Connect with us

Culture

After a three-year hiatus, Ethiopian pilgrims celebrate historical ‘Timkat’ festival

Published

on

After a three-year hiatus occasioned by a devastating civil war, thousands of Ethiopians were able to descend on the northern city of Aksum to celebrate the ‘Timkat’ festival and religious holiday which will last for the next three days.

The Timkat Festival is an epiphany ceremony which celebrates the baptism of Jesus Christ, and is a very popular festival in the country as majority of Ethiopians belong to the Orthodox church. The Timkat is deeply important to them.

Celebrations of the festival were paused because of the civil war in the Tigray region, but with the end of the war almost a year ago, the people will now gather in the city of Aksum, which was the site of an alleged massacre soon after the war began in November 2020, and the country’s holiest city for Orthodox Christians.

Aksum is said to be the home of the Ark of the Covenant which contains the 10 commandments handed down to Moses by God.

Aksum has also become the focus for the annual festival of St Mary, and the city is a major pilgrimage destination with people coming from all over the country and beyond.

According to a description of the festival, the Timkat is a three-day event which starts with the procession of ‘tabots’ (holy replicas of the Ark of the Covenant) to a body of water in the afternoon of the first day.

In Aksum, this body of water is called the Bath of Queen Sheeba, with the festivities going on through the night with singing, praying and burning candles and incense.

The next morning, the crowds gather again for colorful ceremonies and more prayers. After this, the tabots are paraded back to the church and the church leader blesses the pool of water.

When the priests are done, it is finally time for the annual baptism, and at this point, every participant jumps into the holy water or try to get a bit of water on their forehead from the big water sprays.

Culture

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

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

Culture

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

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

EDITOR’S PICK

Metro11 hours ago

Zambia Police denies suspending officers for failing to prevent Lungu’s public ‘tour’

The Zambian Police has denied allegations that six of its officers were placed on suspension for refusing to block former...

Tech11 hours ago

Oracle to increase research, development investments in Morocco

Global IT vendor, Oracle, has announced plans to expand its research and development (R&D) capabilities in Morocco by growing its...

Culture11 hours ago

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

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

Metro16 hours ago

U.S. applauds Nigeria’s monetary policies

The United States government has commended Nigeria’s monetary policies under President Bola Tinubu which it says has fostered economic growth...

Sports16 hours ago

Italian couple name new born baby after Super Eagles forward, Ademola Lookman

An Italian couple have reportedly named their new born baby after Super Eagles forward, Ademola Lookman, after he scored a...

VenturesNow17 hours ago

IMF says Nigeria’s quiet reinstatement of petrol subsidy to gulp 50% of oil revenue

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated that President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s quiet return of petrol subsidy is anticipated to...

Politics17 hours ago

Mozambique’s president confirms northern town under terrorist attack

President Filipe Nyusi announced in a televised address that Mozambique’s military is engaged in combat against Islamist rebels who initiated...

Politics17 hours ago

Chad: Interim president Deby declared winner of disputed election

The state electoral commission of Chad has announced that interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby has secured an absolute victory in...

Tech1 day ago

Ethiopian low-carbon startup Kubik gets $5.2m for its pan-African expansion project

Ethiopia’s low-carbon building startup, Kubik, has announced raising the sum of $5.2 million in seed funding which will enable it...

Metro1 day ago

Youth leader laments infringements on digital rights, language barriers in media access

Limbigani Nyirenda, Executive Director of Easterner Visionary Youth, has voiced his concerns regarding the infringement of digital rights by political...

Trending