Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award-winning South African singer and civil rights activist. In the 1960s she was the first artist from Africa to popularize African music in the U.S. and around the world. She is best known for the song “Pata Pata”, first recorded in 1957 and released in the U.S. in 1967. She recorded and toured with many popular artists, such as Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon, and her former husband Hugh Masekela.She actively campaigned against the South African system of apartheid. As a result, the South African government revoked her citizenship and right of return. After the end of apartheid she returned home. She died on 9 November 2008 after performing in a concert in Italy organized to support writer Roberto Saviano in his stand against the Camorra, a mafia-like organisation local to the

Lucky Philip Dube (pronounced doo-beh) (3 August 1964 – 18 October 2007) was a South African reggae musician. He recorded 22 albums in Zulu, English and Afrikaans in a 25-year period and was South Africa’s biggest selling reggae artist. Dube was murdered in the Johannesburg suburb of Rosettenville on the evening of 18 October 2007.

Suzie Q
Husband claims she slept with

an artiste

Curtis Campbell,Star Writer

Media personality Paula ‘Suzie Q’ Henry has denied allegations made by her husband, recording artiste Horace ‘Mr Absolute’ Henry, that she cheated on him.

According to Suzie Q, her husband of 19 years is trying to tarnish her reputation because she wants out of an abusive and loveless union.

This marks the second occasion that the couple decided to call it quits on their marriage. Suzie Q had filed for divorce in 2005, however, on the advice of close friends and for the welfare of her children, she decided to give Mr Absolute a second chance. This time she says there is no turning back.

“My personal life is my personal life but I just decided to clear up things because he is saying that we had this beautiful marriage, and I decided to leave him because I found somebody else and that is not the case.

his frustrations

I decided to leave him a long time ago and I stuck with him because of our two kids. One of the reasons why I decided to get out of this is because he is taking out his frustrations on me. He is verbally abusive because he feels like his career should have been better off because he is married to Suzie Q. So there is a lot of fussing and fighting and I just can’t deal with it, he is saying that I have an affair and he has never seen me in any compromising position with any individual,” she said.

Suzie Q also disclosed that the current divorce settlement between Mr Absolute and herself was going well, until the artiste found out that he stood to gain financial stability if he could prove that she cheated on him.

“We are going to sell our property in Jamaica and he is supposed to get half, I want to keep the children because I am a good mother. But now he is saying he is going to sort out his life in America and send for his kids, because apparently somebody told him that whosoever keeps the kids will get a bigger portion of the settlement,” Suzie Q continued.

“I just want a peaceful divorce and I want him to stop accusing me of a relationship because he has no proof of it. And after the things that he is saying on the road there is no way I would reconcile with him. He just wants to pin me on somebody so that he can use the infidelity law against me. He already has our house in Georgia and will come out of the marriage with a tidy sumÉI took my name out of that property five years ago because I wanted out of the relationship,” Suzie Q said.

Mr Absolute also edited several episodes of Suzie Q’s Video Alley countdown and also wants half her salary for the time invested. Suzie Q is now asking her fans for support through her dilemma.

“I just want my fans to pray for me and ladies don’t fall into a trap where you are trapped with a man because of your kids. Take care of your children but never sacrifice your happiness, because if you are not happy your kids won’t be happy. I won’t rule out getting married in the future but I just don’t want to be caught in a box so just pray for meÉlife is just too short to be living like this,” an emotional Suzie Q said.

Mr Absolute on the other hand was more explicit on the situation and told The WEEKEND STAR that he feels betrayed.

never cheated

“It’s a bad experience, Suzie Q mek a decision wey mi nuh too like. I came to Jamaica with the intention to pay attention to my career and it was going good until she signed Spanner Banner to her label. This is over 16 years since we have been married and I invested a lot of time in the relationship and her business and then she a guh tell mi sey she fall in love with Spanner Banner? Suzie Q is somebody who I care for. I cook, clean and drive for this woman each day and I never cheated on her before,” he continued.

