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Oscar Pistorius denied leave to appeal for Steenkamp murder

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PS

South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has been denied leave to appeal against his conviction for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The Constitutional Court has made the ruling, meaning Pistorius will now be sentenced in April.

Pistorius killed Ms Steenkamp in February 2013 after firing four times through a locked toilet door.

A manslaughter verdict was overturned in December and a murder verdict introduced in its place.

Oscar Pistorius, fallen hero

Analysis: Justice served

South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the Constitutional Court found “no prospect of success” in Pistorius’ appeal.

The case will now go back to Judge Thokozile Masipa – who cleared the athlete of murder in the original case – for sentencing on 18 April.

Prosecutors are believed to be targeting a sentence of at least 15 years in jail for Pistorius.

This is the end of the road for Oscar Pistorius. The Constitutional Court was his last chance to overturn his murder conviction.

Many in the country felt that judge Thokozile Masipa had erred when she convicted him of a lesser charge, but some still believed Pistorius had not intended to kill anyone, let alone Reeva Steenkamp.

Now a full bench of the country’s most powerfully judges has ruled that Pistorius’ latest bid has no chance of succeeding.

The next step now is for the two legal teams to present their arguments about the length of his sentence – and the state wants no less than 15 years.

He is currently under house arrest after spending one year of his original five-year sentence in jail.

In December, South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the lower court under Judge Masipa had not applied correctly the rule of dolus eventualis – whether Pistorius knew that a death would be a likely result of his actions.

Justice Eric Leach said that having armed himself with a high-calibre weapon, Pistorius must have foreseen that whoever was behind the door might die, especially given his firearms training.

Pistorius has always maintained he believed he was shooting at an intruder.

 

Source: BBC

Two Policemen held over extortion granted bail

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PM

Two Policemen who allegedly mounted a road block and extorted cash amounting to GH¢ 247.00 from unsuspecting drivers at Tabora junction have been granted bail by an Accra Circuit Court.
They are to report to the Criminal Investigation Department every Thursday until directed otherwise by the Court.

The two who are to reappear on March 23 have pleaded not guilty to the various charges.Musah was formerly attached to the National Police Department Headquarters, while Tinob was with the National Police Patrol Department, Headquarters.
The prosecutor said on February 18 this year at about 7:30 pm at Tabora Junction, Accra, policemen from PIPPS led by Godfred Aseidu Bampoe arrested the accused persons for professional misconduct.
Prosecution said on February 19, this year, when their rented apartments were searched, the Police found nothing incriminatory in Tinob’s room.The rest  were four bullet proof vest, a  photocopy of a permanent driver’s licence in the name of Emmanuel K. Kumi with pin number 2770991-01-01 issued on April 17, 2014 and a temporary driving licence in the name of Sappor James, four Military camouflage uniform (top), a pair of Military Uniform and two pairs of shorts.
Prosecution said Musah indicated that he found the Military Uniform in a tent at the Police Training School, Accra, when he and his colleagues were cleaning up the tent but failed to report to any of his superiors.
In the case of Tinob, he maintained that he encountered traffic jam and he only stopped at Tabora Junction to control the traffic only to be arrested by Police officers.

 

Source: GNA

C-Poly Alumni demonstrates over Technical University Conversion

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CP

The Cape Coast Polytechnic Association and the Coalition of Central Region Youth groups have staged a demonstration to register their displeasure over the non-inclusion of the polytechnic in the first phase of the polytechnics to be converted into technical universities.

The groups together with some lecturers and workers of Polytechnic who were clad in red and black and chanted war songs blocked the main entrance to the school.

The aggrieved groups who enjoyed massive support from some workers, market women, and residents from Abura and other nearby communities, refused to allow any vehicle to enter the campus from about 0630hours until around 1030hours.

The demonstration, which was calculated to coincide with the Polytechnic’s Council meeting, worked to make an impact as Members, including the Rector, the Vice and others, who were attending the  meeting were made to walk more than 100 metres from the gate to the Administration Block because the group refused their vehicles entry.

The Queen mother of Mankessim and President of the Central Regional Queen mothers’ Association, Nana Ama Amissah, III who were also attending the meeting had to walk to the venue.

