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c0ade60ce0b549722f08a45c70673c98 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21525570 | Malawi's airports closed because of wage strike | Malawi's airports closed because of wage strike
All airports in Malawi have been forced to shut down following a wage strike by civil servants.
Both domestic and international flights were cancelled, says the BBC's Raphael Tenthani in the main city, Blantyre.
The indefinite strike, affecting nearly all government departments, is the biggest since Joyce Banda became president last year.
Mrs Banda, who has not yet commented on the strike, is scheduled to fly to Equatorial Guinea on Thursday.
It is unclear whether she will be able to make the trip, as Malawi's two international airports, in Blantyre and Lilongwe, are closed, our reporter says.
Passengers flying on South African Airways (SAA), Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines were stranded on Wednesday, he adds.
Most of Malawi's estimated 120,000 civil servants - including teachers and immigration officers - are on strike demanding wage increases to counter the rising cost of living, our correspondent says.
Workers complain that since the government devalued the local currency, the kwacha, by 49% in May, their incomes have been badly affected, he says.
On Thursday, Finance Minister Ken Lipenga said the government could not afford to increase wage costs, Reuters news agency reports.
Trade unions are demanding a 65% wage increase, about double the inflation rate, it reports.
"Currently our wage bill is 97 billion kwacha ($277 million), and if we agree to their demands, this will almost triple to 276 billion kwacha, which is equivalent to the whole national budget," Mr Lipenga was quoted as saying.
The strike started last week, but it has since escalated, with state schools also affected, our reporter says.
Nurses and doctors have also threatened to join the strike.
In Blantyre on Thursday, about 300 pupils from a state school marched to a private school, run by the Joyce Banda Foundation, to demand that they join the strike, our reporter says.
Workers also held protests, chanting anti-government slogans such as "Joyce Banda, in 2014 you are not going to see my vote", he adds.
It will be the first election Mrs Banda will contest since she took power following the unexpected death of her predecessor, Bingu wa Mutharika, in April 2012.
The latter part of Mr Mutharika's rule was marred by widespread protests about the rising cost of living and fuel shortages.
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation ended a visit to Malawi on Tuesday, Reuters reports.
Its Malawi chief, Tsidi Tsikata, said there were "encouraging signs" that the economy was improving, it reports.
The devaluation of the currency "seems to be stimulating the production of exports and import substitutes while restraining demand for imports," Mr Tsikata was quoted as saying.
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d9679cbc7d1cd56fd4394495725dbfc9 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21538412 | Kenya cracks down on hate speech ahead of poll | Kenya cracks down on hate speech ahead of poll
In order to avoid a repeat of the nationwide violence following the previous elections, the Kenyan authorities are restricting campaign methods which use "hate speech" to whip up ethnic tensions.
Kenya's independent Media Council is monitoring 80 radio stations, TV channels and newspapers round the clock to clamp down on "retrogressive utterances".
Mobile phones, the primary medium used to spread violent messages in the last election, are now subject to tight guidelines.
But in spite of these measures, no arrests have been made linked to online hate speech. Suspected hate-propagators have been acquitted after monitoring bodies failed to provide "compelling" evidence against them.
Colourful rallies full of populist rhetoric and jokes are a feature of Kenya's campaign culture. To get around the new rules, politicians are resorting to using coded language and ethnic stereotyping during rallies, whose subtleties are often appreciated only within the community.
Kenya's National Cohesion and Integration Commission has flagged up three key words in local languages that the Kikuyu, Luo and Kalenjin ethnic communities - who were at the centre of violence in the last election - use to insult each other.
The front-runners in this year's election reflect two of these groups: Prime Minister Raila Odinga, an ethnic Luo, is competing with deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, a Kikuyu.
Mr Kenyatta's running mate William Ruto is a Kalenjin. Both men are facing charges at the ICC over the 2007-08 violence, which they deny.
Another government body has banned the use of anything other than the official languages, English and Swahili, when sending political text messages, bypassing the more than 60 local languages spoken in the country.
The mobile phone is no longer a free-for-all disseminator of dubious content.
Anyone found guilty of fanning hatred through text message faces a hefty fine of up to $56,000 or three years in jail.
Mobile phone companies are now required to register all SIM cards and allocate unique internet protocol addresses to all the phones on their networks, to make it easier to track down culprits.
Politicians wanting to send bulk campaign text messages have to wait at least 48 hours before dispatch in order for their mobile service operators to vet the content and reject anything they believe could be inciting.
While monitors are seeking out and recording inflammatory statements at rallies, individuals are encouraged to report hate speech to the police via text.
And the government is promising to prosecute people using language it views as dangerous. Warning notices were sent this month to some 30 bloggers and social media users.
A number of politicians and musicians - mostly supporters of Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto - have appeared in court in the past year on charges of propagating "hate speech".
To counteract hatred, a media blitz of tolerance is flooding the airwaves.
Some radio stations have even been organising peace road shows, such as a rally on 15 February in the coastal city of Mombasa by Luo-language Ramogi FM.
The Luo heartland is in the western Nyanza region, but they have a significant presence in the key urban centres. A presenter told listeners that they were in Mombasa "to preach peace ahead of the elections".
As polling day draws near, popular stations are playing songs praising the virtues of patriotism and ethnic accommodation.
Kameme FM, one of the main Kikuyu-language stations, has also been airing a song which asks God to "hear our prayers and watch over our nation" since Kenyans were "rising against each other".
The Kalenjin-language Kass FM, meanwhile, is broadcasting a song calling for "love and cohesion". It urges the Kalenjin to "love your neighbours" and "if they wrong you, forgive them".
BBC Monitoring
reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. For more reports from BBC Monitoring,
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74a4ed5d80a19262c9b267baf5bf0d17 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21543851 | Oscar Pistorius: South Africa police under spotlight | Oscar Pistorius: South Africa police under spotlight
It's been the quiet, rather overlooked subtext to the drama and detail emerging from Courtroom C over the past few days: the shambolic state of South Africa's police force.
