Culture

Ugandan rapper/opposition figure, Bobi Wine, recounts ordeal in Dubai detention, blames government

Published

2 years ago

October 12, 2022

Leading Ugandan opposition leader and rapper, Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has narrated his ordeal following a 12-hour detention at the Dubai Airport Detention Centre

Bobi Wine who revealed his ordeal on Tuesday on his social media network, claimed his travails were orchestrated by the Ugandan government, said his country had instructed the airport officials to block him from holding a charity concert in the Asian country.

Though the Uganda Foreign Affairs Minister, Okello Oryem, has described Bobi Wine’s allegations as “hogwash and rubbish,” insisting that Kampala had nothing to do with the entertainer’s detention, the musician believes his country was behind it.

Narrating what transpired when he traveled to Dubai on Saturday to hold what he called a charity concert seeking to raise funds to bring back hundreds of Ugandans who are stranded in different Middle East countries, the singer-turned politician he was singled out on arrival at the airport and invited for interrogation.

“When I arrived at the airport at about 8pm, I noticed that there was an unusual deployment, so I was taken into a room and they started to interrogate me,” he said.

“They asked me politically related questions whether I was going to hold a rally or a music concert.

“There were many people and during the time I was with them, they cried about how they are struggling for freedom and many of them knew me and they were calling me by name. These people are held on different cases but I had all the documents needed,” Bobi Wine said.

He said he was, however, set free after 12 hours and allowed into the country but the concert was blocked.

While responding to Bobi Wine’s allegations on Wednesday, Oryem said the Ugandan government of had more serious issues to deal with than worry about the rapper.

“The government has more serious things to do than follow Bobi Wine. He has tried to say things to the whites but they can’t listen to him because they are very bright.

“I suspect that Bobi Wine had a wrong visa and that is why he was arrested. He should not put it on us. Bobi Wine has been to Ukraine and shot a movie and told Europeans bad things about the Ugandan government but they have not listened to him.

“He is now out of content and he doesn’t have anything to say so he is forwarding his problems to the NRM government,” Oryem added.

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Culture

Ghana’s Supreme Court dismisses suit challenging anti-LGBT bill

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Ghana’s Supreme Court has dismissed two separate suits challenging the legality of one of the proposed anti-LGBT legislations awaiting assent into law by the president.

The separate suits were filed by two legal practitioners, Amanda Odoi and Richard Sky, challenging the bill, seeking to declare it illegal and prevent the president from signing it.

The two cases had challenged the constitutionality of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill.

But in a ruling on Wednesday, the Supreme Court unanimously decided to dismiss the legal challenges to the new anti-LGBT legislation that has been criticised by rights groups.

The controversial bill was passed earlier this year by Ghanaian lawmakers with three years imprisonment for people identifying as LGBT and five years for forming or funding LGBT groups.

While dismissing the cases, presiding judge, Justice Avril Lovelace-Johnson, who delivered the ruling on behalf of the seven-member panel, said the cases were premature.

“Until there’s presidential assent, there is no act, the two cases were “unanimously dismissed,” she said.

The ruling is the latest blow to the LGBTQ community in Ghana and paves the way for the president to sign into law what many say is one of Africa’s most restrictive piece of anti-LGBTQ legislation.

President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose term in office ends on 7 January, had delayed signing it pending the outcome of the Supreme Court challenge but the judges said the case could not be reviewed until it had been signed it into law.

It expected that incoming president, John Mahama, will sign the bill into law as he had always expressed his support for the bill during his electioneering campaigns.

Culture

UNESCO lists Ghana’s Kente cloth as cultural heritage

Published

4 days ago

December 18, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The iconic Ghanaian Kente, a piece of clothing, has been recognized as a cultural heritage on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The global recognition, according to the UN body, is coming under the 2003 Convention for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage highlights the cultural and historical significance of the vibrant, handwoven textile.

In a citation on its website, UNESCO describes the Kente cloth as “originating from Ghana’s Asante and Ewe communities and renowned worldwide for its bold colors, intricate patterns, and deep symbolic meanings, embodying the creativity and identity of the Ghanaian people.”

Ghana’s Tourism Minister, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, described the recognition as a testament to Ghana’s commitment to preserving its cultural heritage.

“This achievement places Ghana at the forefront of global efforts to safeguard and celebrate cultural traditions,” he noted.

In a statement acknowledging the recognition, Mercer said the “Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MoTAC) expressed gratitude to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, UNESCO, and the artisans, cultural institutions, and traditional authorities who contributed to this milestone.”

“Special acknowledgement is given to the Bonwire and Agotime communities for their enduring role as custodians of the craft.

“As Ghana celebrates this historic moment, MoTAC reaffirms its dedication to promoting and preserving the nation’s rich cultural legacy.”