Olumide Fafore's Blog: July 2016

Wednesday 27 July 2016

Photos: South Africa 2016 Coldest Night.

Gauteng Weather has labelled 26 July as "one of the coldest nights of 2016", after a tornado with gale force winds and hail hit the province on Tuesday afternoon.This was the second tornado to hit Gauteng, following a twister in Magaliesburg on Monday afternoon, 25 July.
On Wednesday morning, ER24 Emergency Services confirmed that more than 400 people in the Gauteng's Tembisa had been displaced, while 20 were injured in their homes when a second tornado ripped through Gauteng on Tuesday afternoon during rush hour.

More road accidents were also reported, caused by the severe weather, ER24 says.
After the tornado in Gauteng on Tuesday, overnight temperatures in some parts of the province dropped below zero, Gauteng Weather said. More pics after cut.....

Madiba Aviary, South Africa one of the fastest growing aviaries of the Aviary Club with its National headquarters in Nigeria recently paid a visit to Yenzani Children's Home in Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Photo: #UnemploymentMovement- Botswana By RUTH KEDIKILWE

The hash-tag (#) era in which we live in has been taken a notch higher by going as far as threatening to get the youth across the country boycott the furore around the Botswana’s Golden Jubilee of 50 years of independence if their plea to government to take unemployment seriously is not responded to. The #UnemploymentMovement is a group of eager likeminded youth willing to take a stand in the forefront of the fight against youth unemployment.

Congolese music star Koffi Olomide will spend the next three months in jail as he awaits a ruling on prosecutors' request to imprison him for a longer period for assaulting one of his female dancers in Nairobi.
The singer's free fall started when he kicked a woman in his band at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport last Friday.
Olomide was deported on July 23 alongside three of his female dancers.

Photos: Africa's Last Indigenous People, The Suri and Hamar tribes in Omo Valley, Ethiopia By Trevor Cole

Suri tribe girls take a break from panning for gold by playing in the river in Omo Valley, Ethiopia

More than forty tribes reside in the area and the valley is home to about 200,000 people.

The traditions of the Omo Valley tribes are deeply embedded and each tribe's identity is vividly clear, even to outsiders.

Trevor said: 'The tribes have many similarities but they also have distinctive differences.

'Young men of the Hamar tribe, for example, have to jump a number of bulls to 'come of age', while the Suri and Mursi tribes compete through stick fighting. More pics after cut...

If Julius Malema, the energetic leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, ever starts singing your praises then run for the hills. It means your economy is about to collapse. Remember how Malema used to regale us with tales of the great and wonderful Hugo Chavez of Venezuela?
Remember how we were told that the future of SA would be bright and wonderful and fulfilling if we followed the Venezuelan economic model?

Human Rights " Rwanda of still 'Locking up The Poor"

Human Rights Watch accuses Rwanda of still 'Locking up The Poor'

International rights group, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says it has found that Rwanda is still locking up poor people and holding them in “harsh and inhuman” detention centers across the country.
According to HRW’s research carried out this year, ‘‘scores of people, including the homeless, street vendors and street children are being rounded up off the streets and then held in filthy conditions where they are subjected to regular beatings.’‘

MSF calls for urgent action plan to address the lack of HIV treatment in CAR

Central African Republic’s healthcare system is reported to be in dire condition after being affected by conflict in the region since 2013.
According to reports, people living with HIV in the country have struggled to gain access to medical care.
Insecurity has been blamed for bringing HIV testing and treatment provision to a halt, where only 1 out of 4 people have access to treatment.

In the story of the The Golden Republic, Bulpin sets a stage on which we meet some of the strangest characters that fate had ever attached to the puppet strings of destiny. The grim Mzilikazi; the hot-headed Hendrik Potgieter and his trekkers; prospectors like Charlie the Reefer; gaudy rogues like Gunn of Gunn and his Highlanders; bandits, highwaymen, rand lords, gold rushers, to name just a few. He tells of leaders like Pretorius and Kruger, and many others who each played a part in establishing the Republic of the Transvaal – a seemingly impossible task considering all the small wars and skirmishes on the veld and the rumble of arguments rising out of each farmhouse.

