MONROVIA — Former Vice President Joseph Boakai, 79, appears to be on the verge of being Liberia’s next President after a very close contest with incumbent President George Weah, who came to power through a popular vote in 2017.
Boakai served as Vice President under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for 12 years, amassing over 40 years of experience in the public sector.
The National Elections Commission released the latest results of the November 14 run-off election on Friday evening, revealing a closely contested race between the two candidates. According to the NEC, President Weah obtained 785,778 votes (49.11%), while Ambassador Boakai as secured 814,212 votes (50.89%) resulting in a difference of 28,434 votes (1.78%).
During his campaign, Boakai promised to rescue Liberia from the Weah administration, which he claimed was marred by mismanagement and corruption. He was, however, criticized for selecting Nimba County Senator Jeremiah Koung who was recommended to him by former warlord Prince Y. Johnson, also a Senator of the vote-rich Nimba County. This choice left many of his supporters wondering on his stance for the establishment of war crimes court.
Weah’s administration suffered a significant blow a year before the election with the United States Department of Treasury imposing sanctions on three top officials. They were found liable for corruption and the substantial diversion of government contracts for personal gain. These officials include the former Minister of State, Nathaniel McGill; the former Managing Director of the National Port Authority, Bill Twehway; and the former Solicitor General, Cllr. Sayma Syrennius Cephas.
The Weah administration faced severe criticism for not taking substantial action to investigate these officials, despite numerous calls from citizens and the United States Embassy in Liberia.
Weah’s administration, however, brags of being developmental-driven and focused more on the construction of community infrastructures and roads as part of his government’s Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD).
Richard Roundtree in the 1971 film “Shaft,” which made him a star.Credit…John Kisch Archive/Getty Images
While indelibly tied to the role that made him famous in 1971, he remained active for more than four decades afterward.
Richard Roundtree, the actor who redefined African American masculinity in the movies when he played the title role in “Shaft,” one of the first Black action heroes, died on Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 81.
His manager, Patrick McMinn, said the cause was pancreatic cancer, which had been diagnosed two months ago.
“Shaft,” which was released in 1971, was among the first of the so-called blaxploitation movies, and it made Mr. Roundtree a star at 29.
The character John Shaft is his own man, a private detective who jaywalks confidently through moving Times Square traffic in a handsome brown leather coat with the collar turned up; sports a robust, dark mustache somewhere between walrus-style and a downturned handlebar; and keeps a pearl-handled revolver in the fridge in his Greenwich Village duplex apartment.
As Mr. Roundtree observed in a 1972 article in The New York Times, he is “a Black man who is for once a winner.”
In addition to catapulting Mr. Roundtree to fame, the movie drew attention to its theme song, written and performed by Isaac Hayes, which won the 1972 Academy Award for best original song. It described Shaft as “a sex machine to all the chicks,” “a bad mother” and “the cat who won’t cop out when there’s danger all about.” Can you dig it? The director Gordon Parks’s gritty urban cinematography served as punctuation.
A fictional product of his unenlightened pre-feminist era, Shaft was living the Playboy magazine reader’s dream, with beautiful women available to him as willing, even downright grateful, sex partners. And he did not always treat them with respect. Some called him, for better or worse, the Black James Bond.
Mr. Roundtree played the role again in “Shaft’s Big Score!” (1972), which bumped up the chase scenes to include speedboats and helicopters and the sexy women to include exotic dancers and other men’s mistresses. In that movie, Shaft investigated the murder of a numbers runner, using bigger guns and ignoring one crook’s friendly advice to “keep the hell out of Queens.”
In “Shaft in Africa” (1973), filmed largely in Ethiopia, the character posed as an Indigenous man to expose a crime ring that exploited immigrants being smuggled into Europe. The second sequel lost money and led to a CBS series that lasted only seven weeks.
But the films had made their impact. As the film critic Maurice Peterson observed in Essence magazine, “Shaft” was “the first picture to show a Black man who leads a life free from racial torment.”
