Two women struck by lightning on summit of Snowdon

"But the advice generally is don't be on the top of a mountain when thunder and lightning is about."

Rescuers were called to the summit of Wales' highest mountain and found one woman "falling in and out of consciousness, with blood down one side of the face" while the other had minor injuries.

Samuel Osborne
News reporter @samuelosborne93
Thursday 29 July 2021 
Wales

Llanberis MRT said it had been 'very busy' this year in assisting police with 104 incidents

Two women have been taken to hospital after they were struck by lightning at the top of Snowdon.

Volunteers from Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team were called to the summit of Wales' highest mountain by North Wales Police around 1.30pm on Wednesday.
Sponsored link

When rescuers reached the women, who were part of a five-strong group by the 3,560ft (1,085m) peak, they discovered one was "falling in and out of consciousness, with blood down one side of the face".

Mount Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales, with a 3,560ft (1,085m) peak

They treated the women for the effects of a lightning strike and determined that one had minor injuries and the other more serious.

The pair were taken to Clogwyn railway station on the Snowdon Mountain Railway before being flown to hospital in Bangor by a Coastguard rescue helicopter.

Rescuers said neither woman had sustained life-threatening injuries.

"They were very lucky," rescue co-ordinator Phil Benbow told BBC News.

"But the advice generally is don't be on the top of a mountain when thunder and lightning is about.

"As a team we didn't hang around on the summit or the ridge going down."

Members of the public are cautioned to stay clear of summit areas if there are any signs of thunderstorms.

Llanberis MRT tweeted to say it had been "very busy" this year in assisting police with 104 incidents.

The team is on permanent call and relies entirely on donations from the public.

Mr Benbow added: "Our advice is when thunderstorms are forecast people should avoid mountain tops, exposed ridges and open flat areas because that it where lightning is most likely to strike.

"Get a weather forecast before you start. And make sure it's a mountain weather forecast off the Met Office."

List of mountains in the Canadian Rockies - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mountains_in_the_Canadian_Rockies

27 rows · Mountain/Peak Metres Feet Prominence FA Notes References 1: Mount …

• Estimated Reading Time: 1 min

• RANK	MOUNTAIN/PEAK	METRES	FEET
  1	Mount Robson	3,959	12,989
  2	Mount Columbia	3,747	12,293
  3	North Twin Peak	3,731	12,241
  4	Mount Clemenceau	3,658	12,001

The 150 highest summits of Canada with at least 500 metres of topographic prominence

Rank	Mountain peak	Province	Elevation	Prominence
1	Mount Logan	Yukon	5956 m 19,541 ft	5247 m 17,215 ft
2	Mount Saint Elias	Alaska Yukon	5489 m 18,009 ft	3429 m 11,250 ft
3	Mount Lucania	Yukon	5260 m 17,257 ft	3080 m 10,105 ft
4	King Peak	Yukon	5173 m 16,972 ft	1073 m 3,520 ft

8 more rows ...

Jul. 6 2021

List of the highest major summits of Canada - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_highest_major_summits_of_Canada

WATER IS LIFE

Zimbabwe: Relocated Chiadzwa Villagers Spend 2 Months With No Water


Pixabay, Cherie Vilneff / Pixabay
Zimbabwe flag (File photo).

26 JULY 2021
New Zimbabwe (London)

Villagera, relocated to the Agricultural Rural Development Authority (ARDA) Transau in Odzi, Mutare West to pave way for diamond mining in Marange, have spent the past two months without water after their reticulation system broke down.

The villagers were relocated to the area in 2009 to pave way for massive diamond mining by the government and some Chinese companies.

However, since relocation, the villagers have been facing perennial challenges including severe water shortages despite diamond mining companies in the area collecting billions of dollars in revenue from the mines.

For the past two months, the villagers have been forced to walk for long distances in search of precious liquid after their water reticulation system, maintained by the state-entity Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), broke down.

ARDA Transau Relocation Development Trust (ATRDT) representative Tawanda Mufute told a Constitutional Talk Series meeting last that over 1 000 families at the farm were living at risk of communicable diseases as they had no access to water.