Villagers collect water from a dry river bed in drought hit Masvingo, Zimbabwe. File photo
Image by: REUTERS

"This is an emergency," Save the Children UK's interim chief executive Tanya Steele said in a statement, after visiting Binga, on Zimbabwe's western border with Zambia.
"Some children are already dying of complications from malnutrition."
Mothers are foraging for wild berries and roots to feed their children, while going without food themselves for up to five days, the charity said.
The number of under-fives who have died of hunger-related causes in Binga town has reached 200 over the last 18 months -- triple the usual rate, it said.

Photos: The World Cannot Afford to Turn Its Back on South Sudan By Deepmala Mahla

On a day when people should have been celebrating five years of South Sudan’s independence, many were running for their lives.

Some 300 have been killed in explosions and large-scale exchanges of gunfire that began Friday, July 8, in South Sudan’s capital of Juba. The violence, which coincided with this new nation’s independence day, is igniting grim new fears that the world’s youngest country may be sliding even deeper into civil war.

This latest violence is a major setback for the millions of South Sudanese people who have already suffered through three long years of war.

‘We are in danger here, I don’t know what to do.’

The African Union (AU) has finally launched its continental passport. With the goal of helping to “realize the dream of visa-free travel for African citizens within their own continent by 2020“, AU leaders hope this will be a key stroke in boosting integration and free movement in Africa.

Jebel market, Juba, much of it destroyed by fighting

Burned tanks lined the side of the main road leading past the UN base in the Jebel area of Juba. Homes and market stalls had been ransacked. Military boots, caps and ripped pieces of uniforms were scattered on the ground. Dark spots in the dirt suggested where bodies had once lain, and although most had been removed, the smell of death lingered.
Much of the fighting during the most recent violence in South Sudan’s capital took place in Jebel. Clashes erupted between government and opposition forces on 8 July, killing hundreds and shattering hopes that a recently installed transitional government could bring peace after more than two years of conflict.

Bonang and AKA

The 2016 YOU Spectacular Awards held on Saturday night in Emperors Palace, Johannesburg.

Matheba was awarded ‘Most Stylish Female Celeb’, fittingly presented the award by her go-to fashion designer Gert-Johan Coetzee while looking ethereal in a white lace Gert-Johan Coetzee number, with a witchy cape effect.
Queen B went on to clinch ‘Favourite Radio Personality’ and ‘Social Media Star’, with AKA adding ‘Most Stylish Male Celeb’ to their takeover. More pics after cut...

Le Guen, who has the official title of technical advisor, will be assisted by Nigerian Salisu Yusuf as chief coach. The appointments are subject to the pair agreeing personal terms.
The much-travelled 52-year-old Le Guen, who played for Brest, Nantes and Paris Saint Germain and won 17 caps for France, led Cameroon to the 2010 World Cup finals.

Photos: SSA to President Buhari, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa Short Talk Competition for Female Soldiers

The Brigade of guards, Nigerian Army has held its first Short talk competition for Female Soldiers, aimed at improving professionalism and communication skills of female soldiers. SSA to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Hon Abike Dabiri Erewa , as the special guest of honour. More pics after cut...

Boity Thulo and Thomas Gumede

Insane antics, crazy stunts and life-threatening feats of senseless acts are all part of the new show.
If you love to watch people doing strange, unusual and frankly idiotic things in boats, cars, bikes, pools, on trampolines and more, then this is the TV show for you.

Rapper Nasty C, real name Nsikayesizwe Ngcobo, will be part of the premiere episode set to debut on MTV on Thursday 14 July; as he shows off his funny side when he joins the presenting trio to share his hilarious comments and observations on the video antics.

Future episodes of Ridiculousness Africa will feature big name celebrities including actress Nomzamo Mbatha, TV & radio personality Dineo Ranaka, and Nigerian Rapper YCEE. More pics after cut...

Riot police detain residents of Epworth suburb after a protest by taxi drivers turned violent in Harare, Zimbabwe, July 4.
Image: REUTERS

This failure has been central to the demands of dissenting voices and political organisations in the southern African state. It has also brought about a different type of protest against the Zimbabwean government.

Since the 2013 elections, convulsions within the ruling party have intensified to unprecedented levels. The recent protests in the public and informal sectors have exposed both the limits of ZANU-PF’s politics and the failure of its economic policies. The delays in payment of civil servants in June led to a widespread strike of teachers, health workers and other civil servants. The ruling party has managed for the time being to maintain payment to its security sector.

Who’s the next president?

