Nigerian atheist faces death threats for blasphemy against Islam
Mubarak Bala is accused of 'provocative' Facebook posts against Muslims

Posted 1 May 2020


Mubarak Bala's public Facebook profile.

Mubarak Bala, a self-identified atheist, was arrested in Kaduna, northwest Nigeria, on March 29, 2020, for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammed, reports the Punch, a Nigerian daily.

Bala was arrested following a petition to the police commissioner of Kano, northwest Nigeria, on April 27, by a group of lawyers who accused him of “provocative and annoying” Facebook posts against Muslims, according to Zikoko online portal in reports here, here and here. They said Bala was:


…calling the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (PBUH), [Praise Be Upon Him] all sorts of denigrating names like pedophile, terrorist among other statement that will definitely incite Muslims to take laws into their hands, which will ultimately result in public disturbance and breach of the peace.

Bala is expected to be prosecuted for blasphemy under the Penal Code of Kano State. If convicted, he is liable to a two-year imprisonment with fine or both.

Read more: ‘They call for my slaughter': Somali atheists living in fear
Bala — not new to controversy

Bala, 35, chemical engineer and leader of the Nigerian Humanist Association, is not new to controversy.

In June 2014, Bala’s family forcefully confined him to a psychiatric hospital in Kano for renouncing Islam, according to reports by the BBC. He was released 18 days later from the Kano Psychiatric Hospital.

Recounting his ordeal in the hospital to Humanist Voices in 2018, Bala said that he was “drugged by force” with medicines meant for “psychotic and schizophrenic patients.” The drugs “induced a lot of weird feelings that almost drove me crazy,” he said.


Screenshot of Mubarak Bala's Facebook post

Therefore, his recent Facebook comments are not surprising, based on his past. On April 26, Bala shared this on his Facebook wall in the Hausa language, which translates: “There is no difference between the Prophet TB Joshua (S.A.W.) of Lagos and Muhammadu (A.S.) of Saudi Arabia, it is better for our Nigeria to be terrorism.”

TB Joshua refers to an evangelical pastor of The Synagogue Church of all Nations, Lagos.

Apparently as a result of the backlash his post generated, Bala shared another Facebook post stating: “if you cant take blasphemy against Islam, criticism of its doctrines, this page is not for you…” 

Sahara Reporters, an online newspaper, reported that Bala has been receiving death threats “from extremists” including a “serving policeman identified as Abdulsamad Adamu.” Adamu is a sergeant in the Bauchi State Police Command, northeast Nigeria.

Bala’s lawyers have asked for a transfer of his case from Kano to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, over threats made “directly” on the life of their client before his arrest “via phone calls” and “on social media.”
Blasphemy or freedom of speech

Blasphemy is an offense punishable in both the customary (secular) and Sharia (Islamic) court systems in Nigeria.

The customary system, under Section 204 of Nigeria's criminal code entitled “Insult to Religion,” states:


Any person who does an act which any class of persons consider as a public insult on their religion, with the intention that they should consider the act such an insult, and any person who does an unlawful act with the knowledge that any class of persons will consider it such an insult, is guilty of a misdemeanour, and is liable to imprisonment for two years.

Kano State operates under both legal systems.

However, Section 38 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria guarantees the rights of every Nigerian to exercise freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Similarly, Section 39 also grants every Nigerian the right to freedom of expression.

Meanwhile, #FreeMubarakBala has been trending on Twitter, with divided opinions about the arrest of Bala and the impending blasphemy charge.

Writer Gimba Kakanda described Bala’s arrest as “an overkill”:


The arrest of @MubarakBala on charges of blasphemy is uncalled-for. I don’t subscribe to provoking the sensibility of any religious group and I’ve told him it’s unfair that he does that, but arresting him is an overkill. He’s not a threat to Islam. He should’ve just been ignored. pic.twitter.com/jANzGIs6Ns

— Gimba Kakanda (@gimbakakanda) April 29, 2020

“Criticizing a religion is not a criminal offence,” wrote this netizen:


Nigeria is a secular state and freedom of speech is one of the fundamental characteristics of a modern democratic state.

Criticising a religion is not a criminal offence.

So every right minded person should put aside their religious views and lend a voice to #FreeBalaMubarak.

— Obi Of Onitsha

(@cliqik) April 29, 2020

This netizen questioned the need for enforcing blasphemy laws in 2020:


The only reason you still enforce blasphemy laws in 2020 is because your religion cannot withstand the slightest enquiry.

— Girl de Maupassant (@somiscellany) April 29, 2020

However, some disagreed.

This netizen wrote an extreme comment on Twitter that insults to the Prophet Muhammad warrant execution:




Screenshot of a tweet by Sarki @Waspapping_ [2:42 PM · Apr 29, 2020]And this netizen called human rights activists hypocrites when it comes to religion:




When someone insults our Prophet you'll say its freedom of speech

But when we insult gays/lesbians you'll say its discrimination

You right activists are hypocrites, have always been and will always be#FreeBalaMubarak

— Umar Al Asad (@alpha_keyboard) April 29, 2020
Atheism in Nigeria

Nigeria, with an estimated population of 200 million people, has two major religions: Christianity and Islam. Muslims and Christians make up 50 percent and 48 percent of the Nigerian population respectively.

The north is predominantly Muslim while the south of Nigeria is chiefly Christian. There are few traditional religious adherents in both parts of the country.

Atheism is not popular, although there have been some popular Nigerians who openly profess their non-belief in any religion.

Some young Nigerian atheists have been ostracized by their families for denouncing religion. It is particularly grim in northern Nigeria. A 2010 Pew Research study shows that a majority of male Muslims in northern Nigeria (58 percent) support the death penalty for those who leave the Muslim religion.

Nonetheless, these seem to be extreme cases.

A member of the Atheist Society of Nigeria in a 2018 interview with Business Insider by Pulse online magazine admitted that some “still feel” shocked at meeting Nigerian atheists. However, most “Nigerians are tolerant and love to speak their minds when they disagree with you.” Consequently, their lack of belief has ignited “plenty of discussions” and “very few instances of being threatened or bullied.”


Written byNwachukwu Egbunike

COVID-19, locusts and floods: East Africa's triple dilemma
'Coronavirus could kill, but hunger kills many more people'

Posted 4 May 2020


A desert locust swarm in Kipsing, near Oldonyiro, Isiolo county, Kenya. The current situation in East Africa remains extremely alarming as hopper bands and an increasing number of new swarms are forming in Kenya, southern Ethiopia and Somalia. ©FAO/Sven Torfinn, used with permission.