Dr. Don Arthur, the Chairman of the Council, was delayed at the gate for almost an hour, before he was granted passage, and this was even after he had accepted a petition from them.

Police officers from the Central Regional Police Command were dispatched to the campus to ensure order.

President John Mahama in his State of the Nation address last Thursday, listed six Polytechnics for the first phase of the conversion of polytechnics into technical universities in September but C-Poly was missing on the list.

This ,the group disagreed since according to them, the  polytechnic ranked sixth in the report of a Technical Committee set up by the National Council  for Tertiary Education ( NTCE), in July last year.

Their demonstration comes after several appeals to the Government via petitions and media conferences to ensure transparency in the selection process since they claim the polytechnic had been treated unfairly.

The NTCE has said the selection process was flawless.

At a point, the coalition threatened a legal action against the NTCE, if a tangible explanation was not given.

The coalition is made up of the Central Region Youth for Development, Fante Students’ Association, Concerned Youth of Cape Coast North, Cape Coast Development Association, Abura Youth Confederacy and Ghana Muslim Students Alumni.

The School is, however, expected to reopen this weekend.

 

Source: GNA

Somalia’s al-Shabab journalist Hassan Hanafi sentenced to death

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AB

A Somali military court has sentenced to death a former journalist who helped al-Shabab kill five fellow reporters.

Hassan Hanafi assisted the Islamist militant group by indentifying possible targets amongst journalists between 2007 and 2011.

He joined its armed wing after working for Radio Andalus, al-Shabab’s mouthpiece in Somalia.

More than 25 journalists have been murdered in Somalia since 2007, the Committee to Protect Journalists says.

Africa Live: BBC news updates

Who are al-Shabab?

While he was working for al-Shabab, Hanafi would call up journalists and threaten them with death if they refused to join the militant group, the BBC Somali’s Mohammud Ali says.

‘Murder mastermind’

When giving his verdict Judge Hassan Ali said the evidence showed that Hanafi “had key roles in the masterminding and execution of the murder of several journalists,” the AFP news agency reports.

The court in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, ruled that he should be executed by firing squad like several other al-Shabab operatives in recent years.

After the sentence was announced Hanafi said: “I am indifferent if you kill me. You will see if killings will stop even after my death,” the Reuters news agency reports.

He was arrested by police in 2014 in neighbouring Kenya, where he had fled, and was then extradited to Somalia.

The Somali authorities try anyone accused anyone being a member of al-Shabab, which is part of al-Qaeda, in a military court.

Al-Shabab frequently stages attacks in Mogadishu and other cities, and still controls many rural areas in southern Somalia.

 

Source: BBC

Nigeria police hunt Lagos schoolgirls’ kidnappers

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Nigerian police are hunting for three teenage girls abducted from their boarding school on the outskirts of Lagos city by heavily armed men.

Kidnappings for ransom occasionally occur in Nigeria’s commercial capital, but this is the first time a school in the city has been attacked by gunmen.

The girls were taken from a private co-educational secondary school on Monday evening.

A BBC reporter in Lagos says the abductors have yet to issue demands.

In most kidnapping cases in southern Nigeria, hostages are released unharmed after a ransom has been paid, reports the BBC’s Umar Shehu Elleman from Lagos.

It is nearly two years since more than 200 girls were kidnapped from a boarding school in the north-eastern town of Chibok by militant fighters behind the Islamist insurgency in that region.

Despite military advances against the Boko Haram group over the past year, the Chibok girls have yet to be found.

Lagos police spokesperson Dolapo Badmus told the BBC a search to rescue the girls taken from the Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary School was under way.

From local media reports it is not clear whether the girls were kidnapped from their dormitory or in a nearby block where they were studying.

Some witnesses reported that shots were fired, making it hard for the unarmed security guards to intervene.

Our reporter says the school, linked to the Anglican Church, is one of the best and most expensive in Lagos state and is mostly attended by children of politicians and wealthy individuals.

Some angry parents have reportedly withdrawn their children from the school until security is improved.

 

Source: BBC

I discovered my talent out of hunger – Funny Face

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Funny Face
Funny Face

Popular Ghanaian comedian, Funny Face, says it was hunger that pushed him to the limit to discover his real talent, which has now become his moneymaker.

