Naomi Campbell & The Blood Diamonds

• Hakeem Babalola
• August 11, 201

Naomi Campbell, that British super model, was recently subpoenaed by the World Court in Hague currently in judicial process against former Liberian war lord/president. The ex super model had refused to testify, saying “I am afraid it would put me and my loved ones in danger because this is someone that I read up on the Internet that killed thousands of people supposedly and I don't want my family in any danger in any way”.

Does anyone reading this blame the super model for wanting to protect her family? Or for that matter showing fear about a man called Charles Taylor? I think it’s unfair for the prosecutor to have suggested that Ms Campbell was downplaying her friendship with the former war lord when she exhibited such fear. But of course the whole thing may be much more than that especially when one of the other two witnesses testified that Campbell was flirting with the dictator. Never thrust a supermodel?

During the proceeding, Ms Campbell who met the then Liberian president in1997at a charity dinner hosted by the then South African President Nelson Mandela told the court: “When I was sleeping, I had a knock at my door. And I opened my door, and two men were there and gave me a pouch and said, ‘A gift for you’. I saw a few stones in there, and they were very small, dirty-looking stones”.

But the two witnesses – Ms Carole White, 60 and Actress Mia Farrow, 65 – who were there thirteen years ago disputed Campbell’s claim saying, the former model knew that she would receive a diamond gift from Mr. Taylor and that she was quite excited about it. While the actress said that it was Naomi Campbell herself who confined in her that Charles Taylor wanted to give her diamonds, White, Campbell’s former agent, declared that she was actually present when the diamonds were being delivered to Campbell. Never thrust an agent? Or even an actress? What exactly happened on that day in the Rainbow City? Perhaps only heaven knows.

In my opinion, the defence did a thorough job during cross-examination, and actually called White a liar saying she has motive for lying against Campbell. It could be recalled that White and Campbell are in another court case for breach of contract in which White is in the position to get millions of dollars if she wins. Suffice to say that the accounts of the three women differ. Oh gosh, it was thirteen years ago! And whose account the judges going to believe? I am waiting – anxiously.

Well, one may question the super model’s decision to accept a gift from two strangers, and for that matter not knowing who her admirer was. But then that should be her personal decision which I suppose she is entitled to. In fact, I am much more interested in the fact that Naomi did not take that diamonds out of South Africa. But then who among the guests is most likely to send a diamond gift to the super model? Hum….

“I do not recognise them as diamonds which I am accustomed to seeing shiny in a box,” Campbell says, adding that she had no idea that the stones were from Taylor, as the prosecution alleges. She maintains that she passed them along to a friend who worked for a children's charity connected to Mandela, asking that he use them to do something good.

Although the charity denied ever receiving them but the friend she passed them on to has confirmed it, and has since passed them on to the police. Thank God that Mr. Jeremy Ractliffe whom Campbell gave the diamonds is still alive otherwise the super model could have been labelled a liar. Well, many people had started doubting her evidence before Mr. Ractliffe gave the diamonds to the police.

Oh, if Campbell, who became one of the world's highest-paid models after being discovered while shopping in London at age 15 had kept the diamonds! Her enemies especially the media would have chopped her alive.

Headlines like these would have been used to bombard and insult our intelligence: Ex-Super Model Harlots for Blood Diamonds; Naomi Campbell Trades Beauty for Bloody Diamonds; War Lord Woos Super Model with Blood Diamonds; Super Diamonds for Super Model Sex; Naomi Campbell: Sex for Diamond etc.

I am happy for this woman for taking the path of honour by passing along the yeye diamonds to a charity organisation. By doing this, the self-styled super model has written her name in gold. She has shown that beauty and brain can go together. Campbell has demonstrated she has gut. And she has since issued a statement saying, “I have nothing to gain by not telling the truth”.

Thanks to her friend Ractliffe who had since shed light on the matter. Ractliffe said that Campbell had given him the stones as they rode on South Africa's famed Blue Train on Sept. 26, 1997. He said he had just kept the diamonds until recently, apparently not knowing what to do with them.

