بارَكَ اللّهُ لَك، وَبارَكَ عَلَـيْك، وَجَمَعَ بَيْـنَكُما في خَـيْر
Baarakallaahu laka, wa baaraka ‘alayka, wa jama’a baynakumaa fee khayrin
“Allah bless you, and may He send blessings upon you, and may He unite you both in good.”
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would say the following to congratulate someone on their marriage:
“May Allah bless you, shower His blessings upon you, and unite you in goodness.”
Barak Allah Lakuma, now you start this new journey in your life. Hope you’ll always give each other unconditional love. Wishing you the best of luck and the most beautiful life ahead!
These are the members of those who stand in the wedding. My personal one Makoyah konateh ❤️
“May Allah bless your marriage with love, peace, and barakah.” “May you be blessed with a long and happy life together, filled with Allah’s guidance.” “I wish you a marriage blessed with happiness, peace, and righteous offspring.” “May Allah grant you both the strength to face challenges and the wisdom to cherish every blessing.” “O Allah, make this marriage a source of joy in this life and the hereafter.”
The launch marks the movement’s first on-the-ground community engagement in what STAND says will be a sweeping campaign to reclaim the voice of the Liberian people.
Monrovia, Liberia – The grassroots political movement STAND has kicked off its much-anticipated “Street-to-Street, Door-to-Door” campaign, beginning in District 7, Montserrado County, as part of its national mobilization effort ahead of the July 17 “Enough is Enough” nonviolent protest.
increased suppression of dissent, intimidation of civil society, and growing fears among ordinary Liberians who feel neglected and unheard. “These are the real issues confronting our people,” STAND emphasized. “Yet, rather than addressing these problems, the government chooses to cling to outdated polling data to justify its narrative.”
As part of its campaign, STAND is calling on Afrobarometer and other reputable research institutions to return to Liberia and conduct a new, updated national survey that accurately captures citizens’ perspectives in mid-2025.
According to the group, any new polling must assess issues such as corruption in government, access to justice and fairness in the legal system, economic hardship and inflation, human rights violations, and erosion of democratic institutions. “Liberians need real data, not political spin,” the group declared. “Only by understanding the truth can we chart a path forward.”
STAND has confirmed plans to expand the campaign to all 17 electoral districts in Montserrado County, with additional teams being mobilized in Bong, Grand Bassa, Nimba, Lofa, and Margibi Counties in the coming weeks.
The July 17 protest, branded under the theme “Enough is Enough,” is envisioned as a massive, peaceful demonstration aimed at pressuring the Boakai administration to deliver on its promises and respect democratic principles.
Organizers say the protest will include civil society groups, student unions, market associations, youth organizations, and thousands of ordinary citizens. “This movement is not about politics,” said Morlu. “It’s about restoring hope, demanding results, and refusing to be lied to by those in power. If democracy means anything, then this is our moment to make it count.”
STAND is also calling on the international community and democratic observer missions to monitor the protest preparations and ensure that the rights of citizens to peaceful assembly and free expression are protected. The group warned that any attempt to suppress the protest or intimidate participants would be met with widespread condemnation, both domestically and internationally.
“We will not allow fear or repression to silence the truth,” STAND stated. “Liberians are ready to rise, peacefully and lawfully, for justice and change.”
As residents in District 7 welcomed campaigners into their homes, many expressed hope that the growing movement would finally hold national leaders accountable. “We are tired of empty promises,” said one resident in the Lakpazee area. “It’s time for action, and this campaign is giving us the power to speak up.”
With the July 17 protest now just over six weeks away, STAND says its campaign will continue to expand daily, reaching more communities and spreading its message of accountability, justice, and reform. “This is not a one-day event,” the group concluded. “It is a people-powered movement to reclaim our democracy and restore the soul of Liberia. And it has begun — door by door.”
Togo has suspended mining permits to reclaim control over its natural resources, aligning with its plan to join the Alliance of Sahelian States (AES). This move challenges foreign exploitation and aims to reform outdated mining laws, ensuring local benefits and environmental protection—mirroring Burkina Faso’s push for resource nationalism. WATCH: https://youtu.be/s4k5AjXi0Og?si=NDCdQswXAHBz1VVj
The Ministry of Labour has officially uniformed its Labour Inspectors, awaiting deployment on the field, in a bid to dignify them and curtail the growing wave of illegal activities by unscrupulous individuals purporting to be Labour Ministry Inspectors.
Addressing the first batch of uniformed Labour Inspectors at the Ministry today, April 1, 2024, Labour Minister, Cllr. Cooper W. Kruah, stressed the relevance of the exercise to enable the public easily recognize legitimate and accredited labour inspectors on the field in the performance of their assigned official functions.
Expressing delight over the exercise which is first of its kind in the history of the Labour Ministry, Minister Kruah urged the Inspectors to use the uniforms for official functions in order to be easily and proudly identified by the public and partners with whom they have regular interactions.
“It is for the kind of work you, as an inspectors do. It Is not a one day thing; but a continuous exercise that you do and the public must be able to identify us and get used to us, Minister Kruah emphasized”
Minister Kruah further stressed that in every institution, there are always bad people and as such, the exercise is intended to prevent people that are not uniformed by the ministry, but masquerading as Labour Inspectors from going out to function as such, noting that this illegal practice has been having negative impact on the image of the ministry over the years.
