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Africa’s largest film festival opens in Burkina Faso amid security fears

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Despite fears of insecurity amid jihadists attacks, Africa’s largest film festival tagged FESPACO, opened successfully in Burkina Faso and is gradually gathering momentum, according to the organisers of the event.

The weeklong FESPACO which is holding in Ougadougou, the capital of the violence-prone West African country, is aimed at offering hope and a symbol of endurance after years of political strife and Islamic extremist attacks, which killed thousands of people and displaced nearly two million.

“We only have FESPACO left to prevent us from thinking about what’s going on,” a Burkinabe actress, Maimouna Ndiaye, who has four submissions in this year’s competition, said at the opening ceremony.

“This is the event that must not be canceled no matter the situation,” Ndiaye said.

More than 15,000 people, including celebrities from Nigeria, Senegal and Ivory Coast are expected in Ouagadougou for FESPACO, which is Africa’s biggest film festival launched in 1969.

In this year’s edition, over 1,300 films were submitted for consideration and 100 have been selected to compete from 35 African countries and the diaspora, including movies from Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Among the nominations is top Burkinabe director and producer, Apolline Traore, whose film “Sira”, which is considered a front-runner in this year’s competition, portrays the sufferings of Burkinabes in the long years of strife occasioned by insurgents linked to the Islamic State and the Al-Qaeda groups.

“The world has painted Burkina Faso as a red country. It’s dangerous to come to my country, as they say. We’re probably a little crumbled but we’re not down,” Traore said.

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Moroccan court jails journalist 18 months over remarks about politician

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A Moroccan court on Monday sentenced a journalist, Hamid Mahdaoui, to 18 months in prison after he was found guilty of accusing a prominent politician of fraud, a verdict that has sparked international condemnation from press freedom advocates.

Mahdaoui’s case has garnered international criticism because he is being prosecuted under Morocco’s penal code rather than the press code governing journalistic conduct.

His attorney Mohamed Hedach, told journalists after the judgement that Mahdaoui who is the editor in chief of Badil.info, will serve a 1.5-year sentence and be fined an equivalent of $150,000 after being found guilty of defamation.

Mahdaoui was prosecuted after a complaint from Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi following a video posted on his website accusing Ouahbi of corruption and fraud, both of which the justice minister denied.

The accusations, according to media reports, came after the royalist Party of Authenticity and Modernity, which Ouahbi headed, became enmeshed in controversy last year when an imprisoned Malian drug dealer implicated party members in a sprawling drug trafficking case that shook the North African kingdom.

Reporters Without Borders’ North Africa representative Khaled Drareni had in October, called the prosection of the journalist a “misuse of the justice system to intimidate and silence the press.”

Mahdaoui was imprisoned in 2017 after publicly throwing his support behind activists who led protests over social and economic inequities. He was also sentenced to three years for not reporting to authorities that a Dutch Moroccan man had told him arms were being sent to the protesters. He later said he didn’t report it because he didn’t take the information seriously.

Morocco has in recent years been criticized for imprisoning journalists and activists known for criticizing the government. King Mohammed VI pardoned and released the country’s three most prominent imprisoned journalists — Omar Radi, Taoufik Bouachrine and Soulaimane Raissouni — in July.

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South Africa finally unveils improved King Shaka statue at Durban airport

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After years of complaints by the public, South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has finally unveiled an improved version of

a long-awaited statue honouring legendary Zulu warrior, King Shaka.

Ramaphosa, who unveiled the new statue of the warrior alongside Zulu King, Misuzulu kaZwelithini, at the King Shaka International Airport in Durban, said the statue “marks the beginning of a renewed focus on cultural tourism, empowering local communities and attracting visitors to experience the depth of South Africa’s traditions, values, and stories.”

The 12-metre-tall figure of King Shaka depicts the man credited with uniting the Zulu nation as a warrior with a spear and shield and replaces a previous artwork that was criticised for making the monarch look like a “herd boy”.

Speaking at the ceremony, KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Thami Ntuli, said:

“This statue of King Shaka stands as a testament to our shared commitment to cultural heritage tourism, which aligns with the government’s grand vision for preserving and celebrating our shared history.”

He went on to say the statue was a symbol of respect and gratitude to King Shaka, a leader who shaped history through innovation and strategic acumen, carving out a legacy that inspires not only the Zulu nation but the province of KZN.

“It is our shared heritage, and today, we stand together to celebrate it,” Ntuli added.

Ramaphosa described the statue as a symbol of unity, integrity, and leadership for all South Africans, expressing hopes that the figure would inspire tourists to learn more about the country’s heritage and history.

Shaka, who was in 1828, is credited with creating a formidable fighting force that dominated the Zulu region.

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