“I took them because I thought it might well be illegal for her to take uncut diamonds out of the country,” he said. Ractliffe added that Campbell had suggested the stones could benefit the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, of which he was director at the time, “but I told her I would not involve the NMCF in anything that could possibly be illegal.

“In the end I decided I should just keep them and did not report the matter to the fund or anyone else “to protect the reputation of the NMCF, Mr. Mandela himself and Naomi Campbell, none of whom were benefiting in any way”.

I am happy for this young woman whose beauty even at 40 still radiates controversy – of sorts. They have called her a hot-tempered super model; they have accused her of violent outbursts; they have labeled her arrogant woman; and they have accused her of being a snob. I mean I need to borrow Olitan Ladipo super model question: “Who is on trial – Naomi or Taylor?

Only God knows what they would have called her had it been that she took the so called blood diamonds out of South Africa. It would have been the opportunity to kill her personality further, and all she had worked for. Again, I am happy for this woman whom the media and co were ready to destroy but saved by divine spirit of the moment.

Lastly, whilst I do like the fact that war lord Charles Taylor of Liberia is now being prosecuted at the world court for crimes against humanity, when is George Bush of America and his ilk in the so-called God Country will be prosecuted for crimes against humanity as a result of what happened in Iraq? Or you want to tell me you do not know about Mr. Bush’s crime?

VICTIMS OF SEX SLAVERY IN WESTERN EUROPE

That Tanzania is a failed state is no longer in doubt. However, a major fallout of the failure of the Tanzanian state, that has been very largely ignored, is the organized and forced mass exodus of Tanzanian girls and women to Western Europe, to labor without dignity in the Western European sex slave industry.

Many Tanzanian mothers, wives, sisters and daughters have been lured, cajoled, forced and or deceptively recruited into the European sex slave industry, through promises of a prosperous, glamorous and dignified sojourn in Western Europe. These innocent, ignorant and naive Tanzanian women and girls have almost always been subjected to the worst kind of humiliation, degradation and exploitation, on their arrival in Europe. This class of Tanzanian girls and women, have unfortunately been looked down upon as greedy and wayward women of easy virtue, lacking in self discipline thereof, and deserving of no sympathy, understanding nor serious governmental rehabilitation.

A serious attempt to understand the dynamics predicating the introduction of these Tanzanian women into the sex-tertainment and or sex-ploitation industry, in Europe, will reveal that these women really deserve major attention from the society in general and the Tanzanian federal government in particular.

Pimps and their partners in crime, known as madams, usually lure innocent and unsuspecting Tanzanian females to Europe, with promises of better, prosperous and glamorous existence in Europe. Usually, these ladies are not given any in-depth disclosure of the true nature of the sex slavery, that await them, on their arrival in Europe. Even where these ladies are aware that they would be working as sex workers, they usually have no idea of the degree of degradation, brutal sadism and ruthless sexual exploitation that await them on their arrival in Western Europe.

Stories have been told of some Tanzanian sex workers in Italy, forcibly made to sleep with dogs. We have read stories of Tanzanian sex workers hanging out in God forsaken neighborhoods in European countries, especially in Italy, at unholy hours of the night, and in the middle of nowhere. Many of these Tanzanian women have been reported to have suffered serious bodily harm and in some cases, fatalities. The horrible lives of these women are usually glossed over with the flimsy coating of glamour and mirage wealth, usually exhibited by the few Tanzanian ladies that return from Italy, after years of serious sexual servitude and untold sexual exploitation.
Many Tanzanian girls are forced into the degrading and bestial sojourn by their greedy and ruthlessly unconcerned and unfeeling family members. The extreme poverty and ignorance that pervades the Tanzanian country sides, have led many otherwise conscientious family elders to pressurize and unduly influence their young daughters to submit their bodies to the sex slave industry pimps and madams.

