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New Paper
12-05-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
Former Singapore cricketer and coach Arjun Menon killed in Malawi
As a player and later on a coach, former national cricketer Arjun Menon's passion for the sport was always evident. The love for the game and an eagerness to spread that affection for cricket took him on a journey spanning four continents. But it reached a tragic end on May 10 in East African country Malawi, where Menon, 48, has been the operations manager of Cricket Malawi since February 2020. In a press statement on May 11, Dr Henry Kamata, chief executive officer of Malawi's National Council of Sports, said Menon was "brutally murdered" at his residence on May 10 and called on law enforcement authorities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice. When contacted, Singapore Cricket Association (SCA) president Mahmood Gaznavi said he was deeply saddened by the news, adding that "reports emerging from Malawi seem to indicate that his life was taken by very dubious people". In a Facebook post, Nation Publications Limited which owns The Nation, a Malawi-based newspaper, said reports had indicated Menon was attacked by thugs in Blantyre. It added that Menon was instrumental in Malawi cricket's recent international success that led to the sport grabbing three accolades at the Malawi Sport Awards. Gaznavi said that he last spoke to Menon about three months ago and added that he was a "very, very down to earth and measured guy who had a lot of love for the game". Gaznavi was inspired by how Menon used his strengths to advance the sport overseas and impact people's lives at the same time. "He used his knowledge to advance what he thought was the larger purpose in life, which was to help not just those in cricket, but those outside of cricket, especially the underprivileged," said Gaznavi. Menon first took up the game while he was a student at St Patrick's School and the talented wicket-keeper went on to represent Singapore at youth level. In 1996, he earned his first senior cap for the national team against the United Arab Emirates at the Asian Cricket Council Trophy. He earned four more caps with the national team before completing his undergraduate studies in 2004 in Perth, Australia, where he moved into coaching. Menon then had a five-year stint with the SCA from 2015 to 2020 which saw him take on roles such as game development manager and head coach. In 2017, he led the national cricket team to a Twenty20 gold medal at the SEA Games. It was the Republic's first title in the sport, which was making its debut at the biennial regional meet in Kuala Lumpur. In a previous interview with The Straits Times, Menon said it was "one of the proudest moments in my life singing Majulah Singapura as I watched our nation's flag hoisted above the rest during the medal ceremony". Menon also had stints as a coach in Chile, Australia, India, Mozambique, Botswana and Indonesia before his move to Malawi, where he also took on coaching duties and guided the national side at the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Africa Sub-Regional Qualifier A. In a 2021 interview with The Straits Times, Menon detailed the contributions he had made beyond the cricket oval in Malawi. He shared how he had tagged along with a group of women in his social circle and visited the Maoni Orphanage to donate some blankets and toys. Once there, he got to witness the living conditions of the children's dormitories, which housed 47 children but had only five bunk beds. The spartan sleeping arrangements, which could fit only 10 children, left him ill at ease. "On the drive back, I felt a bit uneasy at the prospect that I was now going home to my big king-size bed and all the comforts we take for granted while that night, about 37 children would be sleeping on thin mattresses on the floor," he told ST. Menon then made a heartfelt plea for donations in a group chat with his former St Patrick's schoolmates and managed to raise funds to purchase 30 bed frames costing about $30 each and 50 mosquito nets, which are useful in combating malaria, a serious problem in Malawi. In a tribute to Menon on Facebook, the SCA said that his career "reflected his unwavering dedication to the development of cricket, both at home and abroad". It added: "A passionate ambassador for Singapore cricket, he carried the Singapore flag with pride wherever he coached. And Malawi, where he passed on, was the beneficiary of his cricket contribution." SCA also highlighted that Menon was an embodiment of Singaporean values of excellence, humility, and service. "His legacy lives on in the players he shaped and the communities he uplifted across continents. He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, players, and all who have the honour of knowing him."
