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Despite the anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from the "Leave" campaign, not all British citizens of African decent believe that the UK should remain in the EU.

The eyes of the world are on the UK this week as it heads into its historic referendum to decide whether voters want Britain to leave the European Union (Brexit) or remain a member of the bloc. Among those taking to the polls Thursday are hundreds of thousands of Africans, both British Africans and Commonwealth citizens living in the UK. Around two percent of the country's population described themselves as black African or mixed African in the last census.

The vote has been described as the decision of a generation and for many voters it's a tough choice. At a market in the northeast of the city, Londoners from all over the world are buying and selling everything from brightly coloured fabrics to dried fish. Opinions about Brexit are just as varied.

Ian Campbell, a perfume trader, was born in London to Nigerian parents. He finds himself split between the two options because much of his business is linked to European trade.

"As a self-employed person, one side says leave and one side says remain. It's hard! What's best for my children?" he asked.

African voters

Campbell is one of over half a million British Africans living in London. Around the country there are also hundreds of thousands of Africans eligible to vote because they're citizens of the Commonwealth, an organisation mostly made up of countries which were formerly part of the British Empire, including 18 African states.

This has angered some people who say only British citizens should be allowed to vote. But it is also something that the euro-sceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP) and the "Leave" campaign have been trying to capitalise on.

"The leader of the UKIP party said that if they are to leave the EU, there will be better chances for those from Commonwealth countries of which I am one," said Clement Edeh, a 29-year-old Nigerian studying for an MBA in London.

He is, however, not convinced that a Brexit would be good for Commonwealth citizens and has picked up on the racial undertones in some of the anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from UKIP. And because of certain comments from the party which Edeh considered "racist," he is not leaning toward a Brexit.

Fear remains

Other citizens of African decent are prepared to overlook such undertones in the Leave campaign's anti-immigration policies. Fifi is a 55-year-old beauty therapist from Liberia who has been in Britain for 25 years. But even as an immigrant herself, she is wary of welcoming too many additional immigrants.

"I'm terrified of all this terrorism," she said. "I don't think the government has control over the situation at the moment so I really do not think I will be voting to remain [in the EU]."

But not all British Africans fear an influx of immigrants. Esther Koroma came to the UK from Sierra Leone and appreciates the opportunities she has had as an immigrant in London.

"If God granted me the opportunity to stay, I believe someone else should also have the opportunity," she said.

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Rita Akana

23.Jun.2016

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MPs have just adopted the Controversial new Penal Code of Cameroon amidst tension at the National Assembly,SDF MPs called for a re look of the said bill which is flooded with wrong translations among others. The CPDM majority won the vote and the revised Penal Code will have to be sent to the Senate for same process. It is believed the bill will pass like a letter through the Post Office at the Senate whose majority are members of the CPDM,the ruling party.

Find below the new bill and the "official translation" from a country that is officially recognized as bilingual!

Article 7(1) French version : « La loi pénale de la République s’applique à tout fait commis sur son territoire ». Translation “The Criminal Law of the Republic shall apply to any offense committed within its territory” Why should the English translation mention “done or omitted”. Why the word omitted which is not in the French version. Maybe it is the word “committed” which has been misspelled

(2) Territory is limited to land, water ways and airspace in Cameroon. What of our embassies? Do they not constitute part of the Cameroonian territory?

Article 8 (2) b French version… « Contrefaçon du sceau de l’Etat ou monnaie nationale » : Translation “Counterfeiting of the great seal or the current money of the state” What is a great seal and what is current money of the state?” Proposal: It should have been translated as “…The seal and official currency of the state ..”

Article 9 (a) French version: « Les faits constitutifs de complicité, de conspiration et de tentatives réalisés sur le territoire de la République en vue de commettre une infraction ;

b) Les mêmes faits réalisés à l’étranger en vue de commettra une infraction sur le territoire.

