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Guinea-Bissau president resigns after one day
One of the two men who had been declared president of Guinea Bissau resigned on Sunday – after just one full day in office.
“I have no security… My life is in danger, the life of my family is in danger, the life of this people is in danger. I cannot accept that, that is why I took this decision,” Cipriano Cassamá told reporters.
Despite not being in the December ballot Mr Cassamá was appointed by parliament, the majority of whose deputies have refused to acknowledge the election victory of the former opposition leader, Umaro Sissoco Embalol.
Mr Embalol was sworn in as head of state at a luxury hotel on Thursday after the electoral commission had again declared him the winner of December’s presidential vote.
The ruling PAIGC party is contesting that result in the Supreme Court.
Despite the resignation of one president, Guinea-Bissau still has two rival prime ministers.
Algeria confirms two more coronavirus cases
Algeria has confirmed two new cases of coronavirus infections, in a 53-year-old woman and her 24-year-old daughter.
They have been placed in isolation in Blida province south of the capital, Algiers, the health ministry said on Sunday.
It said the pair had hosted a man and his daughter from France who tested positive for coronavirus after their return.
It means there are now three people in Algeria confirmed as having the virus.
The country’s first case was confirmed last week in an Italian national, who authorities deported to Italy.
Nigeria’s leader urges calm amid coronavirus panic
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has broken his silence amid public panic prompted by the confirmation of the country’s first case of coronavirus.
The patient is an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and flew into the commercial capital of Lagos from Milan last week. Authorities say he is clinically stable and is being treated at a hospital in the city.
It was the first confirmed case of coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa. Algeria and Egypt have also confirmed cases of the virus.
Globally, almost 90,000 people in 60 countries have been infected. More than 3,000 have died, the vast majority in China’s Hubei province.
Mr Buhari has urged citizens to “refrain from panic” adding that “undue alarm would cause more harm than good”.
A statement from his office praised the Ministry of Health, the Centre for Disease Control and state governments for their response after the first case was confirmed on Friday.
The health ministry said that it had activated its response programme to ensure any outbreak of the virus is “controlled and contained quickly”.
The ministry said that so far all the people who were in contact with the Italian citizen have been contacted.
Mr Buhari told Nigerians only to trust information provided by the government and the World Health Organization and to follow their advice to prevent transmission.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) will publish daily reports with updates on any coronavirus cases and the response, he said.
The centre tweeted its first report on Sunday night:
19 year arrested for fraud in nigeria
A 19-year-old secondary school leaver, Chigemezu Arikibe, has been tracked down by the police after using fake social media accounts to swindle a Cambodian woman to the tune of $75,000 (N27m at N360 to 1$).
To woo his victim identified simply as Sophanmia, Arikibe reportedly paraded himself on Facebook and Instagram as an American pilot working for a British airline.
City Round gathered that after establishing a relationship with the woman, Arikibe offered to send her expensive gift items and $500,000, for investment in real estate business in Cambodia.
The suspect reportedly told Sophanmia that he would send the parcel to her through a courier in Indonesia and asked her to send $800 for the service.
He was said to have contacted his friend in Indonesia to act as a courier agent and collect the money from his victim.
After sending the money, Arikibe came up with excuses why the parcel could not be delivered and persuaded the woman to send more money accumulating into $75,000.
It was learnt the woman alerted the Nigeria Embassy in Cambodia when she discovered that “the American pilot,” communicating with her was calling from Nigeria and not the United States.
The embassy was said to have alerted the Nigeria Police and operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team led by DCP Abba Kyari went after Arikibe.
A police source told our correspondent that the suspect was trailed to the Mbaitoli area of Imo State where he is based.
“The suspect was arrested with the SIM card and the phone he used in committing the crime and when we went through the phone, we saw chats between him and the woman.
“Upon interrogation, the suspect confessed to everything and he also said there was a man in Indonesia who helped him pulled out the money from a USA bank account. He claimed to be an American and that was why he gave the woman an American bank account. The worst was that the woman went and borrowed the money from the bank,” the source stated.
Arikibe, while confessing to the crime, said he learnt Internet fraud from his friend within one week and he started on his own.
He said, “I attended Community School, in the Eziooha area of Mbaitoli and graduated in October 2018. It was Ugochukwu my friend who taught me how to do Internet fraud. I opened a fake Fakebook account with the name Frank William and on Instagram I was Patrick William
“I uploaded the pictures of an American pilot on my fake Fakebook and Instagram pages. The pilot later discovered that I used his pictures and he started complaining. He even said he had been arrested three times by the police.
