South African court limits display of apartheid-era flag: But why should a flag synonymous with vile racism still be flown on African soil?

Former Leader of Racist Apartheid Enclave P.W. Botha (Photo: AFP)

CC™ Global News

In a landmark ruling, a Johannesburg court on Wednesday barred the unjustified display of South Africa's apartheid-era national flag, saying such gestures amounted to "hate speech" and "harassment".

Judge Phineas Mojapelo said in Johannesburg that any gratuitous display of the old flag was "racist and discriminatory".

"It demonstrates a clear intention to be hurtful, to be harmful and incite harm and it in fact promotes and propagates hatred against black people... it constitutes hate speech".

The ruling followed a petition to the court by the Nelson Mandela Foundation Trust after the flag was displayed in October 2017 by white South Africans protesting at the murders of white farmers.

The judge said those who publicly displayed the flag "wish to remind black people of the oppression, humiliation, indignity and subjugation that they moved away from and do not wish to relive."

The former flag was used from 1928 until 1994 by the Union of South Africa, then a British dominion, and by the Republic of South Africa that succeeded it.

It comprised three stripes of orange, white and blue with three small flags at its center -- the emblems of the Orange Free State, Britain and the South African Republic.

Intertwined with the white-minority regime, it was widely known as the "apartheid flag" before being dumped in 1994 with the advent of democracy and its replacement by a "multi-racial" flag.

But right-wing groups and individuals have continued to display the apartheid-era flag at political gatherings and at some rugby matches.

Mojapelo, the high court judge presiding over what is called an equality court, said the prohibition was not a blanket ban.

The flag could be displayed for academic or artistic purposes in the public interest, he said.

Offenders will face legal penalties including community service and fines.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation, set up to continue the legacy of South Africa's first democratically-elected president, said the decision "affirms our rights to not suffer hate speech, our rights to dignity and our rights to a meaningful freedom of speech."

Outside the courthouse, its CEO, Sello Hatang, hailed the ruling as a "building block" for nation-building.

But Afrikaans rights group AfriForum, which had opposed the petition, said it disagreed with the judgement but would carefully study the text before deciding whether to appeal.

AfriForum deputy CEO Ernst Roets told reporters that their concerns lay in "where the line should be drawn between freedom of expression and hate speech".

African National Congress (ANC) spokesman Dakota Legoete said the verdict was a "national victory."

A constitutional crisis had been averted as the country could not have "two flags flying under the same constitution," Legoete said.

The parliamentary committee on sports, arts and culture said the ruling should signal the end of any nostalgia for apartheid-era South Africa.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) remarked that "if the Nazi flag and the Confederate flag can be denounced in Germany and America, there is no reason to keep glorifying the apartheid flag".

Designed by Frederick Brownell, who died in May at the age of 79, the 1994 flag seeks to symbolize the unity of the previously segregated racial groups and South Africa's transformation into a democratic state.

Racial tensions remain high in South Africa, a nation gripped by wide economic disparities and facing a tough battle to ease unemployment and roll back crime.

Police in Nigeria rearrest notorious kidnapper with friends in high places

Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai

CC™ Breaking News

The Nigeria Police Force report that they have rearrested a notorious kidnapper who was weeks back forcibly released by soldiers from detention. 

Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume, was arrested on yesterday (August 19) by police operatives at his hideout in the north central Nigerian State of Kano.

It would be recalled that the Police had been on the massive manhunt for the suspect since 6th August, 2019 following the unfortunate incident in Taraba State that resulted in the murder of three police officers and two civilians by members of the Nigerian Army, in a bizarre mission by the former to help Alhaji Wadume escape justice. Five others civilians were also seriously wounded by the rogue military officers involved in the bloody incident.

