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Last to abolish slavery, Mauritania still hunts anti-slavery activists

The institution of slavery, though abolished some 37 years ago in Mauritania, still has significant scars on the country’s landscape

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The institution of slavery, though abolished some 37 years ago in Mauritania, still has significant scars on the country’s landscape.

The effect of the discredited practice came to the fore recently as two anti-slavery activists freed from prison in Mauritania vowed an all-out fight to rescue their nation from one of the world’s worst slavery rates, saying jail and torture were no deterrent.

Mauritania was the last nation to abolish slavery, outlawing it in 1981, and more than two in every 100 of its people still live as slaves, according to the 2018 Global Slavery Index.

Human rights groups say government made no effort to stamp it out and arrests people who speak out against it.

Abdallahi Matallah Saleck and Moussa Biram were jailed for their alleged role in a protest and charged with inciting riots and rebellion. They spent two years in a remote desert prison where they say they suffered horrible abuse.

“They tortured us, they did everything they could so we would back down. But we will never, ever back down,” Biram told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Less than a week after being released, both were back on the streets of Nouakchott, encouraging fellow members of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA) to stay strong.

“The fight has just begun,” Biram said adding he is not in good health and has injuries from torture and beatings. “I can’t even stand up because of my legs which people hit with batons.”

A government spokesman said allegations of torture were false and an independent body called the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture had visited the detention site in 2017 and found no human rights violations.

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Government previously denied making arbitrary arrests and said that it prosecutes “unlawful and unregistered organisations that provoke riots, chaos and insecurity.”

Because government refused to register the IRA as an organisation, the men could be jailed at any time, said Francois Patuel of Amnesty International.

“We know we’re not safe, but we are not afraid,” Saleck told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“This is our country no matter what and we have to fight against discrimination and slavery,” he said.

Slavery in Mauritania follows racial lines, with black descendants of ethnic groups from the country’s south typically enslaved by lighter-skinned Mauritanians.

Some Mauritanians are born into slavery and spend their lives as domestic or farm workers.

Culture

US rappers, Meek Mill, Lil Durk pay tribute to late Nigerian Afropop star, MohBad

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American rappers, Meek Mill and Lil Durk have joined the hordes of celebrities worldwide who have paid tributes to late Nigerian Afropop music star, MohBad who died in mysterious circumstances on September 12.

The 27-year-old’s death, which has generated controversies in the Nigerian musis scene with lots of questions asked, just as processions have been held by youths and entertainers in several parts of the country.

First to pen his tribute on X was Lil Durk who wrote: “RIP MOHBAD aka Imole” with the tweet garnering more than 10 million views and retweets in less than over 24 hours.

Next to pay his tribute was Meek Mill who wrote:

“I watched his whole story on tik tok!!!! They riding for him in Nigeria. I love that!”

The death of MohBad, who was renowned for his baritone voice with hit songs like “Peace”, “Ask About M” and “Pariwo” has also sparked widespread outrage on social media with a trending hashtag, #JusticeforMohBas, as fans demand an investigation into his death which led to the police exhuming his body for an autopsy.

His fans are also calling for an investigation into his record label, Marlin Records, owned by popular musician, Naira Marley.

MohBad had left the label in 2022 with allegations that he was subjected to threats and intimidation by Naira Marley and other members of the label.

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Culture

After 140-year battle, UK returns Ethiopian Prince Alemayehu’s lock of hair

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After a legal tussle that lasted 140 years for the return of a lock of hair from a young Ethiopian prince, Alemayehu, who was in captivity in Britain, the UK government has finally handed over the hair to representatives from his home country.

According to history, Prince Alemayehu was taken away by British soldiers in 1868 after invading the fortress of his father, Emperor Tewodros II, who then killed himself.

The prince was taken to London aged just seven, where his status as an orphan elicited the sympathy of Queen Victoria who agreed to support him financially and put him under the guardianship of Captain Tristram Charles Sawyer Speedy, the man who had accompanied the prince from Ethiopia.

But barely 10 years later, the Crown Prince died at the age of 18 in 1879 after an unhappy upbringing in Britain and was buried at Windsor Castle near London.

Requests to have his body returned to his home country for a proper burial were repeatedly turned down, a situation which led to the long battle.

In rejecting the requests, Buckingham Palace reasoned that exhuming the prince’s remains would disturb the remains of others buried in the catacombs of St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

However, on Thursday, the issue was settled after the UK government handed over the lock of hair to Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the UK, Teferi Melesse, at a ceremony held in London.

While taking possession of the lock of hair which came with a number of other artefacts that had been looted from Emperor Tewodros’s Maqdala fortress, Melesse welcomed their return, saying that they will go back to their rightful place where they can continue to inspire and educate generations to come.

Melesse however, said Ethiopia would continue to press the UK to return more items seized from the fortress.

One of the prince’s descendants, Fasil Minas, also expressed hope that the handing over of the prince’s hair could pave the way for his body to go back to Ethiopia.

The handing over of the hair was facilitated by the Scheherazade Foundation, which had originally been in the possession of Captain Speedy.

Leonie Turner, a descendant of Speedy who handed over the hair in London, told journalists that she had discovered the artefact among her family heirlooms.

“I felt Prince Alemayehu’s hair was a long way from home,” she said quoted.

A member of Ethiopia’s Heritages Restitution National Committee, Alula Pankhurst said he welcomed the return of the hair but said this should just be the start.

“The restitution of Ethiopian artefacts looted by the1868 British expedition to Magdala is important for restorative justice and an excellent way to build better relations and collaborations between British and Ethiopian institutions,” he said.

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