The victims of these sexual exploitation, usually do not live long enough to enjoy the money, if any, that they realize from selling their bodies to total strangers in far away lands. These girls and women, usually acquire serious sexually transmitted diseases, from their ignoble body humiliation that effectively ensure that they are not able to enjoy their God appointed life span on earth.

When the victims are transported to Europe, they are sold by the Tanzanian pimps also known as trolleys, to the Europe based madams, usually Tanzanians too. The madams ensure that the new arrivals are worn out by extreme sexual activities, to enable the madams recover and make a profits on the money spent on acquiring the sex slaves. By the time these girls finally finish paying off the madams, they would have become tragically and psychologically damaged. Their youth and innocence would have been lost forever. Indeed they usually have nobody to narrate their ordeals to. Their families are only interested in the monies and other goodies flowing in from Europe via their sex slave daughters.

Only very few of these girls have been reported to have successfully escaped the bondage of the sex slavers. The travel documents of the sex slaves are usually confiscated by the pimps or trolleys and handed over to the madams after the sex slaves are bought and paid for by the madams. This practice ensure that the sex slaves cannot readily walk away or escape. Many sex slaves who initially resisted the command of the madams to trade their bodies, are reportedly forced into prolong periods of humiliation, physical battering, emotional trauma, mental pain et al, until they become “good girls”.

The question crying out very loudly for an answer, is how did our society descend so low, that Tanzanian mothers, sisters, wives and daughters have been reduced to commercial sex objects, totally lacking in dignity thereof, in foreign lands ? Another question that begs for an answer is: What is the Tanzania government doing to stop this on-going, tragic and debasing sexual exploitation and degradation of Tanzanian women ? What is the European Union and individual Western European nations doing to stop this unholy degradation of Tanzanian women ?

It is generally well known, that Western Europe is the major destination of Tanzanian sex slaves. Western Europe is the headquarters of the global sexual exploitation and sex slavery industries. The major suppliers of sex slaves are the poorest countries in the world. Eastern European countries and Tanzania are the major suppliers of sex slaves to Western Europe. Thus, poverty is a major factor, that helps the growth and sustenance of this evil sex slavery business.

The Tanzanian government must endeavor to improve the life of Tanzanians, by aggressively pursuing people oriented programs and policies; if the easy luring of Tanzanian women and girls to European sex slavery markets is to be curtailed. Governments in Tanzania at every level, must pay attention to the development of infrastructure in their areas of influence to encourage entrepreneurs and investors to establish and develop businesses that would offer jobs to Tanzanian youths. As they say, an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. People want material security, financial insurance et al. Thus, when the government is unable to provide same, the citizens becomes easy targets for all sorts of evil minded crooks, seeking preys to exploit.

Governments at every level in Tanzania, must also directly introduce programs that would encourage the creativity of Tanzanians. Soft and small loans usually go a long way to encourage people to pursue trades and crafts, in areas wherein they are either gifted or proficient. Where public employment opportunities are not available, self employment must be encouraged. The Tanzanian federal government must also work in co-operation with Western European governments to discourage and wipe out this national embarrassment. Then again, the Tanzanian government must first provide alternative avenues to Tanzanian pimps, madams and sex slaves, to enable them enjoy decent and dignified livelihood, before embarking on the fight to stop the ugly and regrettable reality of the sexual enslavement of Tanzanian girls and women in Western Europe. For as they say “Action speaks louder than words.”

Proposed Constitution: Land Question Mishandled

By Mwarang'ethe

In the proposed constitution, we find Article 68 (1), that, Parliament shall -

(c) enact legislation -
(i) to prescribe minimum and maximum land holding acreages in respect
of private land

(v) to enable the review of all grants or disposition of public land
to establish their propriety or legality.


There are a number of issues like money, which we feel are very dangerous in this Draft. However, we must warn that, the land question is the most visible to many, and therefore, is the most dangerous issue in this proposed constitution. The mistake we are making is to assume that, only a degree in law is required in constitution making.

This is a terrible mistake and we shall pay dearly. For instance, how many legal historians, general historians, philosophers, sociogists do we have in this constitution making business?