In a shocking video confession in the Nigerian native Hausa language, the suspect is heard saying: “I am Hamisu Bala alias Wadume. Police operatives came and arrested me, after my arrest, soldiers pursued them and opened fire till some policemen lost their lives. They took me to their army headquarters, cut off my handcuffs and allowed me to escape, since my escape; I have been in hiding till the police rearrested me.”

The police had in early August made public demand for the army to come clean on the whereabouts of the kidnapper and also demanded justice for their slain officers.

After a meeting with security service chiefs, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the deadly clashes. The committee has yet to present the results of its findings.

Nigerian Shia leader El Zakzaky and his wife return home as they reject "treatment" in India

L-R: Buhari, Zakzaky and El Rufai

CC™ Breaking News 

Nigerian Shia leader Ibrahim el-Zakzaky and his wife have made a dramatic return to the country, three days after arriving in India to receive medical treatment, according to aviation officials and his lawyer.

The detained leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and Zeenat Ibrahim on Friday landed in Abuja's international airport from New Delhi on an Ethiopian Airlines flight, according to supporters and lawyers.

They were received by security operatives and taken back into custody.

"He is in custody of the State Security Service and no one is allowed access to him," Mahdi Garba, a supporter of El-Zakzaky, told Al Jazeera.

The detained couple had flown out of the country on Monday after a court in the northern state of Kaduna granted them bail in order to seek treatment abroad.

El-Zakzaky reportedly refused treatment at an Indian hospital when his preferred medical team was changed and requested to be sent back to Nigeria.

In a video circulated on social media, the controversial IMN leader complained of unfair treatment and tough restrictions by security operatives deployed to the medical facility.

"He lost all hope in the hospital," his lawyer, Harun Magashi, told Al Jazeera.

"They were trying to sneak in some doctors to treat him against his wishes, and they treated him like a criminal, placing armed Indian police even inside his room," Magashi said.

El-Zakzaky has been held in detention since December 2015 when the army killed almost 350 of his followers at his compound and a nearby mosque and burial ground in Kaduna state.

A court in 2016 said el-Zakzaky should be released but authorities refused.

He faces charges of murder, culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, disruption of public peace, and other offences following the 2015 violence. He has pleaded not guilty.

After the Kaduna court ruling, the Nigerian State Security Services immediately pledged to obey the ruling.

In recent weeks, Shia members had launched a series of demonstrations in the capital, Abuja, and Lagos to demand the release of their leader and his wife from prison to seek medical treatment.

Several people were killed and more than 50 IMN members were arrested in clashes with police that also saw the killing of a journalist and a police officer, as well as the closure of the parliament building in Abuja.

The group, which represents Nigeria's minority Shia Muslims, says it will continue protesting until it secures the release of El-Zakzaky, who founded IMN in the late 1970s.

The Nigerian government recently banned the Shia group following a court decision allowing authorities to call it a "terrorist" organisation.

The office of President Muhammadu Buhari said the government "had to act" against the group before the situation got out of control.

Source: Al Jazeera News

A case of too many cooks possibly spoiling the broth.....

Seattle Sounders FC - "Just Trophies Please"

CC™ Sportswire 

One is not sure exactly what to make of this but in what could aptly be described as a case of "too many cooks possibly spoiling the broth", the increasingly rudderless ownership of the Seattle Sounders professional soccer team has just announced that 11 families will be joining their ownership group. 

Seattle Seahawks quarterback, Russell Wilson and his wife, singer Ciara, join hip-hop star Macklemore and his wife, Tricia Davis in headlining the new group of investors. In addition to the previous owners Adrian Hanauer, Drew Carey and Jody Allen (the sister of the late billionaire, Paul Allen), the new ownership group now includes:

• Former Microsoft executive Terry Myerson and his wife, Katie Myerson
• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and his wife, Anu Nadella
• Microsoft chief financial officer Amy Hood and her husband, Max Kleinman
• Microsoft corporate vice president of experiences and devices Joe Belfiore and his wife, Kristina Belfiore
• Former Microsoft senior executive and current managing director of Madrona Venture Group, Soma Somasegar, and his wife, Akila Somasegar
• Chief product officer at Twilio, Chee Chew and his wife, Christine Chew, who is president of the Bellevue School Board
• David Nathanson, formerly of FOX Sports Media Group, and his wife, Sabina Nathanson
• Former Pandora CEO Brian McAndrews and his wife, Elise Holschuh, who serves on the strategy committee of Hugo House
• Mark Agne, former managing partner at Softbank Investment Advisors, and Tomoko Agne.