New Single: JAY MAKOPO – “THE ONE”

Renowned South African Hip-Hop artist Jay Makopo returns with yet another banging single titled
“The One”. It’s a unique fusion of thumping Hip-Hop/Trap beats & South African Tribal House flavor.
Once again, Jay delivers his signature hot bars, accompanied by a sing-along hook stamping his
authority as one of the hottest rappers in South Africa.
“The One” is a radio and club friendly hit, tipped to be one of the hottest songs this summer!!

Photos: Tiwa Savage 'inspired' by survivors of child trafficking in Hillbrow

Nigerian singing sensation Tiwa Savage walked away feeling "inspired" after meeting a group of young Hillbrow girls who were rescued from child trafficking.

Tiwa, who was in the country over the weekend, spent the afternoon with Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba and girls from the House Group in Hillbrow.

"Even though I was supposed to give these beautiful young ladies words of encouragement I ended up being more inspired by them," Tiwa said. More pics after cut...

The Long Story Short initiative, launched by arts and culture entrepreneur Kgauhelo Dube, has reached yet another literary milestone – their first podcast in an African language!

In this podcast, well-known actor Presley Chweneyagae of Tsotsi fame reads an extract from Sabata-Mpho Mokae’s Setswana novel Ga Ke Modisa. In 2013, Mokae’s novel won an M-Net Literary Award in the African languages and film categories.

The battles are the first between the army and ex-rebels in Juba since rebel leader Riek Machar returned to take up the post of vice president in a unity government in April, under an accord to end a bloody civil war.

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting behind closed doors Sunday evening to discuss the situation.

Photos: LAYLIZZY SET TO PERFORM AT THE 2016 MTN MANDELA DAY TRIBUTE CONCERT

In celebration of the legacy andacknowledgement of the late father of the nation, Mr. Nelson Mandela, award winning hip hop star from Mozambique, Laylizzy is on the line-up among other African heavy weights such as CassperNyovest, Emtee and Riky Rick as well as Banky W, Iyanya, KCee and Runtown from Nigeria and more set to perform at the 2016 MTNMandela Day Tribute Concert.

Those who crossed over to Somalia found themselves in terrific situation as they came face to face with the reality- being forced undergo military training to fight the so-called holy war.

Radicalisation has done more harm than good to Kenyan youths particularly in the Kenyan Coast.
For years since radicalization, violent extremism started leading youths to join militia and terror organizations, the Coast region has been among the areas highly affected.
It was assumed by many especially in the security sector that the indoctrination and recruitment to join Somalia based al-Shabaab was done in religious intuitions. Even though that has some elements of truth based on evidences what happened in few mosques in Mombasa, the reality on the hand was that many youth were usually joining terror groups after being promised good jobs and huge salaries.

She is from Zimbabwe in Southern Africa but currently lives in Canada. Rudo, 30 is a skeptic with a mission, a salient ‘silent’ mission to foster skeptical rationality among African women. She describes her home country Zimbabwe as a place where ‘the religious rhetoric is deafening’ and she is committed to providing a counter narrative. Recently I chatted with Rudo and she told me how she became a skeptic. We discussed her initiative to support and provide a sense of community to skeptically minded African women.

Zimbabwe has been protesting online.
Image by: African Arguments via Twitter

Speaking to Talk Radio 702’s Koketso Sachane‚ Pastor Evan Mawarire said he had started the #ThisFlag movement a month and a half ago to get his countrymen to unite against “rampant and runaway corruption by government and government ministers”

South Sudan Second Vice President James Wani Igga (C), flanked by South Sudan President Salva Kiir (R) and First Vice President Riek Machar (L), addresses a news conference at the Presidential State House in Juba, South Sudan, July 8, 2016.

Soldiers have taken scores of bodies to a hospital in South Sudan's capital, reports said, after gun battles broke out across the city on the eve of the country's fifth independence anniversary.
The fighting on Friday began outside the presidential compound as President Salva Kiir was meeting with first vice president and former rebel leader Riek Machar and soon spread through the city.
An Al Jazeera correspondent later saw bodies of soldiers on the lawn in the compound.

Rare book opens window on early South Africa

When William Burchell's two-volume Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa was published in 1822 only 500 copies were printed and few have survived in pristine condition.

Other copies have sold for R100,000 and the book is sought after for its hand-drawn maps and hand-coloured illustrations depicting a long-lost South Africa.

The call was made in an open letter to Nkoana-Mashabane on Friday which also voiced “deep concern” over police arresting journalists‚ the alleged extortion of motorists and a clampdown on the use of social media.

