Cult Leader in Kenya to Face 191 Charges of Child Murder - Minority Africa
Toluwani Omotesho
March 13, 2024
But first, in the small Tunisian village of El Hencha, protests have begun to break out over the lack of news following the disappearance of 37 migrants crossing the Mediterranean.
On January 11, 2024, around 10 pm, all contact with a small boat carrying 37 migrants and asylum seekers, reported to be about 13 to 35 years old, suddenly stopped. A week after the disappearance, families of the missing migrants staged a protest, erecting roadblocks and burning tires around the village due to a lack of tangible news from the government.
The coasts of Tunisia and Libya are popular departure points for locals and other migrants from sub-Saharan Africa looking to travel to Europe by boat in search of new lives. Some of the primary reasons driving this irregular migration are the poverty levels and lack of employment opportunities. However, this route is one of the world’s deadliest. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2498 migrants and asylum seekers drowned while crossing the Mediterranean in 2023. The Tunisian National Guard also intercepted about 70,000 irregular migrants and asylum seekers in 2023.
The latest disappearance of the 37 migrants has left the affected family and loved ones in a state of unrest, with some already losing hope. However, the government has assured the public that search efforts will continue. On Tuesday, the Tunisian National Guard released a statement mobilizing all field units, including maritime vessels and helicopters, to assist with the search. Italian and Maltese search units have also been reported to be involved.
While there are hopes that the ongoing search produces concrete information on the migrants’ disappearance, this unfortunate situation highlights the broader impact of the failure by many African governments to prioritize the development of social infrastructure for their citizens.
‘They’re going to kill us’: Sudan’s army targets civilians on ethnic basis
Gender Roles Are Resulting In Lowered Qualities Of Life For Nigerian Women
https://youtu.be/AE3w0EYSCbo
In northern Uganda, war survivors and comfort dogs are “healing together.”
Rehabilitated stray dogs and survivors of a decade-long war in Uganda who grapple with trauma have formed a bond geared towards healing.
It’s 11 am on Saturday at the headquarters of Big Fix Uganda, an organization specializing in treating and rehabilitating stray dogs. In the tranquil compound, Evelyne Anena is seated on a mat, tenderly stroking a dog called Peyot. The atmosphere is serene as Peyot, with closed eyes, luxuriates in each soothing stroke. The dog reciprocates the connection by placing its paw in Anena’s hand, creating a touching moment.
Periodically, Peyot lifts its head, acknowledging and cherishing Anena’s comforting touch. In the background, the distant sounds of other dogs echo from inside one of the buildings on the compound.
The bond shared between Peyot and Anena is one of profound interdependency. This connection had its roots in 2021 when Anena sought solace in the organization, looking for counseling to navigate the trauma she endured after losing her husband to the Lord Resistance Movement (LRA) rebels.
“On the night of July 2002, rebels came into our home, grabbed my husband, and killed him in front of me and my children,” the 50-year-old Anena recalls. ”For almost twenty years, I could not sleep because every time I closed my eyes, I re-lived my husband’s murder.”
An assistive speech software hopes to help thousands of Nigerians with visual impairment
Driving a technological innovation was never going to be a task of one person, neither is it a race with one track. It is building an ecosystem where creative minds support one another in making a difference.
For millions of Nigerians who struggle with visual impairment and little to no vision, Visis—a text-to-speech software application—has been designed to enable them to independently and conveniently carry out their activities.
Irrespective of the etiology and forms of visual challenges experienced by people, the Visis App designed by Vinsighte responds to problems of visual loss. Most often, eye conditions are evaluated by primary physicians to know if such conditions are repairable by surgery or management. However, the tech solution is used by all categories of visually-impaired persons. It also helps users read printed materials including the ones that are not available in braille among other various functions.
Kenya femicide: A woman’s murder exposes the country’s toxic online misogyny
The brutal murder of a young Kenyan woman at a short-term rental apartment has sparked outrage and exposed the violent “manosphere” perpetuating misogyny online in the country.
The woman was dismembered, and her remains were stuffed into a plastic bag, according to a police report seen by the BBC. The police are investigating, but the suspect is still at large.
The case has left Amnesty International Kenya executive director Irungu Houghton feeling “shocked and outraged.”
“Another woman in her 20s who will not get to see her 40s,” he said.
Less than two weeks ago, a Kenyan socialite was also murdered in a short-term rental apartment in the capital, Nairobi. The killings have been widely referred to as the Airbnb murders in Kenya, but Airbnb told the BBC it had investigated and the women had not booked accommodation through its site.
Gender-based violence is a primary concern in Kenya. In 2022, at least 34% of women said they had experienced physical violence, according to a national survey.
Rather than looking for scapegoats, Morocco is cashing in on South-South migration
While the rest of the Maghreb is often in the spotlight over its aggressive approach to African migrants and asylum seekers, Morocco has officially chosen a more tolerant path and is reaping political and economic benefits from that more liberal attitude.
Khady Hair, a beauty salon in a neat neighborhood on the outskirts of the southern city of Agadir, welcomes clients of all nationalities and hair types. Its Senegalese owner, 38-year-old Khady Wade Baldé, has worked hard to build a chain of three salons that employ a dozen workers from Morocco, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire.
“At the beginning, it wasn’t easy,” said Baldé, who arrived in Morocco in 2008. “At that time, African women used to work only as babysitters or cleaning ladies.” Now, Baldé is planning further business investments in both Morocco and Senegal.
Cult Leader in Kenya to Face 191 Charges of Child Murder
A Kenyan judge on Wednesday said that a doomsday cult leader who the authorities say directed his followers to starve themselves must undergo a mental health evaluation before prosecutors formally charge him with the murders of 191 children.
The charges relate to the discovery last April of mass graves in the Shakahola Forest of southeastern Kenya, where hundreds of people had come to follow the teachings of the cult leader, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a former taxi driver turned televangelist. Mr. Mackenzie had marketed Shakahola to his followers as an evangelical Christian sanctuary from what he claimed was the fast-approaching apocalypse. The Kenyan authorities say that he told members of his church to starve themselves to death to meet Jesus; more than 400 bodies were exhumed from the forest.
Mr. Mackenzie — who has denied the allegations — appeared in court on Wednesday in the Kenyan coastal city of Malindi. The judge, Mugure Thande, gave prosecutors until Feb. 6 to ensure he and his co-defendants are fit to stand trial.
Yosha Iglesias Is the First Out Trans Woman to Become an International Chess Master
Yosha Iglesias, the highest-ranking out transgender woman in competitive chess, has officially met all the requirements for the coveted title of International Master — less than half a year after the game’s international governing body passed a set of draconian new anti-trans rules.
Iglesias, 36, met the final criteria at an international women’s chess tournament held in Rouen, France, on December 30, Chess.com reported. To become a Woman International Master (WIM), a player must attain a ranking of at least 2400 points in games sanctioned by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and attain four “norms,” a term for high-ranking results in different grandmaster-level competitions. Although Iglesias finished second in December’s tournament, her results still qualified as a fourth norm, allowing her to meet the criteria for chess’s second-highest honor.
“I am exhausted but so relieved and happy,” Iglesias told Chess.com.
Features a roundup of fresh MA reports, announcements, events/workshop listings, and minority content curated from across the web.