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World leaders must share the responsibility of protecting young girls: Jeanette Kagame
First Lady of Rwanda, Mrs Jeanette Kagame has called on world leaders to share the responsibility of fighting all forms of violence against women and young girls.
According to her, if crisis of vulnerable people were globally shared, such occurrences would drastically reduce to make the world safer for women and children.
“In times where the world is already weakened by devastative occurrences, who gains when women and girls who make up more than half of the population of communities worldwide are disempowered and victimized?” she quizzed.
Mrs Kagame made the call at the Global Crisis plenary session of the just ended Women Deliver (WD) conference in Kigali, Rwanda.
She stated that in the event of disaster or other global disruptions, a person’s gender, origin, race, health status and financial strength would determine the extent of misfortune the individual experiences.
She therefore underscored the need for all persons with the power to effect change to ensure they do not pretend to bear no influence over who gets to suffer the least and who must endure the most.
“Are we really that apathetic to the fate of women and girls that we wish to consider gender equality to be solely a female issue as opposed to a moral human issue? We do not have the luxury of time considering our current pace.”
“We need to as a matter of urgency find the integrity and perhaps bravery to address core questions that loom over women’s fates and deploy the diverse range of resources available to us to design sustainable solutions,’ she added.
Referring to the World Bank report that estimates the loss in human capital wealth due to gender inequality to be at least $160.2 trillion or twice the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), she indicated that it would take much less to develop self-reliant systems for female empowerment and achieve gender equality at last.
The Global Fund, a worldwide movement to defeat HIV, tuberculosis and malaria to ensure a healthier and more equitable future for all, she said, had been a very strong partner to Rwanda and to non-profit organisations such as Imbuto Foundation which she chaired, adding that Rwanda had secured remarkable progress in the health status of communities in the country, leading to a reduction in rates of HIV infections.
Mrs Kagame also revealed that mother to child transmissions of HIV in Rwanda has been almost nonexistent for many years, “to all that fought to get us here we say thank you.”
Meanwhile some participants of the conference in separate interviews with the Ghanaian Times commended the organising team for the initiative and called for more actions to be taken to address all issues affecting women and young girls.
Evelyn Mukundihi from Uganda said “This has been a very valuable experience for me and I am hoping that we will all put into actions whatever we learned or talked about during the programme to achieve our aims of promoting gender parity and protecting women.
Shakira Nuhu, an adolescent girls protection advocate from Ghana urged young girls to become advocates for themselves and demand accountability from decision making leaders.
FROM RAISSA SAMBOU, KIGALI, RWANDA
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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Intercity STC Coaches Limited has interdicted a driver captured in a viral video allegedly hitting a Sprinter bus during an overtaking manoeuvre at Pokuase before driving away from the scene.
In a public notice, the company described the driver’s conduct as unacceptable, stressing that it did not reflect the safety standards and professionalism it upholds.
Management said it had commenced an immediate investigation into the incident and identified the driver, who has been interdicted pending the outcome of the disciplinary process.
The company added that it was awaiting an official report from the Pokuase Police Command to help establish the facts surrounding the incident.
STC reaffirmed its commitment to passenger safety and responsible road use, while thanking members of the public for bringing the incident to its attention.
Management assured the public that appropriate action would be taken following the investigation.
By: Jacob Aggrey