COVID-19, desert locusts or torrential rains and floods — where should East Africa focus its attention among this “triple threat”?

As the rains coincide with planting season across the region amid various coronavirus restrictions, this question — albeit, somewhat rhetorical — is on a lot of people's minds.

On April 22, journalist Charles Onyango-Obbo posited this particular polemic on Twitter:


#covid19africa, torrential rains & killer #floods/Climate change; and #locusts in East Africa. If we had to fight only one, which should it be? Which one will kill us less? #EastAfricanDilemma

— Charles Onyango-Obbo (@cobbo3) April 22, 2020

Out of 779 respondents, 45 percent said that if they had to pick one crisis to fight, it would be the coronavirus. Cases have soared across the continent over the month of April, upending lives due to various preventive measures — like lockdowns and travel bans — that have essentially halted economies and markets.

But the locust plague across the Horn and East Africa posed a threat to food security long before the coronavirus shifted the world's focus — 33 percent of respondents said that locusts were potentially more deadly than the virus or floods. And 22 percent said that torrential rains and flooding, largely attributed to rapid climate change across the continent, is a threat to East African lives. Severe flooding has wiped out crops, driven food price hikes and sent residents “scrambling for survival,” from Somalia to South Sudan to Democratic Republic of Congo.

The truth is that this crisis trifecta — the virus, locusts, and floods — is not mutually exclusive. In fact, each is inextricably linked.
Second-wave locusts

The locusts — primarily affecting central Kenya, southern Ethiopia, and Somalia, at this time — are the result of “unusually wet weather over the past 18 months that created perfect breeding conditions,” according to Bloomberg.

The largest locust outbreak in 70 years occurred in January 2020 among several East African nations, destroying over 25 million hectares of crops. Now, experts say that the second wave of hatched locusts from the offspring of the first could be 20 times larger — and more menacing — than the first wave.

Desert locust swarms fly in northeastern Kenya. Ravenous swarms threaten the entire East Africa subregion, March 31, 2020, Kipsing, close to Oldonyiro, Isiolo county, Kenya. ©FAO/Sven Torfinn, used with permission.

“Coronavirus could kill, but hunger kills many more people,” said Akinwumi A. Adesina, the president of the African Development Bank. Adesina wrote that desert locusts can “consume crops in one day that can feed approximately 35,000 people,” and in East Africa, where approximately 20 million people are already food insecure, the effects could be devastating.

Taming the locusts has required copious amount of pesticide — and political will. But with the second wave of “LOCUST-19″ looming, East African nations have turned their attention to confronting COVID-19, implementing travel restrictions that directly impede the ability to mitigate the locust swarms that can travel up to 150 kilometers in 24 hours, munching through food meant for humans. Analysts say this means that many farmers will likely not see a harvest in June.

Donors pledged or provided $153 million via the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to help governments purchase pesticides, helicopters and other essential materials needed to fight the second locust outbreak, but “supplies purchased by the agency did not start to arrive until mid-March when a second generation of the ravenous insects was beginning to hatch,” according to The New Humanitarian.

National Youth Service officers observe some desert locust as part of a biology lesson during training on desert locust control at Kenya's National Youth Service Training College in Gilgil, Kenya, February 13, 2020. ©FAO/Luis Tato, used with permission.
Villages under water

The maddening buzz of locusts is the song of climate change.

“This particular outbreak began with heavy rains from two cyclones in May and October of 2018 that hit the southern Arabian Peninsula. This allowed two generations of desert locusts to form into swarms. Each generation can be 20 times bigger than the previous one,” wrote Matt Simon with Wired.

And just like the coronavirus, “the terrifying reality is that if you don't stop a locust swarm early, there's very little you can do to stop its spread,” Simon said.

Netizens like Namaiyana on Twitter rightfully point out that the poorest people will feel the brunt of these crises:


Floods, locusts, covid19, foods and locusts again – these are the climate catastrophes that East Africa is currently facing, and yes it’s the people who live on less than a dollar a day that feel the full brunt of these crisis. #FridaysForFuture
Pic: Alfy Alfredoh pic.twitter.com/Sk0phYKiQm

— Namaiyana (@fazeelamubarak) May 1, 2020

When the town of Uvira in South Kivu, DR Congo, experienced torrential floods in late April, it affected the lives of at least 80,000 people — sweeping away homes and claiming the lives of at least 25 people in a single day, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Most people in South Kivu had already been displaced by violence. Now homeless, it's nearly impossible for many to “shelter-in-place,” as DR Congo also attempts to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

On the island of Unguja, part of the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar, heavy rains brought the most extreme flooding some villages have seen since 1978, as reported by politician Simai M. Said:





Sadly, these disasters have largely fallen under the radar due to the world's laser focus on the coronavirus pandemic:


While the world is focused on #COVID19, my hometown #Uvira, Eastern DRC, is almost wiped out by floods. Dozens of children and women have died. Humanitarian aid is desperately needed. #JeSuisUvira #IamUvira. pic.twitter.com/MtbREhTrO5

— Bukeni Waruzi (@bukeniwaruzi) April 19, 2020
‘Reconfiguring the world’

This “crucible season” of the coronavirus plague exposes all kinds of contradictions, according to Kenyan writer Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, who wrote an eloquent letter titled “The Pestilence, the Populists and Us” in The Elephant, an online portal.

The “favored self-delusions and mythologies we hold about ourselves and the place of the ‘other’, has frayed and in some cases, fallen apart in a very public way,” she wrote. “I expect a massive re-orientation, reshaping, reconfiguring of the world.”

Indeed, tackling East Africa's current dilemma — three overlapping crises at once — requires creativity, resilience, leadership and substantial investments in “reconfiguring the world.”

Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, recommends several life-saving policies to enact now across Africa to stem the collective blow of the coronavirus, locusts and floods: One, establish a tax-free “green channel” in Africa to expedite the free flow of food and pesticides; two, put measures in place to prevent food price hikes and anti-hoarding policies and release food from government-held grain reserves; and three, invest in food production technology that is both safe and innovative.

Focusing just on the coronavirus in East Africa — and not also on the desert locusts or massive flooding due to climate change — is not an option. The future depends on it.

