News — south africa

Actor Idris Elba and model Naomi Campbell joined some 65 other British celebrities, designers and politicians, mostly of Ghanaian heritage, in signing an open letter in support of gay rights in Ghana. Last month, a community center for LGBTQ+ people in the West African country was shut down by security forces just three weeks after opening. Religious leaders, politicians and anti-gay organizations had called on the government to close the center, which was operated by local charity LGBT+ Rights Ghana.

The 67 signatories of the open letter published on social media on Monday said they were worried about the developments in Ghana and called on the country’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, and other political leaders to provide protection to the LGBTQ+ community.

“We have watched with profound concern as you have had to question the safety of your vital work at the LGBT+ Rights Ghana Centre in Accra, and feared for your personal wellbeing and security. It is unacceptable to us that you feel unsafe,” wrote the signatories of the letter, many of whom are British-Ghanaian, including architect Sir David Adjaye and British Vogue Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful. Elba’s mother was also born in Ghana.

“As prominent and powerful advocates for this great country, we are beseeching His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and political/cultural leaders to create a pathway for allyship, protection and support.

“We petition for inclusivity which will make the nation even greater and even stronger,” the letter added.

At the opening of the center for LGBTQ+ people last month, the Danish ambassador, the Australian high commissioner and some foreign diplomats were among the attendees, causing anger among many Ghanaians who lambasted the international community for promoting gay rights in the country and Africa as a whole.

In Ghana, gay sex is a criminal offense and punishable by up to three years in jail. Though no one has been prosecuted for same-sex relations in years, human rights activists say LGBT+ people are discriminated against, and often face death threats and abuse. President Akufo-Addo on Saturday said same-sex marriage will not be legalized under his presidency. “I have said it before, and let me stress it again, that it will not be under the Presidency of Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo that same-sex marriage will be legal,” he said.

Although some African countries are slowly accepting same-sex marriages, many are still very categorical in their denunciation of the idea. Some have even made it a capital offense punishable by death – Mauritania, Sudan, southern Somalia and northern Nigeria.

Many members of the LGBT community in these countries have been forced to hide their sexuality while others have fled their homes for fear of being attacked.

In Uganda, for instance, same-sex relationships have been illegal since British colonial rule, and in neighboring Tanzania, the situation is no different. As political landscapes continue to change across the continent, new ideologies are slowly taking shape and societies are becoming more accepting as far as embracing same-sex relationships is concerned.

In January 2019, Angola shed the divisive “vices against nature” provision in its law, widely interpreted to be a ban on homosexual conduct. The changes were made on January 23 when the oil-rich southern African country parliament adopted its first new penal code since it gained independence in 1975 and removed the “vices against nature” provision that it inherited from its Portuguese colonizers.

There had been no known prosecutions under the law, but the “vices against nature” provision tended to place the lives of LGBT people in Angola under scrutiny.

In 2015, a Kenyan court ruled in favor of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission – a non-governmental organization supporting the LGBT community – which had moved to court to compel the Kenyan government to recognize it as a legal entity. In its ruling, the court argued that refusing to register the commission was an infringement of the right of association for gay people.

In Uganda, the controversial 2014 law criminalizing homosexuality has since been overturned, although the constitution still doesn’t recognize same-sex relationships.

In South Africa, LGBT people enjoy constitutional and statutory protection from discrimination at work, school, and places of worship, as well as, in the provision of goods and services.

A former President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, could be going to jail for two years at least, if the commission of inquiry charged to investigate allegations of bribery and embezzlement leveled against him, has its way at the country’s constitutional court.

The commission has referred to the constitutional court Zuma’s failure to appear before it last week as well as the ex-president’s refusal or inability to provide affidavits he has been ordered to. He is being accused of contempt by the commission for which the body has requested the jail term.

Zuma’s presidency between 2009 and 2018 has been identified by investigators as one of the most corrupt for the Rainbow Nation in the post-apartheid era. But Zuma has denied all accusations of wrongdoing.

