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By:
HARRISON MAINA | |||||||||
| Posted:
Jan,31-2018 10:22:06
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LOWELL, Mass.__Professor PLO Lumumba, a popular Kenyan lawyer, who shot to even more limelight recently when he animated proceedings at Kenya Supreme court while defending the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)---during the reelection battle between president Uhuru Kenyatta of the Jubilee coalition and Raila Odinga of the Opposition's NASA coalition---is set to arrive in Boston this week where he will receive an award for his works that have caused ripples in many corners of the African continent.
Lumumba, who just recently stepped down as the director of the Kenya School of Law to pursue other interests and pave way for fresh leadership will receive the Africa Luminary Award conferred by the African Cultural Association, organizers of the wildly popular Lowell African Festival. (watch Lowell African festival Video Recap here >>) The unique ceremony will take place this Saturday, January 27th 2018 at the Lodge of Elks hall located at 40 Old Ferry Road in Lowell, approximately 35 miles north of Boston starting at 6pm to around midnight. According to officials of the African Cultural Association, several nominations were received from across the African continent for various candidates suitable to receive the prestigious award established to honor Africans who have done outstanding work in addressing problems hampering better standards of living in the continent. However, "upon review of the entrants, the ACA board, in recognizing that corruption and bad governance, are among the many challenges that plague our continent, voted unanimously to give the African Luminary Award to Prof. Lumumba recognizing that he has done more than most in raising awareness against corruption, tribalism and their devastating effects on Africa," said Ben Opara, Vice President of the African Cultural Association originally from Nigeria. Widely travelled in Africa where he has also preached in many venues as a clergyman, Lumumba will also be officially welcomed to the city of Lowell by Lowell mayor, Edward Kennedy who will present him with a key to the city and a citation in a ceremony to be held at the Mayor's office on Tuesday next week. As the former the chairman of the now defunct Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission, a position he was appointed to by former president Mwai Kibaki,Lumumba spent many years struggling to end the scourge of corruption in Kenya, putting him in a position to give a deeper insight of the debilitating problem prevalent in many African countries during the upcoming interaction with Africans in the Diaspora. Lumumba is also expected to address the factors that led to the initial nullification of the presidential elections in Kenya by the Supreme Court, before the same court came around and upheld Uhuru Kenyatta's win in a subsequent repeat election boycotted by Raila Odinga. The elections nullification was hailed by many as a courageous step by an African supreme court overseeing an election dispute, and a first of its kind in the continent where presidents are known to overrun the courts and electoral bodies with rigging. A father of two who is an admirer of Patrice Lumumba--the late assassinated revolutionary leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Thomas Sankara, also a former assassinated revolutionary leader of Burkina Faso, Lumumba holds a PhD in Laws of the Sea from Ghent University in Belgium, Bachelor of Law from the University of Nairobi, and a Post Graduate Diploma from the Kenya School of Law. As a staunch Pan- Africanist, Lumumba has been invited to many different African countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and many more where he received standing ovations for his speeches urging Africans to seek African based solutions to problems plaguing the continent. Speaking to Ajabu Africa News before he departed from Nairobi, Prof. Lumumba said that he was very excited to meet Africans in the Diaspora especially due to the recognition they gave him for his work to uplift the continent. "I am humbled. The recognition gives me the energy to work for Mother Africa without loss of enthusiasm even in the face of adversities," he said. According to officials, the award ceremony will be followed by a Q & A on African issues, as well as entertainment. Tickets to the event have been selling for $60 a person, $100 a couple, $30 for college students and $15 for high school students. Officials added that the few tickets still available can be reserved online by clicking on the link herehttp://www.africanfestivallowell.org/or by reaching the African Cultural Association at: 800-706-7863. Lowell African Festival Video | |||||||||
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Source:
AJABU AFRICA NEWS
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