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Genital mutilation of young girls sold for dark magic in Ivory Coast

When he was a witch doctor, Moussa Diallo would regularly smear himself in a lotion made from a clitoris cut from a girl subjected to female genital mutilation.

“I wanted to be a big chief, I wanted to dominate,” said the small but charismatic fiftysomething from northwest Ivory Coast.

“I put it on my face and body” every three months or so “for about three years”, said Diallo, who asked AFP not to use his real name.

Genitalia cut from girls in illegal “circumcision” ceremonies is used in several regions of the West African country to “make love potions” or magic ointments that some believe will help them “make money or reach high political office”, said Labe Gneble, head of the National Organisation for Women, Children and the Family (ONEF).

A ground-down clitoris can sell for up to around $170 (152 euros), the equivalent of what many in Ivory Coast earn in a month.

Diallo stopped using the unctions a decade ago, but regional police chief Lieutenant N’Guessan Yosso confirmed to AFP that dried clitorises are still “very sought after for mystical practices”.

And it is clear from extensive interviews AFP conducted with former faith healers, circumcisers, social workers, researchers and NGOs, that there is a thriving traffic in female genitalia for the powers they supposedly impart.

Many are convinced the trade is hampering the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM), which has been banned in the religiously diverse nation for more than a quarter of a century.

Despite that, one in five Ivorian women are still being cut, according to the OECD, with one in two being mutilated in parts of the north.

– Cut and mixed with plants –

Before he had a crisis of conscience and decided to campaign against FGM, Diallo said he was often asked by the women who performed excisions around the small town of Touba to use his powers to protect them from evil spells.

Female circumcision has been practised by different religions in West Africa for centuries, with most girls cut between childhood and adolescence. Many families consider it a rite of passage or a way to control and repress female sexuality, according to UN children’s agency UNICEF, which condemns cutting as a dangerous violation of girls’ fundamental rights.

Beyond the physical and psychological pain, cutting can be fatal, lead to sterility, birth complications, chronic infections and bleeding, not to mention the loss of sexual pleasure.

Diallo would often accompany the women who do the cutting out into the forest or to a home where dozens of girls would be circumcised, often surrounded by fetishes and sacred objects. So it was relatively easy for the former faith healer to obtain the precious powder.

“When they would cut the clitorises they would dry them for a month or two then pound them with stones,” he said.

The result was a “black powder” which was then sometimes mixed with “leaves, roots and bark” or shea butter that is often used in cosmetics.

They could then sell it for around “100,000 CFA Francs (152 euros) if the girl was a virgin” or “65,000 (99 euros) if she already had a child” or barter it for goods and services, Diallo added.

The ex-witch doctor said he was able to get some of the powder recently — a mix of human flesh and plants, he believes — from a cutter in his village.

AFP was shown the powder but was unable to analyse it without buying it.

– ‘Organ trafficking’ –

Former circumcisers interviewed by AFP insisted that clitorises cut from girls are either buried, thrown into a river or given to the parents, depending on local custom.

But one in the west of the country admitted some end up being used for magic.

“Some people pretend they are the girls’ parents and go off with the clitoris,” she said.

Witch doctors use them for “incantations” and sell them afterwards, she claimed.

Another circumciser said some of her colleagues were complicit in the trade, “giving (genitalia) to people who are up to no good” for occult purposes.

Mutilated when she was still a child, one victim told AFP that her mother warned her to bring home the flesh that had been cut.

The trade is regarded as “organ trafficking” in Ivorian law and is punishable — like FGM — with fines and several years in prison, said lawyer Marie Laurence Didier Zeze.

But police in Odienne, who are in charge of five regions in the country’s northwest, said no one has ever been indicted for trafficking.

“People won’t say anything about sacred practices,” lamented Lieutenant N’Guessan Yosso.

The cutters themselves are both feared and respected, locals told AFP, often seen as prisoners of evil spirits.

– ‘Just nuts’ –

“A clitoris cannot give you magical powers, it’s just nuts,” said gynaecologist Jacqueline Chanine based in the country’s commercial capital Abidjan.

Even so, the practice is still stubbornly widespread in some parts of the country, according to researchers.

Dieudonne Kouadio, an anthropologist specialising in health, was presented with a box of the powder in the town of Odienne, 150 kilometres north of Touba.

“It contained a dried cut organ in the form of a blackish powder,” he said.

His discovery was included in a 2021 report for the Djigui foundation, whose conclusions were accepted by the Ministry for Women.