“My Facebook account was later blocked, then I focused on Instagram, where I met the client (Sophanmia). I followed her and we started chatting. I told her I am a pilot and we started discussing about life.
“I told her I wanted to send expensive clothes, shoes, wrist watches and the sum of $500,000 to her. I told her that the $500,000 would be invested in real estate business.”
READ ALSO: Hotel attendant stabs guest to death over N1,200
The teenager explained that he sent pictures of the purported items and the money to the victim which convinced her to send money for the courier service.
He added, “I told her that I have sent the money through a courier company and she would have to pay customs tax. My friend in Indonesia acted like the courier company and they contacted her.
“She was given the first bill of $800 and she paid. My Indonesian friend called the woman again and told her that the goods had been seized and they told her to pay $2,700.
“She paid the money and they asked her to pay another money which was $6,200. She paid several other monies to have the goods released. She ended up paying $75,000 and I got my share.”
Thousands of women are trapped in Lebanon. They risk jail time to leave
Beirut, Lebanon — Wendy’s boss glared at her as she chopped coriander. Stone-faced and angry, he charged out of the kitchen to speak with his wife.
Moments later, the Kenyan domestic worker was told to never touch food with her bare, black hands again.
It was the culmination of what she says was months of humiliating and racist abuse. “Whenever I remember that part, I normally shed tears. It was painful,” says Wendy, recounting the incident to CNN two years later in a small apartment in Beirut’s eastern outskirts, her baby daughter on her lap.
At that moment, she decided to escape.
Wendy — a pseudonym for her protection — became pregnant a year after she left her job as a live-in worker. She moved from one cramped house to the next, searching for part-time domestic work while sidestepping police crackdowns on migrants who don’t have sponsors.
Then a devastating economic crisis struck Lebanon last October and her living conditions went from bad to worse. She now spends her days with her three-month-old baby, waiting for the phone call that could end her years-long horror: her country’s consulate telling her that she can finally go home to Kenya.
Wendy’s not the only domestic worker waiting for the call that would green-light her exit. Growing numbers of women — who came to Lebanon in better economic times to earn a living and send money back to their families — are scrambling to return to their home countries. But many lack immigration papers, including their passports. Workers who are undocumented face growing penalty charges for breaking the terms of their visas, and risk prison time. Some also must contend with court cases against them by ex-employers.
Rights groups estimate that tens of thousands of migrant women in Lebanon are undocumented. For these workers, the hurdles to leaving the country could amount to a dead-end.
In a December 2019 statement, a coalition of international women’s and human rights groups likened Lebanon’s migrant domestic worker population to “hostages.”
The coalition called on embassies and Lebanese authorities to acknowledge that the predominantly African and South Asian migrant workers — estimated by Amnesty International to be more than 250,000 people — were “hit hardest” by Lebanon’s economic and political crisis.
Since October, Lebanon’s economy has buckled under soaring prices, a tanking currency, ballooning unemployment and a growing debt crisis.
The Lebanese Pound has lost over 50% of its value, limiting migrant women’s ability to send financial support to their families. With plummeting demand for their work, many have stopped sending remittances and are sinking deeper into poverty.
“Migrant domestic workers cannot simply decide they want to leave Lebanon,” read the statement by Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights, Association for Women’s Rights in Development and 26 other rights groups.
“Hundreds of (migrant domestic workers) stay months in prison awaiting money for their ticket and their embassies’ support in providing new traveling documents,” the statement said. “Under the economic crisis, this is even worse: migrant workers are trapped in Lebanon and face further exploitation and abuse.”
Man remanded in prison for stabbing woman in the face
An Ebonyi State magistrates’ court sitting in Abakaliki on Friday remanded, a 24-year-old man, Okeye Jacob, in prison for his alleged involvement in armed robbery, attempted murder and cultism.
Jacob was alleged to have stabbed one Florence Igwe in the face with a dagger and thereafter robbed her of N50, 000.
The suspect allegedly belonged to a cult group known as Junior Vikings Confraternity and used to terrorise unsuspecting members of the public and robbing them of their valuables.
City Round further gathered that the suspect committed the offense at Ohaofia Agba community in the Ishielu Local Government Area of the state, on February 9, 2020.
He was arraigned before the magistrates’ court on four counts bordering on armed robbery, attempted murder, cultism and conspiracy on Friday.