Zuma’s woes have compounded since he resigned unceremoniously in 2018 due to these very allegations. In 2018, he was charged with 16 counts of fraud, racketeering and money laundering involving an arms deal from the late 1990s that cost $2.5 billion.

He is also accused of ceding political influence to members of the Gupta family who have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department over corrupt activities. Some have alleged that the Gupta family was even allowed to appoint ministers and skip due process in transactions with the government.

The 78-year-old has also spoken through his lawyers of his disdain for the commission of inquiry that he believes is biased against him. In November, it was reported that Zuma refused to answer some questions, forcing the legal representative of the commission Paul Pistorius to say Zuma believes the inquiry is a “political conspiracy”.

The commission was not constituted with prosecutorial powers, however, bodies that can prosecute can fall on the commission’s findings. This may be the reason why Zuma’s corner holds reservations over how the commission has allowed witnesses whose accounts have implicated the former president in corrupt activities.

Witnesses before the commission have included former cabinet ministers and lawmakers.

South African-born entrepreneur Elon Musk has seen his fortune rise to $195 billion, making him the richest man on earth, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Until Thursday, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was the richest man in the world with a net worth of $185 billion.

The Space X and Tesla founder was pushed to the top spot after shares in Tesla rose by more than 6 percent on Thursday. Since the start of 2020, Tesla’s capitalization has grown from $80 billion in January 2020 to just over $760 billion as of Thursday, according to NBC News, while his personal fortune rose by more than $150 billion last year.

The new evaluation is more than eight times the combined values of the traditional “Big Three” U.S. automakers — GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler, NBC added.

“How strange,” Musk tweeted Thursday. “Well, back to work …”

“Musk’s wealth surge over the past year marks the fastest rise to the top of the rich list in history — and is a dramatic financial turnaround for the famed entrepreneur, who just 18 months ago was in the headlines for Tesla’s rapid cash burn and his personal leverage against the company’s stock,” CNBC wrote. “Tesla’s rocketing share price — which has increased more than ninefold over the past year — along with his generous pay package have added more than $150 billion to his net worth.”

Musk started 2020 worth about $27 billion and was not among the top 50 richest list. However, he passed Warren Buffett to become the seventh-richest person in July. He gained more wealth than Bill Gates to become the second-richest person in November and has since gained more wealth over the past 12 months than Gates’ entire net worth of $132 billion, according to CNBC.

While Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index ranks Musk as the richest man in the world, Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires lists Bezos ahead of him. Bezos tops Forbes’ list with $184 billion while Musk comes in second with $177.2 billion.

However, according to CNBC, Forbes evaluation did not include the value of Musk’s options, which he received as part of his pay package, to buy more than 33 million shares of Tesla.

Last year, Musk’s Space X launched two crewed missions to the International Space Station, the first of it in the U.S. since NASA retired its space shuttle fleet in 2011, according to space.com. In all, Space X launched 26 missions in 2020.

South Africa‘s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has been marked by one rather unique recurrence: the banning of the sale of alcohol out of fear that inebriation would lead to loss of inhibitions and then trigger the spread of the virus.

Alcohol sales are also very popular at most pubs and entertainment centers that bring South Africans in the major cities together.

On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa reimposed a ban on the sale of alcohol following a spike in the number of daily recorded cases in the Rainbow Nation. South Africa has also recorded the new variant of the coronavirus that was first detected in the United Kingdom.

“Reckless behavior due to alcohol intoxication has contributed to increased transmission. Alcohol-related accidents and violence are putting pressure on our hospital emergency units.” the president said.

South African bars, beaches and swimming pools are also expected to close down in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban where the coronavirus has spread the most in the country. The country will also observe a curfew between 9 pm and 6 am.

Ramaphosa added: “Nearly 27,000 South Africans are known to have died from COVID-19. The number of new coronavirus infections is climbing at an unprecedented rate. More than 50,000 new cases have been reported since Christmas Eve.”

The alcohol sale ban was first imposed in April 2020 when the country first underwent a lockdown. Tobacco sales were also prohibited.

Meanwhile the country’s Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, has reiterated the determination of authorities to clampdown on those who act in contravention of the ban.

