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WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 30: (AFP OUT) Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari speaks during a meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on April 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. The two leaders are scheduled to discuss a range of bilateral issues and hold a joint press conference later in the day.

#KeepItOn: Nigerians Tweet in Defiance of Government's Twitter Ban

Despite the threat of prosecution, Nigerians continue to tweet about major events happening in the country amid the government's recent Twitter ban.

This past Friday, the Nigerian government officially banned Twitter's operations within the country. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the announcement in Abuja.The move comes after President Muhammadu Buhari's tweet was found to have violated Twitter's community standards and subsequently deleted. President Buhari's tweet was reportedly "[threatening] to punish regional secessionists" just two days prior to the ban.

READ: Nigeria Suspends Twitter After President Buhari's Posts Were Removed

As with many African who are often subjected to intermittent internet shutdowns and social media bans, Nigerians have found a way around the Twitter ban. Using virtual private networks (VPNs) and the more costly fixed broadband, Nigerians in the country have continued to tweet under the online banner of #KeepItOn while also sharing events happening within the country that are seemingly being suppressed during this time. This however, may come at a major personal cost.

Al Jazeera reports that Nigeria's Attorney General, Abubakar Malami, has ordered that those found circumventing the Twitter ban be prosecuted immediately. Details around the prosecution in terms of possible fines or time behind bars, have not been shared as yet.

The Nigerian government has, however, denied that the ban is a result of the President's tweet having been deleted. According to the BBC, they have cited fake news and misinformation as the main cause for the ban saying, "There has been a litany of problems with the social media platform in Nigeria, where misinformation and fake news spread through it have had real world violent consequences."

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Kenyan Senator Sparks Debate About "Period Shaming"

Kenyan Senator Gloria Orwoba received opposition from colleagues after pulling off a stunt to raise awareness around "period stigma."

A Kenyan senator was relieved from her duties at the Kenyan parliament after attending a Senate hearing session wearing a white suit stained with red, in what was a menstrual activism campaign.

The senator is Gloria Orwoba and she is a part of the ruling coalition. On Tuesday afternoon, she was due to table a motion on a bill that would give out free sanitary pads to some of Kenya's underprivileged. During the session, Kenyan senators disrupted Tuesday’s afternoon senate session to draw the Speaker’s attention to Orwoba’s “inappropriate dress code."

In response to the allegations, Orwoba protested that it was unbecoming for members of the parliament to call her out because she was on her menstrual cycle.

“I am shocked that someone can stand here and say that the House has been disgraced because a woman has had her periods,” Orwoba said.

In response to her comment, Amason Kingi, Speaker of the Senate of Kenya, asked Orwoba to change her outfit before returning to the chambers.

“Having periods is never a crime… Senator Gloria, I sympathize with you that you are going through the natural act of menstruation, you have stained your wonderful suit, I’m asking you to leave so that you go change and come back with clothes that are not stained,” Kingi said, according to BBC.

According to The Star, the stain was artificial coloring, and not blood.

While talking to BBC, Orwoba said that she was proud of the stance she took in an effort to dismantle period shame.

"Since I am always advocating against period shame, I thought I should go ahead and walk the talk," Orwoba said.

Following the incident, several senators criticized her stance, stating that it was not appropriate.

Tabitha Mutinda, an active member of the senate stated that she found Orwoba's conduct uncomfortable and inappropriate.

"You don't understand if she's on the normal woman cycle or she's faking it, and it is so indecent," Mutinda said before adding that there were better ways to address the issue.

Orwoba is advocating for a motion that increase government funding for free female hygiene products and menstrual pads in all public schools, and end "period stigma." The incident at the senate building was apart of her advocacy.

In an interview with Hot 96 FM in Kenya, Orwoba said she has received hateful comments on social media since her act. So much so that she talked about stepping away from social media.

“This thing of having thick skin is not for the faint-hearted. In fact, I am really contemplating leaving Twitter…that whole cyber-bullying has gotten to me. It’s intense and it gets to you,” Orwoba said.

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Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Bobi Wine Takes His Fight to Venice

Hoping to attract a broader interest in his mission to end dictatorial rule, the Ugandan musician and politician features in a buzzed-about documentary screening at this year’s Venice International Film Festival.


“I had almost forgotten how to be among stars,” tweeted Bobi Wine, tongue-in-cheek, as he posted pictures of his arrival on the red carpet at the Venice International Film Festival for the premiere of Bobi Wine: Ghetto President. Billed as an ‘observational documentary,’ the film brings Wine’s story – how he rose from the informal settlement of Kamwokya and became a star himself – together with his pursuit of justice and democracy in his homeland of Uganda, to an international audience.

Bobi Wine: Ghetto President is showing out of competition and so isn’t up for the festival’s main prize, the Golden Lion. But that’s not why Wine, aka Robert Kyagulanyi, traveled to Italy, wearing the trademark red beret symbol of his People Power movement. Instead, he’s hoping the film draws attention to a cause he’s been championing for the last 5 years.

“I want the people in the international community to know that somewhere in the world, somewhere in Africa, in a country called Uganda, people are being massacred for what they think,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. Above that, Wine is calling for an end to the support President Yoweri Museveni has received, and wants the international community – specifically the US, which provides aid to Uganda – to be aware of how that money is being used to “undermine human rights and democracy in Uganda.”

Taking the film to a prestigious international festival such as Venice presents Wine with a global platform. In a tweet posted by the Venice Film Festival, he’s quoted as saying, “What is happening in Uganda is terrible. I am glad #BobiWineGhettoPresident will bring it to light. People are voiceless there: they need someone to speak for them.”