Exhibit A is, of course, Detective Hilton Botha, newly dismissed from his role as lead investigator in the Reeva Steenkamp murder case.
It was almost painful to watch his testimony to the court - selective, speculative, and clearly loyal to the prosecution - being picked apart by a highly paid defence lawyer until the detective was forced to concede that all his bold assumptions about Oscar Pistorius's guilt were, on the current evidence, unsustainable.
But between those uncomfortable admissions lay another story, of an underpaid policeman arriving for an important job without the necessary equipment - shoe covers - to avoid contaminating the murder scene, and without enough "connections" - his word - or colleagues, to ensure that the most basic evidence could be processed in time for the bail hearing.
He had no records yet of Reeva Steenkamp's mobile phone calls, no information about the post-mortem, no forensic or ballistic information beyond a few informal conversations with experts at the scene.
Other evidence about alleged "testosterone" proved wrong and the defence said its own investigators had found a bullet cartridge clumsily overlooked by the police.
Given that this is perhaps the most high-profile murder investigation that South Africa has seen in years, it makes you wonder what happens in other, more ordinary, cases.
It also makes you begin to understand why, for instance, the conviction rate for alleged rapists is pitifully low, and why so many police dockets are reported to "disappear" from the files, allowing suspects to walk free.
The suspiciously timed announcement that attempted murder charges have been reinstated against Detective Botha lends itself to speculation, both about the politicised power struggles within the state prosecutors' office, and about a national police force scrambling to save face under the glare of the international media.
But to me it also speaks to South Africa's notorious wealth gap, and to a culture where lavishly paid senior officials - be they politicians, police bureaucrats or defence attorneys - appear to live in a very different world from the underfunded, underequipped foot soldiers struggling to get a grip on this country's enduring crime problem.
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e245237d255c9b99a5e3160bbd1e141b | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21555898 | Mali conflict: 'Many die' in Ifoghas mountain battle | Mali conflict: 'Many die' in Ifoghas mountain battle
Thirteen Chadian soldiers and 65 Islamist insurgents have been killed in heavy fighting in a remote part of northern Mali, Chad's military says.
It says Friday's clashes occurred in the Ifoghas mountains, where many militants are believed to be hiding.
Last month France led an operation to help oust Islamists who seized the vast northern region of Mali in 2012.
The US military says it has deployed surveillance drones in Niger to gather information on the Islamist militants.
The intelligence collected by a 100-strong contingent of US personnel from across the border is being shared with French troops in Mali, who are assisting thousands of troops from African states.
Islamist rebels are believed to have retreated to the Ifoghas mountains - a desert area in the Kidal region near the border with Algeria - after being forced from northern population centres in recent weeks.
In a statement issued late on Friday, the Chadian army said it had "destroyed five vehicles and killed 65 jihadists", adding that 13 of its soldiers had been killed and another five wounded.
Earlier this month, some 1,800 Chadian soldiers began patrolling the city of Kidal.
Chad has pledged to send 2,000 troops to Mali as part of the African-led mission.
Fighting between Islamist insurgents and Malian troops - backed by French soldiers - also continued in the central city of Gao.
On Thursday, the coalition said it had recaptured the city hall, which had been seized by militants a day earlier.
France intervened in January in its former colony, fearing that al-Qaeda-linked militants who had controlled Mali's north since April 2012 were about to advance on the capital Bamako.
The French have said they are planning to start withdrawing their 4,000 soldiers next month, and would like the African-led contingent to become a UN peacekeeping operation.
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ccdbb8cb964f2346ee9a411eb2a4f178 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21665108 | Kenya elections: Uhuru Kenyatta leads Raila Odinga | Kenya elections: Uhuru Kenyatta leads Raila Odinga
Uhuru Kenyatta, who faces trial at the ICC next month, has established a large lead over rival Raila Odinga in early results from Kenya's presidential poll.
With results in from over 40% of polling stations, Mr Kenyatta has 53% of the vote, against 42% for Mr Odinga.
The head of the electoral commission emphasised these were provisional figures and urged Kenyans to wait patiently for the final outcome.
In 2007-8, more than 1,000 people were killed in post-election violence.
Clashes broke out after Mr Odinga claimed he had been cheated of victory by supporters of President Mwai Kibaki.
Mr Kenyatta denies charges at the the International Criminal Court (ICC) that he was instrumental in organising the 2007-8 bloodshed.
Violence has also marred the current election, with at least 19 people killed on Monday - mainly in coastal attacks attributed to separatists.
On Tuesday, there were reports of a blast in Nairobi's predominantly Somali neighbourhood of Eastleigh.
Few details about the blast were immediately available but the Kenyan Red Cross said one person had been taken to hospital.
Officials and the media urged Kenyans to put their faith in the electoral process.
The election was a "turning point" whose outcome would determine whether Kenya would move forward as a "civilised state", said
a Daily Nation editorial
.
But some 330,000 spoiled ballots have been counted so far, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) noted with concern - well over double the number of votes cast for the third-placed candidate, Musailia Mudavadi, who trailed far behind with just over 148,000 votes, or 3%.
Some put this down to confusion, with voters having six ballots papers to complete, while some observers note that officials have tightened their rules on what constitutes a spoiled paper.
Late on Tuesday, the election commission chairman announced that the spoiled ballots would count in the overall vote total, the Associated Press reports, increasingly the likelihood of a run-off between the top two candidates.
Kenyans also voted for members of parliament and senators, county governors and members of the 47 newly formed county assemblies.
With 42% of polling stations reporting at 21:00 Nairobi time (18:00 GMT), the 51-year-old deputy prime minister had 2.8m votes, while the 68-year-old prime minister had 2.2m,
said the website of the IEBC
.
None of the other five candidates for the presidency had more than 1%.
The IEBC has said that the release of results has been slowed down by problems with their computer systems.
It said provisional results may not be tallied until Wednesday, meaning an official declaration will come then at the earliest.