Translation : a) “To any acts or omission within its territory constituting abetment, conspiracy or attempt with the view to an offence without the territory. - Why act or omission in the English version meanwhile in French it is just “act” (faits)? - With a view to (the word “commit”) is not mentioned in the English version.

b) To any such act or omission without its territory with a view to an offense within that territory. - The word “commit” is omitted in the English version while “without its territory is ambigu

The bill that has 370 articles, seeks to update the Penal Code that Cameroon has been using since 1967. Many of the provisions of the almost half a century Penal Code are obsolete and stand at variance with the evolution of time. They are at odds with the current socio-economic and political dispensation of the country.

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Prince Nfor Hansen

23.Jun.2016

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The African Union plans to launch an electronic passport at the upcoming AU Summit scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda next month.

This flagship project, first agreed upon in 2014 aims at facilitating free movement of persons, goods and services around the continent.

AU Commission’s Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has described this initiative as both symbolic and significant, calling it a “steady step toward the objective of creating a strong, prosperous and integrated Africa, driven by its own citizens and capable of taking its rightful place on the world stage.”

Aspirations 2 and 7 of Agenda 2063, respectively, envision an Africa that is ‘integrated’ and ‘united’, and the introduction of the Common African Passport as an effort towards realizing integration and unity on the continent.

The first group of beneficiaries will include: AU Heads of State and Government; Ministers of Foreign Affairs; and the Permanent Representatives of AU Member States based at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The AU e-Passports will be issued to them in July 2016, at the 27th AU Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. In order for all the recipients to acquire the passports, they are strongly encouraged to comply with the needed paper work required to accelerate the processing lead time.

CCTV

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Rita Akana

22.Jun.2016

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A Facebook post by the daughter of Gabonese president Ali Bongo Ondimba, expressing her ambitions to be the country’s first female president, has left political watchers and opposition ruffled.

Malika Bongo Ondimba Dossou, the eldest daughter of Ali Bongo wrote that “I am mayor for two years now and I do not want to stop because I have huge ambitions for Gabon.”

“Why not a woman President of the Republic of Gabon in 2022?’‘ she asked rhetorically. Malika is already into local politics because she is the mayor of the town of Akanda.

Her father who came to power in 2009 suceeded his own father Omar Bongo, after the death of former. He is due to contest for a second term later this year. If he suceeds as is widely expected, he would be in charge till 2023 when his daughter hopes to become president.

Political opponents are already accussing the family of wanting to turn the presidency into an ‘inheritance.’

Malika was educated in the United States, and also in France, where she studied international relations at the University of Sorbonne in Paris. She has worked with UNESCO and the UN in Geneva before returning to Gabon in 2009. She is married to Steve Dossou.

Africanews

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Rita Akana

22.Jun.2016

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The International Criminal Court has handed an 18-year prison sentence to former Congolese Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba. He was convicted in March over war crimes committed more than 10 years ago.

Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former vice president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was sentenced on Tuesday by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to 18 years in jail for crimes committed by soldiers who were under his command in Central African Republic over a decade ago.

"The chamber sentences Mr. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo to a total of 18 years' imprisonment," said judge Sylvia Steiner, ruling that his soldiers had carried out "sadistic" rapes, murders and pillaging of "particular cruelty."

ICC prosecutors had urged that Bemba be imprisoned for at least 25 years, saying such a sentence would be justified by "the gravity of the offences committed by Mr. Bemba and his degree of culpability."

Bemba's lawyers, for their part, had called for him to be released, pointing out that he had already spent eight years in jail before and during his trial.

The trial opened in November 2010.

DW

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Rita Akana

21.Jun.2016

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The Nigerian government has agreed with militant groups on a one-month ceasefire in the Niger Delta region hit by a surge in attacks on oil and gas facilities, a petroleum ministry official said on Tuesday.

The deal includes the Niger Delta Avengers, a group which has claimed responsibility for a string of attacks, said the official, who asking not to be identified.

"It was very difficult getting the Niger Delta Avengers to the negotiating table but we eventually did through a proxy channel and achieved the truce," the official said.

Reuters

 

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Rita Akana

21.Jun.2016

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