Shockwaves are reverberating across Yorùbáland and the global Yorùbá diaspora following the sudden death of the Baba Ọba (King’s Father) of the famed Oyotunji African Village in South Carolina, USA. The late Baba Ọba, Lukman Arohunfale, a revered socialite and traditionalist, passed away under circumstances already sparking fierce controversy. His death comes just days after he publicly accused the newly installed Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty Oba Akeem Adéyẹmọ Owoade, of allegedly ordering his courtiers to beat him mercilessly during a recent courtesy visit to the Oyo palace in Nigeria. In a widely circulated voice recording, the deceased recounted how what was meant to be a simple homage turned violent. Although the Baba Ọba had reportedly battled ill health in the past year, growing insinuations suggest that the alleged physical assault may have aggravated his condition, ultimately leading to his untimely death. The palace in Oyo recently denied that s...
Aceh is the only province in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country that imposes sharia law. People can face floggings for a range of offences -- from gambling, to drinking alcohol, to gay sex.
In the latest caning, five people -- two women and three men -- were flogged in front of a cheering crowd at a mosque in the provincial capital Banda Aceh.
The 34-year-old woman who yelled in pain had been found guilty of spending time in close proximity with a man who was not her husband in contravention of Aceh's Islamic regulations.
She was lashed seven times with a rattan cane by a man wearing long robes and a hood, with just slits for the eyes.
"It hurts so bad," the woman said, raising her arms into the air, as she was beaten.
The 32-year-old man with whom she was caught was also flogged seven times.
Two university students, both 19, received 100 lashes of the cane after they confessed to sex outside marriage. They stared at the ground as they were flogged, showing little emotion.
A man found guilty of sex outside marriage was flogged 22 times although his partner, who is two-months pregnant, is still waiting to learn her fate after facing trial at an Islamic court.
However Aceh authorities typically spare pregnant women from caning.
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