"Nobody should celebrate, nobody should complain," Mr Hassan told journalists.
"We therefore continue to appeal for patience from the public."
To win outright, a candidate must get 50% of votes cast plus one vote, as well as at least 25% of votes in half of Kenya's 47 counties. If no-one achieves that, the vote will go to a run-off, probably on 11 April.
Meanwhile, in the parliamentary vote, marathon runner Wesley Korir has won a seat representing the Rift Valley after standing as an independent candidate.
Mr Korir won the Boston Marathon in April 2012 as well the Los Angeles Marathon in two consecutive years.
In a news conference, IEBC chairman Issack Hassan called for people to "resist making early judgments about who has won", and said final results would not be released within 48 hours.
He said candidates and parties were under obligation to "accept the results peacefully".
There are fears the loser might not accept the official result, triggering an outburst of violence.
Widespread failure of newly instituted electronic biometric voting registration (BVR) kits, reports of late voting at one polling station hours after polls closed officially, and an instance of a poll clerk issuing multiple ballots have all already been cited by Mr Odinga's party as cause for concern.
"These we find to be placing in jeopardy the credibility of this process," said Frank Bett from Mr Odinga's Coalition for Reform and Democracy (Cord).
Later, Mr Odinga's running mate Kalonzo Musyoka said the party had written to the IEBC about the number of spoiled ballots and the failure of the BVR machines, which he said had opened the door to possible fraud.
"We are worried on both counts," he said - adding that the failure of the BVR machines was particularly disappointing given that Kenya had spent 7bn shillings (£54m; $82m) on them.
Both leading candidates have pledged to respect the result of a free and fair vote.
Mr Kenyatta, who heads the Jubilee alliance, is due to stand trial in April at the ICC for his alleged role in the 2007 unrest, when clashes between rival supporters degenerated into targeted attacks on members of ethnic groups linked to one or other candidate.
Mr Odinga later joined a government of national unity under a peace deal.
The US and other Western allies of Kenya have warned of possible "consequences" if Mr Kenyatta wins.
However, Mr Kenyatta's running mate, William Ruto, who also faces charges of crimes against humanity, insisted on Monday that they would be able to discharge their duties if elected and would co-operate with the ICC to clear their names. Both deny any wrongdoing.
Lines of voters stretched outside polling stations across the country on Monday and many polling stations stayed open late into the night. Turnout was estimated at 70%.
Four policemen were among the 19 killed in election-day violence mainly blamed on the separatist Mombasa Republican Council (MRC), which had demanded the elections be scrapped.
Gunfire and explosions were also reported in the town of Garissa, near the border with Somalia. Gunmen stormed two polling stations after voting ended, but were forced to retreat by security forces, the deputy speaker of parliament told Associated Press.
Kenya elections: Maps and graphics
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ae6ecf2ea11a19ecf270eb9a84f1c41a | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21723488 | Kenya election: Uhuru Kenyatta wins presidency | Kenya election: Uhuru Kenyatta wins presidency
Kenya's Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta has been confirmed as the winner of the presidential election, and vowed to work with his rivals.
He won 50.07% of the vote, officials said, narrowly avoiding a run-off.
But his main challenger, Raila Odinga, alleged massive fraud and said he would challenge the results of the "tainted election" in the Supreme Court.
Mr Kenyatta is set to face trial at the International Criminal Court over violence that followed the 2007 polls.
He is accused of fuelling the communal violence that saw more than 1,000 people killed and 600,000 forced from their homes.
After the results were announced, Mr Kenyatta told cheering supporters he would serve all Kenyans "without fear or favour".
Speaking at the Catholic University in Nairobi, he called on Mr Odinga and other leaders to "join us in moving our nation forward."
Earlier, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) said the latest elections had been complex, but also credible and transparent.
It said the turnout, at 86%, was the largest ever
IEBC chairman Issack Hassan praised the candidates who had already conceded victory and urged others to follow suit.
However, Mr Odinga, the current prime minister, said the electoral commission had "failed Kenyans" and that democracy itself was "on trial".
But after announcing his Supreme Court challenge, he also appealed for calm, saying: "Any violence could destroy this nation forever."
The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Nairobi says this was the tightest of races with the narrowest of margins.
He says that how Mr Odinga now handles his supporters will determine whether his dispute stays in the courts or spills out on the streets.
Mr Kenyatta's Jubilee Coalition party said it was "proud and honoured for the trust" bestowed on it, adding that it had taken a message to the people and that "we are grateful to the people of Kenya for accepting this message".
Early on Saturday, small groups of Kenyatta supporters celebrated in Nairobi, hooting car horns and singing.
But the newly confirmed president could face difficult relations with Western countries.
In July, he is due to go on trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for alleged crimes against humanity.
Mr Kenyatta's running mate, William Ruto, also faces similar charges. Both men deny the accusations.
In his victory speech, Mr Kenyatta restated his promise to co-operate "with all nations and international institutions".
The ICC has agreed to postpone Mr Ruto's trial by a month until May after his lawyers complained of not having enough time to prepare his defence.
Countries including the US and UK have hinted that Mr Kenyatta's election as president would have consequences for their relations with Kenya. The comments have been dismissed in Nairobi as foreign interference.
A new electronic system for transmitting vote results was designed to eliminate the risk of fraud, and thus avoid a repeat of the post-poll violence of 2007.
But the count has been plagued with technical glitches, including a programming error that led to the number of rejected votes being multiplied by a factor of eight.
Mr Odinga's Cord alliance had earlier complained that votes from 11 constituencies were missing, in effect leaving him more than 250,000 votes short.
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16fb4df81e495274e38de2c2246b552f | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21732733 | Multiple challenges for Kenya's new leader | Multiple challenges for Kenya's new leader
"Uhuru [Kenyatta] has won the presidency. It's done. Let's move on." The son of Kenya's first independence leader may not have secured Francis Odera's vote but, like so many other Kenyans, this middle-aged Nairobi resident is just relieved the election has concluded peacefully.