The meeting was organised by a local rights group Green Governance Zimbabwe Trust (GGZT).

ARDA Transau is a sprawling 1 200ha government-owned farm.

"We have gone for two months without access to clean water. The situation is exposing us to water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid as villagers rely on unprotected sources," said Mufute.

He said companies mining diamonds in Marange, their former homes, should take responsibility and ensure people relocated to ARDA Transau had access to health care and other basic amenities.

"When it comes to natural resources and governance, mining companies must take responsibility and ensure communities in where they operate have access to information, health care, and other basic amenities."

However, Mufute said companies mining diamonds in Marange had neglected the local communities and were only concerned with extracting gems for their benefit.

A legal expert from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), Peggy Tavagadza urged the ARDA Transau villagers to actively defend their basic rights.

She said local communities should be prepared to carry the primary burden of demanding and defending their constitutional rights.

"There is a pending case that was filed by ZELA on behalf of the community with regards to access to water. ZLHR cannot approach the courts again hence let us wait for what the courts will say about the ARDA Transau issue," she said.

ZELA stands for Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association.

"There is a need for communities to assert and defend their rights. Many people always think of litigation as the first option when seeking remedies to rights violations, which is very wrong," she Tavagadza adding the government had the responsibility to provide basic to the citizens.

"Demand the right to water from the relevant ministry because it is the responsibility of government to provide water for its citizens. The government has got the responsibility to provide basic needs for the communities."

GGZT communications advisor, Donald Nyarota said a legal framework must be in place to protect local communities against the environmental, social, and economic costs of mining.

"Natural resources extraction in the Global South, including Zimbabwe has failed to translate into positive economic and social impact for communities in resource-rich areas," said Nyarota.

"Unfortunately, domestic legal frameworks are weak to, either contain human rights violations by businesses or extend benefits to communities. There is need for extensive legal reforms, contract transparency, and communities should be consulted."


Read the original article on New Zimbabwe.

 Kenya: Millions in Need of Relief Food Amid Searing Drought

Facebook

TwitterWhatsAppFlipboardLinkedInReddiEmaShare

Hezron Njoroge/The Nation

Elderly Samburu women patiently wait for the distribution of relief food at Maral (file photo).

19 JULY 2021

The Nation (Nairobi)

By Eric Matara & Geoffrey Ondieki

It is noon in Nkaroni village, in Samburu East, and the sun is blazing down over the vast land with searing heat.

The temperature has crossed 30 degrees Celsius mark and rising. Hungry children are clinging onto their parents' shukas (traditional wear), with their lives pegged on hope.

The drought that has ravaged this village in Samburu County and several parts of northern Kenya since January last year has been devastating, leaving families in a desperate situation.

More than 10 counties in Kenya's north are affected by the prolonged drought, and, according to the government, at least 2 million people are in need of clean water and food.

Worsening by the day

The drought in Samburu, Marsabit, Turkana, Isiolo and parts of Baringo, is worsening by the day, with desperate families trekking long distances in search of food, water and pasture for their livestock.

Women, children and the elderly are the most affected, as the dry spell persists. Their livestock, the main source of livelihood, has been decimated.

Scorched fields here tell the story of one of the worst droughts the northern region has faced yet, and residents here appear to have been left to their own devices.

In Samburu, South Horr, Barseloi, Wamba, Suyan, Loonjorin, Ntepes, Archer's Post and Nachola are the worst-hit areas. A spot check by the Nation in the affected areas established a desperate situation.

In some areas, desperate families have been waking up as early as 4am to sit on roadsides to beg for food and water from travellers.

Scorching sun

Throughout the day, they endure the scorching sun, and with herders, they chase after vehicles hoping to secure something to quench their thirst and fill their hungry tummies.

Elizabeth Naserian is one of the desperate residents of Loonjorin, who has gone for days without food after the little donation she had received ran out.

"We are hoping God will save our lives because the situation is bad. We do not have food and water. The drought has lasted several months and if the government does not come to our aid, we will die," said Naserian, a mother of five.

