Augustine Alugbala Nwazunku, the former leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State, passed away.
Nwazunku, who contested the governorship in the 2023 general elections as a candidate for governor, served until his death as an associate professor and consultant on environmental health at Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, Anambra State.
His death was confirmed by Channels Television’s (TV) obtained by Senator Paulinus Igwenwagu, the party’s Deputy Governorship candidate for the 2023 elections, in a statement released on Thursday.
In honor of our own, all meetings and any other activities are suspended on Saturday, June 28, 2025.
The statement read, “We are invited to assemble at the Aristocrat Hotel along Ezza Road for onward movement to pay a condolence visit to the family and pray for his soul.”
Anyanwu: The PDP Constitution forbids the NEC to elect and remove national officers and chieftains.
We hereby inform you that we have lost one of us, former caretaker chairman of our party in Ebonyi State, Professor Augustine Nwazunku, on behalf of our leader, H. E. Dr. Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, and the entire Ebonyi PDP, “it added.
Four Black men were traveling from Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, to Cradock in South Africa on the night of June 27, 1985, in a car.
They had just finished doing community organising work on the outskirts of the city when apartheid police officials stopped them at a roadblock.
Fort Calata, 29, Matthew Goniwe, 38, Sicelo Mhlauli, 36, and Sparrow Mkonto, a railroad worker, were tortured and abducted.
Later, their bodies were discovered dumped in various neighborhoods of the city; they had been severely beaten, stabbed, and burned.
The police and apartheid government initially denied any involvement in the killings. The men were known to be under surveillance for their activism in response to the agonizing circumstances that Black South Africans faced at the time.
Soon afterward, it became clear that some of the group’s members had a death warrant, and that their murders had long been planned.
Though there were two inquests into the murders – both under the apartheid regime in 1987 and 1993 – neither resulted in any perpetrator being named or charged.
Early this month, Ford Calata’s son, Lukhanyo Calata, told Al Jazeera that “the first inquest was conducted entirely in Afrikaans.” The 43-year-old lamented that “my mother and the other mothers were never given any opportunity to make statements in that,” adding that.
“These were courts in apartheid South Africa. The courts said no one could be held accountable for the deaths of four people in a completely different time.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established shortly after apartheid ended in 1994. There, hearings confirmed the “Cradock Four” were indeed targeted for their political activism. Although a few former apartheid officers admitted to being involved, they refused to provide more information and received no amnesty.
A new inquest has been launched four decades after the killings. Although justice has never seemed closer, for families of the deceased, it has been a long wait.
This week, Lukhanyo told the local media, “We have waited for justice for 40 years.” He said while speaking outside the court in Gqeberha, where the hearings are taking place, “We hope this process will finally expose who gave the orders, who carried them out, and why.”
As a South African journalist, it’s almost impossible to cover the inquiry without thinking about the extent of crimes committed during apartheid – crimes by a regime so committed to propping up its criminal, racist agenda that it took it to its most violent and deadly end.
There are many more victims like the Cradock Four, many more victims like the Calatas, and many more families who are still waiting to find out what really happened to their loved ones.
On July 20, 1985, the Cradock Four’s funeral procession was held in the South African township of Lingelihle. [Greg English/Reuters]
Known victims
I was reminded of Nokhutula Simelane when I watched the Gqeberha court proceedings.
I visited Bethal in the Mpumalanga province more than ten years ago to visit her family after her 1983 disappearance. Simelane joined Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), which was the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC) – the liberation movement turned majority ruling party in South Africa.
She served as a courier for messages and packages between Swaziland and what was then Swaziland as an MK operative.
Simelane was lured to a meeting in Johannesburg, where she was abducted, tortured, and disappeared before being taken into police custody.
Her family says they still feel the pain of not being able to bury her.
Five white men from what the apartheid police’s special branch applied for amnesty at the TRC in connection with Simelane’s alleged murder.
Willem Coetzee, the security police unit’s former commander, denies that she was the one who carried out the murder. But that was countered by testimony from his colleague that she was brutally murdered and buried somewhere in what is now the North West province. According to Coetzee, Simelane was later re-enter Swaziland after being turned into an informant.
No one has yet accepted responsibility for her disappearance, neither the ANC nor the apartheid security forces.
The case of the Cradock Four also made me think of anti-apartheid activist and South African Communist Party member, Ahmed Timol, who was tortured and killed in 1971 but whose murder was also covered up.
The 29-year-old teacher was being held in Johannesburg’s notorious John Vorster Square police headquarters when he fell from a 10th-floor window. The apartheid government was renowned for its lies and cover-ups, so an inquest the year after his death came to a conclusion.