“Don’t put alcohol in your teapots in restaurants. Don’t put alcohol in the bottles written 0% alcohol. We know your tricks, don’t do that,” Cele told a press conference on Tuesday.

The South African activist, Bantu Steven Biko, was born on December 18, 1946. Biko was an African nationalist and socialist at the forefront of the anti-apartheid campaign known as the Black Consciousness Movement in the 1960s and 1970s.

Influenced by Martinican revolutionary, Frantz Fanon, and the African American Black Power Movement, Biko developed and spread the idea of Black Consciousness, that espoused that “blacks had to overcome the feelings of inferiority instilled into them, the ‘oppression within’ before they could deal with whites as equals.” He also popularized the Black Is Beautiful movement which started in the U.S., in Africa.

Biko explains further in his book, I Write What I Like: “This is the first truth, bitter as it may seem, that we have to acknowledge before we can start on any programme designed to change the status quo. It becomes more necessary to see the truth as it is if you realise that the only vehicle for change is these people who have lost their personality. The first step, therefore, is to make the black man come to himself; to pump back life into his empty shell; to infuse him with pride and dignity, to remind him of his complicity in the crime of allowing himself to be misused and therefore letting evil reign supreme in the country of his birth. This is what we mean by an inward-looking process. This is the definition of ‘Black Consciousness’.”

Biko contributed significantly to the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa through his leadership and vision at a time when African National Congress and the Pan Africanist Congress, and its leaders such as Nelson Mandela, were jailed, exiled, or killed. He was highly influential in the grassroots campaigns and youth uprisings which were pivotal for turning the public/international support away from the apartheid government.

Biko was only 30 years old when he died. He was arrested at a police roadblock when he broke a ban restricting him to speak publicly or travel. He was severely beaten and died in a cell alone on 12 September 1977 after what has been reported to be a horrifying 25 days in police custody. More than 20,000 people from around the world attended his funeral.

The South African activist has been commemorated by many institutions, world leaders, including Nelson Mandela, and in song, movies – most prominently the 1987 film Cry Freedom -,  and by businesses such as Google. His work continues through the Steve Biko Foundation spearheaded by his family.

Many of today’s acclaimed cultural movement, including the #WokeMovement, AfricaRising, etc, on Black consciousness, Black pride, and Black awareness and activism, owe a great deal to this man.

South Africa's president has announced a raft of new restrictions in a major city as the nation stares down a possible coronavirus resurgence. 

This has been a tough year for the nation with Africa’s highest coronavirus burden, President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged in a Thursday night speech.

But now, as many South Africans plan to embark on a monthlong summer holiday, now is not the time for South Africa to let down its guard, he warned. 

“As we want to relax, this virus does not relax.  And this virus does not take a holiday,” he said.  “This 2020 has been a difficult year for us as a nation and as a country. It has severely tested our resolve and demanded great sacrifices of each and every one of us. But even as the holidays approach, we cannot let our guard down. Unless we take personal responsibility for our health and the health of others, more people are going to become infected. More people are going to die.”

Nearly 22,000 South Africans have already died, he noted.  

To that end, he announced restrictions for one of the country’s major metropoles, Nelson Mandela Bay. The coastal city, also known as Port Elizabeth, has recently seen a jump in confirmed cases. 

The city’s one million residents now must observe a nighttime curfew and are restricted in both buying and consuming alcohol in public. Gatherings are now limited to 250 people for outdoor events and 100 for indoor events. 

He also said that countrywide, post-funeral gatherings -- which Ramaphosa referred to as “after-tears parties” -- are prohibited.

Johannesburg, the nation’s economic hub, is known for drawing people from around the country. During the end-of-year holidays, the city empties out as many residents return to their families. Security guard Eric Kabelo plans to return to Carletonville, a small town southwest of Johannesburg, for the season. Kabelo, who is 27, says he has no quibble with the restrictions. 

“I think it’s fine,” he said. “Because of alcohol, it gives us a problem. You can check -- a lot of people, they get into accidents, a lot of things are happening. I think the restriction is better.”