AUTHOR

Written byAmanda Lichtenstein

From Brazil to Kosovo to the Philippines, confined citizens protest from their windows
A COVID-safe way to capture the attention of politicians

Posted 14 April 2020


Quarantined Brazilians protest from their houses during President Jair Bolsonaro's televised address on March 24. Photo: Screencap from video by Deutsche Welle/YouTube.

Check out Global Voices’ special coverage of the global impact of COVID-19.

There is a very good chance that you're in lockdown as you read this. One in every three people on earth is under some sort of social distancing order as governments scramble to slow the spread of COVID-19, which has claimed more than 100,000 lives since the novel coronavirus was first detected in China in December 2019.

Lockdowns have been watched vigilantly by rights groups, who are urging governments to tread carefully when restricting civil liberties in these exceptional circumstances. But lockdowns do present a paradox for accountability on that very matter: How can citizens ensure officials don't misuse their new emergency powers when public protests present an immediate danger to one other?

Fortunately, people have found alternatives. From Kosovo to Spain, from Brazil to the Philippines, pot-banging from balconies and windows emerges as a COVID-safe way to capture the attention of politicians.

Of course, such demonstrations are nothing new. As documented by historian Emmanuel Fureix, this type of protest was first seen in France in 1830. Back then, when the Republicans opposing the Louise-Philippe monarchy used kitchenware to make noise as a sign of protest, it was called charivari.

This method of resistance later reached other parts of the world. In 1961, during the Algerian war of independence one protest became known as “the night of the pots.” Other popular protests of this kind took place in Chile in 1971, during the Allende administration, in Quebec during the 2012 student protests, and in Turkey, during the 2013 Gezi Park protests. Today it is particularly popular in Latin America, where it's known as cacelorazo, and panelaço in Brazil.
From their windows in Kosovo, citizens begged authorities to put lives before politics

In Kosovo, citizens banged pots and pans from the balconies and windows every night for a week to show discontent with the current political situation — a power struggle in the ruling coalition over the emergency measures.

The protests did not prevent the prime minister from losing a no-confidence motion on March 25, making Kosovo's government the first in the world to fall in relation to the coronavirus crisis.


NEWS – #Kosovo television broadcast live protest of people from balconies, as the voting starts to bring the government down. pic.twitter.com/8tnAuDtJry

— Stefan in Kosovo (@StefanInKosovo) March 25, 2020

With the Kosovo government ousted, the decision to either form a new government or dissolve the country's parliament and call for early elections falls to President Hashim Thaçi, the main beneficiary of the prime minister's sacking. However, holding elections in the midst of a pandemic seems impossible, leaving various important issues up in the air:


Motion passed, government collapsed, exposed to extreme uncertainty, quarantined, battling covid19, bracing for an agreement between Kosovo & Serbia. A long list of issues tormenting an average citizen of #Kosovo.

— Donika Emini (@donikaemini) March 25, 2020
In Spain, a cazerolada against the king

On March 19, 2020, as the King of Spain, Felipe I, gave a nationally broadcasted speech asking for unity in confronting COVID-19, people went to their windows and balconies to demand that his father, Juan Carlos I, donate to the public health system the 100 million euros he allegedly has in a Swiss bank account, courtesy the King of Saudi Arabia.


Spain: massive banging of pots and pans protest as the King starts a TV address to the nation. People in lockdown come out to their balconies to reject the Crown's corruption Solo puedo decir #NiVirusNiCorona.#Cacerolada pic.twitter.com/f4hTbz8a2Z#CoronaCiao

— Jorge Martin (@marxistJorge) March 18, 2020

Just a few days later, a similar protest was held against Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his government, as a criticism of their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic:


Cacerolada de hace un rato. Pedro Sánchez DIMISIÓN, en Capitán Haya, Madrid. pic.twitter.com/FqD80On5sJ

— Alfredo Martínez (@alfmartinx) March 21, 2020


Banging pots and pans for a while. Pedro Sanchez RESIGNATION, in Capitán Haya, Madrid.

On April 1, right-wing and far-right again called on social media under the hashtag #cacerolada21h for a protest from the balconies against the government's handling of the COVID crisis. However, this call ended up having little or no success in some parts of Spain.
One month of nightly protests against Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro

Since March 17, pots and pans have been echoing from Brazilian households at around 8:30 p.m. every night, in protest over how President Jair Bolsonaro is handling policies to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in a country with 200 million people:


“Bolsonaro out!” says downtown São Paulo. pic.twitter.com/KTS2SoYO71

— Euan Marshall (@euanmarshall) March 18, 2020

The first night of protests actually took place a day before the original date that had been planned via social media channels. In cities spanning from the north to the south of the expansive country — even in neighborhoods that used to bang those same kitchen utensils asking for the impeachment of left-leaning president Dilma Rousseff four years prior — people shouted, “Get out, Bolsonaro!”

The following evening, March 18, only half an hour after the protests began, Bolsonaro tried to turn this act of resistance on its head by calling for people to bang pots and pans in support of his government:


- O jornal Hoje (TV Globo) e Veja on line, divulgam, de forma ostensiva, PANELAÇO hoje às 20h30 contra o Presidente Jair Bolsonaro.
– Mas a mesma imprensa, que se diz imparcial, NÃO DIVULGA outro PANELAÇO, às 21h A FAVOR DO GOVERNO JAIR BOLSONARO.

— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) March 18, 2020


- The Today News (TV Globo) and Veja [magazine] ostensively publicize POTS AND PANS PROTEST tonight at 20h30 against President Jair Bolsonaro.
– But the same press, who claim to be impartial, DOT NOT PUBLICIZE another POTS AND PANS PROTEST, at 21h IN SUPPORT OF JAIR BOLSONARO’S GOVERNMENT.

The Brazilian president has been downplaying the effects of the pandemic, calling COVID-19 “a little flu” and labeling media coverage and social isolation measures adopted by state governors as “hysteric”. In several states, roads have been blocked, interstate buses have been suspended, events canceled and schools closed.

Bolsonaro has given three televised addresses to the nation since World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11. His messages have been described as confusing and erratic, at times directly criticizing state governors and at others calling for “union.”

Over the past two weeks, the Brazilian president has shifted from calling for schools and commerce to be reopened, to defending “vertical isolation” — the kind imposed only to people in high-risk groups — and, like US President Donald Trump, advocating for ample use of chloroquine against COVID-19, despite the lack of enough scientific evidence of its efficacy.

