Senegal: Curbing Crime Through Traditional Wrestling

Dakar — Former pickpocket Hadim Diane* spends much of his time these days in the sand wearing a loin cloth, fighting to pin down opponents in traditional wrestling matches. He recently opened a shop with his earnings from the sport.”Attending [wrestling school] has allowed me to adopt a new way of life, outside of crime,” Diane told IRIN.This is one of the stated objectives of Balla Gaye School, one of the training centres for traditional wrestling in the Senegalese capital Dakar.

South Africa: Lekota Gets Top Spot

The Congress of the People (Cope) today “selected” Mosiuoa Lekota as president, with Mbhazima Shilowa as deputy president while a woman “from the minority group” was considered for second deputy president.
In what is being described as a compromise arrangement of “handpicked” leadership, Cope had still not chosen its second deputy president by 7am today, forcing leaders to work the phones at the eleventh hour to find the right person to fit its progressive image.An unknown KwaZulu-Natal entrepreneur, Linda Odendaal, had this morning emerged as a contender as the party attempted to find three key qualities in one person – a white woman who does not carry ANC baggage and who hails from a region where Cope desperately needs to make inroads.