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ACCRA (Reuters) - Soldiers entered Ghana’s parliament to break up a scuffle between rival lawmakers at odds over last month’s elections, hours before President Nana Akufo-Addo was due to be sworn in on Thursday. The clash underscored the deep tensions following the Dec. 7 election that has led to rare unrest in Ghana, a major cocoa and gold producer seen as a bastion of democracy in West Africa. It started when one member of parliament from the president’s NPP party snatched some paper ballots during an overnight vote to determine the house speaker, according to a source who was present. It was not immediately clear why the lawmaker was angry. Last month’s elections left a hung parliament, without a dominant party to push through the appointment of speaker and other key posts. Footage on local television showed politicians, many of them unmasked, pushing and shoving before about 20 soldiers entered the chamber. Ranks of MPs then faced each other and chanted over a dividing line of masked soldiers and police. Eventually, Alban Bagbin, the candidate from Ghana’s other main party, the NDC, was voted in as speaker. “The attempt to snatch ballot papers … and the invasion of the Chamber by armed military personnel are images one had never expected to see in our 4th Republican Parliament,” said losing presidential candidate John Mahama in a Facebook post congratulating Bagbin. The incident occurred as preparations were underway for the swearing in of Akufo-Addo for his second term at a ceremony on the parliament grounds. Dignitaries from across Africa are expected to attend. Akufo-Addo was declared the winner of last month’s election with 51.59%, ahead of former President Mahama, who got 47.37%. Mahama’s party has said it will contest the results in court, alleging fraud though it has not published evidence. - Reuters
Announcement of the death of former President Rawlings pic.twitter.com/7ext0fp4sd
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) November 12, 2020
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Being in the unenviable position of having no councillors umbilically linked to his People’s National Party (PNP) operating inside the St Ann North West constituency, two-term Member of Parliament Dr Dayton Campbell has fired a salvo at the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) local government representatives.
Campbell said that councillors were not being held to account for their poor performances despite divisional allocations.
“Somehow they get away with doing very little because people blame the MP for things that the councillors are responsible for,” Campbell lamented outside of his constituency office in bustling Brown’s Town last week.
Campbell lost his strongest division – Brown’s Town – in the last local government election but argued that his performance as a member of parliament has been above par.
They are independently elected; ... They, too, get their allocation because a lot of persons think that MPs are supposed to fund councillors, and it’s just not true,” Campbell stressed.
Despite a resignation letter Dr. Peter Phillips submitted to the party's Chairman Fitz Jackson yesterday, there is no timeline on when he will leave his role as president of the People's National Party (PNP).
Where it is proved that contractual clauses are not respected or cannot be complied with in the destination country, the national data protection regulator should prohibit the transfer.
GWERU up-and-coming gospel artiste Sheon Chimalizeni (11) has released a touching song, Achatinunura that has an accompanying video which speaks to abuse of children and how they continue to suffer in silence. BY STEPHEN CHADENGA In an interview with NewsDay Life & Style, Chimalizeni said the single was inspired by the recent ritual murder of a seven-year-old Murehwa boy, Tapiwa Makore, who was allegedly killed by his uncle. “I was motivated to sing the song by the need for adults to pay “special attention to children’s rights. Child abuse is rampant and there is need to stop it,” she said. “I feel singing gospel is in my blood and I can express myself on different subjects besides that of child abuse.” In the opening verse of the song written by Zela and Sheon’s father, Sydleck and produced by Rox, Sheon poses a question — who is going to save children from abuse in this world? She answers herself saying no one will protect them except God. In another verse, she sings: Kodzero dzedu dzombundikidzwa, Zuva nezuva vanototi nyarara, ndonyarara sei ndichiziva chokwadi. (Our rights are abused everyday and the adults say keep quiet, how can I be silent when I know the truth. In the song, Sheon states that she tried to tell relatives about the abuse, but they kept telling her to keep quiet. At the end, Sheon turns to God when she says — they cry to him as the only saviour to deal with the burden of child mistreatment. Sheon said she was working on another single titled Holy Spirit to be released soon. Follow us on Twitter NewsDayZimbabwe
“We waan Justiss!” – What is justice?
As the Emergency 2020 Budget debate was being concluded, the revitalized PPP General Secretary - Vice President- Member of Parliament, Comrade Bharrat Jagdeo lamented: “Mr Speaker there are no honest interlocutors on the other side…”
I was and am persuaded that he was, by and large, accurate in assessment and conclusion.