According to him, the level of hunger he experienced played a key role in what he has become today, saying “Hunger is the purpose for my success and it’s been a very tough one”.

He said when hunger strikes someone, it gives that person impetus to think deep on how to overcome it; something he said he experienced and eventually led him to discover his talent as a comedian.

“Hunger will let you think of what you can do with your life. Have you been hungry before? I have been there before and I’m a true living testimony to hunger, which is still always fresh in my memories” he said.

The former Chorkor Totro actor said he is thankful to God for how far he has brought him in his career, saying “I still give God the Glory for where He took me from. Look at me now making so much money still giving praise”.

“You don’t need to dress flamboyant to show you have money. I dress simple and I don’t need to show off to anybody,” he said.

 

Source: Nana Afrane Asante|tv3network.com|Ghana

Flavor donates musical instrument to the church his career began

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Flavor

Nigerian A-list Artiste, Flavor recently visited the church his career began and donated few musical instrument as an appreciation and remembrance of his root.

Though some might consider it irrelevant, but the artiste remembered where he was coming from and saw it necessary to do some thing unforgettable for them.

The church of God mission has branches practically all around Nigeria, that’s to know how big and established the mission is, but they received his gift with so much love and joy. He was welcomed like the lost prodigal son, who left for so long and finally returned home.

The singer was happy, he was able to make a tangible contribution to his church, where his love and passion began.

In his words, “As you know the road to success is never ever easy, yet with faith, hope, determination and resilience, it is really possible to achieve your dream, goals and ambitions. It was a pleasure going to thanksgiving service at my church, Church of God mission in Enugu, where my love and passion for music grew.“

 

Source: Nigeriafims.com

Scented candles and air fresheners; the silent killers

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AR

Lives are being put at risk from air pollution inside homes caused by everything from boiler fumes to air fresheners and scented candles, it has been claimed.

The warning comes from a joint study by the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health to be published this week.

The danger of pollution in the street from car fumes is well understood, but many people are ignorant of the risks from air inside the home.

The drive to cut energy bills by insulating properties – keeping out drafts and installing windows that do not open – is playing a part in trapping a potentially toxic cloud of air.

The report, Every Breath We Take, warns that at least 40,000 deaths a year in the UK can be linked to the effect of air pollution outside and inside the home.

According to the report ‘indoor air pollution may have caused or contributed to 99,000 deaths annually in Europe’.

It suggests that everyday kitchen products, faulty boilers, open fires, fly sprays, air fresheners, deodorants, DIY and cleaning products contribute to poor indoor air quality.

Household sprays often use chemicals known as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which start off as solids or liquids but readily evaporate into the air.

Recent research in York found raised levels of a VOC called limonene, which is used heavily in air fresheners and scented candles, to give a lemon citrus smell.

It is dangerous to inhale on its own and can become formaldehyde – a carcinogen that burns the eyes, irritates the skin, and incites coughing fits, nausea, as well as nose and throat cancers – when it mixes with other airborne elements.

At the same time, certain furniture, fabric, furnishings, glue and insulation can emit formaldehyde vapour, causing irritation to the lungs.

Biological materials found in the home, such as house-dust mites, mould and animal dander – flecks of skin and fur – can also harm human health.

The report warns that while young children and the elderly are particularly sensitive to air pollution, it can have an adverse impact on all age groups.

It states: ‘Examples include the adverse effects of air pollution on the development of the foetus, including lung and kidney development, and miscarriage; increases in heart attacks and strokes for those in later life; and the associated links to asthma, diabetes, dementia, obesity and cancer for the wider population.’

The report demands more is done to crack down on polluters and protect the public from harmful emissions, particularly in urban areas and close to schools.

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) wants local authorities to be given the power to close or divert roads to reduce the volume of traffic, especially near schools, when pollution levels are high.

It also wants tougher legislation to force polluters to reduce their harmful emissions.

Professor Stephen Holgate, chairman of the report’s working party, said: ‘We now know that air pollution has a substantial impact on many chronic long term conditions, increasing strokes and heart attacks in susceptible individuals. We know that air pollution adversely effects the development of the foetus, including lung development.

