Culture

Two sisters die after undergoing FGM in Somalia

Published

5 years ago

September 14, 2018

Two sisters have died in Somalia from complications that arose after undergoing female genital mutilation, according to Hawa Aden Mohamed, who campaigns against the procedure.

Ten-year-old Aasiyo Abdi Warsame and her sister, Khadijo, 11, died a day after they were subjected to the procedure in the remote village of Arawda in Puntland State on September 11, said Aden Mohamed, director of the Somalia’s women’s rights group Galkayo Education Center for Peace and Development.

According to Aden Mohammed, the sisters were cut the same day by a local circumciser.

They continued bleeding 24 hours after the procedure, and died while their mother was taking them to a health center, Aden Mohamed said.

“Unfortunately, they never made it to the hospital as they all died on the way,” said Aden Mohamed, who has been calling for legislation banning the practice commonly done on young girls in Somalia.

The sisters’ death comes two months after Somalia’s government vowed to pursue a landmark prosecution in the case of a 10-year-old girl who died after female genital mutilation, a practice that is legal in the country.

“It is another sad story coming even before the dust settles and action is taken in the Deeqa case. Yet there seems to be reluctance in discussing and passing the anti-FGM law,” she said.

“We hope that this will serve as a wake-up call for those responsible to see the need to have the law in place to protect girls from this heinous practice,” Aden Mohamed added.

In Somalia, 98% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 have been cut, the highest rate in the world, according to United Nations statistics.

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Culture

Koffi Olomide’s Kenyan show suffers setback over 2016 debt

Published

20 hours ago

December 9, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

A highly anticipated concert that was to feature Congolese Lingala maestro Le Grand Mopao, Koffi Olomide, in Nairobi, Kenya on Saturday has been thrown into disarray after Kenyan show promoters, Jules Nsana and Noah Auma Muga of Nsana Production, demanded to be paid compensation for a 2016 show that ended in chaos and refund of debt of $65,000 they had allegedly incurred.

In the letter of demand through their lawyer, Thiong’o Gachaga of Githumbi & Achoki Advocates firm, Nsana Production say they are seeking a refund of $50,032 and an additional Sh1,410,000, along with interest at the current rate from the date of the performance to full payment, citing a breach of contract by the 67-year-old rumba star for a March 2016 concert.

The letter stated that the 2016 show ended in chaos when Olomide was deported from Kenya for allegedly assaulting one of his female dancers after footage of the assault at Nairobi’s international airport was posted online, sparking outrage on social media.

But Olomide has assured his fans that the peace concert will go on despite threats from the show promoters.

Olomide, who spoke through his lawyers, termed the debt allegations as frivolous and without merit.

Culture

Ghanaian actor Don Little arrested for knocking down motorcyclist

Published

2 days ago

December 8, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

Dimunitive Ghanaian actor, Stephen Atangah, popularly known as Don Little, was reportedly arrested by the police in Accra on Friday after he allegedly knocked down a motorcyclist.

Media reports in the West African country said the actor knocked down the rider with his car while driving in the Kasoa Area A, with videos showing him protesting against his incarceration while in police custody.

According to a report by an online platform, the actor was transporting a friend to the hospital when the incident happened.

“According to Don Little his friend called him that one of their friends wanted to take his life so he should intervene,” the platform said.

“On the way to the hospital, he met some motor riders so he blew the horn for them to give him way but they refused.

“In a bid to manoeuvre, he knocked down one of the motor riders with his mirror.

“Unfortunately, there was an officer at the scene. The officer claimed that Don Little slapped him twice but the actor denied the claims. He was taken to the Kasoa police station”, it added.

The video also showed Don Little behind bars at the police station and interacting with some of the officers.

“He was lamenting why he had been arrested and the person he was involved in an accident had been left to go home,” the online platform narrated further.

“Some of the police officers were also heard wondering why a person with the stature of Don Little would be allowed to drive in Ghana.”