The article Everyday crime, the Minister, the Commissioner appeared first on Stabroek News.
BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA A 23-YEAR-OLD Goromonzi man is battling for life at Marondera Provincial Hospital after his wife allegedly poured hot cooking oil on his manhood following a domestic dispute. Moreblessing Muteswa (23), of Tafirenyika village under Chief Chikwaka, is expected to appear in court soon over the attempted murder of her husband, Tinotenda Mutsetse.Mashonaland East provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza confirmed the incident. According to police, on September 13 at around 4pm, Muteswa gave her husband US$5 to buy meat before he proceeded to Majuru Business Centre, where he bought beer.The complainant returned in the evening visibly drunk without the relish, resulting in a fistfight. The following morning, a fight broke again between the two, resulting in the suspect pouring hot cooking oil on her husband’s manhood.Mutsetse sustained serious burns and was rushed to Marondera Hospital, while his wife was arrested and charged with attempted murder.
WESTERN BUREAU: Construction of the highly anticipated St James roadworks projects, including the Montego Bay bypass, is slated to commence in 2022. The projects, which include the Long Hill bypass and the dualisation of upper Barnett Street, will...
Allegheny County executive Rich Fitzgerald wants the overwhelming majority of ballots in the county to be sent in by mail, not via the traditional polling places that many are used to visiting on election days.
“We know that over 150,000 Allegheny County voters have either applied for, and/or received their ballots,” Stevens said in a May 10 letter to Fitzgerald, obtained by the New Pittsburgh Courier.
The Black leaders want county government to create an “aggressive public education campaign” to inform county residents of the “extreme lack” of polling places that will be open on June 2; the option to vote by mail, including the proper procedures and timelines for filling out and returning the applications; and the proper procedures and timelines for receiving, casting and returning their ballots.
If you haven’t already received a mail-in ballot through the regular mail, you can apply for one in a few ways: visit alleghenyvotes.com and apply online for a mail-in ballot with a valid state drivers’ license or photo ID; visit alleghenyvotes.com and download and print out a mail-in ballot application, which can then be sent via regular mail; visit the County Elections office, 542 Forbes Ave., Suite 601.
Stevens is calling on Fitzgerald and Allegheny County, though, to use its financial and influential muscle to make the June 2 Primary and its ways of voting a trending topic in Allegheny County African American homes now, before it’s too late.
Juliet Holness, the member of parliament for St Andrew East Rural, is seeking to raise nearly $3 million through crowdfunding to assist with the recovery effort in the constituency, which has been recently devastated by flooding. So far,...
FORMER People's National Party (PNP) Member of Parliament for Manchester Central Peter Bunting has signalled his intent to take legal action against a purported backer of presidential candidate Lisa Hanna, who is alleged to have released a voice note with vulgar and nasty comments about him.
Aljazeera- Formula One world champion to miss Bahrain GP after testing positive for coronavirus. Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has tested positive for coronavirus and will miss this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix. His team, Mercedes, said Hamilton woke with mild symptoms on Monday and returned a positive result at a subsequent test and again at a retest. Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has tested positive for coronavirus and will miss this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix. His team, Mercedes, said Hamilton woke with mild symptoms on Monday and returned a positive result at a subsequent test and again at a retest. His victory in Istanbul – the 94th of his career – allowed him to add the 2020 title to his championships of 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
AN Anglican Church clergyman has urged pastors to speak out against human rights abuses in the country. BY NIZBERT MOYO Father Shonai David Magurupira of Holy Name Anglican Church in Sakubva Mutare said this in an interview with NewsDay. Father Magurupira said churches should not only be confined to the duty of leading prayer sessions at political gatherings and national events, but should also question the human rights abuses that have seen an upsurge in the violation of citizen’s rights. His sentiments came soon after government warned the Zimbabwe Catholic BishoPs’ Conference (ZCBC) that men of the cloth should confine themselves to the pulpit and not delve into the political terrain. “Politics and the church are seamless garments because politics started in the church,” Magurupira said. He said Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes wanted to find political fault in Jesus so that they could kill him, adding that even King Herod had the same plan, but Jesus based his teachings on brotherly love. The Anglican clergyman said in Zimbabwe, human rights abuses often manifested themselves during the electoral campaign period, adding that it was not a crime for people to have different political views. “Pastors should advocate for pastors’ involvement in all government departments and should be involved in the crafting of statutory instruments,” he said. Human rights defender and Habakkuk Trust chief executive officer Dumisani Nkomo also said churches had a duty to speak out against human rights violations. “The church needs to be a prophetic voice when people’s rights are being violated as this is a God-ordained institution,” Nkomo said. Recently, the United States of America and the United Kingdom threatened to slap Zimbabwe with more sanctions citing continued human rights and workers’ rights violations in the country.