Sample this:

By the 2nd Century BC a lot of peasants had lost land to rich land owners in the mighty Roman Empire. When Tiberius was elected into the office of the tribune in 133 BC, he embarked on serious land reforms. To do so, he invoked an old law that had limited the amount of land that could be owned by a single individual. He therefore, established a commission to oversee the redistribution of land holdings from patricians to peasants. Mark you, he was just enforcing law that existed, but, had been ignored. A lot of senators who were huge land owners opposed his reforms. To counter this opposition, he appealed to the people arguing that, a tribune that opposed land reforms did not reflect the will of the people.

To counter him, the senators decided to prosecute him after his office. To avoid this scenario, he sought a second term. As we would expect, the senators opposed this move bitterly and in the ensuing confrontation, Tiberius and his supporters were murdered. We are told, that, this was the first time blood was openly shed in Roman politics for almost four centuries. When his brother Gaius took office in 123 BC, he sought to revive his brother's land reforms. He also sought to give non Roman Italians citizenship (did we hear complains about 8 year old child?). This made Roman citizens to turn against him. Once his support was weakened due to citizenship question, his movement was crushed and he and his supporters lost their lives as well.

Does it appear like any of the COE is aware of this history? However, they cannot plead ignorance because, when the COE requested public input last year, we did give our feedback. We reproduce some of what we informed this COE. The opening lines of our proposal was like this:


"Having examined CHAPTER SEVEN of the Draft Constitution entitled LAND AND PROPERTY, we have come to the conclusion that, although on appearance it looks a better deal than the current one, this Draft Constitution dwells on EQUALIZATION OF FORTUNE and entrenchment of MONOPOLIZATION OF LAND by a few. We believe that, this policy falls short of the objective of a well designed agrarian reform which is the EQUALIZATION OF RIGHTS of all citizens."


To ensure equalization of rights as opposed to chaos of equalization of fortune and continued monopolization of land, we propose the inclusion of the following maxims in the Draft Constitution:

(a) Acknowledging that, the Almighty and Eternal God, having created men free and equal in respect of their rights and having given the earth in common to all men, every Kenyan has a birthright that is original, inalienable and indefeasible by any act or determination of others to an EQUAL share of the property in the land/natural resources in its original state. This is a maxim of natural law.

(b) It is also a maxim of natural law, that everyone, by whose labour any portion of the soil has been rendered more fertile, has the right to the additional produce of that fertility, or to the value of it and may transmit this right freely to other men. This is also a maxim of natural law.

(c) LAND/NATURAL RESOURCES VALUE TAX (including landing slots, airwaves etc) and then POLLUTION and WASTE shall be the main source of revenue for running the affairs of the Kenyan state. There shall be no taxation of INCOME, CAPITAL & EXPENDITURE etc until the WHOLE land value, pollution and waste tax has been collected and utilised productively.

We added this:

"Having started well on the s.79, the Committee went adrift and ended up with a land law that is ambiguous and will cause unnecessary economic and political tension. Our considered view is that, you have ended here for you and the whole nation has been and is still labouring under a false and a very dangerous doctrine that, land/natural resources can be called a man's property. By so doing, you have acquiesced to a false but, traditional doctrine that has not yet been subjected to critical examination. You have therefore failed to heed the words of Sir William Blackstone in the Commentaries on the Laws of England that:

“There is nothing which so generally strikes the imagination, and engages the affections of mankind, as the right of property; or that sole and despotic dominion which one man claims and exercises over the external things of the world, in total exclusion of the right of any
other individual in the universe. And yet there are very few that will give themselves the trouble to consider the original and foundation of this right. Pleased as we are with the possession, we seem afraid to look back to the means by which it was acquired, as if fearful of some defect in our title; or at best we rest satisfied with the decision of the laws in our favour, without examining the reason or authority upon which those laws have been built. We think it enough that our title is derived by the grant of the former proprietor, by descent from our ancestors, or by the last will and testament of the dying owner; not caring to reflect that (accurately and strictly speaking) there is no foundation in nature or in natural law, why a set of words upon parchment should convey the dominion of land: why the son should have a right to exclude his fellow-creatures from a determinate spot of ground, because his father had done so before him: or why the occupier of a particular field or of a jewel, when lying on his death-bed, and no longer able to maintain possession, should be entitled to tell the rest of the world which of them should enjoy it after him.”


