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Egyptian Musicians Union bans Travis Scott’s ‘Pyramids of Giza’ concert

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The Egyptian Musicians Union (EMU) has banned a planned concert by American rapper, Travis Scott which was scheduled to hold in the Giza Pyramids Complex in Cairo on July 28.

The much-publicised concert was planned to coincide with Scott’s release of his new album, “Utopia” and had garnered social media buzz with the tickets sold-out in a matter of a few hours.

However, on Tuesday, the Music Professions Union in Egypt announced the cancellation of the upcoming concert following public outcry, after some people launched a campaign of boycott against Scott, calling him ‘controversial’, as well as linking him with Afrocentrism, a trend which is staunchly opposed by Egyptians, while another group made links between the American artist and satanic rituals.

The union justified the decision to cancel the concert citing the artist’s performances as conflicting with “Egyptian traditions.”

A statement released by the Music Professions Union, a body which has the authority to supervise concerts and music broadcasts in the North Africa country, said though it welcomed all forms of art and concerts, it set conditions and regulations to ensure they did not violate the country’s inherited customs and traditions.

The union further stated that based on observations and opinions of social media users and information that had been widely shared, the concert by Travis Scott allegedly involved strange rituals during his performance that conflicted with the genuine social values and traditions of the Egyptian people.

“Consequently, the union decided to revoke the license for this type of concert, which is deemed inconsistent with Egypt’s cultural identity,” the statement said.

The statement did not, however, specify the nature of these alleged rituals attributed to Scott who is one of the most prominent figures in American hip-hop music and is currently on a global tour.

The Giza Pyramids Complex has regularly hosted concerts by international music stars, including the American hip-hop group, The Black Eyed Peas who performed there in October 2021.

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Kenyan officials arrest four Tiktokers for filming robbery prank video outside police station

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Kenyan Police authorities have arrested four young Tiktokers for filming a robbery prank outside a police station in the Kilifi North Sub-county.

Local media reports that the four young people who were aiming for social media fame, were arrested after filming and publishing on Tiktok a fake robbery outside the police station.

“The four young people, one of whom is 17 years old, made a video titled ‘wezi mbele ya police station’ (robbery outside a police station), and posted it on the popular video platform. However, police didn’t take it lightly,” one report wrote.

“In the video, a seemingly drunk man exits the Administration Police (AP) canteen and gets robbed by two others on a motorcycle.

“The 18-year-old cameraman was among those arrested. Police identified them through CCTV footage at the AP canteen. The youths were arrested at their homes in Kilifi, with the oldest being 27 years old,” another report said.

The Kilifi North Sub-county Police Commander, Kenneth Maina, who confirmed the incident and arrest of the suspects, said investigations are still ongoing, and the suspects will face charges, including cybercrimes.

“The viral video of a daylight robbery at the Kilifi Administration Police canteen in Kilifi was not real but a prank by a group of youths creating content for their TikTok account,” Maina said.

Maina said they were pursuing another suspect who was still at large, adding that the youths revealed they only wanted to attract followers to their TikTok account.

“There were five youths and we managed to arrest four of them and the other one we have a crucial lead that will lead us to an arrest,” the Police Commander said.

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Ghanaian Supreme Court begins hearing in case challenging anti-LGBTQ+ bill

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The Ghanaian Supreme Court Thursday began hearing on a suit challenging the anti-LGBTQ+ bill passed by parliament in February.

The suit filed by lawyer and journalist, Richard Dela Sky, seeks to challenge the controversial bill which prescribes a three-year jail term for people identified as gay and five to 10 years for LGBT advocates.

The lawsuit, which was filed in March, sought the court to prevent the parliament Speaker and Clerk from sending the bill to President Nana Akufo Addo, while also seeking that the president should not sign the bill into law.

A second case brought before the apex court by academic researcher, Dr Amanda Odoi, is challenging the constitutionality of the bill and was also heard by the court.

Presiding judge, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, however, expressed concern about the strong language used in some of the sworn statements.

“I think that the language is intemperate, a lot of the paragraphs contain language that is inappropriate, scandalous, so I want to give you directions,” Torkornoo said.

Local media reports that the tense events on day one of the hearing did not come as a surprise to many given the controversial nature of the bill, which has been condemned by Western donors and human rights groups.

“The hearing was presided over by the chief justice along with four other Supreme Court judges and broadcast live on television, because of the keen interest in the case among Ghanaians,” the report said.

“President Akufo Addo had said he would await the verdict of the Supreme Court before deciding whether or not to sign the bill into law and the case has been adjourned to 17 May,” the report said.

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