Mansah Henry Bangura: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 28 June 2020: Last Friday, Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella MP and leader of the NGC party in parliament, paid what many described as a very timely visit to The Bombali Covid19 Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Makeni. The highly esteemed Member of Parliament visited the [Read More]
FORMER chief magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe’s trial on charges of criminal abuse of office and defeating the course of justice resumed at the High Court yesterday with his ex-deputy Elijah Makomo taking to the witness stand. BY CHARLES LAITON Makomo told Justice Felistas Chatukuta that contrary to State claims that he was forced to recuse himself in a matter where he was conflicted, he did so of his own volition. The State had alleged that Guvamombe forced Makomo to recuse himself from a matter involving businessman Nathan Mnaba. In his testimony, Makomo said he took the decision to recuse himself from handling the matter following complaints raised by both Mnaba, who was the accused in the matter and Nighert Parween Savania who was the complainant. He was asked to read a report which he authored in response to the allegations that had been raised against him for having failed to properly handle the trial leading to his recusal. Makomo dismissed allegations that he had received a US$8 000 bribe from Savania and further challenged Mnaba to prove his allegations. Through his lawyers, Jonathan Samukange and Brighton Pabwe, Guvamombe denied the charges being levelled against him, accusing his former workmates and colleagues of concocting the charges to cover up their sexual abuse cases. In one of the counts, Guvamombe is accused of allowing former Cabinet ministers Supa Mandiwanzira and Saviour Kasukuwere to be attached at the Harare Magistrates Court from the University of Zimbabwe while facing criminal charges. In his defence, he told the court that his actions were above board since he delegated the issue of the students’ attachment to Makomo, who then forwarded the matter to the human resources department for implementation. When the trial started, Judicial Service Commission secretary Walter Chikwanha absolved Guvamombe of any wrongdoing, saying the commission then did not have a proper policy on student attaches. l Follow NewsDay on Twitter @NewsDayZimbabwe
A TOP police officer, Chief Superintendent Joseph Josphat Mutiforo, appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court yesterday facing criminal abuse of office and bribery allegations.
LATE JAMAICA Labour Party Councillor Milton Brown has been praised as a committed community activist and a voice of fairness who sought to achieve bipartisanship amid fierce political rivalry.
Brown, councillor for the Mineral Heights division and a former mayor of May Pen, died yesterday morning at hospital.
Newly installed member of parliament for Clarendon South East, Pearnel Charles Jr, in paying tribute, said that Brown was one of the first leaders to express confidence and support in his candidacy.
People’s National Party councillor for the Hayes division, Scean Barnswell, remembers challenging Brown in 1998 for the newly created Mineral Heights division.
First time in the history of Jamaica we had a council with a tie and shared responsibility,” Barnswell recalled of Brown’s mayoralty.
The President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, announced a one-month extension of the state of emergency decreed at the end of March to combat the coronavirus, double the usual duration, adding that there would no longer be a curfew.
“The state of emergency has been extended but there will be no curfew,” President Embalo told reporters.
According to a presidential decree issued in the wake, the head of state believes that a period of 15 days, the duration so far of the six successive state of emergency measures taken, “is insufficient for an adequate and effective response” to the health situation.
According to the decree, the state of emergency, which expired on Thursday, is therefore extended “by 30 days” until 25 July.
The curfew, which Mr. Embalo announced its abolition, was in force from 20H00 to 06H00 in the morning.
In front of journalists, the president once again called for “barrier gestures” to stop the spread of the pandemic, while the country officially announced 1,556 cases of Covid-19, including 191 cured and 19 deaths.
Guinea-Bissau, a West African nation with a population of 1.8 million, lacks the health infrastructure to cope with a large-scale pandemic.