Mr. Roundtree in a scene from the 1972 movie “Shaft’s Big Score,” the first of two sequels.Credit…Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Image
Richard Arnold Roundtree was born on July 9, 1942 (some sources say 1937), in New Rochelle, N.Y., the son of John and Kathryn (Watkins) Roundtree. His parents were identified in the 1940 census as a butler and a cook in the same household.
Richard played on New Rochelle High School’s undefeated football team and, after graduating in 1961, attended Southern Illinois University on a football scholarship. But he dropped out of college in 1963 after spending a summer as a model with the Ebony Fashion Fair, a traveling presentation sponsored by Ebony magazine, the news and culture publication aimed at Black readers.
Mr. Roundtree moved back to New York, worked a number of jobs and soon began his theater career, joining the Negro Ensemble Company. His first role was in a 1967 production of Howard Sackler’s “The Great White Hope,” starring as a fictionalized version of Jack Johnson, the early 20th century’s first Black heavyweight boxing champion. A Broadway production starring James Earl Jones opened the next year and won three major Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
After “Shaft,” Mr. Roundtree made varied choices in movie roles. He was in the all-star ensemble cast of the 1974 disaster movie “Earthquake,” appearing alongside Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner, among others. He played the title role in “Man Friday” (1975), a vibrant, generous, ultimately more civilized partner to Peter O’Toole’s 17th-century explorer Robinson Crusoe.
In “Inchon” (1981), which Vincent Canby of The Times described as looking like “the most expensive B movie ever made,” Mr. Roundtree was an Army officer on the staff of Gen. Douglas MacArthur (Laurence Olivier) in Korea. He starred with Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds in “City Heat” (1984) and with a giant flying lizard in “Q” (1982).
On television he played Sam Bennett, the raffish carriage driver who courted Kizzie (Leslie Uggams) in the acclaimed mini-series “Roots” (1977). That show was transformational, Mr. Roundtree said in an ABC special celebrating its 25th anniversary: “You got a sense of white Americans saying, ‘Damn, that really happened.’”
ImageRichard Roundtree in 2019. He remained busy as an actor for more than four decades after his first big role.Credit…Celeste Sloman for The New York Times
Mr. Roundtree’s name remained associated with the 1970s, but he was just as busy during the next four decades.
He was an amoral private detective in a five-episode story arc of “Desperate Housewives” (2004); appeared in 60 episodes of the soap opera “Generations” (1990); and played Booker T. Washington in the 1999 television movie “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years.” He was a big-city district attorney in the film “Seven” (1995) and a strong-willed Mississippi iceman in “Once Upon a Time … When We Were Colored” (1996).
After the year 2000, when he was pushing 60, he made appearances in more than 25 TV series (he was a cast member of or had recurring roles in nine of them — including “Heroes,” “Being Mary Jane” and “Family Reunion”) and was seen in half a dozen television movies and more than 20 feature films.
In 2020, Mr. Roundtree starred as a fishing boat’s gray-bearded captain in “Haunting of the Mary Celeste,” a supernatural maritime movie mystery. In 2022, he was a regular in the second season of “Cherish the Day,” Ava DuVernay’s romantic drama series.
Mr. Roundtree married Mary Jane Grant in 1963. They had two children before divorcing in 1973. In 1980, he married Karen M. Cierna. They had three children and divorced in 1998.
Mr. Roundtree is survived by four daughters, Kelli, Nicole, Tayler and Morgan; a son, John; and at least one grandchild.
The Shaft character, created by Ernest Tidyman in a series of 1970s novels, endured — with Hollywood alterations. Samuel L. Jackson starred as a character with the same name, supposedly the first John Shaft’s nephew, in a 2000 sequel titled “Shaft.”
In 2019, another “Shaft” was released, also starring Mr. Jackson (now said to be the original character’s son), with Jessie T. Usher as his son, J.J. Shaft, an M.I.T.-educated cybersecurity expert. Like the 2000 “Shaft,” it also included Mr. Roundtree in the cast.
The film felt something like a buddy-cops comedy, but the smartest thing it did, Owen Gleiberman of Variety noted in a review, was to take Mr. Roundtree, “bald, with a snowy-white beard,” and “turn him into a character who’s hotter, and cooler, than anyone around him” and whose “spirit is spry, and tougher than leather.”