‘And now there is compelling evidence that air pollution is associated with new onset asthma in children and adults. When our patients are exposed to such a clear and avoidable cause of death, illness and disability, it our duty to speak out.’

Dr Andrew Goddard, the RCP lead for the report, said: ‘Taking action to tackle air pollution in the UK will reduce the pain and suffering for many people with long term chronic health conditions, not to mention lessening the long term demands on our NHS.’

Professor Jonathan Grigg, Professor of Paediatric Respiratory and Environmental Medicine at Queen Mary University of London and the vice chair of the working party, called on the Government to monitor exposure to air pollution more effectively in order to help identify those children and young people who are most at risk.

He said: ‘There is clear evidence to suggest that long term exposure to air pollution has a wide range of adverse effects in childhood, and exposure during early life can lead to the development of serious conditions such as asthma.’

Research for tonight’s Channel 4’s Dispatches programme claims that the general public breathes in far more pollution than official figures suggest.

It will highlight research showing that as well as causing tens of thousands of early deaths through heart attacks and strokes, pollution may damage children’s learning ability.

Professor Jordi Sunyer, of the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, in Barcelona, found that children who went to schools in areas of higher pollution scored lower in memory and thinking tests.

His team studied 3,000 children between the ages of 7-9 across 40 schools.

They found that children in areas of high pollution took longer in solving problems and made more mistakes. Researchers also observed that on days of high pollution children’s performance was worse, regardless of the type of the school.

Source MailOnline

Armed robbers attack traders at Sekyere Afram Plains

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Robbery

Some unknown assailants have robbed traders from Afram Plains traveling to Kete-Krachi in the Volta Region, of their money and personal effects.

The about 65 traders who were traveling on Mercedes Benz buses, came under attack Tuesday dawn between Kumawu and Kwaman when they got out of the buses to enable the vehicles climb a steep hill due to the heavy load.

The two robbers also shot at a taxi driver for refusing to stop when he approached the scene but managed to escape.

According to the traders, the robbers who asked them to lie down on the road took their monies running into thousands of cedis as well as mobile phones and other personal effects.

One of the victims, Patience Oforiwaa told Onua FM Wednesday that they were traveling in two buses from Maame Krobo in the Eastern Region to Kete-Krachi in the Volta Region when the incident occurred.

She said on reaching Kumawu-Kwaman stretch of the road, all the traders had to alight and climb a hill, which is so steep that vehicles are not able to climb with heavy load.

According to her, while walking to the top of the hill, the two suspected armed robbers rushed on them with guns and cutlasses and asked them to lie down on the road and surrender their money and belongings.

Madam Oforiwaa said they took the GHC350 cedis that she had on her at the time as well as monies from other traders and the transportation fares they paid to the drivers’ mate, which is about GHC 3,600 in total. Each passenger paid GHC60 as fare.

She said no one was hurt as they complied with the orders of the robbers. Although she said the Police was alerted immediately after the incident, the robbers managed to escape.

 

Kweku Antwi-Otoo|tv3network.com|Ghana

Is ‘porn addiction’ a real thing?

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Terry Crews detailing his struggles with pornography
Terry Crews detailing his struggles with pornography

A video series by actor Terry Crews detailing his struggles with pornography has been watched by millions over the past few weeks – but is porn really addictive?

Crews called his three-part video series Dirty Little Secrets. It’s a frank account of his use of porn, which he says started when he was just 12 years old. The first instalment in his series has been viewed more than three million times, and has attracted thousands of comments.

Crews, a former American football player now better known for his TV and film roles, recounts in detail how he used to spend hours looking at porn.

“Pornography really messed up my life in a lot of ways,” he says. “If day turns into nights, and you are still watching, you’ve probably got a problem. And that was me.”

And he admits his addiction almost cost him his relationship with his wife, the gospel singer Rebecca King-Crews, from whom he temporarily separated. Thousands on Facebook applauded Crews for his honesty.

Others reacted by sharing their own experiences with sexual addiction. One user wrote: “I have wrestled for years – YEARS – with pornography. I am grateful today to say that I have a very specific sobriety date and I have stayed clean for some time now.”