Activists staged a one-day stay-away this week in Zimbabwe in protest against the economic policies of President Robert Mugabe‚ restrictions imposed in the importation of goods‚ non-payment of salaries to civil servants and government corruption

UN rights chief warns of violence re-escalating in Central African Republic

A Senegalese Quick Reaction Force (QRF) in Bangui, Central African Republic, to bolster forces of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). UN Photo/Nektarios Markogiannis

The United Nations human rights chief today warned that the security and human rights situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) may be starting to deteriorate again, after a series a major incidents in the capital of Bangui and rural areas.
“While 2016 began on a positive note, with the successful holding of elections in February, recent events in Bangui and in several other parts of the country make me fear a re-escalation of violence in the coming months,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein in a news release.

A money transfer agency remains closed in Harare, Zimbabwe

Zimbabweans have stayed at home and foreign banks and most businesses in the capital, Harare, have shut down operations in one of the biggest – and most peaceful – stay-away actions in nearly a decade.
The national stay-away day in Zimbabwe on Wednesday, fronted by the social media movement ‪#ThisFlag, came after violent clashes between taxi drivers and police on Monday that led to the arrest of 95 people. It coincides with a strike by doctors, teachers and nurses over delayed salaries. More pics after cut...

Nigerian In China: Why Are People Here So Racist Towards Black People?

Eric Olander and Cobus van Staden are the duo behind the China Africa Project and hosts of the popular China in Africa Podcast. We’re here to answer your most pressing, puzzling, even politically incorrect questions, about all things related to the Chinese in Africa and Africans in China.
China’s engagement in Africa is a distinctly 21st century phenomenon and, as such, is still poorly understood by most people, most notably among Chinese and Africans themselves who are still getting to know one another.

Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius leaves after his sentence hearing at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria,

Judge Thokozile Masipa had earlier today, Wednesday July 6, 2016 sentenced the Paralympian and double-amputee to a six-year prison term on Wednesday morning and departed from the prescribed 15-year jail term.
Masipa said there were compelling and substantial circumstances which allowed her to deviate from the minimum prescribed sentence.

UN calls on African Union to respond to Eritrea violations

The United Nations rights council has called on the African Union to investigate Eritrean leaders over alleged crimes against humanity after a damning report by a UN commission.
In that report, the UN’s Commission of Inquiry (COI) for Eritrea said the government of President Isaias Afwerki had committed heinous crimes since independence a quarter-century ago, including the “enslavement” of 400,000 people.
Many of those abuses are allegedly linked to a harsh national service programme in the secretive Horn of Africa state, which for many is almost impossible to escape and which the COI compared to lifetime enslavement.

Julius Malema and his wife.

The biggest horse race event in Africa the Durban July held in Durban from July 2nd 2016, was full of the best of the fashion world and a display of who is who in South Africa. More pics after cut

D’banj has reportedly tied the knot.

Nigerian entertainment blog SDK is reporting that the popular singer and co-host of MTV's Lip Sync Battle Africa tied-the-knot over the weekend in a top secret wedding ceremony.
The site reports that the ceremony was apparently so secret that guests thought they were attending a birthday party. (Which might have made for some really awkward wedding gifts).

Pastor Kumuyi "Don't Lose Hope In Buhari, He Is On The Right Path"

The General Superintendent, Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor Williams kumuyi, has urged Nigerians not to lose hope in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Bushfire is Swaziland's acclaimed international music and arts festival held each year at House on Fire, inspired and magical venue combining sculpture. More pics after cut.....

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki

As one of the world's most oppressive regimes, the Eritrean government has committed extensive crimes against humanity over the past 25 years, according to a report released June 8 by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea. President Isaias Afwerki, in power since Eritrea's independence in 1991 following the 30-year war with Ethiopia, has led an increasingly repressive authoritarian regime. The U.N. commission found that enslavement, enforced disappearance, rape, murder, torture and religious persecution are systematically used to instill fear in Eritreans and maintain the regime's power. These blatant violations of international law clearly constitute crimes against humanity as widespread, systematic attacks against the civilian population.