Orlando Mayorquin contributed reporting.
Corrections were made on
Oct. 25, 2023
:
An earlier version of this obituary misstated the year the theme from “Shaft” won the Academy Award for best original song. It was 1972, not 1973.
An earlier version of this obituary referred incorrectly to Mr. Roundtree’s role on the television series “Cherish the Day.” He appeared in all eight episodes of the show’s second season, not just one. The earlier version also misspelled the given name of one of Mr. Roundtree’s daughters. She is Tayler, not Taylor.
How we handle corrections
A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Richard Roundtree, The Widely Dug Star Of ‘Shaft,’ Dies at 81. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
My stepson and Jasmine are planning to flee to UK as a couple – Mr Ibu’s wife spills, blasts Verydarkman Stella Maris Okafor, Mr. Ibu’s wife, took to her Instagram to slam Verydarkman, branding him a wicked individual for dubbing her a dangerous woman. She didn’t stop there – addressing the misinformation fed to Verydarkman by Jasmine, her husband’s adopted daughter, Stella claimed that Jasmine is cooking up plans to run off with her stepson, Daniel Okafor. While tending to her unwell husband, Mr. Ibu, Stella Maris Okafor has clapped back, alleging that her stepson, Daniel Okafor, and the actor’s adopted daughter, Jasmine, are scheming to relocate to the UK as a couple, using the donations intended for Mr. Ibu’s treatment.
Recall that activist VeryDarkman had leveled accusations against Mr. Ibu’s wife, Stella, asserting that she aimed to divert funds intended for Mr. Ibu’s hospital bills for her personal benefit.
According to him, Stella allegedly sought to extract money from the funds raised for the actor’s health bills to acquire a new phone and undergo a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL).
In a comprehensive disclaimer, Stella refuted all allegations made by VeryDarkman. She criticized VDM as a malicious individual who had been misled with false information, tarnishing her reputation online.
The mother of three vehemently denied the report suggesting she intended to use her husband’s donations for an iPhone 15 and a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL), asserting that it was based on a conversation recorded by Jasmine without her knowledge.
Stella, currently facing the heat as Mr. Ibu’s wife, also alleged that her husband’s adopted daughter, Jasmine, and her second stepson, Daniel, are planning to escape the country with the funds intended for Mr. Ibu’s medical treatment.
WITHIN NIGERIA recalls reporting that when Mr Ibu’s wife went online to deny using her hubby’s donations to acquire a car.
Stella, in a series of posts shared on her Instagram page, called out her husband’s adopted daughter, Jasmine, alleging fraud and embezzlement
In her post, Stella alleged that her husband’s daughter and her cohorts have denied her access to her husband’s donations.
A family of Four involved in a car accident on their way from makeni to Freetown high way an eye witness confirm that no one survive they all died on the same spot.
In an interview with AYV TV, Sesay highlighted that these extra charges exceed the regular tuition fees, which goes against the very essence of SLG. He passionately appealed to the government of Sierra Leone, specifically the Minister of Technical and Higher Education, to step in and help the hundreds of students who are at risk of dropping out of college due to these unexpected financial burdens.
In late August this year, the Student Union President engaged with the Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernoh Bah, to discuss some of the constraints students faced on campus including poor digital platforms, poor transportation and security. Sesay added that there are sufficient reasons for students to demonstrate but they have chosen dialogue over taking the streets.
Nevertheless, the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education and the college administration have not yet provided any comments on the matter, posing a potential risk to the affected students.
The Chief Executive Officer of African Television, Larry Omodia, has promised to raise N10 million for Liam, the son of Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad, if a DNA proves that he is truly his son.
The television station owner threw the challenge in a video in which he also promised to foot the bill of the DNA.
In the video, Omodia said if Mohbad’s baby mama, Omowunmi, accepts to have a DNA conducted on Liam, it will end the controversy over the paternity of the five-month-old.
The Eagle Online recalls that there has been controversy over the paternity of the boy.