Farmers in Denguele district, of which Odienne is a part, “buy clitorises and mix the powder with their seeds to increase the fertility of their fields”, said Nouho Konate, a Djigui foundation member who has been fighting FGM in the area for 16 years.

He said parents of young girls were “gutted” when he told them of the trafficking.

Further south and in the centre west of the country, women use clitoris powder as an aphrodisiac, hoping to prevent their husbands straying, said criminologist Safie Roseline N’da, author of a 2023 study on FGM which also pointed to the trade.

She and her two co-authors discovered that blood from cut women was also being used to honour traditional gods.

They are far from the only Ivorian folk remedies that use body parts, according to lawyer Didier Zeze.

– Mystic beliefs keeps it going –

“The mystic has a central place in daily life” in the Ivory Coast — where Islam, Christianity and traditional animist beliefs co-exist — said the Canadian anthropologist Boris Koenig, a specialist in occult practices there. “It touches every sphere of people’s social, professional, family and love lives,” he said, and there is generally nothing illegal about it.

The trade, however, is “one of the reasons that FGM survives” in the Ivory Coast, NGOs argue, where the rate of cutting is generally falling and is below the West African average of 28 percent, according to the OECD.

Back near Touba, the former witch doctor Diallo recalled how up to 30 women would be cut in a day in the places his magic protected.

The dry season between January to March was the favoured period for circumcisions, when the hot Harmattan wind from the Sahara helps scars heal, he said.

Staff at the region’s only social work centre say the cutting is still going on but hard to quantify because it never happens in the open.

Instead it goes on in secret, hidden behind traditional festivals which have nothing to do with the practice, kept going they say by circumcisers from neighbouring Guinea — only a few kilometres away — where FGM rates are over 90 percent.

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EPL:Tottenham Humiliate Manchester City with Stunning 4-0 Victory in Premier League Clash

Manchester City’s struggles in the Premier League continued in shocking fashion as Tottenham Hotspur delivered a resounding 4-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium.

Despite Pep Guardiola recently renewing his contract, his team’s form remained in free fall, with this match marking their fifth consecutive league defeat.

The match began with early intent from City, but their talismanic striker Erling Haaland squandered two golden opportunities to open the scoring.

The visitors made no such mistakes. With their first meaningful attack, Spurs capitalized, as James Maddison coolly converted a well-timed cross from Dejan Kulusevski to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

City were stunned, and things went from bad to worse just moments later. Tottenham struck again with Maddison doubling his tally.

The midfielder expertly clipped the ball into the net after a precise through pass from Son Heung-min.

The Etihad was left in disbelief as City’s defense crumbled under Spurs’ rapid counterattacks.

Heading into the second half, Guardiola would have expected a response from his team. However, it was Tottenham who extended their advantage almost immediately. Pedro Porro unleashed a powerful strike from the edge of the box that rifled past Ederson, making it 3-0.

The home side looked shell-shocked, and their attempts to mount a comeback were met with resolute defending from Spurs and an inspired performance by goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

City pressed forward with urgency but lacked precision and belief in the final third.

Their efforts were further thwarted by Vicario, who made several crucial saves to preserve his clean sheet. With City committing players forward in search of a consolation goal, Tottenham delivered the final blow on the counterattack. Substitute Timo Werner, who came on to exploit City’s high line, raced clear and unselfishly squared the ball to Brennan Johnson.

The young forward calmly slotted home the fourth goal to complete the rout.

This emphatic victory for Spurs underscored their sharpness and tactical discipline under Ange Postecoglou. Maddison’s creativity, Porro’s striking ability, and the collective resilience of the team shone brightly.

Meanwhile, Guardiola’s City look increasingly vulnerable, their dominance shaken by a string of uncharacteristic performances.

Tottenham’s victory sends a clear signal to the league, propelling them further up the table, while City must urgently address their defensive frailties and regain their confidence if they are to salvage their season.

For Spurs fans, it was a night to remember, and for City supporters, a moment of deep concern.

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FIBA Africa gives more responsibilities to the Zones

Confirms host of Afrobasket men and women events …Madagascar’s Jean Michel appointed as Vice President of FIBA Africa

By Maxwell Kumoye The governing body of the game of basketball on the continent, FIBA Africa has given the seven zones under it structure more responsibilities and power as it seeks to reposition the slamming and dunking game on the continent.

FIBA Africa Central Board at its meeting in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire between the 17th and 19th of this month said each of the Zones should take more interest in the various National Federations under their watch.