Surrounded by aides and cameras, Bolsonaro has also gone several times on walkabouts around the capital Brasília, speaking to and shaking hands with supporters. On his latest excursion on April 10, he declared: “No one will curb my right to come and go.”

Allies and leaders of the National Congress have criticized him for going against the recommendations of the WHO.
#ProtestFromHome in the Philippines

Kadamay, an urban poor group in the Philippines, organized noise barrage protest actions to highlight the slow delivery of food assistance from the government. The lockdown order it was under, though aimed at containing the COVID-19 outbreak, also disrupted the livelihood of street vendors and other workers from the informal sector:



The lack of a clear plan on how to extend assistance to poor households prompted Kadamay to organize the protest, which involved the banging of empty kaldero (pots) in houses. The Twitter hashtag #ProtestFromHome trended on March 22, after the campaign gained online support in the country. The police responded by accusing Kadamay of being anti-Filipino.



The protest also asked that the government conduct mass testing for COVID-19 and prioritize the sending of relief to affected communities.
Argentine women pot-bang against domestic violence

In Argentina, the sound of kitchenware was also heard in protests over the increase in violence against women during quarantine. Thousands of women were involved in these protests, which also called for the lowering of politicians’ wages:


Este lunes por la noche, se escuchó un cacerolazo en diferentes barrios de Buenos Aires. Bajo la consigna #Ruidazo, se pidió la reducción de los salarios del sector político en medio de la pandemia del coronavirus pic.twitter.com/RpQQ24oyYp

— CNN Argentina (@CNNArgentina) March 31, 2020


This Monday night, a cacerolazo was heard in different neighborhoods of Buenos Aires. Under the hashtag #Ruidazo, calls were made to reduce wages in the political sector amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Protect the vulnerable in Uruguay

Beating pots and pans was also the method that many Uruguayans used to call for social protection measures for the most vulnerable during the COVID-19 crisis, though others did attempt to counteract it by playing the national anthem and applauding:


Con himno y tutti #SuenaUruguay #uruguay #montevideo #cacerolazo pic.twitter.com/tLcMhbcytC

— Hernis (@hernisuy) March 26, 2020

With hymn and tutti #SuenaUruguay #uruguay #montevideo #cacerolazo

Just as global citizens are bound together in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems that at present, when street protests are impossible, they are also united by banging pots and pans.

Hong Kong reveals the city's agenda to construct an Orwellian ‘truth’
Police may be given more powers to monitor social media

Posted 16 May 2020

Backdrop of Hong Kong government's press conference on the IPCC's report. Image from RTHK reporter Yvonne Tong's Twitter.

Hong Kong’s Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC), a government-appointed organization with no investigative power to summon witnesses, released on May 15 its report on public complaints against the police during the city-wide protests that began last June. The 999-page report concludes that police officers generally acted within guidelines, but there was “room for improvement”.

Clifford Stott, a British expert on riot research who quit the IPCC's foreign expert panel last December, suggested that the backdrop of the press conference at which the report was shared, formed part of a broader thrust aimed at delivering a particular message:


It would seem the release of the IPCC report is part of a wider set of coordinated announcements designed to deliver the new 'truth'. https://t.co/xQ5n0UElMm pic.twitter.com/bnsYZhBCmY

— Clifford Stott (@cliffordstott) May 15, 2020

Large-scale protests erupted in June 2019 demanding that the Hong Kong government withdraw an extradition bill allowing for the transfer of fugitives to mainland China. The government refused to trash the bill, even after a million demonstrators took to the streets on June 9. Three days later, thousands of protesters blocked the roads surrounding the Legislative Council and riot police fired rounds of tear gas on peaceful protesters.

The police crackdown led to massive protests on June 16, with two million people demanding that Chief Executive Carrie Lam step down. They also wanted the “riot” label that had been attributed to the June 12 protests removed.

The deferral to withdraw the bill led to multiple rounds of clashes between police and protesters. Amid calls for democracy, independent investigation into the use of force by the police emerged as a major demand.
‘A shocking whitewash’

However, the government refused to set up an independent investigative body, instead insisting that the toothless IPCC examine the police’s behavior. All information that the IPCC receives is provided by the police authority. Eventually, Carrie Lam agreed to appoint a team of foreign experts to assist with the IPCC’s review.

In their progress report last December, these experts concluded that “a crucial shortfall was evident in the powers, capacity and independent investigative capability of IPCC”. The team was thereafter dissolved.

The current report has not addressed any individual cases of police violence. Rather, it reviews the police response in six major protest incidents, including the Yuen Long mob attack on July 21, in which protesters and subway passengers were beaten by a pro-Beijing mob. There was no police presence at the spots where the mob, sticks in hand, gathered outside the subway station, causing the general public to believe there was collusion.

The IPCC report admits there were “deficiencies in police deployment and other police action in response to the events,” but stressed that there was no evidence of collusion with criminals “despite our best efforts in searching publicly available sources”. It added that public perception about the police was based on “misunderstanding”.

The Hong Kong Police Force has been accusing the media of creating misconceptions about the police authority. In March, Commissioner of Police Chris Tang filed a complaint to the Communications Authority against Radio Television Hong Kong’s satirical program “Headliner”, claiming that it was undermining police work and eroding law and order.

The public broadcaster has faced huge pressure after its news investigation on the Yuen Long Mob attack established evidence that the Yuen Long police were well aware of the violent incident, but did not intervene. In the report, the IPCC gave 52 incident-by-incident recommendations, the majority of which were related to improving the police force's public relations, facilities, and staffing.

Benedict Rogers, from London-based Hong Kong Watch, criticized the report as “whitewashing” and called for more international intervention:


The Independent Police Complaints Council’s report is a shocking whitewash which shows that there is no viable mechanism in Hong Kong to ensure accountability either for police brutality or police complicity with violence by criminal thugs. With rights groups reporting incidents of torture in detention and routine excessive use of force, it is now time for the international community to establish an independent inquiry, to hold the perpetrators of violations of human rights in Hong Kong to account. The introduction of targeted Magnitsky sanctions on those responsible for such violations should then be considered.

Magnitsky laws allow for sanctions to be imposed on human rights violators.

Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo also slammed the report:


The report is not just superficial. It’s hollow. It has recollected some government information services handout. It’s all part of the establishment speak. It’s [the] Ministry of Truth à la George Orwell’s 1984.