Straits Times
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Former Singapore cricketer and coach Arjun Menon dies in Malawi
Former national cricketer Arjun Menon (right) conducting a cricket awareness course for journalists in Malawi on May 5, 2021. PHOTO: COURTESY OF ARJUN MENON SINGAPORE – As a player and later on a coach, former national cricketer Arjun Menon's passion for the sport was always evident. The love for the game and an eagerness to spread that affection for cricket took him on a journey spanning four continents. But it reached a tragic end on May 11 in east African country Malawi, where Arjun, 48, has been the operations manager of Cricket Malawi since February 2020. The Singapore Cricket Association (SCA) said in a Facebook post on May 11 that he had died earlier in the day. When contacted, SCA president Mahmood Gaznavi said he was deeply saddened by the news, adding that 'reports emerging from Malawi seem to indicate that his life was taken by very dubious people'. In a Facebook post, Nation Publications Limited which owns The Nation, a Malawi-based newspaper, said reports had indicated Arjun was attacked by thugs in Blantyre. It added that Arjun was instrumental in Malawi cricket's recent international success that led to the sport grabbing three accolades at the Malawi Sport Awards. Mahmood said that he last spoke to Arjun about three months ago and added that he was a 'very, very down to earth and measured guy who had a lot of love for the game'. Mahmood was inspired by how Arjun used his strengths to advance the sport overseas and impact people's lives at the same time. 'He used his knowledge to advance what he thought was the larger purpose in life, which was to help not just those in cricket, but those outside of cricket, especially the underprivileged,' said Mahmood. Arjun first took up the game while he was a student at Saint Patrick's School and the talented wicketkeeper went on to represent Singapore at youth level. In 1996, he earned his first senior cap for the national team against the United Arab Emirates in the Asian Cricket Council Trophy. He earned four more caps with the national team before completing his undergraduate studies in Perth, Australia, in 2004, where he moved into coaching. Arjun then had a five-year stint with SCA from 2015 to 2020 which saw him take on various roles such as game development manager and as head coach. In 2017, he led the national cricket team to a Twenty20 gold medal, the Republic's first-ever SEA Games gold in the sport which was making its debut at the biennial regional games in Kuala Lumpur. In a previous interview with The Straits Times, Arjun said it was 'one of the proudest moments in my life singing Majulah Singapura as I watched our nation's flag hoisted above the rest during the medal ceremony'. Arjun also had stints as a coach in Chile, Australia, India, Mozambique, Botswana and Indonesia before his move to Malawi, where he also took on coaching duties and guided the national side at the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Africa Sub-Regional Qualifier A. In a 2021 interview with ST, Arjun detailed the contributions he had made beyond the cricket oval in Malawi. He shared how he had tagged along with a group of women in his social circle and visited the Maoni Orphanage to donate some blankets and toys. Once there, he got to witness the living conditions of the children's dormitories, which housed 47 children but had only five bunk beds. The spartan sleeping arrangements, which could fit only 10 children, left him ill at ease. 'On the drive back, I felt a bit uneasy at the prospect that I was now going home to my big king-size bed and all the comforts we take for granted while that night, about 37 children would be sleeping on thin mattresses on the floor,' he told ST. Arjun then made a heartfelt plea for donations in a group chat with his former schoolmates from Saint Patrick's School and managed to raise funds to purchase 30 bed frames costing about $30 each and 50 mosquito nets, which are useful in combating malaria, a serious problem in Malawi. SCA said in its Facebook post that Arjun's career 'reflected his unwavering dedication to the development of cricket, both at home and abroad.' It added: 'A passionate ambassador for Singapore cricket, he carried the Singapore flag with pride wherever he coached. And Malawi, where he passed on, was the beneficiary of his cricket contribution.' SCA also highlighted that Arjun was an embodiment of Singaporean values of excellence, humility, and service. 'His legacy lives on in the players he shaped and the communities he uplifted across continents He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, players, and all who have the honour of knowing him,' SCA added. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Africa's peacekeepers: Who's left to maintain order?