AFP
By Miriam Mangwaya Pupils have called on government to intensify awareness on cybercrime to help curb abuse of social media in schools. This was revealed during the on-going awareness campaigns by police to stop social media and drug abuse at schools throughout Mashonaland East province. Videos of schoolchildren engaging in sex orgies and drug abuse recently went viral on social media amid reports that pupils were taking advantage of the ongoing teachers’ strike to engage in social vices. Mashonaland East police spokesperson Inspector Tendai Mwanza told NewsDay that the police were educating pupils on the dangers of abusing social media in a bid to promote morality in schools and to protect the minors from abuse in communities. “Pupils should use the internet for academic purposes and stop committing crimes online,” Mwanza said. “They should desist from manufacturing and posting pornographic material on social media. Not only is it criminal, but it distracts them from focusing on their studies which were disturbed during the lockdown period.” Mwanza urged school authorities to ensure pupils abstain from all forms of wayward behaviour by pupils within school premises. Chipo Musindo, a Form 6 student at Liebenberg High School, said it was important for government to ensure that pupils are fully aware of cybercrime so that they do not commit crimes online out of ignorance. “New information and communication technologies are important to enhance education, but it is important for authorities to set parameters on how students can use the gadgets,” Musindo said. “Due to peer pressure, some pupils post obscene videos, messages or pictures on social media platforms unaware of the negative consequences of their acts. Some pupils will be experimenting yet the results can be harmful to the society.” She urged school authorities to remove social media applications on gadgets used for e-learning to curb commission of crimes through the internet.
JAMAICA Labour Party (JLP) Member of Parliament (MP)-elect for Kingston Central Donovan Williams says his first order of business for the depressed constituency is a social housing programme.
JOURNALIST Hopewell Chin’ono was last night re-arrested for contempt of court and defeating the course of justice. BY MOSES MATENGA Chin’ono’s lawyer Gift Mtisi confirmed the journalist’s arrest, adding that he would appear in court today. “He has been arrested for contempt of court,” Mtisi said. “They say he tweeted something while on bail. He is being detained, we are at the cells with him now.” National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said Chin’ono posted on his Twitter handle messages that impaired the dignity, reputation and authority of the court. He also stands accused of secretly communicating with members of the National Prosecuting Authority, an institution that is prosecuting him. Chin’ono was first arrested in July and spent 44 days in pre-trial detention for allegedly inciting to commit public violence ahead of the July 31 foiled protests. He was detained in remand prison together with opposition Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume after being denied bail at the lower courts, only to be granted bail by the High Court. High Court judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi released Chin’ono on $10 000 bail and ordered him to refrain from posting inciting messages on social media platforms until finalisation of the case. The journalist has been at the forefront of exposing high-profile corruption scandals, among them the US$60 million COVID-19 scam involving Drax International local representative Delish Nguwaya and former Health minister Obadiah Moyo. Zengeza West MP Job Sikhala (MDC Alliance) and Ngarivhume, who are part of the #31July Movement, condemned Chin’ono’s arrest and said they would address a Press conference in Harare on the matter today.
Zombo — At least 10,000 people are stuck at the Uganda-DRC border in Zombo District following ethnic clashes.
The Member of Parliament for Ora County in Zombo District, Mr Lawrence Songa, described the situation of the displaced people as pathetic and called upon the humanitarian agencies to take it as a matter of urgency.
\"We need expeditious interventions into the issues of the displaced people from the DRC.
The MP for Mahagi Territory in DRC, Mr Muber Thoniot, on the phone said: \"Two years ago, the attackers formed rebel groups where they raided, burn houses and kill people at will.
Similarly, in 2002, over 150 people were killed with 15,000 displaced by similar ethnic clashes in the DRC.
Akomadan — The Offinso North District Assembly, supported by the chiefs, has honoured Mr Augustine Collins Ntim, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development and Member of Parliament for the area for his sterling leadership qualities and spearheading the development of the district.
In a speech, Mr David Boakye Asare, the District Chief Executive recounted that the creation of the district in 2008 saw the appointment of Mr Ntim as the first DCE who managed to keep the toddling district on its feet after being in office for only eight months following the exit of the Kufuor- led New Patriotic Party(NPP) administration.
He said Mr Ntim who was elected the MP for the area, even in opposition, succeeded in undertaking a number of development projects in furtherance of his agenda of transforming the district into a municipality by the year 2025.
Today, the district can boast of an array of development projects with a good number of others including a Greenhouse project, Local Government Institute, Court building, Police Command and a rice factory in the pipeline.
Receiving the award, Mr Ntim thanked the chiefs and people for the honour and pledged to work harder and not to betray the confidence reposed in him for the past 12 years.
Popular People's National Party (PNP) activist in Hanover Craig Oates is claiming that his life has reportedly come under threat from members of his party.