It remains to be seen exactly how the now crowded group of decision makers (most of whom know absolutely nothing about the beautiful game) will influence off-field moves that ostensibly will have a decided impact on what happens on the field. While teams like LAFC and Atlanta United are building their brands and writing their soccer legacies in bold and gold, it is 'troubling' to see a once serious franchise being turned into an Emerald City circus show.

The dreams of most Sounders' fans including this writer is to build the equivalent of a soccer (football) behemoth in the Pacific Northwest, akin to a Liverpool, as the atmosphere at Centurylink Field can only be compared to one place and one place alone in the world, Anfield! 

One can't help but think that the original ownership of the Sounders failed to capitalize on the emerging brand that Seattle was becoming and rather than build on the MLS Cup victory of three years ago, they got conservative and became more interested in turning a profit, as opposed to hauling in more trophies. Thus, they missed a glorious opportunity to leave an indelible mark on the American and indeed global soccer landscape. Imagine if the Sounders had won the CONCACAF Champions League and not only participated in, but did well at the FIFA World Club Cup? That should be the vision of the Sounders' ownership as anything else would be a disservice to its loyal supporters.

One only hopes that this new turn will be for the best as most Sounders' fans could care less about Russell Wilson and Ciara being in the VIP box if this team is not winning trophies on a consistent basis.

Go Sounders and oh yes, the Timbers stink!

Femi Falana lambasts El-Rufai's conditions on Sheikh Zakzaky's treatment in India

L-R: Femi Falana (SAN) and Sheikh El-Zakzaky

CC™ Legalese  

"Calls it the height of provocative contempt......."

Human rights activist and lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), on Wednesday, criticised the Kaduna State government over the stringent conditions it issued with regards to the permission granted by the court to Sheikh Ibrahim El-zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat, to embark on medical trip abroad. 

The Kaduna State government had expressed concern that El-zakzakay and his wife may seek asylum in India. 

Upon this, the Governor Nasir El-Rufai-led administration prayed the court to make El-Zakzaky, his wife and each of the other defendants produce two prominent sureties, including a first-class chief or emir to qualify for the foreign medical trip. 

The government, which expressed its displeasure at the terms of the medical leave, added, that “While the Kaduna State government respects the court’s ruling on medical leave, it disagrees with the premises on which it is based. 

“Therefore, an appeal will be lodged on the matter, but a stay of execution will not be sought as the state government believes that a person may choose to travel abroad for any medical condition at his own cost.” 

But responding on Wednesday, rights activist and lawyer to the IMN leader, Mr Femi Falana (SAN) said in a statement: “I thought that the Kaduna State government had planned to appeal against the order of the Honourable Darius Khobo granting leave to the El-Zakzakys to travel to India for urgent medical treatment under the supervision of the government. 

“I hope that the plan to pursue an appeal in the case has been shelved as the Court of Appeal has ruled that you cannot stay the execution of orders of this nature. That remains the position of the law as espoused in the case of Mowarin v Nigerian Army, which was decided under a military dictatorship in the country. 

“The so-called agreement is totally alien to the penal code and the administration of criminal justice law of Kaduna State. Hence, the agreement is not brought under any substantive or adjectival law. 

“My colleagues in the Ministry of Justice are not unaware of the position of the law that an agreement cannot vary or modify the order of a competent court. It is unfortunate that some highly placed public officers are so hell bent on abrogating the fundamental rights which have been fought for and won by Nigerians, even under the British colonial regime. 

