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Ghanaians mark 2023 PANAFEST to commemorate slave trade

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Thousands of Ghanaians and Africans in the diaspora have been converging on Ghana’s historic cultural site, Elmina Castle, to mark the 2023 edition of the “Pan African Historical Theater Festival” or PANAFEST, a celebration of history, and relieve cultural traumas that led to the Atlantic slave trade.

Held every two years in the West African country, PANAFEST was inspired back in 1992 by the late great Pan-Africanist writer, Efua Sutherland, and has become a landmark festival in Ghana which gives Africans on the continent and in the diaspora a platform to address slave trade which was seen as the most traumatic interruption that ever occurred in the natural evolution of African societies.

The event, according to the organisers, is organised by the Upper East Regional office of the Ghana Tourism Authority under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture in collaboration with the PANAFEST Secretariat.

It is celebrated from July 23 to August 2 every year and is founded on the belief that the arts, and particularly, theater, can be powerful vehicles for communication and healing, the organisers say.

According to Rabbi Kohain Halevi, the convener of the event, the theme for the 2023 edition is “Reclaiming the African family: confronting the past to face the challenges of the 21st Century”, and is built on the premise that people must create new forms of expression and dialogue to inspire the mobilization necessary to move to higher levels of achievement.

“The idea of pan-Africanism is still an idea that is in the formulation to manifestation and maturity and that idea of pan-Africanism of bringing the African people together as one to be empowered of ourselves. It deserves its own rituals and ceremonies that are symbolic of bringing the African spirit together,” Halevi said in a statement.

“People still ask me how is Ghana doing because this is the hub of all these African slave trade. Even though it is abolished but it is still in the memory of people so they want to see actually where it did happen and this is the place so it’s time for them to come.”

According to the convener, the festival is interspersed with cultural dance performances by the Sandema War Dancers and the Sakoti Dancers.

“The event includes Emancipation Day festivities, academic lectures, musical and dance events, and commemoration visits to sites that shaped slavery in the 15th century.”

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Culture

DRC authorities arrest six over break-in at Lumumba’s Mausoleum

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Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) say six people have been arrested over a break-in and vandalism at the mausoleum of the country’s assassinated independence leader, Patrice Lumumba, in Kinshasa, the country’s capital.

The police had announced the six arrests late Wednesday and said they were still looking for two more suspects.

Interior Minister, Jacquemin Shabani, said in a statement that during the break-in which occurred on Monday, a case containing a single gold-capped tooth, the only part of the former leader that remained after his assassination, was broken by the vandals.

“We assure that the relic is secure and it is protected,” the minister said, without offering more information.

The return of Lumumba’s tooth from former colonizer Belgium in 2022 had been celebrated around Congo, with the tooth taken around the vast country so people could pay their respects.

Lumumba is widely hailed as the nationalist activist who helped end colonial rule in the DRC and went on to become the country’s first prime minister and was seen as one of Africa’s most promising new leaders, but he was assassinated within a year in 1961.

His body was dismembered and dissolved with acid in an apparent effort to keep any grave from becoming a pilgrimage site.

For many in Congo, Lumumba is a symbol of the positive developments the country could have achieved after its independence but instead, it became mired in decades of dictatorship that drained its vast mineral riches.

A military coup toppled Lumumba, who was arrested, jailed and later killed. His assassination, blamed on separatists, cleared the way for the rise of Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled the country he later renamed Zaire for decades with support from Western powers until his death in 1997.

His one remaining tooth was kept by the Belgian police commissioner who oversaw the destruction of his body.

The tooth was returned to Congo after the visit of Belgium’s King Philippe, who expressed regrets for his nation’s abuses in Congo when it was a Belgian colony.

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Culture

Miss SA opens up on why she withdrew from Miss Universe pageant

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Reigning Miss South Africa 2024, Mia le Roux, has opened up on the reasons behind her withdrawal from the Miss Universe pageant which was held in Mexico, where Nigeria’s Chidinma Adetshina was the first runner-up.

While narrating her experience in a video she shared on social media on Wednesday, le Roux said her body was taking so much physical strain.

“Hello everyone, I’m back in South Africa and wanted to reach out to you all. Thank you so much for all of your kind wishes, your support and prayers,” she said in the video.

“I wanted to be transparent with you and share my story. A lot of you would’ve seen the video that I made about vertigo, while I was in Mexico at Miss Universe.

“Vertigo is a condition where it feels like you are dizzy and there’s a sense of the world spinning around you. It’s very intense and can cause major issues with your imbalance.

“Mentally I was very strong, I was ready, but physically, my body was taking strain. I had to even seek medical help in Mexico City. And even after the medical help, my condition still wasn’t improving.”

She added that during the preliminary rounds of Miss Universe, she had continued to push herself but her vertigo intensified and it became unmanageable.

She stated that while she was waiting backstage, she fell repeatedly and couldn’t stand up without support and was not in a position to safely walk on stage.

“It was not easy. As I was not doing it just for myself but for all of you in South Africa,” she said.

“I will continue to serve as your Miss South Africa, to support and uplift those who come after me. With my unbreakable spirit and an exciting year ahead, I will keep fighting for myself and for everyone with dreams and passions. I am so proud to still be your Miss South Africa,” she added.

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