Pastoralist communities from neighbouring Marsabit, Isiolo, Baringo and Turkana counties have been forced to travel several kilometres in search of water and pasture for their livestock.

According to the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), in Samburu alone, at least 100,000 pastoralists are at risk of starvation

Though no deaths have been reported so far, if the situation remains unchecked it will degenerate into a disaster, residents told the Nation.

The drought has been triggered by absence of rains for the last couple of months and the water table in the affected regions has gone down drastically.

Likely to get worse

Samburu NDMA County Coordinator Alex Leseketet says the situation is likely to get worse.

Samburu East region is the worst hit, with water, pasture and food stocks having run out several months ago.

"Samburu County is on an alert stage but the trend is really worsening very fast. In Samburu East, most wells and dams dried and people are suffering. That is why we placed the area on an alarming state list," Mr Leseketet said.

Emaciated livestock

Livestock prices have also dropped sharply after they became emaciated due to lack of water and pasture.

Samburu County Special Programmes Chief Officer Daniel Lesaigor said more than 100,000 people are in dire need of relief food and water.

He appealed for help as the available food (253 metric tonnes) can only serve a population of 36,000.

Most school-going children, he said, have dropped out amid mass migrations in search of water.

"We had mapped out about a population of 36,000 across the entire Samburu County in March. But as the droughts continue, we have realized more than 100,000 urgently need help," Lesaigor said.

There is also concern that the situation may spark conflicts as groups scramble for the already scarce resources.

Conflict among pastoralists

The drought is exacerbating conflict among pastoralists, with fights breaking out at water points. Several people have already died in clashes over water at Komu area on Samburu-Isiolo border over the last one month.

"The conflicts often surround access to water and pasture points. The conflicts have increased with the drought," said Samburu County Commissioner Abdirazak Jaldesa.

There is a reported shortage of animal feed in Samburu and Isiolo counties, with some livestock farmers appealing to the government to intervene.

Local leaders have appealed to the government and non-governmental organisations to support drought-stricken residents.

Led by governors Moses Lenolkulal (Samburu) and Stanley Kiptis (Baringo), they said they need urgent help to save people and animals.

"I call upon the Ministry of Devolution and other development partners to urgently help us with relief food for families affected by the drought," Mr Lenolkulal said.

Samburu East MP Jackson Lentoijoni called for urgent interventions to stop further ethnic clashes over control of water points and grazing fields.

"This is a critical moment and as leaders we appeal for a relief food to cushion starving locals. We are also in talks with herders find a solution on escalating attacks over access of water points," the MP said.

ematara@ke.nationmedia.com, gondieki@ke.nationmedia.com

Read the original article on Nation.

Kenya: Police Should Not Arrest People Then Begin Investigations, Court Rules


Pixabay
(file photo).

27 JULY 2021
The Nation (Nairobi)

By Brian Ocharo

The High Court has warned the police against unlawful or arbitrary arrests of suspects as a starting point for investigations.

Sitting in Malindi, Justice Reuben Nyakundi on Monday ruled that it's a breach of the law to take people into custody, then begin looking for evidence.

He said this illegal act is witnessed in courts by the many applications for further detentions to gather evidence against suspects.

"The unjustifiable and unlawful use of arrest as a starting point to commence investigations is a violation of the fundamental rights to human dignity and liberty entrenched in our constitution," said the judge.

Justice Nyakundi noted that the propensity for the police to deprive suspects and accused persons of their liberty before the conclusion of investigations to a criminal case is one of the challenges that the courts have been struggling with.

"The court must of necessity examine the relevant facts and circumstances of effecting an arrest of a suspect, more so those done without warrants. Not only must the suspicion be objectively justified, but a cognisable offence must be suspected. It is not enough that suspicion is of some vague conduct," he added.

The court said police are supposed to gather evidence on a suspected offence committed, then arrest the perpetrators, but not arrest and start looking for evidence against them.

The judge said this while delivering a ruling in a case in which five people rushed to court for anticipatory bail. They feared arrest over a land matter that's pending before the Environment and Land Court.

