Saturday, November 12, 2016

Mozambique police rescue two girls 'sold as wives for $64'


Police in Mozambique say they have stopped an attempt to traffic two teenage girls who had been allegedly sold as wives for $64 (£51).
The group was caught by police on the border with Swaziland.
The girls, aged 17 and 13, told the independent TV station STV that they had been lured in by one of their relatives with a promise of jobs in South Africa.
Maputo police spokesperson, Orlando Mudumane, said the girls were kept in captivity for a week in Mozambique before their traffickers attempted to move them to South Africa.
The older girl told STV that they were unhappy when they were told of the plan to marry them off:
I didn’t want to marry someone who was buying me. He said my reaction wasn’t logical because he had already paid for me."
A woman has been taken into custody, and denies that she was trafficking the girls.
Mr Madumane said it was believed that there was a network of traffickers selling children from Mozambique into sexual slavery in South Africa. 

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Wole Soyinka promises 'Wolexit' after Trump win


Nigeria's Nobel-Prize winning author Wole Soyinka says he will leave the US on the day Donald Trump is inaugurated as president, the Abuja-based The Interview magazine reports

It says that in response to e-mailed questions, Mr Soyinka said: "Come January 20, 2017; watch my WOLEXIT!".
But the US-based  Newsweek magazine reports that he is biding his time until Mr Trump is inaugurated. "Why don’t we wait until Trump actually takes office?” it quotes Mr Soyinka as saying. “I’m just going about my normal commitments, but definitely not getting into any more commitments. Let’s put it that way for now.”
Wole Soyinka In Ibadan 1946 - 1965

Mr Soyinka promised last week that he would tear up his green card if Mr Trump were elected.
The green card is a permanent residence permit for the US - prized by many African immigrants to the US.
His comments emerged in a filmed conversation with students at Oxford University in the UK.
The famous author appeared to have been taking a swipe at Mr Trump over his radical stance on immigration.
Mr Soyinka is one of Africa's most celebrated literary figures. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986 - becoming the first African to be honoured in that category.


South Africa's Jacob Zuma faces new no confidence vote

Two previous votes of no-confidence were easily blocked by ANC majority in parliament

South Africa's parliament is to debate a vote of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma amid growing calls for him to resign.
An anti-corruption probe last week raised allegations of misconduct against Mr Zuma.
But the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has said the motion "has no chance of succeeding".
This is the third time in less a year the president is facing a no confidence vote.
An investigation by the country's anti-corruption watchdog said a judicial inquiry should be set up to further investigate allegations of criminal activity in Mr Zuma's government.
The investigation found evidence that the Guptas, a business family with links to Mr Zuma, may have wielded undue political influence over the appointment of ministers.
Both Mr Zuma and the Guptas have denied any wrongdoing.
The main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) brought the motion, accusing Mr Zuma of wreaking "havoc on our infant democracy".
"President Zuma's brand of corruption, economic mismanagement and lies can no longer continue to exist alongside the project of building a better South Africa," the party said in a statement.
But calls for the president to quit have been described as "premature" by ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe who said the report had not found anyone guilty.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Cameroon: Teachers of GTHS Bamenda locked out of the school Campus by the Principal

GTHS Bamenda was constructed by the SOFATI Company with Canadian ain in 1991

Teachers of the famous Government Technical High School (GTHS) Bamenda commonly known as Canada have for about a month have decried the administration of the newly appointed principal who is 2 months old in the school.
 They say the principal  humiliates them while trying to exercise his administrative duties.
Talking with a senior staff of the school, he said "the principal started by calling a General assembly of Teachers and Students where he surprisingly called out some teachers and asked the students to shout "shame" to them for coming late to class. The general staff of the school got angry and was thinking of a protest. He called another General assembly of teachers and students where he again said if the teachers protest, he will ask the students to beat them up".


The actions of the principal did not end there, later the principal became one of the gate men. At 7:35am (5 mins after the start of classes), the principal locks everyone outside and take the keys to his office.
The teachers are saying the school which has been registering best results in technical schools might see a drop in performance if the attitude has to continue.
Administrators also kept out of school

Observers have said it is not a good move, they say something else could have been done to those coming late to classed for example their incentives could be deducted or an administrative sanction taken following a well structured administrative procedure. Keeping the teachers out of school wont help the situation but worsen it.

The staff of thew school has termed the principal "A dictator"


Pictures curtsy of Esibe Clifford - GTHS Bamenda

Monday, November 7, 2016

Nigeria schoolgirl missing from Chibok 'found with baby'


One of the Chibok schoolgirls abducted in Nigeria has been found with a 10-month-old baby son, the military says.
The girl was discovered in Pulka in northern Borno state, spokesman Sani Usman said.
The announcement came nearly a month after another 21 Chibok girls were freed after negotiations with Boko Haram Islamist militants.
More than 270 schoolgirls were seized from the north-eastern town in April 2014, sparking international outrage.
Mr Usman said the latest girl to be found was discovered by soldiers screening escapees from Boko Haram's base in the Sambisa forest.
Boko Haram has been fighting a long insurgency in its quest for an Islamic state in northern Nigeria. The conflict is estimated to have killed more than 30,000 people.
What lies ahead for freed Chibok girls?
Boko Haram has kidnapped thousands of other people during its seven-year insurgency in northern Nigeria and many people have been made homeless.

The freeing of 21 girls in October came after talks mediated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Swiss government.
Until then, there had only been one confirmed release of a student kidnapped from Chibok - a 19-year-old woman found by an army-backed vigilante group.
More than 50 managed to escape on the day they were captured.
Officials have promised to find the remaining 200 still being held