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Nigerian Afrobeats star, Asake pays tribute to women who died during London concert

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Nigerian Afrobeats sensation, Asake has paid a passionate tribute to the two women who died in a stampede outside the O2 Academy Arena in Brixton, London during his concert last December.

Asake, who marked his return to the UK stage for the first time since the unfortunate incident, honoured the lives of Rebecca Ikumelo and Gaby Hutchinson in a three-minute tribute video on Sunday.

The victims, Rebecca, aged 33, and security guard, Gaby, aged 23, met their untimely demise during the crowd commotion that marred Asake’s inaugural UK show on December 15, 2022.

The heartfelt tribute, which was performed by Nigerian-British poet, Aina More, paid homage to Rebecca and Gaby and ended with a plea to the public for any information related to the incident to be shared with the authorities.

More’s powerful verses, which were accompanied by soft piano melodies, resonated with emotion as they interwove with news segments chronicling the tragic event and captured the somber mood of the moment.

“Some came out that night and ain’t returned, we need to hold this moment,” the poem reflected on the tragedy, with the verses affirming, “Up at 02:30 thinking Gaby Hutchinson could be me,” a sentiment shared by many in the audience.

“Rest well and be free, rest in peace Rebecca, our sister,” More’s heartfelt words rang out.

During the tribute performance, dancers adorned in white emerged onstage, carrying bouquets of white flowers with the crowd responding with heartfelt cheers when the names of the victims were mentioned, as well as at the culmination of the tribute.

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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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