Office manager Thando Zondi is also hoping to travel this holiday season, to her home in KwaZulu-Natal province. No restrictions have been announced for that area, she said. 

“His speech yesterday was mostly for (Port Elizabeth), and I’m in Gauteng so I’m not really affected,” she said. “We’re still on level 1, so it didn’t change anything for us, so I’m not affected, I’m fine.” 

However, in his half-hour televised “family meeting,” President Ramaphosa reminded all South Africans that they have a role to play in keeping the resurgence contained.

“By far the greatest contributing cause of infections is that many people are not wearing masks and are not observing proper hygiene and social distancing,” the South African leader said. “As I said during our last family meeting, at alert level one, we have the measures we need to control the virus, all the tools in place, but our main problem is that there are parts of our country where people are not complying with the current restrictions and the basic prevention measures are not being followed.

“Fellow South Africans, we must change our behavior now to prevent a resurgence of the virus and manage outbreaks wherever they occur,” he added. “If we think of this pandemic like a bushfire, we need to quickly extinguish the flare-ups, the flames, before they turn into a big wildfire like an inferno.”

The South African police have fired tear gas at opposition activists protesting against alleged racism at a Cape Town school after a so-called “whites-only” year-end dance party was organized off-site, reportedly by parents.

Anti-riot police on Friday fired tear gas and water cannon at nearly 2,000 members of the radical left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party who gathered near the school.

“Police fired tears, stun grenade and used water cannon to prevent the protesters from approaching the school,” Al Jazeera’s Fahmida Miller reported from Cape Town.

Miller said the protesters were “quite peaceful” and have accused the police of being heavy-handed.

“They are also angry at the police and saying they won’t respond in the same manner against white protesters,” she said.

Police later told the protest organizers only 100 people were allowed to march to the school.

The protests were the latest in a string of demonstrations against alleged racism at Brackenfell High School following the party, which was held at a winery farm in Stellenbosch, east of Cape Town, on October 17.

Prior to the event, a flyer was shared on a dedicated WhatsApp group that included several teachers, Black students from the school told local news website IOL. The flyer was not shared via regular class WhatsApp groups, one student told IOL, saying it was clear Black students were meant to be excluded.

The school denies the event was an official function and maintains it was privately organised by parents.

“The masked ball, referred to as a matric farewell, was a private party organised by the parents of matriculants, and did not fall under the control of the school at all,” the school’s governing body wrote in a letter to parents, according to IOL.

“The function was held on a private venue and not at the school, as certain allegations claim. The governing body and staff of Brackenfell High School therefore distance themselves from any allegations that Brackenfell High School will condone or accommodate any events that are exclusively reserved for certain groups, and especially racial groups.”

A few days after the party, EFF members tried to march to the school but were blocked by some of the students’ parents resulting in fistfights.

Widely shared video footage showed dramatic scenes of angry white parents punching the EFF’s Black protesters on the streets on November 9.

The confrontation disturbed President Cyril Ramaphosa who called for an investigation, describing the clashes as “deeply regrettable”.

“The spectacle of parents and protesters coming to blows at the school gate is deeply unfortunate,” said Ramaphosa, adding the development brought “back hurtful memories of a past we should never seek to return to”.

The clashes occurred a few weeks after similarly racially-charged protests in the central farming town of Senekal over the brutal murder of a white farm manager by suspected Black assailants.

Despite the end of apartheid a generation ago, racial tensions in South Africa often remain high.

A former President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, has been dragged before a commission of inquiry looking into serious allegations of corruption leveled against the controversial 78-year-old who was the country’s president between 2009 and 2018.

But on Monday, Zuma, through attorney Muzi Sikhakhane, sought to challenge the propriety of commission chairman, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, presiding over proceedings. According to the former president’s lawyer, Zondo was already biased against Zuma.

The commission was not constituted with prosecutorial powers, however, bodies that can prosecute can fall on the commission’s findings. This may be the reason why Zuma’s corner holds reservations over how the Zondo has allowed witnesses whose accounts have implicated the former president in corrupt activities.

Witnesses before the commission have included former cabinet ministers and lawmakers.