On March 13, leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional bloc signaled the end of its peacekeeping mandate in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following the killing of more than a dozen peacekeepers by M23 rebels in January. The country had been relying on the SADC Mission in the DRC, known as SAMIDRC, to neutralize the M23 rebel group in the country's conflict-hit east. The bloc's decision to pull its mission came one day after mediators in Angola set a new round of peace talks between Congo and the Rwanda-backed rebel group. SAMIDRC had taken over from an East African Community (EAC) deployment and the United Nations Force Intervention Brigade, which had been in Congo for over two decades. A little over a year after its deployment, SADC leaders announced a "phased withdrawal," which came after several sporadic incidents involving peacekeepers, including the deaths of three Tanzanian troops in a mortar explosion in April 2024. But in late January, 10 South African soldiers and three Malawian soldiers died at the hands of rebels in the battle for Goma. Scores were injured as the conflict escalated. "Perhaps there is a need to rethink the rules of engagement with regard to the peacekeepers," Chimwemwe Tsitsi, a Malawi-based international relations expert, said. Tsitsi told DW there was a change in approach by the peacekeepers in Congo. "Perhaps the change in the approach from that of non-interference to a new one ... might also be another reason why the peacekeepers have been fighting some armed groups of are a number of factors that may have caused this mission to disband," he said. The SAMIDRC fatalities dominated news headlines in southern Africa, sparking broad public opposition. According to SANDU National Secretary Pikkie Greef, SANDF troops were destined to fail in the DRC. #CarteBlanche @govanwhittles — Carte Blanche (@carteblanchetv) February 9, 2025 Malawi was the first announce a halt to its deployment to Congoin early February, with President Lazarus Chakwera instructing the Malawi Defence Force commander to begin preparing to withdraw. The move was largely welcomed by Malawians like Antony Manda. "Kudos to the president for making this decision," Manda told DW. "We've been fighting a war in DRC, which is not our war. So, these soldiers should come back home." Chiukepo Mwale, another Malawi citizen agreed, saying, "There is no reason for our soldiers to be there." Meanwhile, South Africa deployed additional troops and military equipment to Congo, despite an outcry by the public and trade unions over the killing of soldiers, with an under-resourced South African National Defence Force (SANDF). Dr. Alex Vines, the Africa program head at the London-based Chatham House think tank, is on a visit to Guinea-Bissau, where a large contingent of Senegalese troops has comprised the ECOWAS Mission in Guinea-Bissau. "There are questions here in Bissau whether the ECOWAS presence has any effect and the expulsion of the recent ECOWAS/UNOWAS mission here related to its inquiries around the election road map [is] worrying," said Vines. Gambia, according to Vines, is more successful. Peacekeepers from Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria have kept the ECOWAS military intervention in the Gambia or the ECOWAS Mission in The Gambia going since 2017. "But I think ad hoc arrangements can have some promise — the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) for example," he told DW. The MNJTF that was initiated by Nigeria in the mid-1990s is today made up of troops from Benin, Chad, Nigeria and Cameroon, and mandated to fight Boko Haram insurgents. The SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) is still active in the volatile northern Cabo Delgado Province of Mozambique. South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania, Botswana, Angola, Namibia, Lesotho and Zimbabwe have been providing troops, military equipment and logistical support to Mozambique's bid to crush an insurgency by extremist groups since 2021. The escalation in the conflict in eastern Congo began while the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) was underway. In the 2000s, the African Union had given new direction to dealing with conflicts in Africa. But it can't be said that that is still the case, according to Malawi-based international relations expert Chimwemwe Tsitsi. "Since the withdrawal of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali in 2023, we've seen that trend ongoing, coupled with the establishment of African-led missions in 2007." The exit of the long-standing MONUSCO mission came at the behest of the Congolese. The government of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi had pushed its complete withdrawal by the end of 2024. African troops have been a big part of MONUSCO, with countries such as Kenya, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, South Africa, sending troops, while Chad, Djibouti, Guinea, Madagascar and Togo have sent police personnel. "Generally there has been a steady decline of funding for peacekeeping missions. For example, in 2014, the UN spent around $6.4 billion [€5.9 billion] but in 2024, this went down to around $2.7 billion," said Tsitsi. "I think lack of funding and commitment of Western traditional funders for peacekeeping missions ... to the DRC might also be one of the causes of this, apart from the public outcry over the killings of the peackeeping troops involved with the DRC." The deployment of Kenyan police to Haitiis an exception because African troops are most deeply involved in peacekeeping missions across Africa and many are part of missions led by the UN, the African Union or regional blocs around the continent. The UN lists blue helmets from Rwanda, Egypt, Ghana and Ethiopia among the most regular contributors of troops, police and military experts to its missions in Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world. These include the ongoing UN Mission in South Sudan and peacekeepers from around Africa are deployed to the AU-led peace enforcement mission in Somalia, or AUSSOM. The UN Integrated Transition Assistance mission in Sudan ended on February 29. Some conflict-torn parts of Africa are being neglected, Tsitsi warned. "I think Sudan is somehow neglected, especially the current conflct in Sudan ... we haven't seen any intervention from the United Nations or African Union. I think, Sudan can be [seen] as one of the neglected countries in African peacekeeping missions," he told DW. Edited by: Keith Walker