However, the very idea of “porn addiction” is controversial. It’s not a disorder listed in the latest edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the “bible of psychiatry” issued by the American Psychiatric Association. Many experts say the brains of people watching porn don’t function in the same ways as the brains of, say, drug users, although the evidence is somewhat contradictory on this point. In one study, University of Cambridge researchers performed brain scans on 19 men watching porn, and the same reward centres of the brain were activated as when addicts see their drug of choice.

Nicole Prause, a researcher at the University of California Los Angeles, says that porn use shouldn’t be lumped in with drug and alcohol addiction.

“In the case of porn addictions, the brain looks similar to other addictions but only up to a point and then it diverges. When you look at porn, you get increases in learning and reward… but you don’t see some of the other hallmarks,” she told BBC Trending radio.

“In other addictions such as gambling, when you see a cue, for people who have a problem, the brain is more responsive. In the case of porn, with people who say they have problems, their responsiveness is decreased.”

Prause says the brain science means that porn is not addictive according to current models, and that treating it as an addiction can be counter-productive.

But calling porn non-addictive is no comfort to the thousands who talk about their struggles with pornography online. One such group on Reddit, r/NoFap (“fap” is slang for “masturbate”) has more than 170,000 followers, making it as popular as Reddit boards (aka subreddits) devoted to beer and Grand Theft Auto.

Many users of the forum – which is associated with a website of the same name – detail their intense struggles with their porn obsessions, and pledge not to use pornography or masturbate for a certain period of time. Tom (not his real name) is a teacher in the US Midwest. He told Trending that his obsession with porn began at a young age, and took a toll on his marriage.

“You’ve probably heard a saying that porn is great but it doesn’t compare to the real thing,” he says. “When you’re addicted to porn, you’ll feel the opposite. Sex is great, but it doesn’t compare to porn.”

At one point, Tom says, there were weeks when he spent hours every night looking at porn.

“I had trouble getting aroused with my wife, just because it wasn’t enough any more,” he says. Whatever scientists might say, Tom feels he’s addicted to porn – as do many others on the Reddit forum. He’s been trying to stop watching it for two years, and has gone as long as 90 days, but he says he still struggles to stop entirely.

By Dierdre Finnerty and Mike Wendling

First published by BBC

Give me 3 yrs to pay back money – Woyome begs court

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Alfred Agbesi Woyo
Alfred Agbesi Woyo

Embattled businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome has pleaded with the Supreme Court to give him a period of 3 years to pay back the GHȻ51.2 million judgment debt paid to him by the state.

According to Mr. Woyome, he would want to pay back the money in installment starting with GHȻ8 million to be paid by the end of April 2016. The remaining amount he pleads should be spread for him to pay within 36 months to be paid quarterly.

The Supreme Court however cautioned Mr. Woyome, to take the court serious after it dismissed his latest application seeking a stay of execution to allow him to pay the GHȻ51.2 million, while he heads to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

The court, however, took exception to the fact that while Mr Ken Anku, counsel for Mr Woyome, had told the media that he was heading to the ICC for arbitration, at the same time, he was in the court seeking to tie the hands of the Attorney-General (A-G) to prevent it from attaching his properties because his client wanted to renegotiate the terms of payment.

Mr. Woyome had decided to go for an international arbitration with regards to the GH¢51.2 million judgment debt which the Supreme Court asked him to refund.

He gave the hint in February after the Supreme Court dismissed an application by one Abdulai Yusif Fanash Muhammed,who had filed an application to contest the Supreme Court’s ruling on the matter.

Muhammed had prayed the court to declare that the financial engineering claims by Mr Woyome arising out of the tender bid by Vamed Engineering GmbH/Waterville Holdings during the procurement process in June 2005 until its wrongful abrogation in August 2005, was not an international business transaction within the meaning of Article 181 of the 1992 Constitution.

According to counsel for Mr Woyome, Ken Anku even though Muhammed’s case would have inured to the benefit of Mr. Woyome, he was not the one who initiated it contrary to arguments that the suit by Muhammed was spearheaded by Mr.Woyome.