The meeting which was the first to be attended by the new FIBA Africa Executive Member and President of FIBA Africa Zone 3, Retired Colonel Samuel Ahmedu, charged the Zone Presidents to carry our an audit of all the National Federations facilities under their watch to see which of the can host top class FIBA competitions.

This move is born out of the fact that among the 54 membes of FIBA Africa, some big National Federations like Nigeria cannot boast of world class facilities for major competition.

In the last five years, all major FIBA Africa competitions have been held in just eight National Federations countries like:✓ Angola✓ Cameroon ✓ Cote D’Ivoire ✓ Egypt✓ Mozambique ✓ Rwanda ✓ Senegal ✓ Tunisia It’s instructive to note that all the host for FIBA Africa major competitions until 2027 have been designated.

Your authoritative and award-winning news channel FIRST ZEALMEDIACAST BLOG, understands that FIBA Africa has also confirmed Abidjan the capital of Cote D’Ivoire will host the 2025 Afrobasket Women’s Championship while Luanda, Angola will host the men’s event the same year.

The Women Afrobasket takes place in July and D’Tigress of Nigeria are the defending champions and Afrobasket for men will follow in August.Meanwhile, Mr. Julien Farran has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer of FIBA Africa. He is expected to take over from Mr. Yira Yacouba who is retiring.

In a related development, Mr. Jean Michel of Madagascar, a member of FIBA Central Board and President of FIBA Africa Development Commission has been appointed as Vice President of FIBA Africa.

We gathered that BAL Elite 16 East Division will take place in Nairobi, Kenya from 28th Nov to 3rd December, 2024.

If there is one issue that is giving FIBA Africa sleepless nights is the deadly, damaging and prevalent practice of using overaged players in aged grade competitions like the U-16 and U-18.

To this end, a TASK FORCE will be set up to curtail this ugle trend and the TASK FORCE will not only spell out the punishment for using overaged players in aged grade competitions but will also be presented with a sledge hammer to deal with offenders.

The President of FIBA Africa Zone 3 Retired Colonel Samuel Ahmedu said, “Training for Secretary Generals of National Federations was proposed and approved during the FIBA Africa Central Board Meeting and that National Federations should ensure more organization and participation in 3×3 activities.”

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FIBA Africa gives more responsibilities to the Zones…Confirms host of Afrobasket men and women events…Madagascar’s Jean Michel appointed as Vice

FIBA Africa gives more responsibilities to the Zones
…Confirms host of Afrobasket men and women events
…Madagascar’s Jean Michel appointed as Vice President of FIBA Africa

The governing body of the game of basketball on the continent, FIBA Africa has given the seven zones under it structure more responsibilities and power as it seeks to reposition the slamming and dunking game on the continent.

This move is born out of the fact that among the 54 membes of FIBA Africa, some big National Federations like Nigeria cannot boast of world class facilities for major competition.

It’s instructive to note that all the host for FIBA Africa major competitions until 2027 have been designated.

The Women Afrobasket takes place in July and D’Tigress of Nigeria are the defending champions and Afrobasket for men will follow in August.

Meanwhile, Mr. Julien Farran has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer of FIBA Africa. He is expected to take over from Mr. Yira Yacouba who is retiring.

In a related development, Mr. Jean Michel of Madagascar, a member of FIBA Central Board and President of FIBA Africa Development Commission has been appointed as Vice President of FIBA Africa.

We gathered that BAL Elite 16 East Division will take place in Nairobi, Kenya from 28th Nov to 3rd December, 2024.

If there is one issue that is giving FIBA Africa sleepless nights is the deadly, damaging and prevalent practice of using overaged players in aged grade competitions like the U-16 and U-18.

News

NFF President, Gusau, elected 1st Vice President of WAFU B

The President of Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau has been elected as the 1st Vice President of the West African Football Union (WAFU) B zone.

The election took place in Niamey, Niger Republic on Friday, on the margin of this year’s CAF African Schools Football Championship (WAFU B qualifying tournament) taking place in that country.

President of Ghana Football Association, Kurt Edwin-Simeon Okraku, was elected President of the zone, while Oumarou Sawadogo, President of the Burkinabe Football Federation, was elected as the 2nd Vice President.

The WAFU B zone is made up of seven countries, viz Nigeria, Togo, Benin Republic, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger Republic and Cote d’Ivoire.

Gusau, who became President of NFF in September 2022, has served in several high-level capacities in African football, including being on the Organizing Committee for the African Nations Championship (CHAN), and serving as a top security officer of both FIFA and CAF.

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Mark Lawrenson Predicts Premier League Results for the Weekend Fixtures

Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson has shared his predictions for this weekend’s Premier League matches, offering insights into the potential outcomes of key fixtures.