Decades later, a second inquest under the democratic government in 2018 found that Timol had been so badly tortured in custody that he would never have been able to jump out of a window.
Former security branch officer Joao Rodrigues was only charged with Timol’s murder at that time. Given the number of years since Timol’s death, the elderly Rodrigues objected to the charges and requested a permanent stay of prosecution. He claimed that he would not be given a fair trial because he was unable to properly recall events at the time of his death. Rodrigues died in 2021.
A crime against humanity, in my opinion.
brutal apartheid. And for the people left behind, unresolved trauma and unanswered questions are the salt in the deep wounds that remain.
Which is why families like those of the Cradock Four are still seeking resolutions in court.
Nombuyiselo Mhlauli, the wife of Sicelo Mhlauli, 73, described the state of his body in her testimony to the court this month. He had more than 25 stab wounds in the chest, seven in the back, a gash across his throat and a missing right hand, she said.
One day before Lukhanyo’s court appearance, he was scheduled to continue his testimony in the murder hearing.
He described how crucially important the process had been in terms of emotion. He also spoke about his work as a journalist, growing up without a father, and the impact it’s had on his life and outlook.
“Our humanity was targeted,” the statement read. On the sixth day of the inquest, Lukhanyo testified that the state in which my father’s body was discovered was a clear crime against humanity in all respects.
But his frustration and anger do not end with the apartheid government. He attributes too much time to the ANC, which has been in power since the end of apartheid, to failing to adequately address these crimes.
Lukhanyo claims that the ANC’s betrayal of the Cradock Four “cut the deepest” in its own opinion.
“Today we are sitting with a society that is completely lawless”, he said in court. This is because, at the beginning of this democracy, we did not establish proper procedures to inform the rest of society that you would be held accountable for what you had done wrong.
From 1939 to 1949, Fort Calata’s grandfather, Reverend Canon James Arthur Calata, served as the ANC secretary-general. The Calata family has a long history with the liberation movement, which makes it all the more difficult for someone like Lukhanyo to understand why it’s taken the party so long to deliver justice.
pursuing justice and peace
According to Mmamoloko Kubayi, the minister of justice and constitutional development in South Africa, the government has increased its efforts to provide families with long-awaited justice and closure.
“These efforts signal a renewed commitment to restorative justice and national healing”, the department said in a statement.
The Cradock Four, Simelane, and Timol are just a few of the horror stories and murders we are aware of.
But I frequently wonder about all the names, victims, and testimony that are still unidentified or buried.
The murders of countless mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters by the apartheid regime matter not only to those who cared for them but for the consciousness of South African society as a whole, no matter how normalised the tally of the dead has become.
How long will this new inquest take, it’s not certain. Former security officers, political figures, and forensic experts are expected to give testimony during the course of several weeks.
Initially, six police officers were implicated in the killings. Although all of them have since passed away, the Cradock Four’s family believes senior authorities should be held accountable for the orders they were given.
However, the state may be reluctant to foot the bill for the legal expenses of the apartheid police officers who are convicted of the murders, which could stifle the investigation.
Meanwhile, as the families wait for answers , about what happened to their loved ones and accountability for those responsible, they are trying to make peace with the past.
Emma Raducanu has been drawn against teenage wildcard Mimi Xu in an eye-catching all-British first-round match at Wimbledon.
If British number one Raducanu beats 17-year-old Xu, she will face either 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova or 32nd seed McCartney Kessler in the second round.
Raducanu, ranked 38th in the world, fell just short of a seeding for the championships and has been handed a difficult-looking draw.
The 22-year-old could potentially face world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the third round.
Hannah Klugman and Mika Stojsavljevic – the two other British teenagers given wildcards – have also been handed tough draws against seeded players.
Klugman, 16, faces Canadian 29th seed Leylah Fernandez – who Raducanu memorably beat to win the 2021 US Open.
US Open junior champion Stojsavljevic, also 16, starts against American 31st seed Ashlyn Krueger.
Florida and federal officials announced the state will build a new immigration detention facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Everglades – an area of wetlands in the south of the state. Because the facility will be partly funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), some Floridians are worried it will affect hurricane relief funds.
Homeland Security’s Secretary Kristi Noem “is using FEMA funds to build her Alligator Alcatraz concentration camp in Florida. At the beginning of hurricane season”, reads a June 23 X post, “when we can’t pay our bills or fund meals for kids and the elderly.”
Another June 23 X post reads: “Florida’s building ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ by diverting FEMA shelter funds meant for housing and aid. They’re not protecting anyone, they’re stealing emergency relief money to build detention centers in a swamp. Cruelty is always the point.”