The Police Prosecutor, Inspector Chinedu Mbam, said the suspect almost killed the victim during the incident. He also told the court that the offense was punishable under sections 516A (a), 402, 320 of the Criminal Code Cap. 33, Vol. 1, Laws of Ebonyi State of Nigeria.
The charges read in part, “That you, Okeye Jacob, and others at large on February 9, 2020, at Ohaofia Agba, in Ishielu Local Government Area, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did conspire amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit: armed robbery, attempted murder and cultism, thereby committing an offense punishable under section 516A (a) of the Criminal Code Cap. 33, Vol. 1, Laws Ebonyi State of Nigeria, 2009.
“That you, Okeye Jacob, and others now at large, on the same date, place and in the aforesaid magisterial district, did arm yourselves with daggers and robbed one Florence Igwe of her cash sum of N50,000.00, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 402 of the Criminal Code Cap. 33, Vol. 1, Laws of Ebonyi State of Nigeria, 2009.
“That you, Okeye Jacob, and others now at large on the same date, place and in the aforementioned magisterial district did unlawfully attempt to kill one Florence Igwe by stabbing her with a dagger on her face which caused her harm, thereby committing an offence punishable under section 320 of the Criminal Code Cap. 33, Vol. 1, Laws of Ebonyi State of Nigeria, 2009.
“That you, Okeye Jacob, and others now at large on the date, place and in the aforesaid magisterial district, did belong to a cult known as Junior Vikings Confraternity, thereby committing an offense contrary to sections 3(1), (3) and 4 (1) and punishable under section under section 5 of the Ebonyi State Law prohibiting secret cult activities and carrying of offensive weapons.”
No bail application was made on the suspect’s behalf because he was not represented in court by any defense counsel.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs B.I. Chukwu, noted that the court lacked the jurisdiction to adjudicate on the matter.
She directed that the defendant should be remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Centre, Abakaliki, while the case file should be transferred to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions for necessary legal advice. She adjourned the case till March 9, 2020, for report of compliance.
Hotel attendant stabs guest to death over N1,200
An attendant at a makeshift inn in Whitesand, Ijora-Badia area of Lagos State, Emmanuel Ben, has been taken to police custody for alleged murder of a customer identified only as White London.
Ben reportedly stabbed the 25-year-old man with a knife during an argument over N1, 200.
City Round learnt that White London had gone to the inn around 11am on February 8 with his lover to have fun and was charged N1,200 for a room.
He reportedly agreed and promised to settle the bill when he returned from the room with the lover.
Our correspondent gathered that about an hour after, White London emerged from the room but refused to pay for the service as agreed, leading to an argument between him and the attendant.
They allegedly slugged it out with each other during which 21-year-old Emmanuel knifed him in the stomach.
A resident of the area, who identified himself simply as George, said the incident caused a commotion in the neighbourhood and a distress call was put across to the police from the Ijora Division.
He said White London bled to death at the spot before policemen from the Ijora Division arrived at the scene.
“Many people were woken up by the uproar from the scene. I didn’t come out because it was too late and I would not want to be caught up in the fracas. I peeped outside from my window and I could hear, ‘oti ku’ (He is dead). Some minutes later, some policemen arrived in their van.
“It was the following morning I knew what led to the fight. I learnt the man (White London) came to the inn with his girlfriend and when they were done, he refused to pay for the service. The attendant charged him N1, 200 but he was not willing to pay. He (Ben) stabbed him while they were fighting.”
But a resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said White London was haggling with Ben over the bill when the fight ensued.
“It was not as if the man did not want to pay for the service but he wanted to have a cut from the N1, 200 the attendant demanded. The attendant declined and that was when the argument started.
“Immediately the incident happened, the attendant wanted to flee but he was held by some vigilance men who handed him over to the police. The deceased was not a resident there but many people knew him as White London,” the resident recalled, adding that the hotel had been shut.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Bala Elkana, who confirmed the incident, stated that the corpse had been deposited at the Mainland General Hospital morgue for an autopsy.
He said, “At attendant at a hotel in a shanty in White Sand, Ijora-Badia, stabbed a guest popularly known as White London to death with a knife. The misunderstanding was caused by non-payment of N1, 200 lodging fee by the deceased whose real name is still unknown.
“The police have arrested the suspect and the knife reportedly used for the crime was recovered at the scene. Investigation is ongoing.”