Now he and others believe it is time to return to work and do what Kenyans do best.
Kenya did not burn, in most places riot police remained idle for much of the day, revellers and those licking their wounds showed restraint and Mr Kenyatta and his challenger Raila Odinga drew praise from many Kenyans for statesmanship in their respective speeches.
Yet, as one Kenyan friend put it, there has been a "revolution in Kenyan's political maturity but not a revolution in the leadership".
Kenyans have pinned their hopes on a new constitution, which dilutes the power of the presidency and offers a degree of devolution. Most agree that it was a vital ingredient that helped to avoid a repetition of the violence of five years ago. Kenyans have a right to be proud.
Millions of Kenyans are excited at the prospect of having the youngest leader ever - Mr Kenyatta is just 51. He is a familiar figure, the son of the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, but as the country celebrates half a century of independence, Kenya now enters a period of uncertainty .
Mr Odinga is challenging what he calls another "tainted election" tinged with "rampant illegality" at the supreme court.
The detailed allegations will emerge over the coming weeks but it is far from clear whether this "evidence" would significantly sway the result. One has to ask how will Odinga supporters react to a defeat at Kenya's top court?
Meanwhile, Mr Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto are bound by a fragile ethnic alliance which some commentators doubt will last.
And both men are
facing trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC)
for crimes allegedly committed the last time Kenya went to the polls.
Mr Kenyatta was delivered a solid mandate by the Kenyan people. The constitutional threshold he crossed to avoid a second round run-off was indeed "paper thin" but he still won outright.
The matter of the ICC is viewed as an inconvenience rather than an impediment by most of his supporters, who regard Mr Kenyatta as an innocent man, confident he will clear his name.
He also now wields tremendous power, influence and personal wealth. The unwritten narrative from the victorious Kenyatta camp is "Game On".
The international community's pre-election threats of "consequences" for Mr Kenyatta may well have backfired.
Their position softened in the days leading up to the election but it was no doubt one reason Kenyans supported Mr Kenyatta's Jubilee coalition.
The Kenyan newspapers bear this out in the post-election flurry, with Ahmednasir Abdullahi, a senior lawyer,
writing in The Nation
that the Kenyatta and Ruto victory "must be seen as a slap in the face of sponsors of ICC cases".
Mr Kenyatta has promised to "honour international obligations" but warned foreigners to "respect the sovereignty" of his country.
Britain, which committed £16m ($24m; 18m euros) to the Kenyan election, is going to have to find an accommodation with the new leadership.
Not only does it rely on co-operation from Kenya to deliver its long-term security agenda but five of the top firms in Kenya are wholly or partly British-owned.
So look out for compromises and a more conciliatory tone. Lawyers are discussing the possibility of giving evidence at The Hague via video link and British businesses will be keen to keep Mr Kenyatta on side.
Which brings us to the issue of peace. Campaigners for justice have coined the phrase "peace coma".
They argue that, blinded by the "haze of peace" which mercifully kept violence off the street, Kenyan voices of dissent risk being hushed for fear of being branded peace traitors.
Jebet, a member of Mr Ruto's Kalenjin community in the Rift Valley, fears that "Kenya has gone back to the Moi era".
President Daniel Arap Moi ruled with an iron fist until the advent of multi-party politics in the early 1990s.
As a Kalenjin, Jebet says: "We have gone back to an irrational system that says, let's take care of our own… and looking after our own has not paid off for the majority of Kenyans."
Jebet, like many other young Kenyans. worries that checks and balances on Kenya's leadership will be muted for the sake of peace.
A prominent commentator from one of Kenya's daily newspapers has spoken of a similar fear: "The peace industry has overwhelmed the media, it has basically become uncritical, losing its oversight role."
These may be premature fears before the president has even been sworn in but they do speak to Kenya's complex contradictions.
On the one hand, Kenya has embarked on a new kind of politics, ushering in a new constitution. The promise of more democratic rights for more people is considered by the majority to have helped deliver a calm and peaceful election.
But it is the same political elite that has secured the levers of power. Many believe the challenge now is for the new leadership to convince Kenyans that they will use that power for the benefit of all, to continue on that democratic path.
A first step would be to reach out to those who did not vote for them.
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580374873ed83db25f18ab111daf7dc3 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21745495 | Malawi arrests over 'anti-Joyce Banda coup plot' | Malawi arrests over 'anti-Joyce Banda coup plot'
At least 10 people in Malawi, including current and former government ministers, have been arrested over an alleged coup plot.
Police fired tear gas to break up a crowd protesting against the arrests in the main city, Blantyre.
Among those arrested are government minister Goodall Gondwe and ex-minister Peter Mutharika.
They are accused of plotting a coup to try and prevent President Joyce Banda from taking power last year.
Her predecessor, Bingu wa Mutharika, unexpectedly died of a heart attack last April.
"I can confirm that following the release of a report into the death of President Mutharika, the law enforcement agencies in Malawi are of the strong view that certain criminal offences were committed by certain individuals and as a result arrests have been effected," Information Minister Moses Kunkuyu told the BBC.
Eight former government ministers have been arrested, including ex-Health Minister Jean Kalirani and Presidential Affairs Minister Nicholas Dausi, says the BBC's Raphael Tenthani in Blantyre.
The report, presented to Ms Banda last Wednesday following an official inquiry, alleged that government ministers and other senior officials held a number of secret meetings aimed at preventing Ms Banda - then vice-president - from assuming the presidency in accordance with the constitution, our reporter says.
According to the report, Peter Mutharika, a brother of the dead president and a former foreign minister, and Mr Gondwe, the current economic planning minister, had suggested to army commander Gen Henry Odillo that the military "just take over", our correspondent says.
However, the report quotes Gen Odillo as saying "he was uncomfortable with the suggestion for it was not provided for in the constitution", our correspondent adds.
Peter Mutharika is the presidential candidate of the former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in elections due next year.
