Twelve deaths recorded in Accra floods

Eleven deaths have so far been recorded by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) following the floods that hit parts of Accra in the early hours of Wednesday, October 26.

One more body, bloated, was found floating in the Odawna River Friday, two days after the devastating flood unleashed havoc in the city of Accra.

Three of the deaths were recorded at Adabraka Sahara, two each at
Amanfrom on the Kasoa road, Anyaa Pala Town, Achimota and one each at
Avenor and Insakanaa in Ga South District.

Houses and bridges collapsed whilst drains over flowed its banks in one of the worst floods to have hit the capital in recent times.

Nine people were initially reported dead including a 25 year old marketing student of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Abigail Opoku Adjei.

Meanwhile, the body retrieved at the Odawna river is yet to be identified.

Nana Addo, Jake may suffer Gaddafi's fate if... - NDC activist

A Youth Activist of the ruling National Democratic Congress, Peter Boamah Otukonor says the killing of the Libyan leader, Muammar Al-Gaddafi should be a great lesson for the opposition NPP’s leader Nana Akufo-Addo and its Chairman Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey.

According to him, the two leaders believe in bloodshed, a belief shared by Gaddafi and for which he died.

The Libyan leader was killed Thursday after gun battle in his home town of Sirte but Otukonor believes it is a big lesson to warmongers in the country.

Speaking on Asempa FM’s current affairs programme Kukurantumi, he noted that though Gaddafi was a good leader with all the credentials, he died because he believed in all-die-be-die and that the leadership of the NPP may suffer same fate if they do not take care.

“Look there is an Akan proverb which says anyone who pulls machete dies on the same machete so the NPP who believes in all die-be-die should be careful” he said.

He urged the NPP leaderships to have a second thought of their all-die-be-die statement and work within the rule of law.

He described the killing of the Libyan leader as an attack on Africa with the intention of crippling Africa’s unity.

He said Gaddafi was the only African who belied in the unity of the African nations but his assignation will put fear in the freedom fighters of the continent.

He said the NPP is sowing a bad seed which will come back to haunt them in their declaration of all-die-be-die.

“Look if Nana Addo and Jake do not take care they will die under the violence that they are calling for” he stressed.

Libya needs a constitutional leader - Kufuor

Libya needs a constitutional leader - Kufuor

Muamar Gaddafi

The former president, John Agyekum Kufuor, has called for a constitutional rule in Libya after the death of the Libyan leader Muamar Al Gaddafi.

Speaking on Badwam, a morning show on MultiTV, Mr. Kufuor expressed his condolence to the family of the Libyan leader.

He retorted that “I am not going to say whether he is good or bad because he is now dead and gone, the land belongs to the Libyans who stood up against him, and I believe that the people will handle the country well and look for a suitable constitution that will guide them rebuild Libya and prevent other future eventualities like this.”

Commenting on Gaddafi’s role in the fight for a United State of Africa, Former President Kufuor explained that Gaddafi was very instrumental in the establishment of the African Union but was quick to add that his dictatorial rule on Libyans served as an indictment on the very cause he was fighting for.

According to him, the fact that Gaddafi is dead does not mean other African leaders will not push for the unity of the African continent.

On the contrary, he believes that the success of the AU will largely depend on how each African country will settle and resolve the various challenges that they are facing in their respective countries before pushing for the establishment of a United State of Africa.

He admonished all and sundry not to concentrate on Gaddafi’s death but rather focus on building a new Libya through a constitution.

He also denied rumors that the one time leader of Libya gave him a car during the 2007 AU summit in Accra.

According to Ex-President Kufuor, the late Muamur Al Gaddafi gave him a Benz car as a gift but that was before the 2007 AU summit commenced.

He also added that he gave out the Benz car from Gaddafi to the government when he was leaving office.

Ex-president Kufuor also dismissed claims being purported by the ruling National Democratic Congress [NDC] party that he abandoned doctors on strike to travel outside the country in his administration.

According to him, he was very much involved in the negotiations with the doctors and never took them for granted.

“If anybody says that I turned my back against the doctors, it is not true. Doctors received a much higher pay during my tenure of office, it is the same with the university teachers and soldiers and teachers. They all threatened to go on strike but we handled it with care… in my time, doctors who are professors received over 30 million cedis, the fact that we are not making noise about it does not mean we did not do anything about it.”

Also speaking on the death of Muamur Al Gaddafi was a Language Consultant to the African Union, Dr. Niyi Alabi who questioned Gaddafi’s dictatorship rule in Libya and the way and manner he approached Western influence in Africa.

