an equaliser but Ajax held out to thunderous applause from a capacity Amsterdam Arena. Ajax stay third in the group, one point behind AC Milan, who they must now beat away on Dec. 11 if they are to advance. Barcelona still need one point to make sure of top place in the group but were already through to the knockout phase before 30

Stephen Keshi has thanked his players for the sacrifices they have made for the team

Tuesday game. Serero ghosted in late for the first goal in the 19th minute, applying the decisive touch to a strong cross from the right from fullback Ricardo van Rhijn, who just five minutes earlier had made a goal-saving tackle on Neymar. The South African international’s first

Champions League goal precipitated a period of sustained pressure from the young Dutch side, culminating in a second goal three minutes from half-time. A poor clearance from Javier Mascherano saw Ajax set up a chance for Viktor Fischer, whose shot was parried by goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto, only for Hoesen

to pick up the rebound, go round Carles Puyol and score with the help of a deflection off Gerard Pique. But the comfortable cushion deflated just two minutes after the break when Van Rhijn’s poor back pass set Neymar away and Veltman tripped him on the dege of the area, conceding a penalty and getting himself sent off. Xavi converted the spot kick to send Ajax into defensive mode as they tigerishly held on for the valuable three points, keeping Neymar at bay and ensuring the Brazilian has yet to open his Champions League goalscoring account. It was Barcelona’s first defeat under new coach Gerardo Martino and ended hopes of a record-equaling longest unbeaten opening to the start of a season. They last lost at home to Bayern Munich in last season’s Champions league semifinal.

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Salah returns to haunt Chelsea

Ayew undergoes knee surgery

Ghana midfielder Andre Ayew has undergone a successful operation on a torn meniscus in his knee, his side Olympique Marseille announced.

The surgery was supervised by Dr Jean-Pierre Franceschi in Marseille the player will be discharged from the hospital. Ayew suffered the injury playing for Ghana in the World Cup playoffs against Egypt last Tuesday when he twisted his knee. The influential 23-year-old will need two months to recover. Andre will be sorely missed by his French side Marseille as they face Arsenal at the Emirates in the UEFA Champions League.

Mohammed Salah has now become a transfer target of a few Premier League clubs, most notably Tottenham.

Pharaohs star Mohammed Salah stuns Chelsea’s again to hand Basel 1-0 win to keep their Champions League hopes alive. Salah returned to haunt Chelsea just two months after scoring again in Basel’s 2-1 away win over Chelsea in the first leg in London on September 18. Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech had to be at his best in the first half denying Fabian Frei in the 14th minute when

he parried the latter’s effort for a corner. Two minutes later Salah almost punished Cech but the Chelsea goalkeeper saved the Egyptian attackers effort. Basel’s defence gave Chelsea little breathing space despite the visitors after the break quelling efforts by Willian and Fernando Torres who replaced Samuel Eto’o in the 42nd minute. Salah then broke the deadlock in the

87th minute with a sublime finish in a one-on-one with Cech. Meanwhile, Basel are not out of the woods yet and must beat third placed Schalke in their final Group E game on December 11 to ensure their go through to the knockout stage. The Swiss has 8 points after the win, one less than leaders Chelsea and one more than third placed Schalke.

Schalke blast Ghana for playing Boateng in Egypt

Kevin Prince Boateng

German side Schalke have angrily blasted Ghana for using playmaker Kevin-Prince Boateng in last week’s decisive World Cup qualifier against Egypt, saying his role in Cairo has negatively affected his form.

The Bundesliga side questioned what training regiment the midfielder underwent with the Black Stars ahead of last Tuesday’s World Cup playoff match against the Pharaohs claiming his time with Ghana has had a negative impact on Boateng.

Schalke launched the attack on Ghana after Boateng failed to glitter over the weekend when they played against Frankfurt in the thrilling 3-3 draw German topflight game on Saturday. The German club insist the outstanding player should not have traveled with the Black Stars to play the match because of his injury problems. Boateng spent nearly two weeks with the Black Stars as they prepared in Istanbul before travelling to Egypt for the match in which he scored to help Ghana seal its 2014 World Cup ticket.