Police fired teargas at around 500 people protesting against the arrests outside police headquarters in Blantyre, while another group, estimated to be in the thousands, blocked the main highway to the capital, Lilongwe, with boulders and branches, AFP news agency reports.
Several vehicles were smashed and policemen assaulted during the protests, our correspondent says.
Police spokesman Nicholas Gondwa said no arrests had been made.
Former First Lady Callista Mutharika, who went to the police station where her brother-in-law was being held, told agitated DPP supporters that she was disappointed with President Banda.
"We are told that women leaders are better because women are empathetic - is this what we are seeing now? She [Ms Banda] goes on public podia preaching forgiveness, even quoting biblical verses - is there forgiveness here?" she said.
The former first lady was whisked away to safety after police broke up her impromptu press conference with tear gas, our reporter says.
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6d31e733d7090601b6c55c14dd6e452e | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21769047?cid=nlc-dailybrief-daily_news_brief-link15-20130313 | Nigeria pardons Goodluck Jonathan ally, Alamieyeseigha | Nigeria pardons Goodluck Jonathan ally, Alamieyeseigha
Nigeria's government has pardoned a key ally of President Goodluck Jonathan who was convicted of stealing millions of dollars.
Ex-Bayelsa state Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha had been pardoned because he had been "remorseful", presidential adviser Doyin Okupe said.
Opposition activists said the decision is a major blow to efforts to curb corruption in Nigeria.
He was released in 2007, two days after receiving a two-year sentence.
The decision was taken because he had already served two years in prison since his arrest.
He was first arrested in the UK in 2005 on money-laundering charges, but jumped bail.
Officials said Mr Alamieyeseigha fled the UK disguised in women's clothing, a claim he has consistently denied.
He was later arrested in Nigeria and became the first ex-governor to be convicted of corruption.
Under Nigeria's federal system, governors wield huge powers and control budgets larger than those of many neighbouring countries.
Mr Okupe told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that the Council of States, a group headed by Mr Jonathan, had pardoned Mr Alamieyeseigha.
"He was tried, jailed and dispossessed of his property. He has been remorseful," Mr Okupe said.
"There's no law against the granting of pardons to any criminal."
BBC Nigeria analyst Fidelis Mbah says Mr Alamieyeseigha is now free to run for political office again, and could bolster Mr Jonathan's chances of winning another term in elections due in 2015.
Mr Alamieyeseigha remains influential in the oil-rich Niger Delta, where many people believe his trial was political, he says.
The ex-governor will be expected to rally support for Mr Jonathan in the region, where the president's support has fallen, he adds.
When Mr Alamieyeseigha was the governor of Bayelsa, Mr Jonathan was his deputy.
Prominent Nigerian human rights lawyer Bamidele Aturu said the government would "live to regret the irresponsible decision", Nigeria's Vanguard newspaper reports.
"In my view, it is better to fling open the gates of all our prisons and ask all the inmates to walk out into the warm embrace of their relatives than pardon those who force otherwise decent Nigerians to take to crime as a way of life," Mr Aturu is quoted as saying.
Nuhu Ribadu, Nigeria's former anti-corruption chief and leader of the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) party, said the pardon was the "the final nail" in the coffin for fighting corruption in the country, Associated Press news agency reports.
Nigeria is Africa's leading oil producer, but critics say widespread corruption has meant that its wealth has not been used to improve living standards in a country where most people are poor.
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296c265b5054287bf15861549a118f6f | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21844332 | Will Bosco Ntaganda's surrender bring peace to DR Congo? | Will Bosco Ntaganda's surrender bring peace to DR Congo?
On the retreat in the battlefield, wanted war crimes suspect and Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda has raised the white flag, fleeing to Rwanda and handing himself into the US embassy in Kigali.
Known as "the Terminator", over the last two decades Gen Ntaganda has fought for several rebel groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as well as serving as a general in the Congolese army - and is wanted by the International Criminal Court on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
It is unclear why he has chosen to surrender to the ICC - or why he chose Washington's embassy in Rwanda - neither the US nor Rwanda recognise the tribunal, unlike many other states in Africa and Europe.
But they will now have to co-operate with the ICC so that he can be transferred to The Hague to stand trial - or risk a diplomatic outcry at a time when the United Nations is spearheading new efforts to end the conflict in a country two-thirds the size of western Europe.
Despite denials by Rwanda's government, DR Congo has repeatedly accused it of backing Gen Ntaganda.
"The fact that he showed up in Kigali raises a lot of questions. He could have also showed up in Uganda [another neighbour of DR Congo], but he decided to do that in Kigali," Thierry Vircoulon, of the think-tank International Crisis Group, told the BBC.
"Was it because it was the only way out or because he also wanted to embarrass his former sponsor?"
Born in Rwanda and raised in DR Congo, Gen Ntaganda and President Paul Kagame's government in Kigali were once staunch allies, bound together by ethnic ties - both come from the minority Tutsi ethnic group which feels threatened since the genocide that saw hard-line Hutu militias kill some 800,000 people in Rwanda in 1994.
Gen Ntaganda fought for Mr Kagame against Rwanda's Hutu-led government in the early 1990s.
After Mr Kagame took power in 1994, Bosco Ntaganda served as a bulwark in eastern DR Congo against the Hutu militias that took refuge there after being driven out of Rwanda at the end of the genocide.
Gen Ntaganda also fought the Congolese government, accusing it of oppressing DR Congo's own Tutsi population living in the east, near the border with Rwanda.
He fled to the US embassy after his M23 rebel movement, which was formed last year after an army mutiny, split last month.
There was heavy fighting between rival factions in eastern DR Congo, which reportedly left Gen Ntaganda on the back foot.
It is not clear what caused the split, but forces loyal to Gen Ntaganda and ousted M23 political head Jean-Marie Runiga appeared to lose ground to troops allied with the movement's military chief Sultani Makenga.
An ally of Col Makenga, Col Innocent "India Queen'' Kahina, told Associated Press news agency that he saw Gen Ntaganda in the battlefield last week.