“It is true that Gaddafi stood up to the west, you don’t stand up to the west and go and bomb innocent people on a plan. It doesn’t make sense, and there is no logic in that. It is true that the west conspired against him, He stood to the west, but I think that his approach and method was wrong.”

Gadhafi: A True Epitome of Bravity.

I was touched and moved by our Social Psychology Lecturer as he adviced that "In life, try to be nice, humble and respect evryone; never look down on others and u will excell in all ya endeavours" this reminds me of the current news making waves in the international media about the death of the acclaimed 'KINGS OF KINGS" if he had been humble enough, i guess he wouldnt have suffered this fate...........Anyway he still remains a man of his own words and an icon in Africa.
" A true son of the Soil....................Lets Africans rise up and fight IMPERIALISM.

Libya plans secret burial for Muammar Gaddafi

Libyan authorities are planning a secret burial for ousted leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi following his capture and death, the BBC understands.

However, it appears there may be a delay in his burial, which under Islamic tradition should take place as soon as possible.

Oil minister Ali Tarhouni told Reuters that Col Gaddafi's body may be kept "for a few days".

Nato is expected to declare an end to its Libya campaign in the coming hours.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the death of Col Gaddafi meant Nato's military intervention in Libya had reached its conclusion.

"Clearly the operation is coming to its end," he told reporters.

Earlier, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the Nato operation would end "subject to a few transitory measures in the week to come".

Questions mounting

The BBC's Caroline Hawley in Tripoli says the authorities now have to decide how to deal with Col Gaddafi's death and in particular his burial.

They have said they will conduct a secret burial and there is some speculation that they might even try to bury him at sea, as al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was buried, to prevent any grave being turned into a shrine, she adds

Mr Tarhouni told Reuters that Col Gaddafi's body - currently in Misrata - was not going to be released for burial immediately.

"I told them to keep it in the freezer for a few days... to make sure that everybody knows he is dead," he said.

Asked about the burial arrangements, he said: "There is no decision yet."

Reuters also quoted an unnamed official as saying there was disagreement within the National Transitional Council (NTC) over what to do with the body.

Meanwhile, questions are mounting as to exactly what happened in Col Gaddafi's last moments following his capture.

Officials have denied he was executed.

Acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril said Col Gaddafi had been shot in the head in an exchange of fire between Gaddafi loyalists and NTC fighters following his capture in his hometown of Sirte

Video footage suggests he was dragged through the streets.

An NTC fighter told the BBC he found the former Libyan leader hiding in a drainage pipe and he had begged him not to shoot.

The fighter showed reporters a golden pistol he said he had taken from Col Gaddafi.

Call for inquiry

Senior NTC member Mohammed Sayeh told the BBC he doubted that the colonel was deliberately killed, but added: "Even if he was killed intentionally, I think he deserves this."

He added: "If they kill him 1,000 times, I think it will not pay back the Libyans what he has done. We've lost over 70,000 of our best men because of this monster."

On Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said there should be a full investigation into the way Col Gaddafi was killed.

Navi Pillay's spokesman, Rupert Colville, said mobile phone images showing the former Libyan leader alive when first captured, and then dead, were "very disturbing".

UK-based human rights group Amnesty International called for "a full, independent and impartial inquiry" into the circumstances of Col Gaddafi's death.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, an ally and friend of the colonel, called his death deplorable.

"They murdered him," Mr Chavez told reporters.

However, our correspondents say few Libyans are worried about the manner of their former dictator's humiliating end. They are simply elated that he is gone.

Despite the controversy, celebrations continued late into the night in towns and cities across Libya.

Groups of young men fired guns in the air, and drivers honked their horns in jubilation.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, said Col Gaddafi's death marked the start of a new era for the Libyan people.

The NTC is expected to formally announce the liberation of the country on Saturday in the eastern town of Benghazi.

Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that with the death of Col Gaddafi, an end to the alliance's involvement in the country "has now moved much closer".

"After 42 years, Gaddafi's rule of fear has finally come to an end," he said. "I call on all Libyans to put aside their differences and work together to build a brighter future."

Nato's seven-month campaign of air strikes was carried out under a UN mandate authorising the use of force to protect civilians in Libya.

Nato has carried out some 26,000 sorties and almost 10,000 strike missions.

Col Gaddafi, who came to power in a coup in 1969, was toppled from power in August. He was making his last stand in Sirte alongside two of his sons, Mutassim and Saif al-Islam, according to reports.

A body that officials identified as that of Mutassim has been shown on Libyan TV.