Indeed, the issue of “truth” is politically significant: the report blames online information for destroying the image of the police, paving the way for the crackdown on free speech:


[Many complaints are] blatant propaganda with little or no factual basis, aimed at smearing the Police Force and impeding police officers from performing their duty to maintain law and order.
‘The truth about Hong Kong’

Standing in front of press conference backdrop proclaiming “The Truth About Hong Kong”, Carrie Lam announced that the police may be given more powers to monitor social media, and tackle “false and malicious information” and “rumors”. To this suggestion, Clifford Stott exclaimed:


Speechless! https://t.co/4QZ8aQeFIv

— Clifford Stott (@cliffordstott) May 15, 2020

Ahead of the release of the IPCC report, pro-Beijing political groups launched two advocacy campaigns to restrict the city’s freedom of the press and freedom of information.

On May 13, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the biggest political party in Hong Kong, put out research stating that 70.9 percent and 61.6 percent of interviewees, respectively, believed that youth was invited by “fake news” and opinion leaders into committing crimes including violent protests and hence urged that there should be legislation against the spread of online disinformation.

On May 14, pro-establishment civic group Civic Force staged a protest outside the Hong Kong Journalists Association, demanding the implementation of a government-issued journalist license system.

Both the online rumor law and the journalist license system are in place in mainland China. The new “truth” in Hong Kong is becoming aligned with the “one country”.

Written by Oiwan Lam

Nigerian pastor spreads COVID-19 conspiracies and disinformation

'Oyakhilome has been all kinds of messy this COVID-19 season'

Posted 15 May 2020


The Cathedral Church of Christ Marina, Lagos, is the oldest Anglican Cathedral in Nigeria. Image by dotun55, March 25, 2015, via CC BY-SA 2.0.

Check out Global Voices’ special coverage of the global impact of COVID-19.

When it comes to spurious information and the coronavirus, it has been an open season with some Nigerian evangelical pastors. As purveyors of disinformation, several pastors have pushed back against government lockdowns that would impact church closures.

As of May 13, Nigeria has 4,971 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 164 deaths and 1,070 recoveries.
Conspiracy theories and disinformation

Screenshot of a YouTube video of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome.

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of LoveWorld Incorporated (also known as Christ Embassy), in Lagos, Nigeria,​ has made some wild comments since the pandemic began in the country.

The flamboyant prosperity pastor preaches from the prosperity theology or gospel — a belief held by some evangelical Christians that financial blessings are manifestations of God’s purpose for them. Oyakhilome is worth $30–50 million United States dollars and his church has about 13 million members within and outside Nigeria.

On April 8, Oyakhilome delivered a sermon with over 12,000 views on YouTube in which he claimed that the introduction of 5G technology was responsible for the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. He also alleged that the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine will be used as a ruse to enthrone a “new world order” led by the anti-Christ.

The 5G is a fifth-generation wireless communications technology supporting cellular data networks.

Two other Nigerian pastors, Sam Adeyemi and Matthew Ashimolowo, debunked Oyakhilome’s claims.

Ashimolowo dismissed the claims as “conspiracy theories that had nothing to do with the anti-Christ,” reports the Premium Times, Nigeria’s online newspaper. “It has always been the nature of Christian leaders to plant fear in their members” in the face of “major world occurrence,” Ashimolowo said.


Pastor Sam Adeyemi killing ignorance and powerpoints and misinformation in just over 2 minutes with a simple internet search and reading about a previous pandemic. If only people did their own research before jumping on conspiracy theories… 💭 pic.twitter.com/9Aq88IlaeX

— ✨👑 DaddyMO👑✨ (@therealdaddymo1) April 8, 2020

Adeyemi, the senior pastor of the Daystar Christian Centre, noted that the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic also adversely affected Nigeria, and resulted in the shutting down of churches, mosques, schools and markets.

A week later, Oyakhilome backtracked, claiming that he was only opposed to the “health risks” of the 5G network.

The public health implication of peddling these conspiracy theories has great ramifications. Already, the Nigerian senate has started an investigation on the status of 5G and its potential health impact on citizens.

Sadly, like most of the 5G-related COVID-19 theories, there is simply “no hierarchy of plausibility,” writes journalist Amy Davidson Sorkin of the New Yorker. Coronavirus is a virus transmitted from human to human through droplets like saliva.

Radio waves used in 5G are non-ionizing radiation, which, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency has “enough energy to move atoms and cause them to vibrate,” but does not have the amount of energy “to remove the electrons from the atoms.”

Consequently, the 5G radio waves are incapable of generating enough energy to heat up the human body or weaken the immune system. “The idea that 5G lowers your immune system doesn't stand up to scrutiny,” Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, told the BBC.

But fanatics like Oyakhilome keep recycling these fallacies.


Chris Oyakhilome has been all kinds of messy this Covid-19 season. Irresponsible to the point of deranged. A train wreck. An absolute disgrace. For those still programmed or deluded enough to worship his talcumed face, his affected accent, we present to you – the demystification. https://t.co/tlXn5rsM6b

— Molara Wood (@molarawood) May 7, 2020

Apparently, the coronavirus, 5G and anti-Christ conspiracy did not discourage Oyakhilome from amplifying more disinformation.

In the video above, Oyakhilome described wearing face masks to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 as “embracing to science.” At the beginning of the outbreak, he reminded followers that the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) said that “masks will not work.” He believes that “Wearing [masks] is politics, it’s okay. But no one should lie to us [that] it's science… In fact, scientifically, it's dangerous to health. This is the truth.”

At first, there was confusion about the advantages of wearing face masks in public. However, that period was short-lived.

Several leading scientists including Camilla Rothe and associates from the University Hospital LMU Munich, Germany and Lirong Zou and others from Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, China, all recommend the wearing of masks or face cloths to limit the spread of the virus.

Based on this scientific evidence, on April 13, the CDC recommended wearing masks or “cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), — especially in areas of significant community-based transmission” [emphasis by the CDC].

Similarly in Nigeria, the NCDC encouraged the wearing of cloth masks “as an additional layer” of prevention against the transmission of coronavirus.

Oyakhilome omitted all of this advice from his narrative.

In addition, he contradicts himself by asserting that, “If [mask wearing] is science, then it’s open to debate.” A rather irresponsible inference — as though scientific evidence are mere opinions and therefore debatable.