These claims come after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted a more-active-than-normal 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30.
The claims also follow President Donald Trump saying he wants to eliminate FEMA and have states handle preparation and response to hurricanes and other disasters. NPR reported that FEMA appears less ready to respond to disasters under Trump because of a management shake-up, employee departures and the cancellation of a programme that helped with disaster relief.
The “Alligator Alcatraz” facility gets its nickname from Alcatraz, the former maximum-security prison island in San Francisco Bay known for its isolation, security and minimal inmate privileges. The “Alligator” part is because the 39-square-mile facility will be located remotely in the Everglades, a swampy region surrounded by alligators and pythons, where “there’s nowhere to go, nowhere to hide”, according to a June 19 video posted by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. The facility would be six miles north of Everglades National Park.
Governor Ron DeSantis’s office told PolitiFact the facility will use temporary buildings and shelters similar to those used during natural disasters. The location will be the abandoned Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, which has an existing airstrip. The state will use the site under the governor’s emergency powers.
The Department of Homeland Security posted on June 23 on X that the facility is among its efforts to “deliver on the American people’s mandate for mass deportations. Alligator Alcatraz will expand facilities and bed space in just days, thanks to our partnership with Florida.”
The government will allocate some FEMA funds to the facility, but it will not use disaster relief funds.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management will build the facility for people arrested by Florida law enforcement for immigration law offences. A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) programme delegates to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specific immigration functions. Immigrants arrested in other states could also be transferred to the facility under Florida’s custody.
How FEMA will fund ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
A Noem spokesperson told PolitiFact on June 24 that the new Florida immigration detention facility will largely be funded by FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program. Information about that programme is no longer available on FEMA’s website, but a DHS spokesperson told us that FEMA has roughly $625m in that programme’s funds that can be allocated to build the “Alligator Alcatraz” facility.
The DHS spokesperson also said that Florida will initially pay for the facility, and then will submit a reimbursement request to FEMA and DHS.
DHS said the facility’s total cost will be approximately $450m for one year. It is expected to open 30 to 60 days after construction, which started on June 23, according to The New York Times. It will open with 500 to 1,000 beds and is expected to have 5,000 beds by early July.
Congress approved FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program in fiscal year 2023 to give money to state and local governments and nonprofit organisations that provide migrants with temporary shelter, food and transportation. The programme uses money Congress gave Customs and Border Protection, and is administered by FEMA. Before then, including during the Trump administration, migrants received help through another FEMA programme, the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, which is for people facing homelessness and hunger.
FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, which is primarily used after natural disasters, is funded separately by Congress.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump falsely claimed the Biden administration was stealing millions from FEMA’s disaster aid fund to help migrants. The Shelter and Services Program funding does not come at disaster victims’ expense.
PolitiFact previously reported that in fiscal year 2024, which started in October 2023 and ended in September 2024, Congress directed US Customs and Border Protection to give FEMA $650m for the Shelter and Services Program.
From fiscal years 2021 to 2024, Congress allocated about $1.5bn combined for both the Shelter and Services Program and the Emergency Food and Shelter program. The Trump administration stopped funding for the Emergency Food and Shelter program.
“Alligator Alcatraz” is just one of the ways Florida is planning to detain, process and deport immigrants illegally in the US.
Earlier this year, Florida offered to build immigration detention sites. The state’s “Immigration Enforcement Operations Plan” says it identified several locations in the northeastern and south-central regions of the state that could serve as detention centres. The report said that to make the detention and deportation process “seamless”, the locations “are typically” near airstrips.
Despite growing concern over a number of deadly attacks on Palestinian aid seekers close to its distribution centers in the besieged territory, the United States claims to have approved $30 million in direct funding for the contentious Israel-backed organization that provides aid to Gaza.
According to State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott, “We call on other countries to also support the GHF, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and its critical work.”
Since its founding in May, the GHF, which is supported by the US and Israel, has drawn a lot of criticism. The group was established as a result of growing pressure on Israel to lift its months-long total blockade of humanitarian aid entering the Strip. Most of Gaza’s population was on the verge of starvation as a result of the blockade.
Working with the GHF with Israeli troops supported by privately funded and armed US security personnel is prohibited by international aid organizations and the UN, which claim it is in violation of fundamental human rights.
Palestinians who attempt to collect food aid are being shot at in new video clips.
According to the Gaza Government Media Office on Thursday, at least 549 Palestinians were killed as they waited for food to be distributed at GHF sites. Officially a private organization, the GHF has denied that any of its aid points have experienced deadly incidents.