“She even took one of our cars and gave it to Spanner Banner and sey she is going to move out the house. She a sey we have been separated for over a year now but we only start have problem since she sign Spanner Banner four months ago. I thought we had the perfect marriage and that we were role models, am so disappointed,” Mr Absolute said.

Both Suzie Q and her estranged husband are now aiming to embark on solo projects while the divorce takes its course. Suzie Q is plotting to go back to radio while Mr Absolute is working on an album called My Inspiration, which is expected to be released in 2013.

Suzie Q also presented to The WEEKEND STAR a letter from her lawyer at Robinson, Phillips and Whiteborne law firm. The letter stated that she and her husband had been separated for over a year and that she is expected to vacate the house until it was sold.

“I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life. I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life.” I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one. I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou

Witch doctor in TROUBLE after shoving abortion herbs in pregnant teenager’s PRIVATES

A 16-year-old Bulawayo girl narrowly survived death because of excessive bleeding when a sangoma helped her abort when she was four months pregnant.

The traditional healer, Agness Muroyiwa of 64674 Tshabalala, was on Monday sentenced to do 490 hours of community service at Tshabalala Police Station. She was being jointly charged with the girl for illegally terminating the pregnancy.

The teenage girl (name withheld for legal reasons) who bled profusely after terminating the pregnancy, had charges against her withdrawn before plea. Provincial Bulawayo magistrate Mrs Learnmore Mapiye initially sentenced Muroyiwa to 24 months in prison and suspended 10 months for five years on condition of good behaviour. The remaining 14 months were suspended on condition she completes 490 hours of community service.

The girl, who stays in Barham Green, had consulted Muroyiwa last month seeking help to abort. On 22 November at about 6pm, the girl visited her friend in Bellevue and informed her that she wanted to terminate the pregnancy.

Her friend advised her that she had a grandmother (Muroyiwa) who was a specialist in terminating pregnancies and could assist her. The two went to Tshabalala on 24 November where Muroyiwa took the 16-year-old girl into a room, which she used for consultation.

The old woman inserted the herbs into the girl’s private parts and told her that the herbs would come out on their own and at the same time destroy the foetus. She charged the girl $10 for the service and the girl paid before going home.

However, she started bleeding excessively when she arrived home prompting her mother to suspect that she had aborted. The girl lied to her mother that she had period pains, which resulted in her losing the pregnancy.

She was taken to the United Bulawayo Hospitals for examination where it was confirmed that she had aborted. A report was later made to the police leading to Muroyiwa’s arrest. Miss Tarisai Mutarisi represented the State.

The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6)

By Charlotte Dugan

I have a manual grain mill. That means I buy my wheat and other grains in kernel form from a farmer in New York and grind them into flour by hand. What that further means is that I have between 30 and 45 minutes of round-and-round-and-round-and-round to do, left hand, right hand, both hands, any and every time I need flour for breads and biscuits. So what that ultimately means is that I have a lot of time early in the mornings when I am grinding that I have to figure out what to do with my thoughts. If you’ve ever done a manual, repetitive job such as that, you know that the discipline it takes mentally to keep going can be quite a challenge. Up to the plate steps the Teacher–God and/or Jesus are never at a loss for a lesson or an insight to teach us if we’re open to it, and so I’ve come to think of my time at the grain mill as my daily grind of spiritual food.

As I was grinding away a few weeks ago, what should come to mind but the phrase, “give us this day our daily bread.” That, as you know, comes from what has been termed in Roman Catholic circles as “The Our Father.” Being raised as such, this had deep roots for me as one of the prayers often handed out to me as a penance for my soul after observing Confession with a priest. But I took a good look at it this particular morning as my arms went round-and-round, and I found a hearty meal of spiritual insight.

The prayer appears in Matthew 6:9-13 and is taught by Jesus to his disciples as an example of what the contents of a prayer might hold. Prefacing in verses 5-8, Jesus instructs them about prayer with the following:

Matthew 6:5-8
(5) “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
(6) But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
(7) And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
(8) Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Pretty self-explanatory.

