Daily Heritage November 29

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Inside Nov 29.qxp_Layout 1 11/28/17 8:55 PM Page 3 • Mayor Hollstein got emergency attention for his neck wound and is now back home German pro-refugee mayor Andreas Hollstein stabbed A MAYOR in western Germany has survived a knife attack amid suspicions of a link to his liberal immigration policy. Andreas Hollstein, conservative mayor of Altena, was stabbed in the neck in a kebab shop and had hospital treatment. The town in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is well known for having accepted more than its quota of migrants. "The security authorities believe that there was a political motive," said NRW premier Armin Laschet. The mayor is in Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party. Witnesses quoted by German media said the assailant - now in custody - shouted criticism of the mayor's asylum policy during the attack on Monday night. In a tweet, Mrs Merkel condemned the attack (in German)"I am outraged by the knife attack on Mayor Andreas Hollstein, and very relieved that he is able to be back with his family. Thanks also to those who helped him," she said. The poor performance of her Christian Democrats in the September general election has been attributed largely to criticism of her liberal immigration policy, summed up by her motto "we can manage". She accepted more than a million asylum seekers - many of them Muslims - during Europe's 2015- 2016 migrant crisis. BBC DAILY HERITAGE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017 WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH World news in 4 stories Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa offers amnesty for funds stashed abroad ZIMBABWE'S NEW President Emmerson Mnangagwa has offered a three-month amnesty for individuals and companies to surrender public funds illegally stashed abroad. In a statement, he said the government will prosecute those who fail to comply when the amnesty ends in February. "Such malpractices constitute a very serious economic crime against the people of Zimbabwe," Mr Mnangagwa said. Since taking office last week, he has pledged to crack down on corruption. "Huge sums of money and other assets" have been "illegally externalised by certain individuals and corporates," the president said in a statement. "Those affected are thus encouraged to take advantage of the three-month moratorium to return the illegally externalised funds and assets in order to avoid the pain and ignominy of being visited by the long arm of the law," he added. The move to recoup lost public funds is seen as an attempt to boost Zimbabwe's ailing economy which is half the size it was at the turn of the millennium. The economy has struggled since land reforms were introduced in 2000. These reforms saw white-owned farms redistributed to landless black Zimbabweans - and those with good political connections - which led to sharp falls in production. BBC • Emmerson Mnangagwa pledged to crack down on corruption during his inauguration last week UHURU KENYATTA has vowed to overcome Kenya's divisions after being sworn in for a second term as president, at a ceremony boycotted by the opposition. Speaking after his inauguration in the capital Nairobi, he said he would try to incorporate some of the opposition's ideas "in the spirit of inclusivity". Two people died when police clashed with opposition supporters in the city. Opposition leader Raila Odinga announced plans to be sworn in himself as president next month. He boycotted last month's repeat election and has not recognised Mr Kenyatta's victory. Mr Kenyatta was officially reelected with 98% of the vote on 26 October but just under 39% of voters turned out. The original election on 8 August was held again after being annulled by the Supreme Court on grounds of irregularities. Embarking on his second and last term in office, he promised to act as "the custodian of the dreams of all" Kenyans. Without specifying whether he would reach out to Mr Odinga, he said: •Uhuru Kenyatta is sworn in for a second term as Kenya's president Kenyatta vows to overcome divisions "We may have chosen different candidates and different visions, but each one of us voted for a better life. "To my competitors, and in the spirit of inclusivity, I will endeavour to incorporate some of their ideas. The election was not a contest between a good dream and a bad dream. It was a contest between two competing visions. "I will devote my time and energy to build bridges, to unite and bring prosperity to all Kenyans." Spectators inside Nairobi's Kasarani sports stadium were entertained by music and dance performances, while the military paraded. BBC 'Many more' US troops in Syria and Iraq — report THE NUMBER of US troops in Syria and Iraq is significantly higher than acknowledged by Pentagon officials, a US defence department report shows. Officially there are 503 US troops in Syria and 5,262 in Iraq. However, the Pentagon’s quarterly report puts number of troops as 1,720 in Syria and 8,892 in Iraq. US soldiers are there as part of the fight against socalled Islamic State (IS) and include trainers, advisers and special forces. US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said earlier this year that the number of troops operating in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan would be reviewed. However, only the troop numbers for Afghanistan have been publicly revealed. Pentagon spokesman Rob Manning said on Monday that security concerns and political sensitivities prohibited full disclosure for the time being, but he pledged to be "as transparent as" possible. The US has had a troop presence in Iraq since the invasion of 2003, reaching 168,000 at its peak in September 2007. In Syria, the troops are largely stationed in the Kurdish-led region in northern Syria and helped Kurdish-led militias to recently capture Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS. Last week the Pentagon said it was reviewing "adjustments" in military support it gives to partners inside Syria. These include the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). BBC • The number of US troops in Syria is three times higher than official counts, according to a Pentagon report
WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH DAILY HERITAGE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017 Fight against corruption eluding us? IT APPEARS the fight against corruption in this country is greatly becoming a mirage and gradually eluding the country. This is because, both public and private institutions that are known to be leading the fight against corruption are themselves seen as most corrupt institutions. Just yesterday, Afrobarometer, a pan- African, non-partisan research network led by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) which conducts public attitude surveys revealed that the Ghana Police Service and the Judicial Service are perceived as the most corrupt institutions in this country. Mr Daniel Armah-Attoh, Project Manager of Afrobarometer for Anglophone West Africa, said this during a presentation that the latest findings show citizens want all corrupt officials named, jailed and shamed. He said public approval of the government’s efforts to combat corruption has increased dramatically since 2014, after more than a decade of decline, but if the judges and police are named, it makes it worrying. Mr Armah-Attoh explained that the purpose of the survey is to provide solid backing for the government and reformers seeking to strengthen laws and their enforcement in the fight against corruption. If these revelations by the CDD are anything to go by, then we have a great cause for worry. When we have a problem we run to the police, who are the peace officers. If we want justice, we run to the court. Not too long ago, the Parliament of Ghana passed the Special Prosecutor’s Bill, which is expected to help government effectively crack the whip of justice against corrupt public officers, political office holders, and accomplices. It is undeniable that the citizenry highly expect the Special Prosecutor to come in and help punish corruption in a way that can deter people or reduce it drastically. This is because the public believes that justice is for sale in Ghana and that the marginalized or less privileged who obviously cannot buy it are always at disadvantage. It is, therefore, not surprising that some marginalised and vulnerable in society have now seen the media, the fourth estate of the realm, as the first port of call in terms of neutrality and in time of trouble. This development is sad and so policy makers and civil society groups must take up the fight against corruption to a height where those who engage in corrupt practices would suffer irreparable consequences while the country would triumph. We at the DAILY HERITAGE are alive to the cost of corruption on the country and how it undermines its progress and so want to call on both public and private institutions to help the government to sustain the fight against the canker called corruption. The paper wants to remind that the reason people take the law into their own hands is because of perceived corruption in the very institutions that ought to fight corruption – the police and the judiciary. Therefore these two institutions should put their act together and shatter the public perception about them by leading the war on corruption. I’ve not had erection for past year BY MUNTALLA INUSAH muntalla.inusah@dailyheritage.com.gh A51-YEAR-OLD lotto writer, Emmanuel Nii Darku, who is standing accused for defiling a 13- year- old-girl at Mataheko, has told the Accra Circuit Court that he has not had an erection for the past year. While denying knowledge of having any sexual intercourse with the girl, he told the court that he is a BP patient and his manhood had not erected for the past year. But the prosecution told the court that on the day of the arrest, used condoms were retrieved from the box by Darku’s bed. Darku, also a driver, who has been charged with defiling an • 51-yr-old lotto writer accused of defiling 13-yr-old girl tells court underage girl contrary to section 101(2) of the Criminal Offence Act of Ghana as amended by Act 554/98, pleaded not guilty. The court, presided over by Her Honour Mrs Abena Oppong Adjin-Doku, has ordered that a hospital test be conducted on him to ascertain whether his manhood was not functioning as he claimed. He has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢40, 000 with four sureties and is to reappear in court on December 19 with the hospital report. Brief facts The facts of the case as were presented to the court by DSP Abadam Lora Cletus were that the complainant, Mr Emmanuel Badu, is a pastor working at Nkawkaw while the girl is his daughter and pupil of Rev Thomas Clegg JHS at Kaneshie and living with her mother at Tweneboa Dansoman. The accused person, Emmanuel Nii Darku, is a driver and a lotto writer and also a resident of Mataheko. The prosecutor said Darku does his lotto work at Tweneboa Dansoman and knew the girl and her siblings who live in the same vicinity and started buying them icecream. According to the prosecution, the girl and her friend started visiting Darku at his house at Mataheko to help him with cleaning his house. DSP Cletus told the court that on September 21, 2017, Darku invited the girl to his house to collect a notebook and when the girl got to his room, Darku offered her a glass of water and after drinking the water she fell unconscious. According to the prosecution, the girl she said woke up later and saw herself naked on top of Darku’s bed, with whitish particles around her private parts and started crying. Darku, according to the prosecutor, pleaded with her not to disgrace him and gave her GH¢5.00 to buy the notebook. The girl, upon reaching home, became afraid to tell her mother what had happened to her and kept it to herself till November, 2017 when she attended church service and during preaching she said she could no longer contain the ordeal and informed her parents. Medical report According to the prosecutor, the matter was reported to Dansoman Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit, where a medical form was issued to the parents for the girl to be sent to the Korle-Bu Polyclinic for examination. Per the medical officer’s report from the polyclinic, the perineum and labia look normal while the hymen is perforated with uneven edges and the effect is that the hymen was “non intact,” meaning the girl had experienced penetration. Darku was later arrested and in his cautioned statement stated that he knew the girl very well and had been buying icecream for her and her siblings. He added that the girl and her friend, whose name he could not mention, came and cleaned his room for him but denied having slept with her. •D
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Daily Heritage November 29

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