Lucky Dube's murder - Four arrested

Four men were arrested on Sunday in connection with the murder of reggae star Lucky Dube, 702 Eyewitness News reported.Police arrested the four in Spruitview on the East Rand on Sunday morning, the radio station said.

A crack team of detectives had been assembled to search for the killers.Dube was shot dead in Rosettenville at about 8.20pm on Thursday night, said police spokesperson Captain Cheryl Engelbrecht. The singer was travelling in a grey Chrysler with his two teenage children at the time.Source: Mail&Guardian

Lucky Dube's Legacy

Condolences spanned the length and breadth of the political and cultural spectrum, with everyone from President Thabo Mbeki to the South African Football Players' Union praising Dube's legacy and raising concerns about the level of violent crime. Mbeki made an appeal to South Africans to confront the "scourge" of crime together."This is ... very, very sad that this happened to an outstanding South African -- an outstanding musician, world renowned," he said as he was leaving for France to support the Springboks in the World Cup final.Mbeki conveyed his condolences to the family and also to Dube's fans in SA and around the world.Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said: "For more than two decades he confronted pertinent social and political issues through his music, bringing to the fore the pain and suffering of many South Africans."Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan called Dube one of the most "important and relevant" voices to come out of the country in the 20th century."What makes his death more painful is that it happened at a time when government has renewed its pledge to forge a partnership with people, communities and their institutions to fight crime," he said in a statement. - Sapa

Ghana08: Ghana, Morroco, Guinea, Namibia

Group A(Accra): Ghana, Morocco, Guinea, Namibia
Group B(Sekondi): Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Mali Benin
Group C(Kumasi): Egypt, Cameroon, Zambia, Sudan
Group D(Tamale): Tunisia, Senegal, South Africa, Angola

Highjakers Kill Lucky Dube in Jo'burg

Reggae musician Lucky Dube was shot dead in a hijacking on Thursday in Rosettenville, Johannesburg police said.Captain Cheryl Engelbrecht said the incident took place at about 8.20pm when Dube (43) was driving a blue Volkswagen Polo in the Johannesburg suburb.She said Dube was dropping off his son in the area when he was attacked. "His son was already out of the car. When he saw what was happening, he ran to ask for help.

" The hijackers were still at large. The boy was too traumatised to provide police with any information, Engelbrecht said.Dube, born in Johannesburg on August 3 1964, was named "Lucky" as he was born in poor health and doctors thought he would die, according to Wikipedia. But Dube survived and went on to become a front-line artist in the reggae genre. However, the singer's website, Luckydubemusic.com, says: "Giving birth to a boy was considered a blessing and his mother considered his birth so fortunate that she aptly named him Lucky.

"He recorded more than 20 albums in his music career, which spanned more than 20 years, according to Luckydubemusic.com. His albums include Rastas Never Die, Think about the Children, Soul Taker and Trinity. His latest, released in 2006, is called Respect.The build-up to this international success, though, started in 1982 with the release of Kudala Ngikuncenga, an album that was not reggae but mbaqanga, a genre that was to serve him well for four more albums until his transition to reggae in 1985.

"The change was brought about by the fact that I wanted to reach the world. With mbaqanga I would have been seen as a tourist musician," he told the Mail & Guardian in an interview in 2001."Don’t waste your time and mine,” a concert promoter told Richard Siluma, Dube’s producer at the time. “No one wants to hear reggae.” By 1987, Dube was the sole reggae star among South African "disco" acts and established music acts such as Brenda Fassie, Stimela and the Soul Brothers.His introduction to the international stage was heartening, such as when he was invited to play at the Sunsplash Festival in Jamaica in 1991. He recalled how the spiritual home of reggae had been waiting for him and his band. "We knew they love the music. They said we remind them of Peter Tosh.

" On the final evening of the festival they were called back for an encore -- and for another performance the next year. The reggae sensation, who did not drink or smoke cigarettes or marijuana, despite the association of the substance with Rastafarians, had won more than 20 awards for his music contribution locally and internationally. He is the only South African artist to have a record signed to Motown Records, according to Luckydubemusic.com. His reception on the international stage had been mixed, however. European audiences had argued that he sang world music and local audiences felt his music had changed to an extent that it flew over them.This did not seem to bother him.

"We have found that locally the audience does not grow with you. People expect me to still be doing Ayobayo, yet that was 1987 and this is 2001," he said in the M&G interview.Dube always had to fend off questions of whether he was Rastafarian. "If Rastafarianism is about having dreadlocks, smoking marijuana and believing that Haile Selassie is God, then I am not Rastafarian. But if it is about political, social and personal consciousness, then, yes, I am," he said.Although his idol was Peter Tosh, he acknowledged the unshakeable influence of the king of reggae, Bob Marley, whom he described as "the reason we know reggae".

Kufuor receives Letters of four new Ambassadors

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday expressed Ghana's gratefulness to Canada for its tremendous development assistance to the country.Receiving the Letters of Commission of the newly appointed Canadian High Commissioner to the country, Mr Barren Schemmer, at the Castle, Osu, the President said Ghana, which is the biggest recipient of Canadian Overseas Development Assistance (ODA), south of the Sahara, appreciated the enhanced support from that country.Mr Dirk Verheyen, Belgium Ambassador, Mr Daniel R. Smith, Namibian High Commissioner and Mr James Donald Kalilangwe, Malawian High Commissioner, also presented their Letters.President Kufuor noted that there was a lot of goodwill between Ghana and Canada and that the two had related very well not only at the Commonwealth, but, on the international arena, generally. He said it was his expectation that the High Commissioner would work to further strengthen the bond of friendship.Mr. Schemmer, pledged to help build on the good trade and economic development co-operation between the two countries When the Belgium Ambassador, to be based in Abuja, Nigeria, took his turn, President Kufuor said Ghana attached importance to its relations with the European country.Belgium, he said, wielded a lot of influence and that the country wanted to connect with it. He said, he was however, a bit unhappy that Belgium did not have a permanent mission in the country and asked the Ambassador to take this up with his home Government. Mr Verheyen said Ghana was one of their important partners in Africa and promised to do all he could to raise the relations to a new high level.President Kufuor spoke of the need for special bond of sisterly relations among African nations when the Namibian High Commissioner called.This, he said, was necessary as the Continent made determined efforts towards political unification.Mr Smith said Ghana and his country had co-operated well at the African Union (AU), United Nations (UN) and the Commonwealth, adding that he would work to sustain the cordial relations. Ghana and Malawi take common position on issues and this is how it should be, President Kufuor said, when Mr Kalilangwe, presented his Letter.He said reducing poverty, instability, conflicts and diseases in Africa, had been a shared vision of the two countries and asked that they worked even more closely to grow their relations. The High Commissioner gave the assurance that he was committed towards helping to enhance the warm relationship.
Source:GNA