Justice Nyakundi granted Omar Kahindi, Elisha Kahindi, Martin Gona, Katana Patrick and Samuel Ngolo an anticipatory bail of Sh100, 000 each.

They said the police were planning to arrest them even before the conclusion of investigations. They argued that the matter is still active in court, adding that it should be concluded before any action is taken.

Justice Nyakundi agreed that their arguments were well-founded in law.

"In the instant motion, the applicants have demonstrated a prima facie case on well-founded fear that their arrest is ill-advised and likely to result in the pre-trial detention without bail," said the judge.

He noted that there is an overriding interest on the part of the applicants to resolve the land dispute pending before the courts, which directly impacts the criminal investigations.

"Given the concerns expressed in this application on the use of arrest against the applicants, there is a surprising lack of information on the part of the respondents," he added.

Justice Nyakundi also noted that no evidence had been availed by the police or corresponding investigating agency on the suspicion to effect arrest without a warrant.

"In absence of any rejoinder from the cited state agencies, there is an inference that the intended arrest albeit the good intention on their part is unlawful and arbitrary," the judge said.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and that of the Attorney-General did not enter appearance nor file documents in response to the application.

Read the original article on Nation.

Zambia: Tackle Lead Poisoning at Former Mine



Diane McCarthy/HRW
View of a former mine pit, now flooded, at the old mine site in Kabwe. In the foreground is an area where small-scale miners still work today (file photo).

27 JULY 2021
Human Rights Watch (Washington, DC)

PRESS RELEASE

Lusaka — Zambia’s next government should urgently clean up lead pollution that has affected the health of tens of thousands of children and adults in the city of Kabwe, six organizations said today, following the publication of a United Nations experts’ letter on the issue.

The Zambian general elections are scheduled for August 12, 2021. The organizations are Human Rights Watch, Advocacy for Child Justice, Caritas Zambia, Children's Environmental Health Foundation, Environment Africa Zambia, and Terre des Hommes.

On July 26 the UN published a letter from two UN special rapporteurs, the expert on toxics and human rights, Marcos Orellana, and the expert on persons with disabilities, Gerard Quinn, to the government of Zambia, about the severe lead pollution and serious human rights concerns in and around the former mine in Kabwe, Central Province.

They asked the Zambian government about its steps to address the toxic threat and urged robust steps to end the longstanding health rights violations and ensure the health, safety, and well-being of Kabwe’s residents.

The experts also sent a letter to Jubilee Metals, a South African company planning to reprocess metals at the former mine, and a letter to the South African government, seeking information about the human rights impacts of their business. “UN experts on toxic pollution and on people with disabilities have sounded the alarm bell over Kabwe,” said Juliane Kippenberg, associate children’s rights director at Human Rights Watch.

“Zambian political leaders and candidates should recognize the urgency of the Kabwe situation and commit in their election campaigns to cleaning up this toxic legacy.” Kabwe was the site of a mine and smelter that polluted the environment with extremely high levels of toxic lead from 1904 to 1994. Kabwe residents still have lead-polluted homes, backyards, schools, play areas, and roads, as documented in a 2019 report by Human Rights Watch.

Tens of thousands of children living near the mine are at acute risk of severe health risks from lead poisoning. It is estimated that up to 200,000 people in the vicinity have elevated blood lead levels. The former mine area contains over five million tons of waste from the mine and smelter. Lead dust from these uncovered waste dumps continues to blow over to nearby residential areas and threaten community health.

Rather than directly tackling the waste piles, the government has licensed further mining and reprocessing activities that pose additional health risks. In their letter, the UN experts expressed concern about reports of ongoing artisanal and small-scale mining. Lead is a heavy metal so toxic that there is no known safe level of exposure, according to the World Health Organization. It can cause hearing loss, vision loss, high blood pressure, IQ deficits, behavioral problems, and even coma, convulsions, and death.

