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Nobantu Shabangu
Aug. 28, 2020 06:31AM EST

#JusticeForNathaniel: South Africa Mourns Police Killing of Teenager Nathaniel Julius

Sixteen-year-old Nathaniel Julius, a child living with Down Syndrome, was recently killed by the South African police.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura has confirmed that the South African Police reportedly killed an unarmed 16-year-old Nathaniel Julius in Eldorado Park, in southern Gauteng. The death of Julius reportedly occurred Wednesday and the teenager is said to have been caught in the crossfire between a gang and the police in an alleged car theft investigation. However, Edlorado community members say Julius's death had nothing to do with gang activity.

Read: South Africans Condemns Police Brutality During Lockdown

Julius was a teenager living with Down Syndrome. On Wednesday, police were allegedly investigating gang activities related to theft of car parts. Julius is reported to have been out by a nearby shop eating biscuits while police were conducting a search. Police then approached Julius for questioning but he could not appropriately respond given his disability. Police then shot Julius, took him into the back of a police car and drove him to Baragwanath Hospital whereEWN reports that his body was "dumped".

In an interview with Newzroom Afrika, Julius' mother, Bridget Harris, pleaded her son's innocence. "My boy is innocent and where he's going God is in control". She further pleaded with the policeman known as "Scorpion" to come forward and tell the truth about the events that led to her son's death, "He's a policeman, he's supposed to protect him not kill him". Harris lamented the absence of her son from her life "He did not deserve to die like this… it's torn, there's a hole in this house, there's a void between sisters and brothers. You know we had a connection, we dance together, we sing together, we eat together, we laugh together. Nobody can fulfill that void in our hearts, it will take a long time".

News of Julius' death resulted in a standoff between Eldorado Park residents and the police amid protests. Videos of clashes between police and the community surfaced on Twitter and #JusticeForNathanielJulius trended on social media locally and internationally. Waves of support have been pouring in for the family and community from the likes of AKA, Solange, South African TV personality, Hulisani Ravele, and several others.





The Independent Police Investigative Directorate, IPID, confirmed that they had sent investigators to Eldorado Park. Spokesperson Ndileka Cola said the scene was reportedly volatile but that they were hoping to properly establish what happened.

Tensions have been growing between civilians and police across the globe as governments operate in hostility to civil unrest. Recently in America, Jacob Blake was shot dead by police as he walked away from them and this deened protest developments in the Black Lives Matter movement. #JusticeForNathanielJulius is another tragic wave in #BlackLivesMatter that has seen African solidarity gain strength globally.

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An African Renaissance In Matchday 2 of the World Cup

Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, and Cameroon delivered great performances in the second round of games at the Qatar World Cup.

The African teams represented at the World Cup this year have started thriving.

Morocco was the leading team with four points scored from the two games that they played. During Sunday’s game, they earned an upset 0-2 win when they played against Belgium, a team that many had a favorites to go far this year.

During the second minute of first half stoppage time, Morocco’s Hakim Ziyech fired a free kick into the net. After further analysis, the goal was disallowed, but the Moroccan team bounced back in the 73rd minute when Abdelhamid Sabiri scored a seamless free kick. Zakaria Aboukhlal later scored the second role, which would secure the teams win and mark its second win since 1998.

In their opening game, Walid Regragui’s Morocco team secured a 0-0 draw with Croatia in their opening game before surpassing Belgium in their second match, to put them on the brink of a potential first last-16 spot since 1986, according to The Sporting News.

In spite of the loss of Sadio Mane due to an injury, the Senegal team performed well, with Aliou Cissé's squad winning 1-3 over host team Qatar on Friday. The goals came from Boulaye Dia, Famara Diedhiou, and Bamba Dieng, who all played a part in securing the big win.

In heated game that they played earlier today, Cameroon tied Serbia 3-3. At the 29th minute , Cameroon’s Jean-Charles Castelletto scored the first goal, and after Serbia countered with goals of their own, Cameroon’s Vincent Aboubakar and Maxim Choupo-Moting would add two successive goals, that would tie the game.

Ghana also scored an impressive 3-2 win against South Korea. During the first half of the game, Mohammed Salisu scored a goal in the 24th minute and Mohammed Kudus scored in 34th minute. The third goal was secured by Kudus again, who made it in the 68th minute.

This year, four out of the five African countries represented at the World Cup have African coaches, a reality that has not been the case in previous years.