“For instance, the Prison Ordinance was amended in 1917 to allow the family members or friends of prison inmates to remove them from prison and take them out for medical treatment, if the prison facilities could not cater for any terminal illness. That provision has been incorporated in Regulation 12 made pursuant to the Prisons Act. 

“In this instant case, the court did not release the El-Zakzakys to their family members but that they should be treated in a foreign hospital under the supervision of the government. 

“Since the Department of Service Services (DSS), which has the custody of the El-Zakzakys, has announced on behalf of the Federal Government that the court order would be obeyed, the so-called terms of “agreements” of the Kaduna State government should be ignored because it is the height of provocative contempt. 

“It takes two to tango. A party in a case cannot dream of some weird ideas, parade them as an agreement and impose same on a court and the other parties.” 

South Africa presidential panel backs limited land seizures

Julius Malema - Hardliner and leader of the EFF Party 

CC™ Global News 

"But whites, who make up only about 9% of the population own almost 75% of the land in South Africa. African hardliners want this anomaly corrected and are advocating a more aggressive approach to land seizures."

South Africa's land problem

• The Natives Land Act of 1913 restricted Africans from buying or renting land in "apartheid South Africa", leading to the forced removals of Africans (blacks).
• After the end of apartheid in 1994, the ANC government said it wanted to return 30% of this land to its previous owners by 2014
• It is estimated that 10% of commercial farmland has been redistributed.

A presidential panel in South Africa has proposed expropriation of land without compensation, but in limited circumstances.

Land held purely for speculative purposes or occupied by tenants should be given away, it advises.

White people, who make up just 9% of the population, own almost 75% of the farmland that is held by individuals.

President Cyril Ramaphosa backs land expropriation, which is popular with the black majority.

The governing African National Congress (ANC) has repeatedly pledged to accelerate land transfers to the black majority since taking office in 1994, after white-minority rule ended, but progress has been slow.

Those opposed to land expropriation point to Zimbabwe where a similar policy by former President Robert Mugabe wrecked the economy and scared away investors. President Ramaphosa set up the team of experts last year as the ANC was coming under pressure from opposition parties, especially from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

The panel proposed that the government expropriate

• land held purely for speculative purposes

• land already occupied and used by tenants and former tenants

• land that has been abandoned

• inner city buildings with absentee landlords.

It said those who had bought property since the end of apartheid should be treated differently to those who had inherited land that was held under the apartheid system.

The main opposition Democratic Alliance party rejected the report's recommendations, saying land expropriation without compensation would "further batter our ailing economy".

Parliament is due to debate proposed changes to the land expropriation bill in October.


Source: BBC News

Felicia Mabuza-Suttle: I'm reliving apartheid in the US

South African entrepreneur Felicia Mabuza-Suttle

CC™ Introspective - By Liam Karabo Joyce

Veteran TV talk show host Felicia Mabuza-Suttle has taken to social media to talk about her life growing up during apartheid after MSNBC's Joy-Ann Reid compared the Donald Trump administration to that of the National Party. 

Mabuza-Suttle posted a video on her social media account in which Reid said that Trump was turning the US into apartheid South Africa. 

"This brought back memories of growing up as a little girl in South Africa, traumatized by police arresting black men, including my father and uncle, and walking them for hours handcuffed in pairs, as they rounded up neighborhoods asking men for Pass Books." 

She said growing up she often told her brother and sister she was happy she was not a man, and so she would not be arrested for a Pass Book which every person of color needed to carry. 

"To this day, those memories remain indelible in my mind. I remember seeing black men thrown into the back of a police van. I can still hear that deafening knock on the door, in the middle of the night, from the Afrikaner police shouting, 'Open the door, police, Pass!"