The literary world has suffered yet another loss as legendary African writer Elechi Amadi of Nigerian origin, passes on. This comes a week after he became ill and was hospitalized. The hospital had just settled on referring him to seek further treatment abroad but he unfortunately passed on before that materialized.

ref·u·gee
ˌrefyo͝oˈjē/
noun: refugee; plural noun: refugees
a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.
According to the UNHCR, 1 in every 113 people is a refugee. To put it in perspective, “on average 24 people worldwide were displaced from their homes every minute of every day during 2015”. With such a high figure, we should all have encountered a refugee or two by now. A neighbor, the clerk at your favorite store, the engineer, your son’s best friend. Better yet, we should all know how to respond and respect them to make them feel welcome. Unfortunately, we don’t.

The honeymoon period is now over for the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan, which formally ended the civil war in August 2015. Its guarantors need to act urgently in the next days to save it and prevent the country from returning to full-scale combat.

Found in Botswana, the Lesedi la Rona diamond is up for auction and valued at $70 million.

Sotheby's attempted to auction the largest diamond discovered in over a century — a hunk of transparent rock the size of a tennis ball. It was found last November at an open-pit mine in the southern African country of Botswana. At 1,109 carats it's second in size only to the storied "Cullinan" diamond found in South Africa in 1905 and cut down into nine of the gems in the United Kingdom's Crown Jewels.
This new, rough diamond has been given its own name too — picked from among thousands of entries submitted by Batswana citizens in a contest. They're calling it the "Lesedi La Rona" — which means "Our Light" in Botswana's official language of Tswana. It was valued at $70 million.

LETTERS TO MY FATHER is now available for sale for N2500, if you are in Lagos, Abuja, Jos, Lokoja, Portharcourt and Ilorin it will be delivered to you at no extra cost. If interested send your address and it will be delivered. Also available at Terra Kulture bookshop at Tiamiyu Savage Street, Victoria Island, Lagos and Konga. Will soon be out on Jumia and Laterna bookshop in Lagos. A most read for all book lovers.

Photos: Black Coffee wins BET Award

Black Coffee has become the first South African artist to walk away with a BET Award in the category, "Best International Act — Africa".

The awards held in Los Angeles and Black Coffee beat out the likes of AKA‚ Cassper Nyovest‚ Diamond Platnumz‚MzVee‚ Serge Beynaud‚ Wizkid and Yemi Alade. More pics after cut.....

Piercing-dart lyricist and producer, Red Button is back and not just alone, but with some heat. This punchline machinery took to social media and announced the drop of his new single, “KhandaShisa” accompanied by its art work on the 21^st of June.

The makers of Jack Daniel's, America's favourite whiskey, have admitted for the first time that a Tennessee slave was behind its legendary recipe.For 150 years credit for teaching the young Jack Daniel how to distill had gone to the Rev. Dan Call, a Lutheran preacher in Tennessee.But the company said it was not Call but his slave, a man called Nearis Green, who in fact provided the expertise, the New York Times reported.

In a photo in Jack Daniel’s old office, Daniel, with mustache and white hat, is shown at his distillery in Tennessee in the late 1800s. The man to his right could be a son of Nearis Green, a slave who helped teach Daniel how to make whiskey.:
Image by: Jack Daniel's Distillery

For 150 years, credit for teaching the young Jack Daniel how to distil had gone to the Rev Dan Call, a Lutheran preacher in Lynchburg.
But the company has now said that it was not the Rev Call but his slave, a man called Nearis Green, who in fact provided the expertise.
As a boy Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel, was sent to work for the Rev Call, who as well as being a minister ran a general store and distillery.

Pages

Wednesday 27 July 2016

Thursday 21 July 2016

Tuesday 19 July 2016

The 2016 YOU Spectacular Awards held on Saturday night in Emperors Palace, Johannesburg.

Thursday 14 July 2016

Who’s the next president?

Tuesday 12 July 2016

Monday 11 July 2016

Nigerian singing sensation Tiwa Savage walked away feeling "inspired" after meeting a group of young Hillbrow girls who were rescued from child trafficking.

Saturday 9 July 2016

Friday 8 July 2016

Thursday 7 July 2016

Wednesday 6 July 2016

Tuesday 5 July 2016

Friday 1 July 2016

Black Coffee has become the first South African artist to walk away with a BET Award in the category, "Best International Act — Africa".

The awards held in Los Angeles and Black Coffee beat out the likes of AKA‚ Cassper Nyovest‚ Diamond Platnumz‚MzVee‚ Serge Beynaud‚ Wizkid and Yemi Alade. More pics after cut.....