Friday, February fourteenth, the UN says at least 22 people have been killed in a village in the Northwest region of Cameroon. Over half of those killed were children. No one has claimed responsibility for Friday’s incident but the opposition parties blame the killing on the government.
Famous African musican Papa Wemba dies on stage
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Papa Wemba, known around the world as the "king of Congolese rumba", has died after collapsing during a concert.
The
musician fell ill on Saturday while performing at a music festival
in Abidjan in Ivory Coast on Sunday. He was 66.
The
cause of his death is not known yet.
Baudouin
Banza Mukalay, culture minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC), confirmed his death, calling it a "great loss for the country
and all of Africa".
"He
was known as a true trendsetter," Suzana Omiyo, a Kenyan musician,
told Al Jazeera.
"One
thing I remember about Papa Wemba was his way of performing and the fact that
he was able to take African music to the global map. I believe he was one of
the greatest musicians."
Video
footage showed the moment when he slumped to the floor behind a group of
dancers before performers rushed to his aid.
"Papa
Wemba wanted to die on stage, that's what he told me two weeks ago when I spoke
to him on the phone," Salif Traore, a festival promoter and singer
also known as A'Salfo, told the AFP news agency.
'The
music does not die'
The
electric performer first burst onto the African music scene in the 1960s and
scored one chart-topper after another, fusing African traditions with Western
pop and rock influences.
In
a career spanning nearly five decades, he won many fans across Africa and the
French-speaking world.
His
fame grew in the West after collaborations with musicians such as Peter Gabriel
and Stevie Wonder.
Papa
Wemba settled in France in 1986 as his renown began to reach as far as Japan,
dazzled by the African dandy who was dressed by the world's leading designers.
He went on to reach a wider public thanks to a world music album produced by France's Martin Meissonnier in 1988, which blended African and Western sounds.
Papa Wemba parted ways with the Real World record label founded by Gabriel in 1999, but he remained immensely popular in Africa, taking part in major music events, including a concert in London for Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday.
He went on to reach a wider public thanks to a world music album produced by France's Martin Meissonnier in 1988, which blended African and Western sounds.
Papa Wemba parted ways with the Real World record label founded by Gabriel in 1999, but he remained immensely popular in Africa, taking part in major music events, including a concert in London for Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday.
He
was convicted by a Paris court in 2004 of smuggling illegal immigrants into
France by disguising them as members of his entourage, but walked free as he
had already served four months behind bars.
Fans
and colleagues paid their respects over social media and in person on Sunday.
Eric
Didia, a promoter of Congolese music in Ivory Coast and friend of Wemba who was
at the Ivosep morgue on Sunday morning, said Wemba will long be remembered.
"I
do not know if this is a loss for African music, because the music does not
die. People can listen to Papa Wemba songs in 50 years, in 100 years," he
said.
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