Not entirely surprising — his unsubstantiated claims are nothing new.

In 2004, the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation banned the airing of “unverified” miracles on national networks. Two years later, Oyakhilome reframed the ban as “a plot by the Almighty God and his angels” who blocked his efforts to get his miracles verified.
Push back on church lockdowns

The Nigerian government issued stay-at-home orders for 14 days in two key states, Lagos and Ogun, and in Abuja, the capital, on March 30 — which was later extended to April 13, for an additional two weeks. In addition, there was also a restriction on large religious and social gatherings in Nigeria.

On May 4, President Buhari announced a relaxation of lockdowns in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja. However, places of worship remain closed.

On April 30, Oyakhilome kicked against the continual lockdown because the church is “a place of healing:”


So, those of you who love to run around government officials to get your validation, come and get COVID-19 compliant registration for your church. That is the last day Jesus will be in that church. But that is coming.

However, Oyakhilome is not alone. David Oyedepo, presiding bishop of Living Faith Worldwide, also questioned why markets were opened while churches have remained closed.


Bishop Oyedepo sharing some thoughts on the recent partial relaxation of the Lockdown.

What say you? pic.twitter.com/UdZNfX1mxI

— Naija (@Naija_PR) May 6, 2020

In the video, Oyedepo described how the continued lockdown on churches is a demonic attack: “I can smell a rat. The forces of darkness are influencing people at various levels because the growth of the church is the greatest headache of the devil,” he said.

Oyedepo’s Winners Chapel has branches in over 300 cities in the country. The church’s headquarters in Otta, Ogun State, southwest Nigeria, hosts a 50,000-seat auditorium, reputed to be one of the largest church auditoriums in the world.

Reputed to be one of Nigeria’s wealthiest pastors, Oyedepo is the founder of he faith-based Convent University.

Read more: Nigeria: Online Furore Over #DominionAir

It is significant to note that not all economic activities have been restored.

Also, the claim that the lockdown is targeted at churches is not exactly true. Social gatherings and schools — which equally attract a lot of people — remain suspended.

Meanwhile, many Christians in Nigeria have been able to fulfill their spiritual needs through online services. It is only reasonable — rather than exposing people to unnecessary risk.


Preachers that should be working with the local, state and federal governments to make sure people are complying with government orders are moving mad? What is their problem?

— Jola (@Jollz) May 7, 2020

It seems these pastors need this wise counsel from their colleague, Ignatius Kaigama, Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, who emphasised that pastors should lead their flock to heaven “whether coronavirus is active or not.”

Elsewhere, church leaders have expressed Christian love for the most vulnerable and dying in different ways. For example, the Catholic Church donated 425 hospitals and a Lagos-based evangelical church donated its auditorium to the government to be used as isolation centers.

This is more worthy of emulation than peddling conspiracy theories, disinformation and confusion during a global health crisis.


Written by Nwachukwu Egbunike

In Afghanistan, the war does not spare newborn babies inside maternity wards

Posted 14 May 2020

Afghan Security Forces stand guard on the site of the attack on newborn babies and new mothers in Kabul, Afghanistan on May 12. Photo by Ezzatullah Mehrdad, used with permission.

When Afghans woke up on the morning of May 12, and found out about two new terrorist attacks, they were reminded that the ongoing war had reached new levels of brutality: this time, not even newborn babies and their mothers were spared.
Kabul maternity under attack

That day, three militants stormed a maternity ward run by the Doctors without Borders NGO in Kabul's western neighborhood of Barchi. Global Voices was able to speak to several witnesses of the events, including the family of Soraya Ibrahimi, a 31-year-old pregnant woman, who had been taken to the clinic on May 11 at 11 PM. Soraya gave birth to a baby at 1 AM, and as her family was waiting for her return, a neighbor informed them the clinic was under attack.

The family rushed to the clinic where the militants had entered the premise and started killing babies, some who had not even seen their mother. Her baby survived, but Soraya was killed.

“The guards of the clinic were unarmed and the militants entered without trouble,” Habibullah Amiry, an eyewitness, told Global Voices. “It took 30 minutes before the police arrived at the scene. They went on killing for 30 minutes without resistance.”

As many of the doctors and nurses knew about safe rooms in the clinic, they were able to escape, but newborn babies, pregnant women, and other female patients could not hide from the bullets. Three women and one kid were shot in the hallway; seven women were killed in their beds; two women were fallen on the floor of the surgery room; one woman who had her baby in her arm was fallen and a nurse was burned, according to journalist Anisa Shaheed.

“Why we could not take all those mothers to safe rooms,” Wahida Mukhtar, a staff of the clinic, wrote in her Facebook post, “This sorrow will kill me.” One woman who was brought to a safe room gave birth inside the safe room while militants were killing people outside.

The militants exchanged fire with the Afghan security forces for four hours, leaving hundreds of people outside of the clinic worrying about the fate of their loved once trapped inside. The Afghan Health Ministry reported 24 women and newborns were killed in the assault.
Even the dead are under attack in this escalation of violence

Elsewhere in the eastern Nangarhar province of the country, a suicide bomber walked among 500 people who attended the funeral of a local police commander, Sheikh Akram. The imam had asked people to line up and just announced the beginning of the prayer when the blast tore apart the crowds, killing nearly 30 and wounded 70 others.

“The body of Sheikh Akram was close to the explosion,” Naeem Jan Naeem, an eyewitness, told The New York Times. “His body was wounded after he had died.”
U.S.-Taliban deal under fire

The attacks have taken place in the context of a fragile peace process involving the Taliban and the United States who signed a deal on February 29, with the hope of bringing the war closer to an end. The deal was expected to reduce violence in the country and promote talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Yet the deal faced a major deadlock over the issue of release from prison of 5,000 Taliban prisoners. The Afghan government refused to release such a large number, eventually, only a small number was released.

Despite international calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, the Taliban have continued to wage a war in rural areas. The Afghan government has blamed the Taliban for attacks on the hospital in Kabul and the suicide bombing in Nangarhar. President Ashraf Ghani has now ordered Afghan forces to leave their previous “active defense” and go on the offensive against the Taliban.