Zuma has been accused of corrupt practices relating to the awarding of government contracts. He is also accused of ceding political influence to members of the Gupta family who have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department over corrupt activities. Some have alleged that the Gupta family was even allowed to appoint ministers and skip due process in transactions with the government.

The former president reportedly refused to answer some questions on Monday leading the legal representative of the commission Paul Pistorius to say Zuma believes the inquiry is a “political conspiracy”.

Zuma’s woes have compounded since he resigned unceremoniously in 2018 due to these very allegations. In 2018, he was charged with 16 counts of fraud, racketeering and money laundering involving an arms deal from the late 1990s that cost $2.5 billion.

Earlier this year, a judge in Pietermaritzburg issued an arrest warrant for Zuma after he failed to appear in court to answer to said charges due to what he said was ill-health.

Political pressure is mounting on the current head of state, Cyril Ramaphosa, from Zuma loyalists in the African National Congress (ANC) who expect him to intervene in Zuma’s troubles.

A South African environmental activist who opposed the extension of a coalmine near her home has been shot dead in her home.

Fikile Ntshangase, 65, was involved in a legal dispute over the extension of an opencast mine operated by Tendele Coal near Somkhele, close to Hluhluwe–Imfolozi park, the oldest nature reserve in Africa.

Local police told the Guardian that four men entered Ntshangase’s home in Ophondweni, KwaZulu-Natal province, at about 6.30pm on Thursday and shot her dead. A 13-year-old child witnessed the murder and is helping authorities with their investigation. No arrests have been made.

Tendele Coal condemned what it called a “senseless killing” and called for calm, in a joint statement with local leaders.

The coalmine had been the focus of a protracted legal dispute between the company, conservationists, and some locals who are in favour of extending it for economic reasons.

Kirsten Youens, Ntshangase’s lawyer, said her client was a “courageous activist” against the expansion of the mine. Ntshangase was a prominent member of the Mfolozi Community Environmental Justice Organisation.

“She was incredibly outspoken about the truth and justice, having no qualms about calling people out who she felt with being devious or untruthful,” Youens said. “She did not compromise her ethics. Ever. As her attorney, I will miss her truth, her fire and courage. She did not deserve to die. We are devastated by her loss.”

She said Ntshangase had said recently: “I cannot sell out my people and if need be I will die for my people.”

People near the mine have been the focus of threats of violence and intimidation in recent months, according to lawyers representing the communities. Families that have refused to be relocated from their ancestral lands have reportedly been shot at.

A Global Witness report in July said a record number of people around the world were killed for defending their land and environment in 2019. The total was 212, up nearly 30% from the previous year’s 164.

White South African farmers and Black protesters hurled abuse and threats at each other on Friday during a court hearing in a murder case that has exposed still simmering racial tensions 26 years after the end of apartheid.

The killing of Brendan Horner, a white man whose body was found tied to a pole at his farm in Free State province, sparked riots at the start of this month, and prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to make an appeal to South Africans to "resist attempts... to mobilise communities along racial lines".

The farmers outside the courthouse in the central town of Senekal accused the government of failing to protect them from violent crime, while their opponents, from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), complained about what they see as the continued domination of South Africa's economy by whites.

"We are getting tired now of all the farm murders," said Geoffrey Marais, 30, a livestock trader from Delmas, where a woman was strangled to death two weeks ago.

"Enough is enough. They (the government) must start to prioritise these crimes."

The EFF's firebrand leader Julius Malema sat inside the courtroom to show support for the two murder suspects who filed a request for bail during Friday's hearing. The judge adjourned the case until Oct. 20.

"I'm here because of white people... taking advantage of us," said EFF supporter Khaya Langile, who came from the Johannesburg township of Soweto to join the rally.

NO VIOLENCE

Police separated the two groups with razor wire in one street, but despite the noisy standoff there was no violence.

"There have been indications of tensions but by and large all of them (the rival groups) took a decision that they did not want to see violence. That is a good thing," State Security minister Ayanda Dlodlo said outside the court.