Children are especially at risk because their bodies are still developing and absorb proportionally more lead than adults. A 2018 medical study estimated that over 95 percent of children in townships exposed to lead from the Kabwe mine have elevated blood lead levels, and about half of children in the townships have such high blood lead levels that they urgently require medical intervention. Adults are also affected, with particular risks during pregnancy. A video made by local youth activists working with Environment Africa in 2019 highlights the impact on children and the need for action.

The mine was originally owned by British colonial companies, including Anglo American, and later nationalized. There was never a comprehensive clean-up even though the mine was closed in 1994. Anglo American is currently facing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of affected children and women of childbearing age in Kabwe, filed by lawyers from South Africa and the United Kingdom in October 2020. “People in Kabwe whose rights to health have been violated have a right to effective remedies,” said Namo Chuma, country director of Environment Africa Zambia. “This includes access to health care, reparations, and immediate measures to end further toxic exposure.”

The UN expert on toxics and human rights, officially the special rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to examine the human rights implications of toxic and otherwise hazardous substances, as well as initiatives to promote and protect human rights in this context.

The special rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities is mandated to strengthen efforts to recognize, promote, implement, and monitor the rights of people with disabilities. The Zambian government has taken some important steps to tackle the problem, the groups said. It is currently testing and treating children affected by lead in Kabwe with a loan from the World Bank, and has started to remediate homes and a school. However, its efforts do not address the source of the contamination itself, the mine waste. If the waste is not cleaned up, progress made could be quickly reversed, as it will continue to spread toxic dust across the area.

The government should conduct a comprehensive remediation process with the technical and financial support of donors and companies, the groups said. Regulations governing the human rights and environmental obligations of corporations in their global operations are urgently needed to avoid such disasters in the future. “The lead pollution in Kabwe is a scandal,” said Bishop Clement Mulenga, the bishop of Kabwe. “Proper remediation and reclamation are needed right now to protect the health and future of Kabwe’s children.”

Zambia’s next government should urgently clean up lead pollution that has affected the health of tens of thousands of children and adults in the city of Kabwe, six organizations said today, following the publication of a United Nations experts’ letteron the issue. The Zambian general elections are scheduled for August 12, 2021. The organizations are Human Rights Watch, Advocacy for Child Justice, Caritas Zambia, Children's Environmental Health Foundation, Environment Africa Zambia, and Terre des Hommes.

On July 26 the UN published a letter from two UN special rapporteurs, the expert on toxics and human rights, Marcos Orellana, and the expert on persons with disabilities, Gerard Quinn, to the government of Zambia, about the severe lead pollution and serious human rights concerns in and around the former mine in Kabwe, Central Province. They asked the Zambian government about its steps to address the toxic threat and urged robust steps to end the longstanding health rights violations and ensure the health, safety, and well-being of Kabwe’s residents. The experts also sent a letter to Jubilee Metals, a South African company planning to reprocess metals at the former mine, and a letter to the South African government, seeking information about the human rights impacts of their business.

“UN experts on toxic pollution and on people with disabilities have sounded the alarm bell over Kabwe,” said Juliane Kippenberg, associate children’s rights director at Human Rights Watch. “Zambian political leaders and candidates should recognize the urgency of the Kabwe situation and commit in their election campaigns to cleaning up this toxic legacy.”

Kabwe was the site of a mine and smelter that polluted the environment with extremely high levels of toxic lead from 1904 to 1994. Kabwe residents still have lead-polluted homes, backyards, schools, play areas, and roads, as documented in a 2019 report by Human Rights Watch. Tens of thousands of children living near the mine are at acute risk of severe health risks from lead poisoning. It is estimated that up to 200,000 people in the vicinity have elevated blood lead levels.

The former mine area contains over five million tons of waste from the mine and smelter. Lead dust from these uncovered waste dumps continues to blow over to nearby residential areas and threaten community health. Rather than directly tackling the waste piles, the government has licensed further mining and reprocessing activities that pose additional health risks. In their letter, the UN experts expressed concern about reports of ongoing artisanal and small-scale mining.

Lead is a heavy metal so toxic that there is no known safe level of exposure, according to the World Health Organization. It can cause hearing loss, vision loss, high blood pressure, IQ deficits, behavioral problems, and even coma, convulsions, and death. Children are especially at risk because their bodies are still developing and absorb proportionally more lead than adults.

