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South African anti-apartheid writer Breyten Breytenbach dies at 85

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South African anti-apartheid writer and poet, Breyten Breytenbach, has passed away at the age of 85 after a long battle with ill-health.

A statement by his family said Breytenbach who was a staunch opponent of the county’s white-minority government’s apartheid policy of racial oppression, died in Paris on Sunday.

A citation by a South African news platform describes Breytenbach as a celebrated wordsmith and a leading voice in literature in Afrikaans, and a fierce critic of apartheid that was imposed against the country’s Black majority between 1948 and 1990.

“He moved to Paris but on a clandestine trip to his home country in 1975, he was arrested on allegations that he assisted Nelson Mandela’s then-outlawed African National Congress group in its sabotage campaign against the white-minority government,” the medium wrote.

“He was convicted of treason and served seven years in prison. French president Francois Mitterrand helped secure his release in 1982.

“Upon his release, Breytenbach based himself in Paris, becoming a French citizen, and continued his anti-apartheid activism.

“Breytenbach is best known for “Confessions of an Albino Terrorist,” his account of his imprisonment and the events leading to it.

“His work addressed themes of exile, identity and justice, his family said in a statement on Sunday. Known for his masterful poetry collections in Afrikaans, as well as autobiographical works such as “The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist” and “A Season in Paradise,” he fearlessly addressed themes of exile, identity and justice,” his family said in a statement.

Born in the Western Cape province in 1939, Breytenbach was a poet, novelist, painter and activist whose work touched on and influenced literature and the arts both domestically and abroad.

He joined Okhela, an ideological wing of South Africa’s African National Congress, in exile, but remained deeply connected to his South African roots, his family said.

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Zambian music star Yo Maps cries out over cyberbullying targeting wife, daughter

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Foremost Zambian music star, Elton Mulenga, popularly known as Yo Maps, has cried out over cyberbullying targeting his wife and young daughter.

Yo Maps who filed a case at the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court, accused a Facebook blogger, Elias Musyani, of orchestrating the cyberbullying and hate speech.

The singer who testified before the court, recounted how Musyani targeted his wife, Kidist Kifle, with derogatory names, referring to her as a “prostitute” and a “witch” in multiple social media posts.

He said the online attack also extended to his infant daughter, whom he said Musyani mockingly called “gumugumu”, a local Zambian word for a monitor lizard.

Yo Maps testified that Musyani’s harassment spanned several months, citing an incident on April 20, 2024, where Musyani allegedly posted threats of abduction and rape, claiming he knew the locations of Kidist’s gym and their child’s daycare.

“He said he could come and rape my wife in front of me,” he told the court.

He noted that despite an earlier attempt to resolve the issue amicably, Musyani allegedly continued his attacks, even posting recordings of phone conversations with him.

“In that conversation, he called my wife a prostitute and threatened to send thugs to kidnap my child,” he said, adding that he had preserved evidence of the posts and conversations on his phone and a flash drive.

Zambia Monitor reports that
Musyani faces charges under Zambia’s Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Act No. 2 of 2021, which seeks to curb online abuse and protect victims of cyberbullying.

Though he pleaded not guilty, the court denied his plea bargain request, setting the stage for a full trial, as hearing has been adjourned to January 10, 2025, due to technical challenges in accessing audio evidence submitted by Mulenga.

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Rema, Ayra Starr, Tems make Rolling Stone’s Top 100 albums of 2024

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Nigerian music stars, Rema, Tems and Ayra Starr, have been named in Rolling Stone’s Top 100 best albums released in 2024.

A citation on Rolling Stone’s website states that Rema’s second studio album, ‘Heis‘, which secured the 11th spot, was a “unique, buzzy and visceral” project.

“Rema’s sophomore album ‘HEIS’ is the highest-ranked Nigerian album with a number 11 entry after enjoying commercial success that was recently capped by a Grammy nomination for Best Global Album Performance,” the citation said.v

Describing the album, Rolling Stone stated:

“Rema has taken to calling his own style of Afrobeats “Afro-rave,” in the tradition of Burna Boy and the like who have fought to differentiate themselves from what became a catchall for African music in general.

“Yet, there was no real sonic signifier for Rema’s Afro-wave — he seamlessly traverses hip-hop, house, R&B, and dancehall. Heis sounds more like a rave than almost anything Rema has made prior (excluding the excellent loosey “Bounce,” for example, raging while everything else simmers. The result is the buzzy, visceral, sweat-it-out music that no one else in the mainstream is making.”

On Tems, the platform said:

“Tems’ highly anticipated debut album ‘Born In The Wild’ was placed at number 37 following a successful tour and record-breaking Grammy nominations for Best R&B song and Best Global Album.”

Rolling Stone describes thealbum as so rich its listening experience offers both emotional and physical comfort.

“Tems has already remade Nigerian pop in her own image. Her debut album measures the soul work it’s taken to get here. All of it has paid off on an album so rich that the listening experience is a physical one as much as it is emotional.

“Wickedest” is primed for the dance floor, while the single “Love Me Jeje” is a masterpiece, soaked in the sun and major-key dopamine. Her vision is made timeless via a seamless blend of stripped-down ballads, the cool of 1990s R&B with flecks of SWV and Sade, joyous high life, Afro-dance music like amapiano, and rugged hip-hop.”

Writing on Ayra Starr, Rolling Stone said:

“Ayra Starr’s sophomore album ‘The Year I Turned 21’ was praised for being one of the finest Afrobeats projects of 2024 as it comprehensively displays her abilities and ambitions as a global popstar.

“With the follow-up to her 2021 debut, Ayra Starr asserts a musical maturity that could be considered far beyond her years, but perhaps more aptly serves as a reminder of the emotional depth, logical prowess, and enviable passion young people often possess. Across it, Starr refreshes tried-and-true.”

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