The film shows how Wine has endeavored to be that voice, both in song and in speech. It traces the start of his grassroots political campaign in 2017 up to 2021, when he ran against Museveni in the presidential elections, and lost, in what many international organizations deemed was a questionable outcome, with claims of vote tampering and fraud.

Ghetto President is directed by Christopher Sharp, who was born in Uganda, and Moses Buyo, an activist who took over camera duties when the film’s previous camera people left the production. Both Sharp and Buyo knew of Wine through his music and had been fans of the messages he sought to share in his music. Following Wine and his wife, Barbie, with fly-on-the-wall footage, the film immerses the audience in their relationship and the trials its undergone as a result of Wine's political activities. One such attack left Wine seeking treatment from the US for his injuries. Indeed, Buyo, too, has suffered his share of assault in making the film, having been shot in the face with a rubber bullet, and also arrested numerous times, while filming.

A still from the documentary Bobi Wine:

A still from the documentary Bobi Wine: Ghetto President, which is currently playing at this year's Venice Film Festival.

Photo: La Biennale Di Venezia

Festival director Alberto Barbera called the documentary “powerful” and “unbelievable,” and it’s received positive reviews so far, with Deadline lauding its ‘stirring’ scenes and message of hope. Similar to Sam Soko’s documentary, Softie, which followed Kenyan photographer-turned-politician Boniface Mwangi, the film is also being heralded for the love story at the center of it, between Wine and Barbie, and how they've persisted in the face of numerous violent actions.

While Ghetto President details Uganda and Wine's specific struggle to fight for democracy, some reviewers have noted it holds a message for governments further afield too. The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Feinberg says its call to action to hold Museveni accountable speaks to the West's need to 'keep an eye on its own democratic virtues too.' In bringing his message to the world, through the form of a documentary that gets people talking, Wine may also find it resonates far beyond Uganda in ways he could not have imagined.

Photo by Alex Wong via Getty

‘Hotel Rwanda’Hero Paul Rusesabagina to Be Released From Prison

Paul Rusesabagina, who became renowned for his heroic portrayal in ‘Hotel Rwanda’, has received a presidential-ordered prison commute and will be released.

Paul Rusesabagina, the former hotel manager who saved over 1,200 Rwandans during the 1994 genocide and who was the inspiration behind the 2004 Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda, will be released from prison on Saturday (March 25th.) Following a request for clemency, Rwanda’s government commuted the prison sentence of Paul Rusesabagina, who is now 68.

In 2020, the Rwandan government arrested Rusesabagina in Dubai and later transferred to Rwanda, where he faced charges of terrorism, related to his alleged involvement in a rebel group. Following the charges, the Rwandan court sentenced him to 25 years in prison. His sentencing triggered controversy, with some supporters alleging that he had been unfairly targeted. In 2022, Rusesabagina’s family sued the government of Rwanda for $400 million, stating that they had "abducted" and illegally imprisoned him. Following Rusesabagina’s conviction, several people speculated that he had been imprisoned because he had criticized Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame’s politics.

During Rwanda’s genocide, Rusesabagina worked as a hotel manager at the Hôtel des Mille Collines in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Despite the violence and chaos that surrounded him, Rusesabagina used his influence and resources to protect and shelter over 1,200 Tutsi and moderate Hutu refugees from the Hutu extremists who were carrying out the genocide. Hotel Rwanda, was based on Rusesabagina’s experiences experiences during the genocide, and the film's release catapulted him into fame. In the movie, Rusesabagina was portrayed by Hollywood actor Don Cheadle.

According to Yolande Makolo, Kagame Chief of Staff, and spokesperson on the issue, the sentences of 19 others, who were convicted alongside Rusesabagina will also be released.

"Under Rwandan law, commutation of sentence does not extinguish the underlying conviction," Makolo told Reuters. “Rwanda notes the constructive role of the US government in creating conditions for dialogue on this issue, as well as the facilitation provided by the State of Qatar."

Rwanda’s ministry of justice, as reported as Reuters also stated that the commutation could be revoked if any of the released prisoners repeated the offenses.

"If any individual benefiting from early release repeats offences of a similar nature, the commutation can be revoked and the remainder of the prison sentence will be served," Rwanda's justice ministry said.
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Photo by Matt Crossick

Davido Is Bringing ‘Timeless’ to These Cities

The Nigerian superstar has announced ‘A Timeless Night with Davido’ in Lagos, London and New York.

Davido has shared on social media that he will be bringing his Timelessalbum to New York, London, and Lagos, dubbing the mini-tour “A Timeless Night With Davido.”

In the post, the singer wrote:The support for Timeless over the last few days has been incredible! Thank you for the love. I'm so excited to bring this album to life and share it with you in person. London, New York City, Lagos join me for ‘A Timeless Night,' a special live event, where we'll make memories that will last forever!”

The DMW boss shared dates for the events; noting that in the first week of April, he will take the stage in New York and London, at Irving Plaza and Koko London, respectively, before returning to Lagos to perform at Tafawa Balewa Stadium in Lagos later that month.

In a viral social media post on Tuesday, the Nigerian singer announced that he will be releasing his latest studio album Timeless on March 31. The announcement spurred a lot of excitement and expectation from fans, who had been curious about the singer’s well-being after the extended hiatus that followed the tragic loss of his son, three year old Ifeanyi Adeleke.

Throughout Davido's 11-year career, he has become a staple in Afrobeats and has contributed significantly to pushing the sound, helping it resonate with fans globally. The singer has released several studio albums throughout his career, including Omo Baba Olowo (2012), A Good Time (2019), and A Better Time (2020).

Timeless will be his fourth studio album.

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