Some articles in the media misreport the facts of the U.S. government attacks on the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) and the Uhuru Movement, discrediting the Hands Off Uhuru! Hands Off Africa! Campaign to those unaware of the true story. A recent article in Pakistan’s UrduPoint.com stated:
“They deployed drones and busted doors and windows and threw flashbangs. All of this to get to two elderly people,” the Russian activist said…. The two were tackled to the floor and then led out into the street where they stood in shackles for hours. A minor was shot in the head and died during the raid, Ionov said. Three other suspects were released on bail.”
To set the record straight:
On the morning of July 29, 2022, the attack on the home of APSP Chairman Omali Yeshitela and his wife, APSP Deputy Chair Ona Zené Yeshitela, was one of multiple simultaneous raids on seven homes and offices in Missouri and Florida, U.S.A.
The U.S. government, through the FBI, did use heavily armed SWAT teams, armored vehicles, drones and flash bang grenades to force Chairman Omali Yeshitela and Deputy Chair Ona Zené Yeshitela out of their home at 5:00 a.m.
They were not “tackled to the floor” as UrduPoint reported. They did have assault rifles pointed at them and were handcuffed and detained for several hours while agents ransacked, broke windows and otherwise damaged their home and stole multiple items of their personal property, terrorizing the neighborhood and even damaging other nearby homes.
Contrary to UrduPoint’s reporting, no one was “shot in the head” and nobody died during the raids. Nor was anyone arrested or “released on bail” on the day of the raids. It wasn’t until nine months later that three Uhuru leaders were indicted on bogus charges of “serving as agents of Russia.”
The UrduPoint article also refers to Chairman Omali Yeshitela and Deputy Chair Ona Zené Yeshitela as “two elderly people.” Chairman Omali Yeshitela, who is indeed 81 years of age, is a remarkably dynamic leader who for over 50 years has led the relentless struggle for the liberation of African people—speaking, writing, traveling internationally and organizing tirelessly.
To characterize him as “elderly” is misleading and disparaging as the term implies a frailty that is notably absent from the Chairman, who exudes strength, energy and the determination to see his life’s work result in the total liberation and unification of Africa and African people globally.
Deputy Chair Ona Zené Yeshitela, like her husband, is a creative dynamic leader and architect building institutions for self-determination and economic development by and for the African community as can be seen in the Black Power Blueprint.
The Hands Off Uhuru! Hands Off Africa! Campaign thanks those in the media who research, fact-check and interview the defendants and community members directly to present an accurate story of the U.S. government’s attack on our Movement.