John Acree, the GHF’s interim executive director, praised the US contribution and declared that time needed for unity and collaboration.
In a statement, he said, “We look forward to other aid and humanitarian organizations joining us so that we can feed even more Gazans, together.”
When asked about the operation’s criticism, Pigott claimed that the organization has distributed 46 million meals thus far, which is “absolutely incredible” and “should be applauded.”
According to him, President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s “pursuit of peace in the region” account for their financial support.
Nothing but death, exactly.
A witness who has repeatedly tried unsuccessfully to get aid from the distribution centers described the agonizing circumstances he encountered while attempting to reach the hubs.
Atar Riyad, a father of eight who has since been relocated to Gaza City, reported to Al Jazeera that he had frequently traveled to the distribution centers close to the so-called Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza. Early in the morning, according to Riyad, thousands of hungry Palestinians would line up near the sites.
He claimed to have once witnessed trucks rushing over aid seekers. On another occasion, he observed young people’s bodies that appeared to have been shot.
“We left, and all we saw was death.” He claimed that there was nothing but death.
Riyad claimed that some of his closest friends and neighbors had died at the distribution centers. He claimed that “all died as they attempted to feed their families.”
The UCLA Law Promise Institute Europe executive director, Kate Mackintosh, warned Al Jazeera that GHF employees could face criminal responsibility for aid seekers’ murders close to the organization’s distribution points.
Although it’s not immediately clear why these people are being targeted and killed, she said, “I think it’s pretty obvious that these are unarmed civilians desperately trying to get food for their families.”
“Fingering on someone in that situation is obviously a war crime.”
She argued that GHF employees “must consider the possibility of being complicit in those crimes.”
They could be held criminally liable for engaging in those crimes if they are aware that this is going to happen, or even if they are aware of the significant risk of this happening, which it appears they are.
An Israeli strike on a Gazan street on Thursday caused 18 people to die in the most recent hostility surrounding the distribution of food.
A Palestinian police unit, according to witnesses, had gathered to seize bags of flour from gangs looting aid convoys after a crowd of people gathered.
Armed gangs have been thwarting UN efforts to distribute food, and there have been large numbers of desperate people loading supplies from convoys.
Members of Sahm, a security force tasked with stopping looters and cracking down on retailers who sell stolen aid at high prices, appeared to be the targets of the strike in Deir el-Balah’s central town on Thursday. Members of the unit’s affiliated organizations include the Hamas-led Interior Ministry in Gaza.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s long-expected departure as Leicester City manager has been confirmed more than nine weeks after the Foxes were relegated from the Premier League.
The 48-year-old Dutchman oversaw 19 defeats and managed just five wins from his 27 matches in charge of the East Midlands club last season.
Leicester’s relegation was confirmed with five matches of the campaign remaining, but the former PSV Eindhoven boss saw out the season and held on to the job for another month after it concluded.
The protracted nature of Van Nistelrooy’s exit, which the Championship club says has been “mutually agreed”, was called “baffling” and summed up as “a mess” by former Foxes striker Matt Fryatt in early June.
Not only are the club now looking to regroup for their second season in the Championship in three years, they are also facing a potential points penalty for the upcoming season after being charged for allegedly breaching the English Football League’s financial rules.
In the statement confirming his departure, Van Nistelrooy said he wanted to “wish the club well” for the future.
“I would like to personally thank the Leicester City players, coaches, academy and all the staff I have worked with for their professionalism and dedication during my time at the club,” he told Leicester’s website.
Former Everton and Burnley boss Sean Dyche has been heavily linked to replace the Dutchman at the King Power Stadium ahead of their return to England’s second tier.
Leicester were 16th in the table and one point above the relegation places when Van Nistelrooy replaced Steve Cooper at the King Power Stadium.
Former Nottingham Forest boss Cooper was in charge for the first three months of the season – overseeing three wins and seven losses from 15 games in all competitions – after replacing Enzo Maresca, who left for Chelsea after winning the Championship title with the Foxes in 2023-24.
Two of the defeats that Cooper’s Foxes suffered came against a Manchester United team led by Van Nistelrooy as caretaker boss, the former Red Devils striker having stepped up from his former role as assistant manager at Old Trafford to temporarily replace compatriot Erik ten Hag.
Victory against West Ham in Van Nistelrooy’s first match in charge on 3 December gave him the ideal start, but three weeks later they were in the relegation zone.
And apart from a seven-day reprieve after beating Tottenham in late January, the Foxes spent the last five months of campaign in the bottom three where they eventually finished 13 points from safety in 18th spot.
The woeful end to the campaign was also one of record-setting proportions.