Some social media users have insinuated that Liam looks more like one of those allegedly accused of being behind the death of Mohbad, Samson Erinfolami Balogun, also known as Sam Larry.
The accusation had been that Sam Larry and street singer, Azeez Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley, had over the years been threatening Mohbad, equally known as Imole.
The accusation was first raised by the Very Dark Man, who requested for DNA on Liam.
Responding to the Very Dark Man, Omowunmi’s sister threatened him with a N300 million defamation lawsuit.
Omodia in the video that went viral on Monday said: “N10 million to Mohbad’s wife if DNA proves that that child belongs to Mohbad.
“African Television will pay for the DNA test, raise N10 million for Mohbad’s wife to raise that child if the DNA proves that that child is actually Mohbad’s child.
“This is to counter those people who say: ‘If you talk about DNA, they will sue you for N3 million.’
“Let them come after me.
“My name is Larry Omodia.
“I’m the CEO of African Television.
“I’m going to sponsor the DNA test and make sure that the baby gets N10 million if he’s proven to be Mohbad’s child.
“Why?
“Because the accusation is traumatic.
“But what is more traumatic than accusation?
“A life of lies.
“So we would compensate Mohbad’s wife if the baby actually belongs to Mohbad.
“But if that baby isn’t for Mohbad, men will learn a lot of lessons from that.
“So, this message is to Mohbad’s family, get me that woman, get the baby, we’ll do a DNA test.
“If the woman has nothing to hide, she walks away with N10 million.
“That is a promise.
“And if you want to sue people for what is right, come after me.
“We are tired of women sending our boys to jail, killing our boys, lying against our men.
“Do you know how many men are in their graves because of a woman?
“Kings have been buried by women.
“Future presidents have been put in jail by women.
“It is time that we said: ‘No to slutty women.’
“And I’m not saying Mohbad’s wife or girlfriend is bad, but we want to clear her name.
“We want to clear her name if she’s innocent.
“Listen to the audio conversation between her and Mohbad.
“That audio conversation makes her the first suspect.
“You guys are going after Naira Marley, Sam Larry, all kinds of people, but listen to that audio conversation.
“Yes, what happened between Naira Marley, Sam Larry, they’re all criminals.
“Those actions were wrong.
“But in the case of murder, the primary suspect in my opinion is the wife because the audio conversation, from Mohbad’s conversation with her makes her a prime suspect.
“And the only way we can clear her name is by proper investigation.
“So, we’re offering N10 million for her to clear her name in this case.”
Mohbad: TV owner vows to raise N10m if DNA proves five-month-old boy is his biological son
Maada Bio is digging his own grave. He is behaving like the reckless bug that will soon weave its way into a palm oil bottle from which he will not be able to squeeze his way out.
Maada Bio is forgetting that it is America, the greatest power in the world that is against him. The little chance he has got from the UN policy not to bar him from coming to America has gone into his head and he is behaving like the reckless fly that will follow the corpse to the grave.
America and the other countries that are against him are secretly laughing at him for the way he is making problems worse for himself by his pomposity, pride, impudence, recklessness, foolhardy statements and inability to understand the dire situation in which he finds himself.
Maada Bio is behaving like a child that knows that the adult he is challenging holds the whip handle and can beat the hell out of him in many different ways, but he is trying anyway to impress others with reckless bravado. Only a foolish child that is not serious about his future will institute such challenges and keep biting the hands feeding him.
All these things show that the curse of God befell Sierra Leone when Maada Bio became their president. At times when God wants to curse you for not taking the right decisions and for being hypocritical, He gives you a leader like Bio that will plumet you to your doom.
Maada Bio never cares for the people except himself, his family, his licentious girlfriends and his brainless supporters who will applaud him to his grave. If Bio really cared for his people he would have proceeded with caution and diplomacy and not opened his big mouth on America to bite the hands that feed our nation.
Bio should have known that there are consequences. He is so senselessly unpatriotic that he fails to realize that his reckless behaviour will hurt his country most. When America seriously begins to punish him, it is not only Bio himself who will suffer, but the people of Sierra Leone.