However, Schalke are have expressed their unhappiness with the player for insisting on joining the Black Stars for the match as he had to visit a specialist in Munich after the Cairo over the worrisome left-knee problem. Schalke signed the Ghana international in August in a shock 10 million Euro deal from Italian giants AC Milan and are expecting more from the Black Stars player. The coach of the German side Jens Keller insists Boateng’s role in helping the Black Stars seal qualification to the global tournament negatively affected his form in their match against Frankfurt. “He is not satisfied, we are not. He spent two weeks on the road. I do not know what they did there,” the 43-year-old manager Horst Heldt said. “The trip has certainly done him no good. “But that’s not easy when an association has requested a player.” Boateng scored as the Black Stars lost 2-1 in Cairo but sealed World Cup qualification with a 7-3 aggregate win over the Pharaohs.

Who is the next BBC African Footballer of the Year? Continued from back page

Jonathan Pitropia Mikel, 26, also won the Europa League with Chelsea; while 2013 was the year he finally scored a goal for the Blues, that coming in his 185th game. Goals have flowed more readily for 22-year-old Moses, the winger hit six for Chelsea in 2013 before he moved on a season-long loan to Liverpool, where he scored on his debut in September. Goals have flowed more readily for 22-year-old Moses, the winger hit six for Chelsea in 2013 before he moved on a season-long loan to Liverpool, where he scored on his debut in September. Yet the most potent of the three English Premier League players on the list is midfielder Toure. The Ivorian, 30, has bagged 12 goals so far in 2013 - including some exquisite free-kicks. Although he and his Manchester City team-mates were unable to retain their league title last season, Toure was still a force to be reckoned with in the centre of the park - commanding, creative and increasingly clinical in front of goal. 31

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Blatter: My audience with the Pope SEE PAGE 30

Who will be the next BBC African Footballer of the Year?

Africa’s footballing elite are nominated with (Left to Right) John Obi Mikel, Yaya Toure, Pierre Aubameyang and Victor Moses By Peter Olorunnisomo

Considerations for who will wear the title of the BBC African football king inched close to revelation as voting closed for the nominees. The award which is BBC endorsed selects the player of African descent whose impact in the football circuit for club and country in various tournaments commands recognition. With votes registered from 44 journalists across Africa, a notable trend to this year’s nominations reveal that none of these players short-listed have ever won the award. Players who made the shortlist include Yaya Toure (Cote d’Voire), John Mikel Obi (Nigeria), Jonathan Pitroipa (Bourkina Faso), Victor Moses (Niger-

ia), and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon). While the players from Gabon and Bourkina Faso are the first nominees from their countries, the others have had their other countries represented in the past. Meanwhile, as voting has closed, it is expected that the award winner will be announced on Monday, 2 December at 17:35 GMT on the BBC’s Focus on Africa radio and television programmes to herald another reign of an African football king. The selection was done voting online and by text messages and has afforded a lot of African football fans to vote their choice. From the BBC reports, Ivory Coast’s Toure is up for the award for the fifth consecutive year, while Moses and Mikel are hoping to add another trophy to their Africa Cup of Nations title won with Nigeria in February.

Aubameyang, 24, has been in prolific form over the past year - ending the 2012-13 season with 19 goals for StEtienne, which put him second in the list of top scorers in the French Ligue 1, while he also helped them win the French Cup to claim his first trophy as a professional. Those performances earned him a summer transfer to Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund, and he has already scored seven goals in 11 games for the German side. Pitroipa’s biggest highlights came on the international stage as the 27year-old winger was named player of the tournament at the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, helping Burkina Faso surprise everyone by reaching the final. The Rennes man has continued to shine for his country, hitting three goals in World Cup qualification as the

Burkinabe aim to reach Brazil by completing a play-off victory over Algeria, having won the first leg 3-2. Two players on the list fared even better in this year’s Nations Cup; Mikel and Moses both heavily involved as Nigeria lifted the trophy for the first time in 19 years. Yet the most potent of the three English Premier League players on the list is midfielder Toure. The Ivorian, 30,

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