RSS 2.0 FeedOctober 2011 Vol 37, Featured Articles, West Africa
Could ritual sacrifices save Ivory Coast?
Bassam - Could crowns, sceptres and ritual sacrifices save Ivory Coast? Some of its traditional chiefs are seeking to help in the reconciliation of the long-divided country, but not everybody agrees.
Sporting an enormous crown and a multicoloured robe, Awoula Amon Tanoe, king of the small Ivorian tribe called the N'Zima Kotoko, is a man who parts the crowds, carried by strong porters to the sound of a sacred tam-tam.
"His Majesty" presided this month over the annual Abissa festival of the N'Zima people, which drew thousands of visitors to Bassam, the former colonial capital which is close to Abidjan and renowned for its beaches. The theme for 2011 was "reconciliation".
A career diplomat in his 70s, Aman Tanoe was named vice president of the Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CDVR) set up by President Alassane Ouattara at the end of September, after years of conflict in the west African nation.
The king represents traditional chiefs who play an important part in this country whose 20 million residents are divided into dozens of ethnic groups, particularly in the countryside, where one's tribal ties are the key to one's identity.
Amon Tanoe believes "we must draw energy from our traditions to enable us to put the crisis behind us" - a reference to the power struggle that broke out in December last year when former president Laurent Gbagbo refused to recognise defeat at the polls. This eventually led to a war in which 3 000 people died, after a decade of political turmoil including a rebellion.
Catharsis should begin "with a period of grieving, during which we should make all the ritual sacrifices", the tribal king told AFP in a discreet villa, which is a stark contrast to his flamboyant palace.
Ancestral formulas
"Too much blood has been spilt on the soil of Ivory Coast. The population, wherever they come from, cannot feel appeased and live together so long as these rituals have not been accomplished," he said, calling for the sacrifice of sheep and chickens and the pronouncing of ancestral formulas.
The CDVR has been slow to get under way. But former prime minister Charles Konan Banny set the tone when he was invested as its president, saying that "just as one cleans a wound of its dirt before treating it", Ivory Coast's communities must carry out their "purification rites".
For Aman Tanoe, the country must "turn to the chiefdoms" - its 12 kings, about 11 800 village chiefs and 145 tribal leaders - to achieve reconciliation.
But will traditional chiefs succeed where the political class has failed?
Amoa Urbain, a professor and specialist in Ivorian cultures, is not ready to discount the notion.
They could "do a lot during reconciliation if a chief has great renown in his region, if he has the power to back up what he says.
"On the other hand, if the chief is a puppet, he will be knocked about," said Urbain, referring to those used by locally elected power-brokers, who are in it for the money and the votes they can muster during elections - a widespread practice that detracts from the respect given the chiefs.
Traditional leaders
Others disagree. Gisele Aka, a trader from Bassam at the Abissa festival, said the traditional chiefs cannot serve as arbitrators because "they belong to political parties" and "divided the villages" during the crisis.
"Traditional leaders should steer clear of politics," agreed Jean Gervais Tchiffie Zie, a minor Bete chief - who comes from Gbagbo's ethnic group - as he sat on his skin-covered throne in his fine house in Abidjan.
The comment was an about-face for Tchiffie who was propelled by the late Libyan "Guide" into the post of secretary general of Muammar Gaddafi’s initiative known as the "Forum of Kings and Sultans of Africa", a political arena.
Last March, in front of a zealous crowd of Gbagbo supporters in Abidjan, Tchiffie Zie defended his Libyan mentor in the face of the rebellion that would later see him defeated and killed.
If he was clad completely in black at the time, Tchiffie Zie, who nonetheless espouses Ouattara's "reconciliation", was not mourning Ivorians victims. He was mourning Gaddafi, "the king of all African kings".
More Featured Articles
CAUGHT CHEATING? HOW TO MOVE FORWARD AFTER BEING UNFAITHFUL
We all learn to look out for signs that our man is cheating, or subtle hints that he might be seeing someone else on the side, but what if you are the one that cheated? Assuming that you still want to work on your current relationship, we have 7 ways to move on successfully after you’ve been unfaithful. This is not a “loop-hole” and is not praised, but the reality is 14 percent of married women have had affairs at least once during their married lives and 17 percent of divorces in the United States are caused by infidelity. If you fall into this category, and don’t want to be part of the divorce statistic, take a look at these helpful steps.
Sure signs she's cheating on you
MARRIAGES often break down on account of husbands not being loyal to their wives.
Who wants to be a monkey?
A student has been left feeling a little red-faced after an embarrassing incident with a monkey made her a global star. Charmian Chen, who just happens to be a model, was visiting the Sacred Monkey Forest Ubud in Bali last month when two of the primates decided she was a little overdressed.The 22-year-old student, from Taiwan, was on holiday on the tropical Indonesian island feeding long-tailed macaques when she was singled out.