She now lives in an upscale neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia, but said she did not leave the house without her driver's licence, for fear of being stopped by the police. "Ironically, I feel safer taking my walks in Miami. My black neighbor in Atlanta recently told me that she was stopped by a policeman, who doubted she lived in this 'upscale neighborhood'. The policeman asked for her driver's licence. This is the new America under Trump. I am reliving apartheid under Trump," she said 

She claimed some of the former white South Africans who live in Atlanta, who emigrated to the US, are staunch supporters of Trump and his ideology. "Ironically, I found out that some of the former white South Africans who live in Atlanta, who migrated to the US, are staunch supporters of #Trumpism and proudly support #DonaldTrump," she said. 

Case of "the wicked eating their own flesh" as Nigeria police demand justice after deadly clash with Buhari's "Third Reich"

                President Muhammadu Buhari - Photo - AP

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The Nigerian police hierarchy is demanding answers from the Army over a clash which led to the death of three police officers and a civilian in the north-eastern Taraba State.

The police maintain that the action of the soldiers had also led to the escape from lawful custody of a “millionaire kidnapper,” one Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume.

In a statement posted on social media, the police responded to claims in an earlier Army press release on the issue stating their side of facts and posing questions in need of answers from the Army.

"Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume is a millionaire kidnapper arrested by the Police but paradoxically treated as a ‘‘kidnap victim’’ by the Soldiers and subsequently ‘rescued’ by them. Where is he? Where is the rescued kidnapper?"

“The most important question arising from the Nigerian Army Press Release is: Where is Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume?

“Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume is a millionaire kidnapper arrested by the Police but paradoxically treated as a ‘‘kidnap victim’’ by the Soldiers and subsequently ‘rescued’ by them. Where is he? Where is the rescued kidnapper?,” it read in part.

The police said its officers were on lawful mandate, were with the appropriate identification and that their operation was known to the Taraba Police Command yet the soldiers attached to the 93 Battalion had gone on to kill them.

Incidentally, President Buhari held a meeting with security chiefs on Thursday with a key instruction from that meeting being that a probe be opened into the incident.

Police questions demanding answers from the Nigerian Army

• Where is the notorious kidnapper, Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume ‘rescued’ by the soldiers?
• How and why was Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume released by the soldiers?
• How could a kidnap suspect properly restrained with handcuffs by the Police escape from the hands of his military rescuers?
• If Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume is a ‘‘victim of kidnap’’ as claimed, and properly rescued by soldiers, why was he not taken to the Army Base for documentation purposes and debriefing in line with the Standard Operating Procedure in the Nigerian Army?
• Why were the Police Operatives shot at close range even after they had identified themselves as Police Officers on legitimate duty as evident in the video now in circulation?

Source: africanews.com with contribution from Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban

The new American normal: Another crazed lunatic armed with a rifle and wearing body armor arrested at Missouri Walmart

Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock shot more than 500 people

CC™ News 

Police in Springfield, Missouri, detained a man on Thursday afternoon after he walked into a Walmart, armed with a rifle and wearing body armor. 

The white male, who appeared to be in his 20s, was stopped by an armed off-duty firefighter until officers arrived and took the man into custody, the Springfield Police Department said. 

A video taken by a witness outside the store shows the suspect with his arms up in the air and what looks like an assault rifle slung around his neck as he’s being arrested. 

It’s unclear what the man’s motive was, but police told ABC Springfield affiliate KSPR that the man was recording himself with his cellphone while walking through the store.

The man had about 100 rounds of ammunition on him when he entered the store, police told the station.

"All we know is the fact that he walked in here heavily armed, with body armor on, and military fatigues on, and caused a great amount of panic inside the store," said Lt. Mike Lucas with the Springfield Police Department. "He certainly had the capability and potential to harm people."

"His intent was not to cause comfort or peace to anybody that was in the business here. In fact, he’s lucky to be alive still, to be honest," Lucas added.

The man's name was not released and it's unclear if he's facing any charges.