"We shot at him, but he got away,'' Col Kahina is quoted as saying.
"Apparently, he thought an almost sure prison sentence was better than his other options,"
DR Congo analyst Jason Stearns writes on the Congo Siasa blog
.
Mr Vircoulon says Rwanda will be worried about Gen Ntaganda appearing in the dock at The Hague.
"He will have a lot of things to say at the ICC and his testimony may potentially be very damaging and could have huge consequences for Kigali."
For New York-based pressure group Human Rights Watch (HRW), should Gen Ntaganda stand trial, it would help end the culture of impunity in DR Congo.
"Ntaganda's appearance in the dock at a fair and credible trial of the ICC would send a strong message to other abusers that they too may face justice one day," HRW Africa researcher Ida Sawyer said.
The DR Congo conflict has been a major focus of the ICC since its formation more than a decade ago, with two cases finalised so far - the acquittal of militia leader Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui in December 2012 and the sentencing some six months earlier of his rival, Thomas Lubanga, to 14 years in jail for recruiting children into his rebel army in 2002 and 2003.
Gen Ntaganda was once allied with Lubanga, serving as his chief of staff in the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) rebel group.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Gen Ntaganda in 2006, accusing him of committing atrocities, along with Lubanga, in 2002 and 2003 - charges that are unrelated to the latest conflict involving the M23.
With more charges added against Gen Ntaganda in 2012, he now faces 10 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
While Lubanga was captured by the DR Congo government in 2006 and put on trial, Gen Ntaganda evaded arrest and was integrated into the Congolese army.
But fighters loyal to him defected from the army last year after DR Congo's President Joseph Kabila hinted that the Congolese authorities would put the general on trial.
His appearance at the US embassy suggests the Rwandan government forced him to hand himself in, says Mr Stearns.
"Or he was so afraid of what would happen if they arrested him (or Makenga got a hold of him) that he made a run for the embassy?" he asks.
Despite the ICC's efforts to punish rebel leaders and various peace initiatives spearheaded by foreign governments - and 19,000 UN troops on the ground, violence has continued in eastern DR Congo - a largely lawless area hit by ethnic conflict and a battle over its mineral resources.
Currently, Uganda is mediating between the government and the M23 to end the conflict that has left hundreds of thousands homeless since last year, while UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has appointed former Irish president Mary Robinson as his special envoy to the region.
Her appointment on Monday followed the signing of an agreement last month by 11 African leaders - including Mr Kagame, Mr Kabila and Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni - to help end the conflict in eastern DR Congo and possibly set up a special African Union intervention brigade.
"I plan to work closely with the leaders of the region to ensure that the presence of combatants in their territories is addressed by their respective governments, in the context of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework [signed by the leaders]," Ms Robinson said.
"In this respect, I call on states of the region to work with the International Criminal Court," she added.
Some analysts believe that with diplomatic pressure on Rwanda growing, it could not give refuge to Gen Ntaganda, leaving him with no option but to surrender in the face of the setbacks his forces suffered in the latest fighting.
Mr Stearns doubts that the conflict will end anytime soon, saying the agreement, which calls for the Congolese state to be reformed and for neighbouring countries to stop meddling in its affairs, was "very vague".
"Robinson will have to put meat on its bones. However, if Kabila manages to strike a deal with Makenga's M23, then logic of the framework [agreement] could easily fray," he writes.
"Kabila thought it was necessary to sign up to a relatively intrusive deal in order to bring an end to the M23 threat."
With the M23 splitting and Gen Ntaganda surrendering, DR Congo's government may be feeling more buoyant, but there is no room for complacency in international efforts to achieve peace - there are enough battle-hardened men in the region to fill the vacuum left by Gen Ntaganda.
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09ebeb42bbfcfd388ed48a838557bf3e | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22165499 | Niger-Burkina Faso border set by ICJ ruling | Niger-Burkina Faso border set by ICJ ruling
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has settled a decades-old border dispute between the West African nations of Niger and Burkina Faso.
The two countries turned to the ICJ to settle disagreements dating back as far as 1927, under French colonial rule.
The Hague court demarcated territory covering an area of 380km, over half the length of the border.
Representatives from both governments expressed satisfaction with the ICJ ruling.
For decades, the two countries had tried to solve the issue themselves by setting up a joint technical commission.
In 2006, leaders met in the border regions to try to dissipate tensions caused by incursions of security forces and customs officials on either side of the frontier.
They eventually filed a joint suit with the ICJ in July 2010, promising to abide by the court's final decision.
ICJ President Peter Tomka said the judges were guided by a 1927 ruling issued by the governor-general of French West Africa and a map published by a French government agency in 1960.
The court asked both countries to consider the needs of the nomadic population, who reside in the north of the disputed territory, when laying down the border.
"I think that the court sliced up the territory fairly," Niger's Justice Minister Marou Amadou told AFP.
"We gain a little in the north, we lose a bit in the south. Both countries win out because there's no more border dispute."
Speaking after the lengthy ruling was read out, Burkina Faso's Minister of Territorial Administration and Security Jerome Bougouma said: "We are parting as good friends, very good friends."
"There was often confusion concerning the security forces, patrols and the collection of taxes. All that's over now."
Correspondents say the case is being seen as an example of how African neighbours can resolve territorial disputes peacefully.
Several mining companies say they have projects at various stages in areas near the Niger-Burkina Faso frontier.
Gold reserves were also recently discovered in the region. The ICJ ruling gave no indication of where the new boundary will lie in relation to these deposits.
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be013f3f9c58411a40a11a30262faeab | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22189197 | US to redeploy Morocco troops in Western Sahara spat | US to redeploy Morocco troops in Western Sahara spat
The US is redeploying forces that were meant to take part in joint military exercises in Morocco amid a disagreement over Western Sahara.
Morocco cancelled the exercises, which were starting this month, after the US said it wanted the UN to monitor human rights in Western Sahara.
Morocco called the proposed monitoring, long demanded by human rights groups, an attack on its sovereignty.