By: tv3network.com with additions from Daily Graphic.
Twitter: @newsontv3

NDC withdraws from Abuakwa North by-election

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NDCThe National Democratic Congress (NDC) says it will be “insensitive” and “unsympathetic” if it contests the March 29 by-election in the Abuakwa North Constituency.

The by-election was instanced by the murder of Member of Parliament Joseph Boakye Danquah-Adu on Tuesday, February 9 at his East Legon residence.

The deceased MP’s party, New Patriotic Party (NPP), on Tuesday, March 1 elected Gifty Twum to contest the by-election.

But a statement signed by NDC’s General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia says the decision not to contest the polls was taken by the National Executive Committee (NEC).

“The NDC is of the opinion that the scar of grief and sorrow emanating from such barbaric act would take a longer time to heal, and would be appropriate to desist from any act that has the tendency to aggravate the pain that JB’s family has been subjected to.

“We wish to indicate that we share in the grief and trauma the late Member of Parliament’s family, constituents and indeed the nation are going through. Therefore, it will be insensitive and unsympathetic on the part of the NDC leadership and followers to actively participate in such by-election.”

The party acknowledged the dissatisfaction such a decision will bring to its supporters but it charged them to channel efforts in winning the elections proper later in the year.

 

By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|tv3network.com|Ghana

Twitter: @kwame_amoh

Adam Johnson not guilty of child sex crime

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Ex-England footballer Adam Johnson has been found not guilty
Ex-England footballer Adam Johnson has been found not guilty

Ex-England footballer Adam Johnson has been found not guilty of one count of sexual activity with 15-year-old girl.

A jury at Bradford Crown Court is still deliberating on a second similar charge.

The former Sunderland player previously admitted grooming the girl and one charge of sexual activity but denied two more serious counts.

 

Source: BBC

Kufuor calls for second chamber of parliament

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New Picture

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has called for the creation of a second house of parliament that would ensure that laws are passed with less political influence.

He said the second chamber of parliament should be appointed by a special appointment committee and its members should be drawn from civil society organizations and policy think tank researchers to provide a more technical and intellectual legislative bench.

He said appointments to the chamber should not be based on political affiliation or through electoral votes.

Speaking at the launch of the West African Think Tank Network (WATTNet) by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in collaboration with nine other think tanks in West Africa, former President Kufuor said, the new legislative chamber can be used to empower women and other marginalized groups by including them in the house to take part in high level political decision making.

He believes this would challenge the status quo where bills are rushed through proceedings by the Majority in Parliament who use their number to pass them into laws.

This, he said, usually result in the passage of ineffective laws which end up not contributing to the socio-economic development of the country.

 

Source: Nii Okai Tetteh | Onua FM | tv3network.com

Moscow nanny admits beheading child

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A nanny in Russia accused of murder
A nanny in Russia accused of murder

A nanny in Russia accused of murdering and then decapitating a little girl in her care has said that “Allah ordered” her to carry out the act.

Gulchekhra Bobokulova, a 38-year-old mother of three, spoke to reporters on her way into a Moscow court.

Bobokulova, a Muslim and a citizen of Uzbekistan, also replied “yes” when asked if she accepted her guilt.

CCTV appeared to show her, dressed in a hijab, walking near a metro station with a head in her hands.

Russian media reported that she pulled the head out of a bag and began screaming that she would blow herself up after a police officer asked to see her identity documents.

Russian TV silence over crime

Amateur video posted online showed a black-clad woman shouting “I am a terrorist. I am your death”.

Investigators told the Presnensky district court they had not found anyone else involved in the case.

But prosecutors also said they believed that Bobokulova had been “incited” to commit the crime.

Russian officials have said Bobokulova was suffering from mental health problems.

Investigators believe she waited for the four-year-old girl’s parents to leave the home before killing her, setting the apartment on fire and fleeing, the Moscow Times reported.

Moscow residents have left flowers and children’s toys outside the Oktyabrskoye Polye metro station, where Bobokulova was arrested, and outside the murdered child’s home.

Uzbekistan, which like other Central Asian states has a Muslim majority, has long supplied migrant labour for the Russian capital.

 

Source: BBC