Fans are eager to see how the games unfold as the league continues to deliver intense battles and surprises.

The action kicks off on Saturday with an early match at the King Power Stadium, where Leicester City will host Chelsea.

Lawrenson expects Chelsea to edge out a narrow victory, predicting a 2-1 win for the Blues. Chelsea will aim to continue their upward trajectory, while Leicester will hope to capitalize on home advantage to pull off an upset.

Later that evening, Arsenal will welcome Nottingham Forest to the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners, looking to solidify their title credentials, are predicted to secure a comfortable 2-0 victory.

Mikel Arteta’s men have been in excellent form, and Nottingham Forest will have a tough task trying to stifle their attacking prowess.

Premier League champions Manchester City will face Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium in one of the weekend’s most anticipated matches.

Lawrenson has backed Pep Guardiola’s side to claim a 2-0 win, continuing their strong form at home. Spurs will need to be at their very best to stand a chance against City’s relentless attacking force.

In other Saturday fixtures, Aston Villa is expected to dominate Crystal Palace at Villa Park with a 3-0 victory.

Meanwhile, Bournemouth and Brighton are tipped to share the spoils in a 1-1 draw, as both teams look to maintain their mid-table standings.

Everton and Brentford are also predicted to end their match in a 1-1 stalemate, with both sides struggling for consistency this season.

Fulham is expected to edge out Wolves at Craven Cottage with a 2-1 victory, as Marco Silva’s team aims to climb higher in the league table.

On Sunday, Southampton will host Liverpool at St. Mary’s Stadium. Lawrenson predicts a 3-1 victory for Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, who will be eager to maintain their push for the top spots. Southampton, battling relegation, face a daunting task against a Liverpool side firing on all cylinders.

Manchester United will travel to face Ipswich Town in an away fixture. Lawrenson foresees a 2-1 win for the Red Devils, though Ipswich will aim to cause an upset.

The weekend concludes with Newcastle United hosting West Ham at St. James’ Park. The Magpies are tipped to secure a commanding 3-0 victory, as they continue their impressive form in front of their passionate home fans.

The Premier League weekend promises excitement, drama, and potentially season-defining results as teams battle for crucial points.

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Nigeria’s Super Falcons Drawn Against Tunisia, Algeria, and Botswana in Group B of 2024 WAFCON

The Super Falcons of Nigeria will lock horns with Tunisia, Algeria, and Botswana in Group B at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).

The draw, which took place on Friday evening, was held at the Technical Centre of the Mohamed VI Football Complex in Sale, just outside Rabat, Morocco.

The prestigious tournament will see 12 of Africa’s finest women’s football teams battle for supremacy in a three-week final event scheduled to run from July 5 to July 26, 2025. Morocco, the host nation, will welcome the continent’s best players as they strive to lift the coveted trophy.

For the nine-time African champions, Nigeria, the tournament offers another opportunity to demonstrate their dominance in women’s football on the continent.

Placed in Group B, the Super Falcons are no strangers to their North African rivals Algeria and Tunisia, though their encounter with the latter will mark the first competitive meeting between the two teams in WAFCON history.

Nigeria has an encouraging record against Algeria, having recently defeated the Fennecs in a two-legged friendly encounter.

The victories have bolstered the confidence of Randy Waldrum’s squad as they prepare to extend their winning streak against Algeria in Morocco.

Botswana, another Group B opponent, will also be familiar territory for the Super Falcons.

In the last edition of the competition, Nigeria secured a narrow 1-0 victory over the southern African side in their group-stage clash.

However, Botswana will be determined to upset the odds and improve their record against the defending giants.

Tunisia, the second North African team in the group, will pose an interesting challenge for the Super Falcons. Though this will be their first competitive meeting at WAFCON, Tunisia’s steady progress in women’s football in recent years could make them a formidable opponent.

Elsewhere in the tournament, Group A features the host nation Morocco alongside Zambia, Senegal, and DR Congo. Morocco, the 2022 WAFCON runners-up, will be eager to capitalize on home advantage and challenge for the title.

Group C includes South Africa, the defending champions, who will face tough opposition from Ghana, Mali, and Tanzania.

The South Africans are aiming to retain their title after their historic triumph in the 2022 edition.

The 2024 WAFCON promises to deliver thrilling encounters and unforgettable moments as Africa’s elite women footballers converge in Morocco.

Fans of the Super Falcons will hope their team can reclaim the crown and further solidify their reputation as the powerhouse of African women’s football.