There are conflicting reports as to the whereabouts of Saif al-Islam.

On Friday he was reported to be fleeing south towards Niger, according to a senior NTC commander.

Abdul Majid Mlegta told Reuters that Saif al-Islam was believed to be in a convoy of three armoured vehicles trying to escape NTC forces that overran Sirte on Thursday.

"We are searching for him. The fighters in the region are on full alert," Mr Mlegta said.

Earlier, acting Justice Minister Mohammad al-Alagi told AP news agency that Saif al-Islam had been captured and taken to hospital with a leg wound.

Gadhafi's death should be probed, U.N. agency says

(CNN) -- The circumstances of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's death are "unclear" and need to be investigated, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said Friday.

"More details are needed to ascertain whether he was killed in the fighting or after his capture," the agency said.

"There seem to be four or five different versions of how he died. As you are aware, there are at least two cell-phone videos, one showing him alive and one showing him dead. Taken together, these videos are very disturbing."
The last moments of Moammar Gadhafi
Gadhafi was hiding in drainage pipe
Where are Gadhafi's assets?

The agency said it's important that "justice is done" to bring "closure on the legacy of Gaddafi's 42-year despotic rule, and on the bloody conflict this year." It said "human rights must be the cornerstone of all policies and actions" in a new Libya.

"The thousands of victims who suffered loss of life, disappearance, torture and other serious human rights violations since the conflict broke out in February 2011, as well as those who suffered human rights violations throughout Gadhafi's long rule, have the right to know the truth, to see the culture of impunity brought to an end, and to receive reparations," the office said.

"In order to turn the page on the legacy of decades of systematic violations of human rights, it will be essential for alleged perpetrators to be brought before trials, which adhere to international standards for fair trial, and for victims to see that accountability has been achieved."

Mahmoud Jibril, Libya's transitional prime minister, said Gadhafi was captured alive and unharmed on Thursday as troops from the National Transitional Council overran his hometown of Sirte. But a gunbattle erupted between transitional council fighters and Gadhafi's supporters as his captors attempted to load him into a vehicle, Jibril said, leaving Gadhafi with a wound to his right arm.

More shooting erupted as the vehicle drove away, and Gadhafi -- overthrown in August -- was hit in the head, Jibril said, Gadhafi died moments before arriving at a hospital in Misrata, Jibril said, citing the city's coroner.
Libyans celebrate in front of White House
The next chapter in the Arab Spring

Amnesty International urged the NTC "to make public" the "full facts" on Gadhafi's death.

"It is essential to conduct a full, independent and impartial inquiry to establish whether Colonel Gadhafi was killed during combat or after he was captured," the group said on Thursday.

Amnesty urged the NTC "to ensure that all those suspected of human rights abuses and war crimes" get humane treatment and are given fair trials if captured. That includes Gadhafi's family members and his inner circle.

Video reveals Gaddafi's last words

Footage of Colonel Gaddafi’s death shows the last words of the dictator as his oppressive 42-year regime came to a bloody end in Sirte, Libya, on Thursday.

The shocking and brutal images broadcasted across the globe show Gaddafi’s last moments as he was beaten by his National Transitional Council (NTC) captors. The footage contains Gaddafi’s last words as he is heard saying, “This is wrong, this is wrong in Islamic law”. Jostled by rebels he then asks, “Do you know right from wrong?”

[Gallery: Colonel Gaddafi's 42-year rule in photos]

A rebel fighter then says, “Shut up you dog” shortly before his death. Details emerging from Libya suggest that Gaddafi was found in a sewer armed with a golden gun, pleading with NTC fighters for his life. Shouting “Don’t shoot” he is then captured by troops who had gunned down a Gaddafi supporter just outside the sewer.

Amid the confusion, NTC spokespeople have said that the Colonel then died from injuries sustained during a gunfight between pro-Gaddafi supporters and his NTC captors. Footage that has emerged from Libya seems to conflict with these reports however, as Gaddafi is seen bloodied but conscious in the back of a pickup truck surrounded by rebel fighters.

An NTC spokesman confirmed that he died from multiple gunshot wounds but fighters who witnessed the attack say he was shot in the abdomen as well as the head. After his last words, Gaddafi appears unconscious on the back of a pickup truck and is then seen dead on the floor. Fighters posed by the ousted leader’s body for photographs as celebrations erupted across Sirte.

Gaddafi’s son Mutassim was also captured and killed in fighting across the dictator’s hometown. Amateur footage shows him being dragged in similar fashion to his father and later propped up in a vehicle. He was later pronounced dead.