But how about the prayer itself? That morning, I saw what Jesus was trying to do–he did not give them a rote method of chanting a “penance,” but rather a beautiful standard by which to understand what prayer was and could be. As I recited the prayer in my mind, I thought it would be a great sharing for fellowship. Let’s look at it. I have not, however, “researched” this sharing. I am taking the words at face value from the English translation, but I think an enormous amount of insight could be gained by some word studies for those so inclined.

“Our Father” —Wow! Jesus, who made known God to the world, called him a “Father.” I would imagine a lot of the Jews sitting there were quite astonished at this shift in relationship with Yahweh and Elohim. Jesus opened to them the tender side of a loving God, not One on the smoking mountain unto whom they were afraid to come. “Father” opens up images of one whose lap you can crawl into, one who teaches alongside of you, and not one from whom you must hide.

In our fellowship that next Sunday I asked how each person opens his prayers. “Dear God” and “Heavenly Father” seemed to be pretty standard. Great, we’re on track with Jesus’ teaching. But then, if we’re honest, what is usually the next word we utter? One of our brethren piped up, “I!” Yep. There it is— “Dear God, I…” (I must note that a few beautiful souls admitted their next word is “thanks.”) Spoiler alert: there is not one single “I” in the whole prayer. The closest we see is “us,” a beautiful word that reminds us that we belong to one another, that we prosper or suffer together, that our sins and our triumphs affect not only ourselves, but also the rest of the Body of Christ.

What is the next thing Jesus taught? “In heaven”–a prepositional phrase telling us where our Father resides, and reminding us that He is God Almighty, whose perspective of both our lives and the world around us is far broader than our own.

“Hallowed be your name”—After acknowledging that God is our Father, and before we get to our own needs, we PRAISE Him! How beautiful! I am reminded how God, answering Job out of the storm, never addressed his suffering or his needs, but instead points out to Job how great He is!! Why? Because He’s a pompous attention-grabber? NO. God is Love, and as Love, He seeks the best for us. When we focus on Him and His greatness, what fear, what need, what despair can consume us? None. So, God our Father in heaven, we praise you!

“Your kingdom come” —the Hope! Next in line Jesus reminds us to look forward to our glorious future, when the Devil will be an afterthought.

“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”—We are to recognize that God has a will, and do our best to line up with it. I’ve heard some mighty teachings on prayer being an invitation to God to come in and “POW!”, knock the Devil on his derriere.

Now, finally, we come to “us.” “Give us today our daily bread.” This statement could be taken very subjectively. Note that the word “us” was chosen instead of “me.” As a body of believers who live and move in diverse individual circles, we are nonetheless intricately connected to one another. We must ask ourselves how we define our personal “daily bread.” Has God prospered you above and beyond your needs? Perhaps it was not for you alone, but also that you could help someone else. Come to think of it, giving is itself a need, and we therefore must have something to give.

If we define our “daily bread” way beyond what we need, we will likely become unthankful. I submit that God keeps His Word, and that He does give us our daily bread need. Our modern society, however, would like us to believe, as Eve did, that God is withholding good from us, that our needs are not met, that we can and should have what we want, and have it now. I love Colossians 3:15, which states as an imperative, “And be thankful.” An “imperative” is a command: “(You) be thankful.” This is the only sentence in the entire prayer that addresses physical need.

“Forgive us our debts”: reminds us that we are sinners in need of forgiveness, “as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Boy, if you first recognize your own personal need for forgiveness, if you first look in the mirror and see the real you looking back, it sure makes it a lot easier to forgive someone who wrongs you.

And finally, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Jesus reminds us that life is a battle, and that we’re all in it collectively. It is imperative that we pray daily for one another to succeed in this war against spiritual powers. None of us is above that need, and our God is a God Who delivers!

As Jesus came to make known God, he came to also lead us into a relationship with Him, and certainly prayer is an indispensable component of that relationship. It is a prayer of recognition of who God is: a loving Father who forgives, supplies, and delivers. It is a prayer of praise that acknowledges the hope of a future life filled with God’s will. And it is a prayer that acknowledges our need now for community, forgiveness, help, deliverance, and of course, our daily bread.