A 2018 medical study estimated that over 95 percent of children in townships exposed to lead from the Kabwe mine have elevated blood lead levels, and about half of children in the townships have such high blood lead levels that they urgently require medical intervention. Adults are also affected, with particular risks during pregnancy. A video made by local youth activists working with Environment Africa in 2019 highlights the impact on children and the need for action.

The mine was originally owned by British colonial companies, including Anglo American, and later nationalized. There was never a comprehensive clean-up even though the mine was closed in 1994. Anglo American is currently facing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of affected children and women of childbearing age in Kabwe, filed by lawyers from South Africa and the United Kingdom in October 2020.

“People in Kabwe whose rights to health have been violated have a right to effective remedies,” said Namo Chuma, country director of Environment Africa Zambia. “This includes access to health care, reparations, and immediate measures to end further toxic exposure.”

The UN expert on toxics and human rights, officially the special rapporteur onthe implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to examine the human rights implications of toxic and otherwise hazardous substances, as well as initiatives to promote and protect human rights in this context. The special rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities is mandated to strengthen efforts to recognize, promote, implement, and monitor the rights of people with disabilities.

The Zambian government has taken some important steps to tackle the problem, the groups said. It is currently testing and treating children affected by lead in Kabwe with a loan from the World Bank, and has started to remediate homes and a school. However, its efforts do not address the source of the contamination itself, the mine waste. If the waste is not cleaned up, progress made could be quickly reversed, as it will continue to spread toxic dust across the area.

The government should conduct a comprehensive remediation process with the technical and financial support of donors and companies, the groups said. Regulations governing the human rights and environmental obligations of corporations in their global operations are urgently needed to avoid such disasters in the future.

“The lead pollution in Kabwe is a scandal,” said Bishop Clement Mulenga, the bishop of Kabwe. “Proper remediation and reclamation are needed right now to protect the health and future of Kabwe’s children.”

Read the original article on HRW.

Kenya: Cryptocurrency Booming Among Kenyan Farmers


Andrew Wasike/Deutsche Welle
(file image)

26 JULY 2021
Voice of America (Washington, DC)By Ruud Elmendorp

Kilifi, Kenya — Cryptocurrencies make headlines for shaking up the financial world, but they are also gaining ground in less developed countries. In Kenya, an American economist, who introduced blockchain technology for low-income urban customers, has extended the cashless system to the countryside.

On a lush green farm in Kilifi on Kenya's tropical Indian Ocean coast, 26-year-old farmer Emmanuel Kahindi is harvesting tomatoes and other vegetables. He is using Kenya's cryptocurrency, Sarafu, to sell his vegetables, and to buy supplies without having to use any cash.

Sarafu helped me a lot, he said, especially because it makes me save my money, my Kenyan currency. He said he uses Sarafu to purchase things for the garden like seeds and fertilizer.

Sarafu coins work like vouchers that can be exchanged for goods or services of other users of the currency. Anyone with a Kenyan mobile phone line can enroll. Users are given 50 Sarafu for free. After that, they earn coins by selling a product or service to another user.



Sarafu is what's known as a community inclusion currency, or CIC, allowing people to give or take credit without having to deposit Kenyan shillings or other currency in a bank.

It was created by Will Ruddick, an American economist through his Kenyan nonprofit, Grassroots Economics. He recently introduced it to rural areas like Kilifi.

"I think that's where there is the most chronic lack of national currency. So, I think what's happening, we're filling a gap. People say look, the national ledger system, the national currency it is not available for us. We can't measure our trade in this thing," said Ruddick.



Kahindi moved with his harvest to a nearby restaurant in Kilifi. There he offers his vegetables for selling and gets Sarafu in a return. The owner is Giataari Mwang and he said he is happy with it.

"Sarafu is good because it allows us to get our farm produce straight from local neighborhood farms and put it on our plate and serve it to our customers and they are able to pay us with Sarafu," he said.

