Culture

Malian singer Rokia Traoré detained in Italy over child custody row

Published

5 months ago

June 25, 2024

Malian singer and guitarist, Rokia Traoré, has been arrested and detained in Italy over an outstanding two-year prison sentence in Belgium in a child custody dispute, prosectors in Brussels have confirmed.

Traoré was reportedly arrested on Sunday after she was sentenced in absentia last October on charges of parental abduction, after fleeing France in 2020 when she was due to be handed over to Belgian authorities.

Italian media reports on Tuesday that the award-winning musician was arrested at Fiumicino airport in Rome after she flew into the country for a concert.

“Ms Traore’s arrest in Italy follows a decision by the Brussels Criminal Court on October 18, 2023, which sentenced her in absentia to two years imprisonment for failing to hand over a child to the person entitled to custody,” prosecutors in Brussels told journalists.

Media reports say Traoré had been arrested in Paris in March 2020 on a European arrest warrant over a Belgian court ruling ordering her to return her daughter to the child’s Belgian father.

She was also said to have defied a ban on leaving France and flew home to Mali several months later, before she could be sent to Belgium.

“Ms Traoré was initially detained in France in 2020 on a Belgian arrest warrant after failing to heed a court order to hand over her child to her Belgian father,” a French news outlet said.

“Months after she was conditionally released, she flew out to Mali on a private flight, defying a ban from leaving France until her extradition to Belgium.

“Last October, Traoré was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison by a court in Belgium on charges of parental abduction for failing to hand over a child to the person entitled to custody.

“Her daughter, who is now aged nine years, has lived in Mali since turning four.

“A lawyer for the child’s father, Traoré’s former partner, reportedly said he had not had any contact with his daughter since then.

“When she was initially arrested in 2020, she had been travelling from Mali to Brussels intending to appeal against the custody ruling.

“Mali’s government then came out in support of the singer, saying that she had a diplomatic passport.”

Traoré who is one of Africa’s best known vocalists, has won several awards, including the BBC Award for World Music in 2004 and the 2009 World Music Album of the year in the Victoires de la Musique, the French equivalent of the Grammys.

She is also known for her advocacy work for refugees, becoming a goodwill ambassador for the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees in 2015 in West and Central Africa.

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Culture

Tyla set to drop new single ‘Tears’ on November 20

Published

10 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Isaac Dachen

South African “Ampiona” crooner, Tyla, is set to thrill her fans to her new single titled, “Tears’, which is set to drop on November 20.

According to a statement by her management team, Tyla’s fans should expect something different from the “Water” singer as she is set to release a brand-new single in collaboration with Coke Studio.

“This exciting partnership follows her announcement as part of the Coke Studio 2024 line-up alongside R&B star Usher Raymond in September,” the statement said.

Tyla who is fondly called the “Pretty girl from Joburg,” also took to her Instagram page to share the news with her fans.

Posting a snippet of the video on her Instagram story with the caption, “‘Tears’ coming November 20th! A song in partnership with @CocaCola”, confirming the November release date, she urged her fans to look forward to something different from what they are used to.

The brand has also shared on its social media platforms that Tyla will be performing this highly-anticipated single when she returns to Johannesburg, South Africa, at a special Coke Studio live event.

In an interview with Coke Studio, the 22-year-old singer shared how she breaks away from her original sound with “Tears”.

“I feel like in a lot of my songs, I’m dancing a lot. I really wanted a song where I could just sing, be more raw with people, and showcase my voice this time,” she said.

Snippets from the new single has showcases Tyla’s enchanting vocals, revealing a more vulnerable side that is different from her previous work.

“Breaking away from the amapiano and pop sound she’s best known for, Tyla embarks on an exciting new journey with this project,” one of the reviews said.

“Through “Tears”, she wants to connect with listeners in a raw, captivating way as she partners with Coke Studio to bring this new sound to life.’

Culture

Moroccan court jails journalist 18 months over remarks about politician

Published

2 days ago

November 12, 2024

Isaac Dachen

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.