ZANU PF hypocrisy over gay rights exposed
In 1995 Robert Mugabe hit the headlines when he said gay people “behave worse than dogs and pigs”. That same year he used a speech during a national holiday to proclaim: “If you see people parading themselves as lesbians and gays, arrest them and hand them over to the police” writes Lance Gama for SW Radio Africa.
Blatter, race, and status quo
It was really hard to care when I first watched the Sepp Blatter interview on CNN: the one where he said that racist comments made during matches should simply be shrugged off after the match with the aid of a handshake. In fact, it was so hard to care that I couldn’t bring myself to watch it again writes Musa Okwonga.
ZANU PF Caught In A Succession Trap
Johannesburg,- As we write this article President Mugabe is yet to return from his trips to Singapore and China writes academics, Gideon Chitanga and Trust Matsilele .
Mujuru alliance with MDC-T might have cost him his life
A senior government official has told SW Radio Africa that the late army general Solomon Mujuru was murdered after plans for an alliance between his faction of ZANU PF and the MDC-T were uncovered by Mugabe.
Unreported horrors of male rape in DRC
KAMPALA — They are men who have lost all pride and self-confidence and who have been left severely traumatised by their experience. At the medical centre in Uganda where they are being treated, they talked candidly about crimes carried out against them.
Electoral Fears As Leaders Denounce Violence
Political stability in Zimbabwe has, for sometime now, been on a knife-edge following incessant clashes between members of the country's main political parties, the Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) and the Morgan Tsvangirai led Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) writes Institute for Security Studies (Tshwane/Pretoria).
Economy-Zimbabwe: Rural women banking by mobile phone
Rural women banking by mobile phone - Collecting the monthly subscriptions for her co-operative has always been a headache for Thelma Nare, 41
Tsvangirai on Mugabe, violence and Zimbabwe's new era
A rather extraordinary meeting in Zimbabwe ended with both Morgan Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe calling for peace in their troubled country. Bob might have been crying crocodile tears, but Morgan was very serious and not afraid to tell the world – and Zanu-PF – how he sees things. By SIMON ALLISON.
Zanu PF in quandary over Malema suspension
HARARE - The decision by President Jacob Zuma’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) to suspend its youth league leader Julius Malema for five years has left President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF with a massive political headache.
Berlusconi's gaffes, quips and pranks
Silvio Berlusconi, who resigned as prime minister on Saturday after dominating Italy for 17 years with a mix of political talent and brazen behaviour, has a sense of humour that often landed him in trouble.
SA could be in for a bumpy ride if Juju plays his cards right
The Times Editorial: Anyone who believes Julius Malema is a spent force following the ruling by the ANC's national disciplinary committee that he be suspended for five years has another think coming.
The silent cry of married women
CONDOM use is not only a rarely used contraception method in marriages, but also one that is quickly discarded within the first few months of a couple moving in together.
Zimbabwe farmers struggle to determine right planting time
GWANDA, Zimbabwe (AlertNet) – When hailstorms and heavy downpours hit parts of Zimbabwe in early October, farmers here were quick to begin preparing their land for the traditional planting season.
Ali remembers Smokin' Joe
After his old rival died on Monday night, Ali had nothing but kind words for Smokin’ Joe.
Is Britain's gay condition too intrusive for Africans?
With Britain threatening to withhold aid to the Commonwealth members who enforced laws criminalising homosexuality, Africa could see street protests hitherto not witnessed by gay, lesbian, transgender and homosexuals, to demand recognition writes JANET OTIENO.
Exclusive Interview with Diamond Expert Farai Maguwu
RadioVOP’s Nkosana Dlamini (ND) spoke to the diamond rights researcher to hear the journey he has travelled to earn this prestigious award and to also hear his views about the decision by the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme to allow Zimbabwe to export her rough diamonds.
Zanu PF now a threat to country’s stability
“WHAT drives people in an organisation that is in a state of chaos, disintegrating and about to implode, to pursue with such heightened fervour and passionate zeal, an elective conference that will, for all intents and purposes, lead to its ultimate demise and its destruction?
Made in Kenya - a Constitution for the People, By the People
Made in Kenya: A constitution for the people, by the people
Essar’s Zimbabwean steel quest turns sour
The Essar Group’s quest for iron ore remains elusive with Zimbabwe declining to supply the resource as envisaged in a contentious deal between the Indian conglomerate and the African state.
South Africa: Deportation of Zimbabweans Tearing Families Apart
Harare — Doreen Sibanda, 27, was among the first undocumented Zimbabwean nationals to be deported in early October 2011 after South Africa apparently lifted its more than two year moratorium on expulsions imposed following widespread xenophobic violence in 2008.
Shameless Mutambara falls from grace
Watching Arthur Mutambara being heckled into silence by MPs in Parliament recently, one would have been excused for thinking the Deputy Prime Minister was an unwelcome intruder in Zimbabwe’s pro-democracy politics writes John Chimunhu.
Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi's enigmatic and elusive son
(Reuters) - Gaddafi is the most enigmatic of Muammar Gaddafi's children, apparently turning within weeks from philanthropist and liberal reformer into a fighter ready to die on his home soil rather than surrender.