In response, the Taliban said in a statement that the government was derailing the peace talks and blamed the government for the attacks on the hospital. The Taliban said that they were ready for a war against the government.
Repeated attacks on Hazara Shiites


As Deborah Lyons, head of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan wonders:


Who attacks newborn babies and new mothers? Who does this? The most innocent of innocents, a baby! Why? Cruelty has no followers from the humanity. https://t.co/ebsGl4bY5p
— Deborah Lyons (@DeborahLyonsUN) May 12, 2020

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing in Nangarhar, but no group has claimed responsibility for the shooting of mothers and newborn babies in Kabul's Barchi neighborhood, an area predominantly inhabited by the Hazara- Shiite community that has been a target of high profile attacks against civilians since 2015, when it had claimed responsibility.

Previous attacks against the community included suicide bombs inside a mosque, educational center, sports venue, and wedding hall. The suicide bombing killed each score of civilians that gathered to celebrate, mourn, and learn.

“The incident is beyond painful; it is a catastrophe,” local resident Amiry told Global Voices. “Our teenagers are massacred in the education center; we are killed in the wedding hall, no mosque is left safe and this time a hospital. We are the most helpless people. Our hands are cut from the sky and our legs are cut from the ground.”


Written byEzzatullah Mehrdad

Government of Canada supports over 500 women's shelters and sexual assault centres during the COVID-19 pandemic

NEWS PROVIDED BYWomen and Gender Equality Canada
May 16, 2020,


OTTAWA, May 16, 2020 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is supporting Canada's most vulnerable people during these times of uncertainty. This includes taking critical measures and making new investments to support shelters that provide a safe space for women fleeing violence and their families, and to ensure the continuing resilience of organizations assisting survivors of sexual assault. On April 4, 2020 the Government of Canada announced up to $40 million through Women and Gender Equality Canada for women fleeing gender-based violence.

Today, the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, announced that this funding has been disbursed to over 500 women's shelters and sexual assault centres from coast to coast to coast.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, women's shelters and sexual assault centres across the country required support to manage demand, and these needs have increased significantly over the last few weeks. During these exceptional times, additional resources are needed so that organizations can continue to provide desperately needed support to some of Canada's most vulnerable.

To meet these needs, the Government of Canada provided $20.54 million to Women's Shelters Canada which has, to date, distributed funding to 422 violence against women shelters across Canada. Another $3 million was provided to the Canadian Women's Foundation, which has, to date, provided funding to 89 sexual assault centres across the country. An additional $6.46 million was given directly to the Government of Quebec and is flowing to women's shelters and sexual assault centres in the province.

The Government of Canada's emergency funding ensures the continuity and sustainability of services provided by these organizations, supporting their efforts to adjust to the evolving needs of survivors, while facing sudden and unexpected changes to everyday operations. The many dedicated organizations supported by these investments include Inasmuch House in Hamilton, Ontario, which will keep crisis lines and emergency shelter services open to survivors, Miramichi Emergency Centre for Women in Miramichi, New Brunswick, which will adapt their shelter to accommodate self-isolation procedures, Saskatoon Interval House in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, which will continue ensuring safe accommodations for families, and South Okanagan Women in Need Society in Penticton, British Columbia, which will purchase new equipment to connect remotely with survivors.

These and many other inspiring organizations supported by the Government of Canada have shown outstanding dedication, perseverance and creativity in their work of supporting survivors of violence in a difficult and unpredictable time. For a full list of organizations receiving funding, click here.

Quotes

"If home isn't a safe place for you to be, help is available. Organizations that provide a safe place for survivors of violence are open and ready to provide support and we are deeply grateful for their tireless work at this challenging time. The quick flow of these emergency funds will help ensure that these organizations have the resources they need to continue their lifesaving work. Our first phase of emergency COVID-19 measures has enabled over 420 shelters and 89 sexual assault organizations to stay open and operate with new COVID-safe measures in place. The next phase of our supports is underway."

The Honourable Maryam Monsef, P.C., M.P.
Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development

"Women and girls facing violence and poverty have been uniquely affected by the pandemic, and we must not overlook the fact that many of the existing inequalities and hardships have become magnified. The Government of Canada's investments are not only helping shelters and sexual assault centres keep their doors open, but are also empowering creative solutions in a time of uncertainty. Thanks to this funding, women and girls in need can continue relying on timely services which will save lives."

Paulette Senior, President and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Women's Foundation

"A number of shelters and transition homes were struggling prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the numerous adaptations required to continue to provide services while meeting health and safety standards, they have demonstrated commitment and creativity. Having access to the federal emergency funds in a quick and efficient manner made a huge difference to shelters and transition houses, allowing them to continue to support the women and children fleeing violence. This funding, along with the dedicated work of counsellors and support workers, is making a real difference in the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in Canada."

Lise Martin, Executive Director
Women's Shelters Canada

Quick Facts
The Government of Canada is investing $157.5 million to address the needs of Canadians experiencing homelessness through the Reaching Home program. The funding will cover a variety of needs that can range from purchasing beds and physical barriers for social distancing and securing accommodation to reduce overcrowding in shelters.
Indigenous Services Canada is currently distributing $10 million to its existing network of 46 shelters on First Nations reserves and in Yukon to support Indigenous women and children fleeing violence through the Family Violence Prevention Program.
Visit the Gender-Based Violence Knowledge Centre (KC) for access to timely and relevant information, evidence, resources and research in a single platform. The KC also provides a searchable database, which brings together existing data and evidence on content related to gender-based violence.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's Shelter Enhancement Program On-Reserve offers financial assistance for repairs, rehabilitation, and improvements of existing shelters on-reserve for victims of domestic violence. It also provides for the acquisition or construction of new shelters and second-stage housing where needed.
In June 2017, Women and Gender Equality Canada announced the first-ever federal Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence. To date, the Government of Canada has invested over $200 million to prevent gender-based violence, support survivors and their families, and create more responsive legal and justice systems.

Associated Links
Prime Minister announces further support to help Canadians in need
Ministers Monsef and Charest announce support for women's shelters and centres for victims of sexual and domestic violence in Quebec during COVID-19
Canada announces supports to those experiencing homelessness and women fleeing gender-based violence during COVID-19
Canadian Women's Foundation
It's Time: Canada's Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence
Gender-Based Violence Knowledge Centre
Gender-Based Violence Program
Miramichi Emergency Centre for Women
Saskatoon Interval House
South Okanagan Women in Need Society
Women's Shelters Canada

Follow the Women and Gender Equality Canada:
Website
Facebook
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LinkedIn
Twitter
YouTube

SOURCE Women and Gender Equality Canada

For further information: Marie-Pier Baril, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, 613-295-8123; Media Relations, Women and Gender Equality Canada, 1-855-969-9922
Related Links

http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/

Yorkville Sound Partners With StarFish Medical To Produce Canadian-Made Ventilators During COVID-19 Pandemic


NEWS PROVIDED BY Yorkville Sound

May 14, 2020

TORONTO, May 13, 2020 /CNW/ - Yorkville Sound, a leading manufacturer and distributor of pro audio systems and musical instruments, is now dedicating their engineering and manufacturing expertise to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. In conjunction with StarFish Medical, Yorkville's design team is engaged in an open-source ventilator design project, with a goal of increasing the availability of ventilators in Canada.