Close


SIGN UP FOR FREE ALLAFRICA NEWSLETTERS

Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox

Top HeadlinesKenyaCurrenciesFood and Agriculture
SUBMIT

By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy.


Bitange Ndemo is a senior lecturer at the University of Nairobi. He said such community-focused cryptocurrencies have a potential to expand beyond Kenya and in other parts of Africa.

He said that cryptocurrencies give communities an option to monetize resources in a way that they cannot do with cash, pointing at the cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a potential example.

"Nothing stops them from a cobalt coin based on the reserves they have in terms of cobalt. The country then can then raise sufficient resources to develop the country," said Ndemo.

In Kenya, the coins will be based on the agriculture production across the nation and here in Kilifi.

For Emmanuel, it is time to relax after work. He is now seated in the restaurant and is using Sarafu to enjoy a well-deserved meal.




Read the original article on VOA.

Ghana - Anti-Gay Bill Seeks Long Jail Terms for LGBTQ People

Pixabay
Ghana national flag

28 JULY 2021
Deutsche Welle (Bonn)By Isaac Kaledzi

The proposed bill could see LGBTQ community members imprisoned between five to 10 years for identifying or advocating for their rights.

Ghana's laws already criminalize gay sex by forbidding "unnatural carnal knowledge".

Now West African country wants to go a step further in its efforts to outlaw the LGBTQ community.

If the bill is passed, people of the same sex who engage in sexual activity could be fined or jailed for between three to five years.

The law would also make it a crime to be LGBTQ -- it would be punishable by five years in prison for any person to identify as lesbian, gay, transgender, transsexual, queer, pansexual or non-binary (someone who doesn't identify as male or female).

The bill, entitled "The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021" was submitted to Ghana's parliament in June.

General support for anti-gay bill

It enjoys cross-party support, with Ghana's parliamentary speaker, Alban Bagbin openly backing the proposed law.

It is widely expected that the bill will win enough votes to become law in Ghana, a deeply religious society where homophobic persecution is widespread.

The bill also has strong support among Ghanaians.

Even if the bill does end up being thrown out, it has already endangered the lives of LGBTQ people "with the discussions that it fuels and the homophobia that it will empower," said Nana Yaa Agyepong, a member of Silent Majority Ghana, a transnational queer feminist group.

"This is something that we cannot have because we have Ghanaians that deserve to live safely and at peace at home and not forced into exile," she told DW in Accra.

No room for gay rights activism

Advocating for LGBQ rights would also be illegal under the bill, with activists facing jail sentences of between five and ten years.

Rights activist Agyepong sees this as worrying as it "squashes conversations and dissents around the bill so people would not be able to do public education or media appearances or even on social media," she told DW.

One of the eight members of parliament who proposed the bill, Sam George, said he was influenced by what he saw as the "growing advocacy" and "propaganda" of Ghana's LGBTQ community.

"We are just bringing our laws up to speed to ensure that so long as our national position has not changed and still homosexuality is an illegality, let's make the laws reflective of that," George told DW during an interview at his office in the capital, Accra.

He says there is no room for negotiation in the fight to curbing all forms of LGBTQ activism.

"Our constitution says rights can be curtailed so long as they pose existential threat to the public safety, public health and public moral," he told DW.

"This act of homosexuality poses a public health challenge and a public moral challenge."

Bill includes discredited conversion therapy

The bill would also allow for conversion therapy, also sometimes called 'gay cure therapy', which tries to change people's sexual orientation or gender identity.

A number of public health bodies, including Britain's National Health Service, have warned that conversion therapy is "unethical and potentially harmful." Germany has banned the practice for minors.

Despite the bill's general support, some Ghanaians are calling for review of the document before it gets put to a parliamentary vote.

Human rights lawyer and member of parliament Francis-Xavier Sosu, for one, has concerns.

"You can see for a fact that it has some challenges. Challenges in terms of how to criminalize values and culture of people. Challenges with the kind of sentence regime it seeks to impose particularly at a time that we have all complained about our prisons being choked," Sosu told reporters in parliament house in Accra.