Morocco annexed most of the disputed former Spanish colony in 1976.
It has put forward an autonomy plan for the part of Western Sahara it controls. That is opposed by the pro-independence Polisario Front, which wants a referendum on the status of the territory that includes the option of independence.
The US proposal for the UN to monitor human rights as part of its duties in Western Sahara came after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon backed "sustained" human rights monitoring in Western Sahara.
The proposal was included in a draft resolution for the annual extension of the mission, which is expected to be put to a vote in the UN Security Council later this month.
Morocco, which has frequently been accused of abuses against activists in the Western Sahara, reacted angrily.
"It is an attack on the national sovereignty of Morocco and will have negative consequences on the stability of the whole region," said Mustapha Khalfi, Morocco's communications minister.
"We count on the wisdom of the members of the Security Council to avoid such initiatives."
No state recognises Morocco's claim to Western Sahara, but in the past it has been supported at the UN by France and the US, both permanent members of the Security Council.
The African Lion 2013 joint military exercises would have involved 1,400 US military personnel and 900 Moroccan troops.
Chuck Prichard, a spokesman for US Africa Command (Africom), told the BBC that the exercises had been "deferred" at Morocco's request, and that "the US forces that are there are making plans to redeploy".
The
African Lion exercises
are among the larger of the annual drills held by Africom and take several months to plan, he said.
Morocco and the Polisario Front fought over Western Sahara until a ceasefire signed in 1991.
Many of those who fled the conflict are still living in refugee camps in southern Algeria.
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7dcd008dfb6d062019318b96b38be495 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22204904 | Nigeria's Bayelsa state defends anti-rumour campaign | Nigeria's Bayelsa state defends anti-rumour campaign
Nigeria's oil-rich Bayelsa state has defended its decision to put up a series of advertising hoardings, urging people to "Say no to rumour mongers".
"People take delight in peddling rumours - false information," spokesman Daniel Iworiso-Markson told the BBC.
The campaign was promoted after reports that the governor's administration had been deposed caused "pandemonium".
Three hotline numbers are given for people to call if they have doubts about information they have heard.
The adverts urge people: "Do everything within your power NOT to pass on any information that is not confirmed or authorised by a credible and reliable source."
Mr Iworiso-Markson denied that the campaign would affect the right to free speech.
He said the scare in early March happened while state government officials were away in the capital, Abuja.
Information began spreading that the Supreme Court had "sacked" the state government and the government house in Yenagoa "had been taken over by military men".
"I just dismissed it but back home it was so intense, it was so real, to the point that it was almost causing some kind of pandemonium and chaos and we felt this was one rumour taken too far," Mr Iworiso-Markson said.
A committee, made up of journalists and PR managers, was set up to take on the rumour mill and and "educate and enlighten people", he said.
To illustrate their destructive nature, committee member and journalist Tarinyo Akono, said rumours were capable of breaking up marriages, AFP new agency reports.
Mr Iworiso-Markson said marriage breakdown was not covered in the committee's terms of reference.
"But the point is that everybody can be affected or at the receiving end of a terrible rumour... it can affect the individual even to the extent of breaking up marriages," he said.
Despite reports that the hotlines were not being answered, the spokesman for the oil-rich southern state - home to President Goodluck Jonathan - said calls had been received, even from "far-flung rural areas".
John Idumange, the committee secretary, told the BBC that the queries had so far covered "a huge range of issues" from whether a particular levy was legitimate to finding out if repentant militants had been granted an amnesty.
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aa8d8eabe5d85e05fe072ebccaaa6c76 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22770792 | Burundi's Pierre Nkurunziza approves media law | Burundi's Pierre Nkurunziza approves media law
Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza has approved a new media law which critics have condemned as an attack on press freedom.
The law forbids reporting on matters which could undermine national security, public order or the economy.
It marked a "black day for freedom of information" in Burundi, campaign group Reporters Without Borders said.
Mr Nkurunziza is a former rebel leader who was elected president at the end of a brutal civil war in 2005.
He was re-elected in 2010 in polls which were boycotted by the opposition.
Mr Nkurunziza's spokesman Leonidas Hatungimana said the president had approved the law after it was passed by the House of Representatives and Senate.
Ruling party officials say the law will help professionalise the media and ensure that journalists do not incite hatred in a country where some 300,000 people died in ethnic conflict between 1994 and 2005.
However, Reporters Without Borders said Burundi had "gone backwards, more than 20 years".
"The new law restricts journalists' ability to do investigative reporting, weakens protection for sources, increases fines and requires all journalists to have a university degree regardless of their work experience," it added.
On 31 May, Burundi's National Communication Council (CNC) imposed a one-month ban on the popular Iwacu newspaper's online forum because it claimed readers' comments breached the law by "endangering national unity, public order and security, incitement to ethnic hatred, justification of crimes, and insults to the head of state", said campaign group Human Rights Watch.
"The CNC's decision to suspend a readers' forum is unnecessarily heavy-handed and punitive," said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
In March, Hassan Ruvakuki, a journalist with local radio station Bonesha FM, was released from prison on health grounds after spending 15 months behind bars.
He had been sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of working for a criminal group.
He denied the charge.
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7f8ba553fcd4224659695db8add6a11d | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22795938 | Tunisian soldiers killed in blast near Algerian border | Tunisian soldiers killed in blast near Algerian border
Two Tunisian soldiers have been killed and at least another two wounded in a roadside explosion near the border with Algeria, the army has said.
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks on soldiers pursuing militant Islamists along the border.
"Two soldiers were killed... in the hunt for terrorists," army spokesman Mokhtar Ben Nasr said.
North African states have been battling to contain militants since secular regimes were ousted in recent years.
The militants - many of them linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) - easily cross the region's porous borders.
In January, 48 foreign workers were killed following a siege at the In Amenas plant in Algeria.
The raid was in response to French-led forces intervening to drive out militant Islamists from the main cities in northern Mali, which borders Algeria.