Yorkville's Pickering production facility (CNW Group/Yorkville Sound)


"Our design and manufacturing team is very excited to be part of the solution during this unprecedented time." says Steve Long, Yorkville Sound's President. "We're providing circuit-board design and layout, as well as the assembly of the control panel for the ventilator project. Our capable facility is quite nimble, and we are able to produce finished results quickly and with accuracy. We are dedicated to help flatten the curve and provide much needed equipment for our country's healthcare professionals."


John Walmsley, EVP of Strategic Relationships at StarFish Medical added; "What better contributor to a Canadian emergency ventilator program than Yorkville Sound, whose manufacturing and production ingenuity established them at the top of the music and professional sound industry. Like other industrial contributors, Yorkville stepped in and got us the parts we needed fast."

Yorkville Sound's collaboration with StarFish Medical is an answer to the Government of Canada's call to action to Canadian businesses and manufacturers to help deliver critical health supplies to fight the COVID‑19 pandemic. This particular ventilator project is inspired by The Winnipeg Ventilator, a project designed for ICU use and among the easiest in the world to bring into high volume production. 

 More information on this ventilator design can be found here: https://thewinnipegventilator.com

For more information about Yorkville Sound visit yorkville.com

ABOUT YORKVILLE SOUND – Yorkville Sound has been a manufacturer of PA systems and loudspeakers, Traynor instrument amplifiers, installed audio systems and accessories since its inception in 1963. The company now employs over 220 people in a 150,000 sq ft facility in Pickering Ontario, Canada (a suburb of Toronto). In addition to its manufacturing capability, Yorkville Sound is an importer and distributor of musical and pro audio products..

ABOUT STARFISH MEDICAL - StarFish Medical is a full service Medical Device Design company offering design, development, and manufacturing services based in Toronto and Victoria. We use our Pathfinder™ process to reduce wasted effort and increase success for medical device product definition, technical engineering, and product development. Prototype and volume production are delivered within an ISO 13485 certified Quality Management System and an FDA registered manufacturing and clean room facility.

SOURCE Yorkville Sound

 

Making tracks: ancient footprints shed light on early humans

COURTESY OF WILLIAM HARCOURT-SMITH/AFP / William HARCOURT-SMITHA human footprint dated to between 19,100 and 5,760 years ago at the Engare Sero site, south of Tanzania's Lake Natron

Thousands of years ago, a group of people took a walk in what is now Tanzania. The footprints they left behind are now offering insights into ancient human life.

The group of more than 400 footprints was made sometime between 5,000 and 19,000 years ago at a site called Engare Sero, south of Tanzania's Lake Natron.

It's the largest group of human footprints ever found in Africa, and offers a glimpse at what humans in the so-called Late Pleistocene period looked like, as well as how they may have gathered food.

"Sites like Engare Sero form over very short time intervals, and so they capture snapshots in time of ancient humans moving across their landscapes," said Kevin Hatala, assistant professor of biology at Chatham University, who led the research.

"Given the rarity and value of this variety of fossil evidence, part of what makes our discovery exciting is its magnitude, with over 400 footprints preserved on the same volcanic ash surface," he told AFP.

"However, we have also been able to learn some really interesting things from these direct windows to the behaviour of the group that walked across the footprint surface."

COURTESY OF CINTHYA LIUTKUS-PIERCE/AFP / Cynthia LIUTKUS-PIERCEThe largest group of human footprints ever found in Africa - discovered at a site called Engare Sero, south of Tanzania's Lake Natron - offers a glimpse at what humans in the so-called Late Pleistocene period looked like

Analysing the footprints was a complex process. In 2009, when the research team first visited the site -- discovered by a local Maasai community -- just 56 footprints were visible, exposed by natural erosion.

Three years of additional excavations revealed hundreds more prints, made by humans but also animals such as zebra and buffalo.

- Analysing tracks -

The prints were made in wet volcanic mudflow, which would have dried quickly into a hard surface, said Hatala.

That, combined with other evidence including the lack of overlap on footprints, strongly suggests the impressions were made by a group travelling together at the same time, rather than by individuals moving across the same area at different times.

The research team focused on "distinct trackways" where they could clearly discern stride distances and footprint length, looking for more clues.

Based on the size of the prints and the stride lengths, they determined the group included four adult men, 19 adult women and two younger boys.

There is some room for error, they acknowledge, with the possibility that the smaller feet and shorter strides they attributed to women could in some cases belong to children or adolescents of either gender.

The trackways also allowed the researchers to extrapolate the height of the people who made them, revealing some comparatively tall men among the group, including one standing an estimated 1.83 metres.

Skeletons from around the period in east Africa "have suggested generally tall and long-limbed body builds," said the study published Thursday in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

"However, skeletal material from this time period and region is generally scarce, underscoring the value of the relatively large sample of anatomical data that is preserved on the Engare Sero footprint surface."

- 'Direct snapshot' -

The make-up of the travelling group also offers clues about their lifestyle.

In modern-day hunter-gatherer communities, large numbers of women rarely move in a group, unaccompanied by children or a similar number of adult men, except when foraging for food.

The make-up of the ancient group implied by analysis of the footprints led the team to theorise that is what the group of women may have been doing.

"The behaviour itself isn't surprising to see in a human group from this time period," said Hatala.

"But the opportunity to witness the behaviour through this direct snapshot is exceptional."

Hatala acknowledged the theory remains just that for now, and more may eventually be revealed by further excavations at the site.

Some tracks exposed by erosion on one part of the site lead to areas still covered by sediment, offering the promise of further prints.

Excavation is on hold for the moment though, because the site is vulnerable to erosion and researchers are hoping to come up with a conservation plan before continuing work.

15MAY2020