The scare comes less than a week after an armed man killed 22 people and injured dozens more at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and nine were killed during a shooting in Dayton, Ohio.

"Obviously what’s happened in Texas and Dayton, and that kind of stuff in the last seven days, that’s on everybody’s mind," Lucas said.

Police said there is no longer a threat to the community and the Walmart has since reopened.

Witness Julie Belew said she was getting out of her car at the Walmart when she realized something was going on.

She said she heard someone "say, 'Is that a rifle? Is that a real rifle?' So I looked up and I saw the person to my left was holding a gun."

The incident at the Missouri Walmart comes hours after police in Florida identified a man they were looking for who they alleged told a Walmart salesperson in Port St. Lucie that he was looking for something "that would kill 200 people."

That man was identified as 55-year-old Philip Michael Attey II and during a subsequent interview with detectives, Attey said he is an anti-gun activist and that he believes his statements made to the Walmart clerk in front of a customer "only helps his cause which is for Walmart to stop selling firearms," police said.

Authorities do not consider Attey an immediate threat and he was not arrested or charged. An investigation is ongoing.


Source: ABC News

Attacks on the Media Continue Unabated in Nigeria

Nigeria - A nation under siege from a brutal tyrant

CC™ Diplomatic Viewpoint - By John Campbell

There has been a string of arrests of media personalities and suspensions of media outlets in Nigeria. Recently, some of the arrests have been related to support for a protest tagged “Days of Rage” and #RevolutionNow, against what supporters consider a failure of governance, but the harassment of media in Nigeria is nothing new. 

In January 2019, Nigerian Security Services raided multiple offices across the country of the Daily Trust, one of Nigeria’s largest circulation newspapers, apparently angry at its published reports about upcoming army operations against Boko Haram. President Buhari quickly ordered the military to leave the newspaper’s offices, raising questions at who exactly had ordered the raids. In April, an activist known as IG Wala was sentenced to seven years in jail for organizing a peaceful demonstration and for making “unsubstantiated allegations” against a public official, the chairman of the National Hajj Commission. He is in the process of appealing the ruling. He had been denied bail, which he requested on health grounds until his appeal could be heard. He was then transferred to a remote prison.

In June, DAAR Communications, owner of African Independent Television and RayPower FM radio, had its license suspended indefinitely, allegedly for failure to pay licensing fees and for the presence of hate speech and suspect information from social media in its programming. The following day a Federal High Court judge ordered the reopening of the networks. The owner of DAAR communications had accused the director general of the National Broadcasting Commission of editorial interference and political bias. 

On August 2, Abubakar Dadiyata Idris, was apparently kidnapped. Family and friends are saying that he has been arrested by the DSS. Known as Dadiyata, he was a fierce critic of Governor Umar Ganduje of Kano state. The next day, the DSS arrested Omoyele Sowore, editor of Sahara Reporters, ostensibly for supporting the #RevolutionNow Lagos demonstration. He was also the presidential candidate for African Action Congress in the 2019 elections. His support for the demonstration was, according to the police, grounds for arresting him for advocating violence. There is a national and international campaign by some human rights advocates for his release.

Allegations against those arrested appear to be a mixture of the mundane, such as the failure to pay licensing fees, and various forms of incitement or criticism of government officials. It is worth noting that in at least some cases, courts have reversed arrests and suspensions. The specifics of each case are obscure, at least for someone based outside of Nigeria. But people in authority are clearly nervous. The country is facing serious challenges ranging from Boko Haram to Middle Belt conflict over water and land use that falls along ethnic and religious lines. Amid these crises, social media in Nigeria, as elsewhere, can be irresponsible. Governor El-Rufai of Kaduna state has made explicit reference to the role of “fake news” to the Rwandan genocide. Nevertheless, what appears to be an acceleration of media arrests and intimidation must be cause for concern.                                                 

 Source: Council on Foreign Relations