In a 26-minute long video on Facebook, Oates said he was undaunted by the alleged threat and that he would continue to speak out, stressing that his agenda is to see the development of Hanover.
He called for diehard PNP supporters to change their voting habits, citing the lack of development in the parish and suggested that they ask for Member of Parliament for Western Hanover Ian Hayles to be replaced or vote for Jamaica Labour Party challenger Tamika Davis or an independent candidate.
Oates went further and called for PNP president Dr Peter Phillips to boot Hayles, affectionately called Mr Hero, from the seat.
He claimed that no councillor in Hayles' constituency has managed to serve more than one term under the PNP since 2007, even as he lauded the work of Lucea Mayor Sheridan Samuels.
A 33-YEAR-OLD Mount Darwin man has been slapped with a 14-year prison term after he lured a nine-year-old girl with snacks (zap nax) before raping her. By SIMBARASHE SITHOLE Austine Kapiri of Makaza village in Mount Darwin appeared before Bindura regional magistrate Amos Mbobo, who suspended two years of the sentence on condition of good behaviour. Effectively he will spend 12 years in jail. Prosecutor Ngoni Kaseke told the court that on September 8 around 7pm, the accused found the victim playing at her homestead with friends. He lured her to the bush, promising to give her $40 to buy zap nax and raped her once. He, however, did not give her the money. The victim’s brother discovered that she was missing. He followed them to the bush, but the victim was already walking back home. The brother quizzed his sister who divulged everything leading to the arrest of Kapiri Follow NewsDay on Twitter @NewsDayZimbabwe
MINISTER of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie says the Government will be delivering 100 houses in 12 months for people in need across the island.He said that over the last year 32 houses have been built and handed over to beneficiaries, with another 12 to be constructed by the end of the financial year.
Dear Editor,
Lest it be lost in all the confusion and disinformation.
The article The numbers put the lie to APNU+AFC claims appeared first on Stabroek News.
Dear Editor,\nLest it be lost in all the confusion and disinformation.
James Sommersett was the subject of a landmark legal case in Great Britain, which was the first major step in imposing limits on Trans-Atlantic African slavery. Sommersett entered the pages of history when in 1771, he fled his North American owner, Charles Stewart, while both were living in London, England. Sommersett was originally purchased in Virginia and had been bought to Britain by Stewart from Boston, Massachusetts in 1769. He fled two years later and was apprehended on the Ann and Mary, a ship bound for Jamaica.
Sommersett’s cause was taken up by Granville Sharp, a member of Parliament and the leading abolitionist of his era. Once Sharp learned that bondsman Sommersett had been transported to England on a business trip and upon capture was spirited and shackled on board a British vessel, he applied for and was granted a writ of habeas corpus which ordered Stewart to deliver Sommersett to the King’s Bench in January 1772 to determine his legal status. Sharp organized a five-attorney legal defense team led by prominent barrister Francis Hargrave who argued the case before Hon. William Murray, Earl of Mansfield and Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, England’s highest common law court.
At issue was whether a slave, even if owned in British Colonial America was by dint of residing in Britain still to be legally regarded as chattel or should be considered free. Francis Hargrave argued that by being on the soil of Great Britain, Sommersett could not remain enslaved. On June 22, 1772 Lord Mansfield decided in Somerset v. Stewart that Sommersett was to be released since no English law sanctioned slavery in Great Britain.
Sommersett’s case had differential impacts on both sides of the Atlantic. Within England it gave impetus to the nascent abolitionist movement led by Sharp and eventually William Wilberforce but which included late 18th Century black Britishers Olaudah Equiano, Quobna Ottobah Cuguano, and Ignatius Sancho. The case also moved the debate over slavery to the British Parliament. Britains
BY NIZBERT MOYO THE government freeze on employment of additional staff at local authorities has affected service delivery in Bulawayo, mayor Solomon Mguni has said. Mguni told Southern Eye that the employment freeze had crippled critical departments such as housing and community services. He said out of 500 vacant posts, government only gave nod for council to employ 250 people. “The approval that we got this year to employ 250 plus staff is still a far cry from the 500 plus staff members that we need to fill the vacancies that continue to arise in the organisation,” he said. The Bulawayo mayor said shortage of human resources would stall plans for a world-class city status. This also comes at a time the MDC Alliance-run local authorities have accused central government of interfering in the running of their councils. However, government has defended its stance saying it was simply enforcing its oversight role over councils. Follow NewsDay on Twitter @NewsDayZimbabwe