According to a report from The New York Times, four out of the five African coaches this year started their careers in European football. Senegalese-born Aliou Cissé and Cameroon’s Rigobert Song are two coaches who crafted out a career for themselves in the renowned English Premier League. Morocco’s Walid Regragui and Ghana’s Otto Addo also had successful international careers before they began their coaching career. Out of all the African coaches, Jalel Kadri is a the only coach who played for his home country of Tunisia.

Ever since the World Cup began in 1930, 13 African nations have participated in the World Cup, but only Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010) have reached the quarterfinal, with none of the teams ever making it to the semi-final round, so it will be interesting to see what African teams cross that thresh hold this year.


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(Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Wizkid)

Wizkid Sets His Eyes On Yet Another Album

The Nigerian superstar teased a new album titled, SeiLess.

Just weeks after dropping his album More Love, Less Ego, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, popularly known asWizkid, is already teasing a follow up project.

On November 26th, the “Bad To Me” singer shared with fans on his Instagram story that he was working towards an upcoming album. According to the Afrobeats sensation, the name of the new album will be Seiless.

"New Album ‘SeiLess’," wrote the Afrobeats heavyweight, with a string of emojis.Although he didn’t share any other details about the project, it seems as though he is actively working to kickstart the creative process and go from there. Or it could all be a simple play on words for naysayers to say less.




The singer, who is known for his laidback disposition, told GQ in a French-conducted interview that before kickstarting a music project, he always starts with the name of the project, and hones in on being intentional first before anything else.

“When I know what I want to call the album and what I want to say, I start creating the music,” said Wizkid. “And most of the time, when I’m working on an album, there’s a moment where I give up on it. The most important thing is to be intentional. For Made in Lagos for example, I wanted people to know where I come from and who I am. With More Love, Less Ego, I want to share a message of love and make people vibrate. Love should be the greatest religion in the world. I believe that everyone can love each other, for real. My message is love one another and take care of your neighbor.”

The 32-year-old recently played a huge show at Madison Square Garden, becoming the second Nigerian artist to headline the renowned New York venue. His More Love, Less Ego tour will officially kick off on March 3, so it will be interesting to see if his new project will be available by then.

The show will debut in the south, with an opening performance at Houston’s Toyota Center. He will also stop in Dallas, Orlando, Miami, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Montreal, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Phoenix, and other cities before wrapping up the tour on April 7, 2023.

Africa In Your Earbuds
Photo by Hector Vivas - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

Kizz Daniel Performs At The FIFA World Cup

Nigeria's Kizz Daniel recently thrilled fans when he performed at the FIFA World Cup.


Renowned Afrobeats singer, Oluwatobiloba Daniel Anidugbe, also known as Kizz Daniel recentlymade his debut performance at the World Cup to raving fans. The singer performed songs from a selection of some of his well known smash hit records at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which is still ongoing.

Some of the songs that he performed included: 'Buga', 'Cough', 'Lie', 'Pour Me Water', 'One Ticket', 'Eh God', 'Good Time' and many others.

The singer performing at the World Cup was somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy because earlier in June, he had shared on social media that he wanted to perform at the World Cup this year.

His tweet read: "God I want to perform 'Buga' for World Cup with a mass choir. Help me say amen."

During his performance, he was greeted by over 50,000 fans, who excitedly chimed in as he delivered some of his heavy-hitting songs. The 28-year-old also featured a live-band show during his performance.

Kizz Daniel is one of the many African artists that are leaving their mark on the global music scene. When he released ‘Buga,’ he received massive recognition from the record and it quickly became an anthem in Nigeria. To many, the song was one of the most prominent African songs of the year.

Kizz Daniel's recent performance at the World Cup marks the rise in global popularity that many of his peers are also receiving.

According to Sports Brief, Kizz Daniel's performance was a part of the FIFA Sound, which had at least five international artists in it's lineup who performed on the main stage during the famed sports event. Sports Brief also shared that all of the performances were an extension of FIFA’s entertainment strategy, which is an initiative that is created to establish solid relationships between the world of soccer and music.

Following his performance, a thrilled Kizz Daniel took to social media to show some of the excited reactions that fans had during his performance.

VADO OF AFRICA 🌍 on Instagram: "AS A NAIJA 🇳🇬 BOY I SAY THANK YOU AFRICA 🌍 THANK YOU WORLD 🌎 #fifaworldcup2022 #qatar2022 ‼️"

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