A CEMETERY, NOW A JOINT FOR SNATCHING......."i was ...a witness".

Anytime you read the news in the dailies or listen on radio, you often here and see reports on someone’s phone or car being snatched. At a point in time, I became so used to hearing these reports with different victims that I considered it a fairy tale.
Consequently, this indicated that property snatching became the order of the day and this deviant bahaviour seemed to have engulfed some youth in the Country.
This “Snatching Fever” that I presumed a fairy tale happened right in my presence one holistic night after we had closed form lectures. The school bus had to convey us to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and then proceed to our various destinations.
Upon reaching the Kwame Nkrumah Circle bus station, I saw an unusual long queue which made me to panic and not to even think of joining. Around same time, I was spotted by another colleague who has been in the queue for the past 30minutes but has not moved an inch, he then approached me and we decided to trek to Kaneshie hoping we could get easy access to public transport to our respective destinations.
On our way, our conversations was full of nostalgia but when we got to the Awudome Cemetary, an unexpected incident happened, we saw two ladies walking few meters away from us with one holding a luggage and the other carrying a pan.
Surprisingly, we saw a fine dressed man walk towards the ladies and all that we could see is a lady being pushed and the luggage being snatched by the man who dashed into a big gutter leading to a large hole underground heading into the Cemetery.
We had to hurry up to salvage the situation but our efforts proved futile. The victim had to cry with drops of tears from his eyes like water from a tap lamenting that “my whole life is in that bag”.
T o our discovery, the victim was a stranger who hailed from a village in the Eastern Region and is in Accra to visit her boyfriend but had to trek to Kaneshie following the unusual queue at the bus terminal at Circle.
In our own way ,we had to facilitate the communication and transportation of the lady to her boyfriend.
We presumed the snatcher overhead them converse about the valuables in her luggage and her status as a stranger in Accra, but one thing I could not fathom is why these snatchers will use a cemetery as a transit point to snatch properties from their victims, or have they forgotten that it was supposed to be a place to keep mortal remains and has spiritual associations?.
Also, why do we keep hearing incessant snatching of properties and why have state authorities have not put any measures in place to crackdown on these perpetrators.

Mills replies David Cameron; you can't threaten us with gay aid!

President John Evans Atta Mills has called the bluff of UK Prime Minister David Cameron over the latter’s threat to cut aid to countries with anti-gay legislation.

The president, speaking to journalists in response to Prime Minister Cameron’s threat to cut UK aid to African countries which abuse the rights of gay citizens, said Ghana will not capitulate to the United Kingdom or any country for that matter.

He said Ghana will not legalise homosexuality on the say-so of Mr Cameron.

President Mills maintained that Britain cannot tell Ghana what to do on her cultural and moral values.

Ghana, he said, will continue to operate within its constitution regardless of any threats from any country.

The President said Ghana will not accept aid with conditions which have the tendency to destroy the social fabric of the society.

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.