Coronavirus patient attempts to escape Lagos isolation centre
Following the detection of the first case of novel Coronavirus disease in Nigeria, and the placing in quarantine of the patient, identified as a 44-year-old Italian, at the Mainland Hospital, Yaba, Lagos (formerly, Infectious Diseases Hospital), a health worker at the hospital said on Friday that the patient was angry and had attempted to escape.
The patient had complained about the state of the isolation centre, our source said.
The high ranking health worker, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity on Friday, decried the ‘very poor quality’ of the isolation centre, lamenting that “the authorities have not matched words with action.”
Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Obafemi Hamzat, had said on Friday that the state government had built a facility to handle the situation, adding that the patient was getting better.
Hamzat had said, “It is a lab that can accommodate 100 for now, but it is only one bed that is occupied today. Hopefully, it wouldn’t spread. We are ready and we are well equipped. He (the patient) is there and he is getting better. He is steady. The doctors say he is going to be fine.’’
But the health worker told our correspondent that the Coronavirus index case had been “very upset about the surrounding,” adding that the patient “complained of excessive heat and mosquitoes.”
In an interaction with our correspondent, the health worker, who did not wear any personal protective equipment required of workers in such an environment, said, “The patient wanted to run away yesterday (Thursday). The Italian man, who seems to be an engineer, was very angry that the room where he was kept was very hot.
“There is nothing there (inside the isolation ward) aside from bed and hospital locker. He almost ran away and is still threatening to do that.”
The source said the level of preparedness in Lagos State for infectious diseases such as coronavirus and Lassa fever “is zero.”
An online entry describes the Mainland Hospital, where the Italian is being quarantined, as “an ultra-modern multi-drug resistant tuberculosis treatment centre, with a 40-bed admission facility.”
Our source, who emerged from the Out Patient Department of the Mainland Hospital, Yaba, alleged that Lagos State did not have the facility to accommodate individuals who might have come in contact with the Italian.
According to the source, the facility that is meant to accommodate both suspected and confirmed Coronavirus cases is still undergoing renovation “and might take a while” before it can function fully.
He also revealed that the isolation area was a room in one of the wards, and that it was quickly vacated to accommodate the index case.
The source alleged, “The only thing demarcating the room from other rooms in the ward is a red and white barricade tape. That is where the Italian man that tested positive to coronavirus is kept.
“There is no single equipment inside that place. It is just like any other regular hospital room with a bed. That building you see that is being repainted is the original place meant to quarantine coronavirus patients.
“As you can see, the place is not ready. The state government is just renovating it, despite the fact that the virus started spreading since December 2019. It is really sad that a country like Nigeria is never ready to medically contain infectious disease outbreak.
“This is why most health workers leave, because they are predisposed to danger of infection.”
According to the source, the Mainland Hospital does not have a ready and designated facility to isolate and treat Lassa fever patients, much less coronavirus. The source noted that the place earmarked for Lassa fever treatment had yet to be completed.
The source said, “The place meant for Lassa fever patient has been under construction in the past one month. It is not yet completed. As you can see, they are makeshift structures, hurriedly put together with white tarpaulin.
“They are not permanent structures and I don’t know how this place can accommodate humans that have a highly infectious disease like Lassa fever,” he said.
The health worker noted that despite the fact that the state government had been able to track some persons that had had contact with the index coronavirus case, they could not be quarantined, allegedly because the state lacks requisite facility.
“The standard medical operational procedure is to track all contacts and have them quarantined to avoid further spread of the virus. But we cannot do that here because we lack such facility, which is why there is emphasis on self quarantine.
“Even where the Italian man is presently being isolated was a room vacated by a patient. I pray God save us in the coming months because we are not ready for the danger posed by the coronavirus.”
Another worker in the hospital, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the patient was being isolated in Ward C.
The source said, “When the Italian was brought here, he was taken immediately to a room for isolation. He is there and we are still expecting more in the coming days.”
A nurse at the facility, who appeared unconcerned by the situation on ground, was seen walking out of the isolation area without wearing personal protective equipment.
When asked why she was not wearing a face mask and gloves, she answered our correspondent with a tinge of sarcasm; “What is coronavirus?”
“Gloves and face masks cannot do anything. We have been working here for years with people that have deadly diseases. At last, all of us will die,” she quipped as she walked away.
Meanwhile, the Medical Director of the Mainland Hospital, Dr. Abimbola Bowale, has assured that the patient “is stable and responding to treatment.”
He said the patient, who was admitted and quarantined on Thursday, “is clinically stable, with no serious symptoms, and is being managed and quarantined in accordance with health safety standard.”
