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Ethiopian artist, Julie Mehretu breaks African art-sale world record

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Ethiopian-born artist, Julie Mehretu has broken the record for the highest sale price of any work by an African artist at an auction.

The US-based artist broke her own record when her abstract painting, “Walkers With the Dawn and Morning”, sold for $10.7m (£8.6m) at an exhibition at Sotheby in New York.

According to the organizers of the auction, Mehretu’s piece features ink and acrylic on canvas and takes its name from a 1920s Langston Hughes poem.

The auction saw two bidders competing for the artwork with the price gradually edging higher and higher and finally went for $9.5m, but the final cost took it to the record-breaking sum of $10.7m.

Mehretu was also the previous record holder at $9.3m which was set last month.

The 52-year-old Mehretu was born in Ethiopia and moved with her family to the US in 1977 when political strife was at its peak in the country.

From a humble beginning, Mehretu has grown to become one of the most prominent names in African contemporary art world.

In 2005, Mehretu painted “Walkers With the Dawn” and “Morning” as part of an exhibition which created an instant response to Hurricane Katrina and its impact on the US city of New Orleans.

Earlier this year, Mehretu was chosen to create BMW’s next Art Car and her work will be painted onto a BMW car that will be part of the “24 Hours of Le Mans” race next year.

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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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