Bio thinks he has stolen enough money that he, Fatima, girlfriends and children will recline somewhere and enjoy if America boots him out of power. He is so daft that he does not know that the very America can kick him out of power and send him to jail.
If he thinks it is only the ICC that can arrest a former leader, he is mistaken. America can arrest him as they have done before to others in his position.
Bio is so ignorant that he does not know that diplomacy and the international community can be caressing your ego and secretly plotting your downfall.
Let Bio be carried away by the flattery he recently got from the ICC Prosecutor. Indeed, as I said before, the meeting between him and the ICC Prosecutor had nothing to do with investigations. That I made clear. However, if the Prosecutor discussed with Bio the Rome Statute, which deals with crimes against humanity, he has to be careful.
The ICC does not have enforcement capacity of its own and has no police or soldier of its own. It depends on the goodwill of countries that signed the Rome Statute to help it do its work
The ICC therefore acted correctly to seek Bio’s goodwill since Sierra Leone is going to be a Non – Permanent member of the UN General Assembly. It is not because Bio is great or innocent. This does not mean, however, that if Bio commits crimes in violation of the Statute, he will not be punished in future.
Bio has to be careful. This meeting was on strengthening bilateral relations. We who understand diplomacy know this. But we cannot predict anything from it if Bio remains puffed up and unwary of the things he does.
Bio is not a giant. He has to realize that and stop the yapping and tread carefully. Uncle Sam is watching him. He is in Uncle Sam’s radar and presidents smarter and stronger than him have been in that position before and turned out to be the losers.
BE careful, Bio. Watch your mouth and your steps. You might be too dumb not to realize that you are sealing your own doom with your big mouth. And this is a tragedy not only for you but our innocent country.
Tranga ace borbor crooner and business mogul, Nasser Ayoub has on a Facebook post called out Kao Denero, urging him to “just focus on the auditorium and revive the Sierra Leone Artistes Union”.
Recall that Kao Denero, who happens to be the Entertainment Ambassador in Sierra Leone shared his vision for the entertainment industry on Facebook.
In his post, Kao made mention of building the country’s first-ever entertainment auditorium. He also called for a National Entertainment Conference.
In a counterattack post by Nasser Ayoub, he dismissed the Ambassador’s vision and noted the need for unity in the entertainment industry.
Read what Nasser Ayoub said:
KAO, Don read u Status with Regards To National Conf on Ent, Just focus on The Auditorium, & Revive The SL Musician UNIONNasser Ayoub to Kao Denero
Police in Sierra Leone have detained for questioning, two Artists, Edward Wright, with Artist name of as Kontri Boss and Soloman Kass-Marrah, known as Kass of the LXG group, in relation to the death of notorious area man ‘Arata’, known as Alouysh Deen Tarawally.
Arata, died after sustaining major injuries inflicted by a crowd who carried out mob justice on him, for allegedly trying to rob a tricycle in broad daylight.
According to reports, Eddie, who is the owner of the tricycle was called in for questioning on these facts yesterday 17th September 2023 and Kass had accompanied him to make statements.
It was ascertained that Eddie, whose name was on documents as the owner, had purchased the tricycle for his mother, who has also been called in to give a statement.
The Lawyer of the Artists, Barrister Mohamed Sow is working to secure their release today.
Police in Sierra Leone have detained for questioning, two Artists, Edward Wright, with Artist name of as Kontri Boss and Soloman Kass-Marrah, known as Kass of the LXG group, in relation to the death of notorious area man ‘Arata’, known as Alouysh Deen Tarawally.
Arata, died after sustaining major injuries inflicted by a crowd who carried out mob justice on him, for allegedly trying to rob a tricycle in broad daylight.
According to reports, Eddie, who is the owner of the tricycle was called in for questioning on these facts yesterday 17th September 2023 and Kass had accompanied him to make statements.
It was ascertained that Eddie, whose name was on documents as the owner, had purchased the tricycle for his mother, who has also been called in to give a statement.
The Lawyer of the Artists, Barrister Mohamed Sow is working to secure their release today.
Celebrities Vybes 