The farmers mostly wore khaki shirts and shorts, a few wore military outfits, and at least one was armed. A group on motorbikes sporting long beards drove through Senekal, a trading town surrounded by dry, hilly countryside, some waving flags emblazoned with crosses.

The supporters of the EFF, which represents poor Black South Africans who feel left out of the country's post-apartheid prosperity, wore their trademark red shirts and berets.

Murders of white farmers make up a tiny fraction of the total in South Africa, which has the world's fifth highest murder rate. In the 2019/20 financial year there were 21,325 murders across the country, of which 49 were white farmers, according to police statistics.

The farmers also feel threatened by a government plan to expropriate white-owned land without compensation as part of an effort to redress economic inequalities that remain stark a quarter of a century after the end of apartheid. Roughly 70% of privately-owned farmland in South Africa is owned by whites, who make up less than 9% of the country's population of 58 million.

A top ranking South African police officer was arrested on Monday over corruption allegations, a government department responsible for investigating complaints against the police said.

The unnamed police commissioner was held in connection with the supply of emergency warning equipment to the police service, according to a statement by the Independent Investigative Directorate.

The contract price for the supply of equipment was Rand 191 million ($11.58 million) but only Rand 65million ($3.9 million) was paid to the service provider, it added.

The senior police officer is accused of aiding and abetting the crime.

Eleven others, including police officers and civilians, have also been arrested in the case. Among those is former commissioner Khomotso Phahlane, who has denied any wrongdoing.

South Africa has intensified its fight against graft in recent past.

Former President Jacob Zuma, who was forced to resign in February 2018, has been summoned to appear before an anti-corruption commission next month.

His successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, has promised to tackle corruption, fraud, and theft of public funds.

Several members of African National Congress, the ruling party of post-apartheid South Africa since the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994, are also being investigated for alleged financial wrongdoings.

A South African corruption inquiry will issue a summons for former President Jacob Zuma to appear to give evidence next month, the judge chairing the proceedings has said.

Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo said on Friday that Zuma would be required to appear from November 16 to 20, adding that this could be via video link if appropriate arrangements were made.

“The secretary of the commission is hereby authorised and directed to sign and issue a summons … requiring Mr Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, former president of the Republic of South Africa, to appear,” Zondo said.

Zuma, who became president in 2009, was forced to resign in February 2018 over corruption scandals centred around an Indian business family, the Guptas, who won lucrative contracts with state companies and were allegedly even able to choose cabinet ministers.

Chaired by deputy chief justice Zondo, the commission was set up in 2018 to hear testimony from ministers, ex-ministers, government officials and business executives on alleged corruption during Zuma’s tenure.

So far at least 34 witnesses have directly and indirectly implicated Zuma in corruption allegations, according to the commission’s advocate Paul Pretorius.

“It is important for Mr Zuma to appear before the commission as most of the corruption alleged took place when he was the country’s president,” Pretorius said.

Zuma appeared at the inquiry in July 2019 but has declined to return and now says Zondo is biased against him and wants to publicly humiliate him. He has denied that he broke the law with the Guptas.

The Guptas have refuted allegations of wrongdoing. They left South Africa around the time Zuma was removed from power.

Zuma has previously said through his lawyers that he was unable to attend the inquiry. His reasons have included that he was preparing for a criminal trial and that his doctors had advised him to limit his movements during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zuma said through his lawyers last month that he would apply for Zondo’s recusal.

“I am giving him an opportunity to come here and clear his name,” Zondo said, adding that failure to comply was tantamount to “a criminal offence” as the commission’s statutory powers are equivalent to that of a high court.

Dozens of Zuma supporters wearing military uniforms and T-shirts with Zuma’s portrait chanted “Leave Zuma alone” as they picketed outside the commission’s offices in Johannesburg.

They called on Zondo to recuse himself, accusing him of being anti-Zuma.

Zuma’s successor President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised to tackle corruption in South Africa, which has been led by the African National Congress (ANC) since Nelson Mandela came to power in 1994 after the end of apartheid.

Several ANC members are being investigated for past corruption and more recent cases of alleged wrongdoing, including involving the procurement of coronavirus supplies in Africa’s worst-hit country.