“We are doing trace-monitoring, and, for now, we cannot say how many people he must have come in contact with.
“We are on top of the situation and all necessary precautions are being put in place,” he added.
Netflix’s first African series, Queen Sono, premieres
Netflix’s first African original series, Queen Sono – about a spy from South Africa – has been released.
The streaming site’s six-episode TV thriller stars South African Pearl Thusi as the eponymous secret agent.
Written and directed by Kagiso Lediga, an award-winning stand-up comedian in South Africa, Queen Sono is filmed in several locations across the continent.
Thusi is quoted as saying that it is empowering for Africans to tell their own stories.
“Controlling the narrative is really important because we’re tired of seeing, particularly, just struggle stories,” Entertainment Weekly quoted her as saying.
Several African languages are also used during the drama, which centres on Queen Sono trying to uncover the truth behind the death of her mother, who was a hero of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle.
Other themes include corruption as well as much James Bond-style action and, like the fictional British spy, Queen Sono does not always play by the rules.
Reviews so far have been mixed, but most point to how refreshing it is to see a story that is set in modern-day Africa with a central character who is African.
Of all the performances, veteran actress South African Abigail Kubeka is widely praised for her humorous turn as Queen’s grandmother.
Africa is most famous for its Nollywood film productions that come out of Nigeria – it is a multi-billion dollar enterprise.
Experts say what Netflix offers storytellers in Africa is an opportunity to produce better-quality dramas.
In 2018, Netflix acquired the rights to Nigerian feature film Lionheart, directed by Nollywood star Genevieve Nnaja.
It became Nigeria’s first-ever Oscar submission for best international feature film, but it was disqualified as it was largely in English.
All six episodes of Queen Sono are now available for Netflix members, who must pay a monthly fee to stream content.
Kizito Mihigo: The Rwandan gospel singer who died in a police cell
Rwandan gospel singer Kizito Mihigo was at one time hailed as a great national talent but then he was accused of being a traitor. He was recently found dead, at the age of 38, in a police cell. The BBC’s Great Lakes Service looks back at his life.
With his signature crucifix dangling around his neck and his patient demeanour, Kizito, as he was popularly known, resembled a priest rather than one of the most popular performers in the country.
Like a priest, he felt he had a mission to promote peace in a country scarred by slaughter, but it was this mission that is widely seen as having eventually landed him in trouble with the authorities.
He was initially embraced by the government. His concerts drew tens of thousands of fans, from all walks of life, who appreciated his message offering hope for the future.
But his journey from superstar to pariah was swift.
Influenced by his father, who composed liturgical music, his songs echoed the sounds heard in Catholic worship.
But in 1994, at the age of 12, he lost his father, as well as other relatives, in the Rwandan genocide, in which about 800,000 people, ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were murdered by Hutu extremists.
Profoundly affected by what had happened, Kizito, an ethnic Tutsi, made reconciliation a central message of his work once he became a performer.
Born in 1981, Mihigo was the third child in a family of six. He grew up in Kibeho, southern Rwanda, an area that became a pilgrimage site after several schoolchildren there saw apparitions of the Virgin Mary in the 1980s.
It was in this religious context that the future gospel star grew up.
He fled to neighboring Burundi in the wake of the genocide and was reunited with surviving members of his family.
They returned home once the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the mainly Tutsi rebel movement led by the current President Paul Kagame, had taken power.
Born in 1981, Mihigo was the third child in a family of six. He grew up in Kibeho, southern Rwanda, an area that became a pilgrimage site after several schoolchildren there saw apparitions of the Virgin Mary in the 1980s.
It was in this religious context that the future gospel star grew up.
He fled to neighbouring Burundi in the wake of the genocide and was reunited with surviving members of his family.
They returned home once the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the mainly Tutsi rebel movement led by the current President Paul Kagame, had taken power.
‘Trailblazer’
An initial plan to join the army and take vengeance for the death of his father did not work out as he was turned away. But then, at 14, he enrolled in the Karubanda Minor Seminary, where his musicianship was nurtured.
“I will remember him as a very talented musician who gave people joy, who was a trailblazer in composing and singing,” school friend Jean de Dieu Sibomana told the BBC.
In his second year at the seminary, Kizito became the school’s chief organist ahead of some more senior students and led an elite choir, which entered competitions across the country.
Eventually, his talent was recognised by President Kagame who awarded him a scholarship to study at the prestigious Conservatoire de Paris.
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