The draft bill comes on the back of several recent crackdowns on Ghana's LGBTQ community.

Rights activists attending a workshop in the city of Ho, south of Ghana, were arrested in May in a high-profile police bust. Those arrested were attending a training for activists and paralegals when supporting LGBTQ people. They were released after more than three weeks in detention, but still face prosecution for holding an "unlawful gathering" and "advocating LGBTQ activities".

The office of the organization LGBT+ Rights Ghana was also raided and closed earlier this year.

Ghana's move to further criminalize LGBTQ people is in contrast to several other African countries, which have decriminalized homosexuality, such as Rwanda, Angola, Botswana and South Africa.

1. We’ll help to fine-tune anti-LGBTQI Bill – Pentecostal and ...

   1. https://freedomradiogh.com/well-help-to-fine-tune-anti-lgbtqi-bill...

      2021-07-28 · The Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) says it is in full support of the new private members’ bill that seeks to explicitly criminalize LGBTQI activities in the country. Related Articles. Kumasi: Police identify 24-yr-old lady shot dead by men on motorbike. 2 weeks ago. Delta strain detected in Ghana

   (PDF) Homosexuality, Politics and Pentecostal Nationalism ...

   https://www.academia.edu/9501979

   ADRIAAN VAN KLINKEN Homosexuality, Politics and Pentecostal Nationalism in Zambia ABSTRACT Building upon debates about the politics of nationalism and sexuality in post-colonial Africa, this article highlights the role of religion in shaping nationalist ideologies that seek to regulate homosexuality. It specifically focuses on Pentecostal Christianity in Zambia, where the constitutional ...

   Pentecostals and the spiritual war against coronavirus in ...

   https://theconversation.com/pentecostals-and-the-spiritual-war-against...

   2020-04-30 · Pentecostals and the spiritual 

2. (PDF) A missional study of Ghanaian Pentecostal churches ...

   https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278548236_A_missional_study_of...

   2015-06-11 · According to the tenet of the Apostolic Church, Ghana 

1. GPCC – Ghana

   https://gpccghana.org

   2020-07-31 · The Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) has undergone a dynamic transformation over the years, as the leading mouth-piece for Penteco-Charismatics in Ghana. From a humble beginning of four (4) members at its inception in 1969, the Council now boasts of over two hundred (200) member churches with each individual church 

Sacred Spaces and the Pentecostal Charismatic Churches in ...

ugspace.ug.edu.gh/bitstream/handle/123456789/32925/Sacred Spac… · PDF file

For the Charismatic Churches in Ghana, Gifford posits that “there has also been a remarkable explosion of these new autonomous Pentecostal Churches. The word ‘Charismatic’ is used to distinguish them from the churches of recognized Pentecostal denominations like the Assemblies of God church”. These churches according to

PENTECOSTALISM IN GHANA: AN AFRICAN REFORMATION

pctii.org/cyberj/cyberj13/amanor.pdf · PDF file

The Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, of which they served as the precursors, and which were initially on the fringes of society, has now moved into the center, crossing into every branch of the Church in Ghana. They have given a new face of Christianity to the country, which is outwardly expressive, inwardly liberating, and which provides adequate identity of a faith that can be truly ...

1. AFRICA S NEW BIG MAN RULE? PENTECOSTALISM AND …

   https://gvpt.umd.edu/sites/gvpt.umd.edu/files/pubs/McCauley_Africa… · PDF file

   pre-colonial norms, post-colonial institutions, and weak states created *John F. McCauley (mccauley@umd.edu) is Assistant Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, USA. An earlier version of the article was presented at the Nigeria Centre for Pentecostal 

2. 1. Decolonising Western missionaries’ mission theology and ...

      www.scielo.org.za/pdf/ids/v51n1/15.pdf · PDF file

      forces of colonialism that perpetuates the subjugation and the exploitation of our minds, bodies, and land. Its ultimate purpose is to overturn the colonial structure and realise indigenous liberation (Waziyatawin & Yellow Bird 2012). It engages with imperialism and colonialism at every level. This entails the corporate and national takeover of things and institutions under colonial control ...