We then added that:

If this Harmonised Draft was the product of the man in the street, the incorporation of private property in land in the Constitution in the manner of] s. 81 would be understandable. However, since you are the experts in law, it is not an option for once again to quote Blackstone:

“These inquiries, it must be owned, would be useless and even troublesome in common life. It is well if the mass of mankind will obey the laws when made, without scrutinizing too nicely into the reason for making them. But, when law is to be considered not only as a matter of practice, but also as a rational science, it cannot be improper or useless to examine more deeply the rudiments and grounds of these positive constitutions of society.”


Since you are lawyers, who are supposed to be learned, ingenious and friends of mankind, you have no liberty to find this inquiry useless or troublesome as common men would do. You must therefore, summon courage and perhaps a bit of divine wisdom to examine this absurd and pernicious right to absolute ownership of land.

We added further that:

"... From the above two declarations, it is obvious that, by declaring that all men are equally entitled to the use of land does not involve in any way socialism or communism and we need not tamper so much with the existing arrangements as the draft proposes. Also, it is not
necessary that state manages land. To engage in these activities as the draft declares is to engage in equalization of fortune. This type agrarian reform did not work with Tiberius Gracchus of the Roman Empire and have not worked in Zimbabwe and is fatally failing with
dreadful consequences in South Africa that will shall witness in the fullness of time.

Instead of equalization of fortune, which is a dangerous route, all we need instead is an arrangement whereby all the land rent that has been going into the pockets of the few, is taken via taxation to fund the common purposes. To do so, we must deny and utterly reject the vicious idea of “divine absolute land titles” and replace them with conditional form of private ownership of land. This will ensure security of possession and thereby retain use rights and ownership of land for homes, businesses and production which will be both easier
and cheaper."

We then WARNED the COE on the DANGERS of looking backwards. We therefore, requested the COE to look forward and not backwards and to empasise this, we wrote that:

"We find the same sentiments expressed by Alfred Marshall, a great economist who straddled the classical and the post – classical period of economics for he wrote:

“Looking forward rather than backwards, and not concerning ourselves with the equity and the proper limits of the present private property in land, we see that part of the national dividend which goes as earnings of land is a surplus in a sense in which the earnings from other agents are not surplus... there is this difference between land and other agents of production, that from a social point of view land yields a permanent surplus, while perishables made by man do not."

We then informed the COE that:

"... However, should the Committee of Experts desire to educate itself more on this question, we stand ready to provide materials in our possession. We also stand ready to assist the Committee to get in touch with some of the leading thinkers on land question who are in a position to assist in designing a land policy conducive to equalisation of rights.

However, should the Committee and the nation at large ignore this opportunity; it will go down in history as having squandered an historical opportunity to remove the entrenched the fiscal folly that characterises the modern state whereby, the annual public value of the land is monopolised or privatised by a few while taxing the majority poor to increase the value of this land."

Given what we presented to the COE, and our offer to help them get in touch with leading land reform thinkers from around the world, it is therefore, very disturbing to see that, this COE has ignored well detailed lessons of dangers of land redistribution and very reasonable
advise of a great economist, Alfred Marshall, that, the best way is to look forward and not backwards.

Now, let us ask:

(a) Will we divide land into equal portions for every Kenyan?
(b) If we shall not divide land into equal portion, where is equality before the law in such a case?
(c) And, if we will not have equal pieces of land, who shall have a bigger portion and what criteria shall be used?
(d) If the mighty Roman Empire was unable to enforce land size limitations, for what reasons do we think we will succeed?
(e) If we go back and check the validity of past land grants, how far shall we go?Kumekucha