The Bright Channel

Ghana: Elections 2020 on 7th December By Bright Rockson On 7th December 2020, Ghana will hold its seventh general elections in the Fourth Republic to elect a President and Members of Parliament for the next four years of national administrative  life. The national atmosphere is tensed. All over the country, political campaigns  are heightened, taking on various shapes and colours;  local and international observers are ready to observe; new and experienced electorates are prepared to express their preference on the ballot paper. More than these, the campaign  for peace before, during, and after the elections is on － a cause supported by virtually all citizens; along with pacific echoes from the international  community. Prayers are being said, people are marching for peace, relevant videos and songs and posters are rife, just for peace to prevail. Since the Fourth Republic began, Ghanaians have experienced relatively peaceful elections and transition of power in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet

Emperor Tewodros II ruled over Ethiopia from 1855 till his death in 1868. His rule brought considerable development and change to the military and the structure of governance such that his era is described as the beginning of Modern Ethiopia. He was born in 1818 and became king at the age of 37. His father Hailu Welde Giyorigis was the ruler of the Qwara district. At the time, Ethiopia had no single ruler but rulers of various districts who gained more as they conquered other districts. He joined his brother’s army at an early age and served as a protector of the Qwara district until 1839 when his brother was killed, and Qwara was captured by Empress Menan of Gondor. Tewodros refused to submit to the empress but instead left for the outskirts of Qwara and started his own army. He soon became an influential military leader and was named the dajazmach of Qwara. To prevent him from attacking the Empress, he was also given a wife of noble birth. Emperor Tewodros II could not be wo

As the year 2019 marks 400 years since the commencement of the transatlantic slave trade, Ghanaian artist Kwame Akoto-Bamfo has been sculpting hundreds of faces to represent the men and women who fell victim to slavery. Akoto-Bamfo has placed the sculptures in Ada Foah, which was a major slave market in the 19th century when the region was under British rule. Akoto-Bamfo says he has borrowed from the ancient Akan tradition of creating portraits of the dead. What I hope to do is to capture an experience and let this art trigger a dialogue about who we are as an African people, who we were before and then where we are going. Akoto-Bamfo’s aim is to keep Ada Foah’s history alive and start conversations about what happened here. The sculpted portraits are the ‘enslaved African’ section of the Nkyinkyim (pronounced Cheen – Cheem) installation, a broader take on Ghanaian history. He said he used to choose his models in the past to portray specific expressions and traits. B