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Senegal jails teachers

A teacher in Senegal has been given a five-year prison sentence and another has been fined $32,000 (£24,300) for selling exam papers

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A teacher in Senegal has been given a five-year prison sentence and another has been fined $32,000 (£24,300) for selling exam papers.

French, English, history and geography baccalaureate tests had to be scrapped last year after the question sheets circulated on social media and WhatsApp.

Several other teachers and dozens of pupils have also been punished.

Their sentences range from two-month suspended terms to two years in jail.

The headmaster of Lycée de Kahone in Senegal’s capital city, Dakar, admitted selling exam papers but said he was not motivated by the money.

“I wanted to help someone vulnerable who was struggling to get their baccalaureate,” Mamadou Djibril Dia is quoted by news site La Vie Senegalaise as telling Dakar’s Correctional Court.

“[She] asked me to help her because she had already failed twice… If I had wanted to make money I would have sold the tests to wealthier people,” he added.

Read Also: Rwanda battles chronic malnutrition in 16% of children

In addition to his five-year prison sentence, Dia was fined 500,000 CFA francs ($886; £676).

Teachers from at least two secondary schools have also been sentenced for “criminal conspiracy, fraud and fraudulently obtaining undue material benefits”.
The heaviest of these was a fine of $32,000 and a two-year prison sentence handed to French teacher Abdoulaye Ndour of Lycée Yalla Suren.

Senegalese news site Le Soleil says the court heard evidence that Ndour had placed $12,000 of proceeds from exam paper sales in his bank account.
A total of 32 pupils received suspended sentences for their involvement, ranging from six months to two years in jail.

“We were shocked by the magnitude of the fraud,” said Saourou Sène, of Senegal’s national union of middle and secondary school teachers (SAEMS).

“This verdict should serve as a lesson to anyone who might be tempted to sabotage or scuttle the baccalaureate in Senegal.”

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Zambia, Botswana sign cooperation instruments to enhance trade

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Zambia and close neighbours, Botswana, have signed 10 instruments of cooperation aimed at enhancing trade relations between the two countries.

The signing of the agreements has been hailed by many, including President Hakainde Hichilema, who noted that the cooperation between the two countries would contribute to the improvement of the livelihood of the citizens for both countries.

The 10 instruments of cooperation included agreements on political consultation as well as in the field of livestock, apiculture and aquaculture, crop production and science and technology.

The instruements which were signed in on Wednesday in Livingstone during the state visit of Bostwanan President, Dr Mokqweesti Eric Masisi, will also take in other agreements in Geo-Science, mining, minerals and value chain development and an agreement between the Zambia Development Agency and Botswana Investment and Trade Centre.

The two countries also signed an agreement on the establishment of the Kazungula Bridge Authority (KBA), as well as Addendum number two to the “Agreement to Sponsor the Construction and Operation of the Kazungula Bridge.”

During the meeting the two eastern African nations, they also signed “sponsors agreement” for the bankable feasibility study and the construction of the infrastructure for the railway link from Mosetse in Botswana to Livingstone in Zambia through the Kazungula Bridge.

The two countries would also embark on the establishment of the Bi-National Commission (BNC), which will elevate the bilateral cooperation framework between the two countries from the Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation and Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security.

While speaking during the epoch-making event, President Hichilema said “Zambia must prioritize what is produced in Botswana, and Botswana must also prioritize what is locally produce in Zambia.”

He also advised technocrats from both countries to ensure that what was contained in the signed documents are implemented and not “gather dust in the shelves.”

“Kazungula Bridge is an asset valued to Zambia and the region as it promotes regional integration through trade among countries like Botswana and Zambia,” Hichilemq added.

In his response, the Botswanan leader expressed his gratitude to the Zambian people and government for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to him and his delegation during their stay in Zambia.

Masisi, thereafter, extended an invitation to Hichilema to pay a state visit to Botswana on dates to be mutually agreed through diplomatic channels.

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Tinubu vows justice for slain soldiers, bestows national honours on them during burial

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President Bola Tinubu has once again reiterated that killers of 17 soldiers of the Nigerian Army in Delta State on March 14 will not go unpunished as he has mandated security agencies to go after them and make them pay for their crimes.

An angry President Tinubu, who made the renewed vow during the burial of the slain soldiers at the National Cemetery in Abuja on Wednesday, assured their families, colleagues and Nigerians that those who perpetrated the dastardly attacks on the military personnel would be made to face the full weight of the law.

In his address at the solemn event, Tinubu declared that leaders in Delta State where the soldiers were ambushed, abducted and killed, must fish out the killers.

“They went as peacemakers and peacekeepers respectfully seeking to bring an end to the hostilities between the two communities,” President Tinubu said.

“They didn’t go with tanks, machine guns, or other weapons. They were on a mission of peace. They kept faith with their military calling until the end.

“Those who committed this heinous crime will not go unpunished. We will find them, and our departed heroes will get justice.’

“The elders and chiefs of Okuoma also have a duty to help the military in fishing out the gunmen who committed the barbaric crime against our men.”

President Tinubu also conferred national honours on the fallen soldiers, noting that they would forever be remembered as heroes who answered the call of duty and paid the ultimate price.

“On behalf of a grateful nation, we honour the sacrifice of the gallant patriots who died that day,” he said.

“Therefore, the Commander-in-Chief posthumously conferred the national honour of Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) on the late Commanding Officer 181 Amphibious Battalion, Lt. Col. Abdullahi Ali; Major Salihu Shafa; Major Daniel Obi and Captain Usman Zakari,” Tinubu declared.

He also conferred the honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) on the rank and file soldiers including Sgt Yahaya Saidu; Corporal Yahaya Danbaba; Corporal Kabiru Bashir; Lance Corporal Bulus Haruna; Lance Corporal Sola Opeyemi; Lance Corporal Bello Anas; Lance Corporal Hamman Peter; Lance Corporal Ibrahim Abdullahi; Private Alhaji Isah; Private Clement Francis; Private Abubakar Ali; Private Ibrahim Adamu and Private Adamu Ibrahim.

“Each man now belongs to the hallowed list of servicemen and women who defended our country and protected their fellow Nigerians, not minding the risk to their own lives.

“They have all been awarded posthumous national honours. The four gallant Officers have been accorded the Award of Member of the Order of Niger, MON.

“The thirteen courageous soldiers who also lost their lives have been Awarded the Officer of the Federal Republic Medal.”

He also announced government’s plans for the surviving widows, children agd relatives of the slain soldiers.

“The Federal Government will provide a house in any part of our country to each of the families of the four officers and 13 soldiers.

“The Federal Government has also approved scholarships for all the children of the deceased up to the university level. The military must, within the next 90 days, ensure that all the benefits of the departed are paid to their families,” the President added.

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