“There will be no business as usual here under our administration”, the Labour boss sounded, noting that the process of providing official uniforms for the Labour Inspectors is part of the rebranding exercise of the vital mandate of the ministry.
The Labour Minister then expressed optimism about the future of the Inspectorate Division, promising to provide needed logistical and manpower support for the professional output of the division. Ministry.
He promised to provide additional supplies of uniforms for the inspectors to enable them to remain tidy in their work, especially during special assignments outside of headquarters.
For his part, the Inspector General of the Ministry of Labour, Mr. Charles Brown hailed Minister Kruah for being innovative to initiate the uniform program.
Inspector-General Brown described the provision of uniforms for Labour Ministry Inspectors by Minister Kruah as “a great idea and welcoming development” that must be embraced by all patriotic citizens.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, who has died aged 87, was a titan of modern African literature – a storyteller who refused to be bound by jail and exile.
His work spanned roughly six decades, primarily documenting the transformation of his country – Kenya – from a colonial subject to a democracy.
Ngũgĩ was tipped to win the Nobel Prize for Literature countless times, leaving fans dismayed each time the medal slipped through his fingers.
On Wednesday, his family announced he had passed away in the United States, following a long illness.
The writer’s daughter, Wanjiku wa Ngũgĩ, said in a Facebook post: “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our dad, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, this Wednesday morning, 28th May 2025.
“He lived a full life, fought a good fight. As was his last wish, let’s celebrate his life and his work.”
Ngũgĩ will be remembered not only as a Nobel-worthy writer, but also as a fierce proponent of literature written in native African languages.
He was born James Thiong’o Ngũgĩ in 1938, when Kenya was under British colonial rule. He grew up in the town of Limuru among a large family of low-income agricultural workers.
His parents scrimped and saved to pay for his tuition at Alliance, a boarding school run by British missionaries.
In an interview, Ngũgĩ recalled returning home from Alliance at the end of term to find his entire village had been razed by the colonial authorities.
His family members were among the hundreds and thousands forced to live in detention camps during a crackdown on the Mau Mau, a movement of independence fighters.
The Mau Mau uprising, which lasted from 1952 to 1960, touched Ngũgĩ’s life in numerous, devastating ways.
In one of the most crushing, Ngũgĩ’s brother, Gitogo, was fatally shot in the back for refusing to comply with a British soldier’s command.
Gitogo had not heard the command because he was deaf.
Kikuyu tribesmen suspected of belonging to the Mau-Mau movement are interrogated by a police inspector. 1952. Image source,Getty Images Image caption,Kenyans were frequently interrogated under suspicion of being Mau Mau rebels
In 1959, as the British struggled to maintain their grip on Kenya, Ngũgĩ left to study in Uganda. He enrolled at Makerere University, which remains one of Africa’s most prestigious universities.
During a writers’ conference at Makerere, Ngũgĩ shared the manuscript for his debut novel with revered Nigerian author Chinua Achebe.
Achebe forwarded the manuscript to his publisher in the UK and the book, named Weep Not, Child, was released to critical acclaim in 1964. It was the first major English-language novel to be written by an East African.
Ngũgĩ swiftly followed up with two more popular novels, A Grain of Wheat and The River Between. In 1972, the UK’s Times newspaper said Ngũgĩ, then aged 33, was “accepted as one of Africa’s outstanding contemporary writers”.
Then came 1977 – a period that marked a huge change in Ngũgĩ’s life and career. For starters, this was the year he became Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and shed his birth name, James. Ngũgĩ made the change as he wanted a name free of colonial influence.
He also dropped English as the primary language for his literature and vowed to only write in his mother tongue, Kikuyu.
He published his last English language novel, Petals of Blood, in 1977.
Ngũgĩ’s previous books had been critical of the colonial state, but Petals of Blood attacked the new leaders of independent Kenya, portraying them as an elite class who had betrayed ordinary Kenyans.
Ngũgĩ didn’t stop there. The same year, he co-wrote the play Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want), which was a searing look at Kenya’s class struggle.
Its theatre run was shut down by the government of then President Jomo Kenyatta and Ngũgĩ was locked up in a maximum security jail for a year without trial.
It was a fruitful 12 months, however – as Ngũgĩ wrote his first Kikuyu novel, Devil on the Cross, while in prison. It is said he used toilet paper to write the entire book, as he did not have access to a notebook.
Ngũgĩ was released after Daniel arap Moi replaced Mr Kenyatta as president.
He returned to the US, where he had held professorships at universities including Yale, New York and California Irvine.
In academia and beyond, Ngũgĩ became known as one of the foremost advocates of literature written in African languages.
Throughout his career – and to this day – African literature was dominated by books written in English or French, official languages in most countries on the continent.
“What is the difference between a politician who says Africa cannot do without imperialism and the writer who says Africa cannot do without European languages?” Ngũgĩ asked in a seminal, fiery essay collection, named Decolonising the Mind.
In one section, Ngũgĩ called out Chinua Achebe – the author who helped to launch his career – for writing in English. Their friendship soured as a result.
Away from his literary career, Ngũgĩ was married – and divorced – twice. He had nine children, four of whom are published authors.
“My own family has become one of my literary rivals,” Ngũgĩ joked in a 2020 LA Times interview.
K.Klogictech 