Since the end of April, around 20 security force members in Tunisia have been wounded by mine explosions blamed on the militants, AFP news agency reports.
In the latest attack, a device exploded as an army vehicle was travelling in the remote Doghra area of Mount Chaambi, Mr Ben Nasr said.
Mount Chaambi is in rugged terrain close to the Algerian border.
A security source in Kasserine, the regional capital, told AFP that one of the wounded soldiers could lose his leg.
Tunisia has had an Islamist-led government since the overthrow of long-serving ruler Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011.
It has repeatedly accused militant Islamists of threatening Tunisia's stability.
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20cf4ca865abfcad8c53af32bb481b35 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22811108 | Mali crisis: Human Rights Watch condemns ethnic abuses | Mali crisis: Human Rights Watch condemns ethnic abuses
Both Tuareg rebels and the army in Mali have committed abuses against civilians because of their ethnic origins, a Human Rights Watch report says.
The Malian army has been advancing towards the last Tuareg-held town.
Soldiers are accused of torturing Tuaregs, while the rebels are said to have rounded up and beating members of rival, darker-skinned groups.
French-led forces this year ousted Islamist militants, allied to the Tuaregs, from most of northern Mali.
The Tuaregs of northern Mali, who are mostly light-skinned, have a long history of seeking autonomy from the rest of the country, saying they have been discriminated against by the government in Bamako.
BBC International Development Correspondent Mark Doyle says the struggle, by the mainly black-African army to re-take Kidal, held by the Tuaregs in the far north, has been key in reigniting racial tensions, along with plans to hold elections next month.
The Human Rights Watch report said the Malian army seriously abused a number of ethnic Tuareg villagers, threatening to kill them, beating them and using racial slurs.
It also said about 100 black Africans were arrested in Kidal, with many being robbed, beaten or expelled towards the south.
Mali's Foreign Minister Tieman Coulibaly has condemned the Tuareg action.
"In Kidal, black people are openly attacked," he told The Associated Press. "That is new. Before, racism was latent, a bit creeping, but now it is unashamed."
The MNLA rebels have denied the charges.
"Civilians across the ethnic divide have already suffered enough," said Corinne Dufka from Human Rights Watch.
"The recent abuses by both sides and renewed fighting around Kidal underscores the urgent need for Malian soldiers and rebel combatants to respect the laws of war, minimise civilian harm and ensure the humane treatment of detainees," she said.
The Islamist groups abandoned the towns they controlled ahead of the French-led advance, which began in January.
But the MNLA, which is fighting for autonomy for northern Mali, has refused to leave Kidal, while the army has been reluctant to attack the town in the Sahara desert.
The UN is due to deploy a 12,600-strong peacekeeping force before planned elections in July, which will incorporate thousands of West African troops already in the country in support of the French intervention.
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e245de028f5e650f7ce6715e86d3b18f | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22888828 | Nigerian survives two days at sea, in underwater air pocket | Nigerian survives two days at sea, in underwater air pocket
A Nigerian man has survived for two-and-a-half days trapped 30m (98ft) deep in freezing seawater.
Harrison Okene, 29, was on board the tug boat Jascon-4 when it capsized in heavy swells.
It sank to the seabed, upside down, but Mr Harrison was trapped in an air pocket and able to breathe.
Of the other 12 people on board, 10 bodies have already been found and Mr Harrison is assumed to be the only survivor.
Mr Harrison told Reuters journalist Joe Brock that he could hear fish eating the dead bodies of his fellow crew members.
Intense thirst
The Jascon-4 capsized on 26 May, about 32km (20 miles) off the coast of Nigeria, while it was stabilising an oil tanker at a Chevron platform.
Mr Harrison was working there as a cook, according to the ship's owners, West African Ventures.
Mr Harrison told Reuters he was in the toilet when he realised that the boat was beginning to turn over, and as the vessel sank, he managed to find his way to an area with an air pocket.
"I was there in the water in total darkness just thinking it's the end. I kept thinking the water was going to fill up the room but it did not," he said.
"I was so hungry but mostly so, so thirsty. The salt water took the skin off my tongue."
"I could perceive the dead bodies of my crew were nearby. I could smell them. The fish came in and began eating the bodies. I could hear the sound."
But after 60 hours, Mr Harrison heard the sound of knocking.
A team from the DCN global diving company had come to investigate - sent by Chevron and West African Ventures.
"We expected it to be a body recovery job," DCN spokesperson Jed Chamberlain told the BBC's Impact programme.
Mr Harrison "actually grabbed the second diver who went past him," Mr Chamberlain said, adding that the diver concerned got quite a fright.
"This changed the whole nature of the operation to a rescue operation."
Decompression
But even after Mr Harrison had been found, he still faced a complex process to bring him out safely.
Having been at such depth for so many hours, he needed time in a decompression chamber to normalise his body pressure.
Christine Cridge, a medical director at the Diving Diseases Research Centre (DDRC), advised the rescue team during this process.
"It's a situation I've not come across before," she told the BBC's Newsday programme.
"After a certain amount of time at pressure, nitrogen will dissolve into the tissues. If he'd ascended directly from 30m to the sea surface..... it's likely he'd have had a cardiac arrest, or at best, serious neurological issues.
Mr Harrison describes his story as a "miracle", but he also told Reuters: "When I am at home sometimes it feels like the bed I am sleeping in is sinking. I think I'm still in the sea again. I jump up and I scream."
Jan Messchendorp, general manager of West African Ventures said in a statement: "We are very grateful for the survival of Mr Harrison. Our thoughts continue to be with the families of the rest of the crew."
He added that the search and rescue operation has now been stopped for safety reasons.
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2e41429834a25196590e9e898e5238c0 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23033418 | West Africa seeks anti-piracy force | West Africa seeks anti-piracy force
West African leaders have called for the deployment of an international naval force to curb the growing threat of piracy off the Gulf of Guinea.
Piracy in the region needed to be tackled with "firmness", Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara said, at a meeting of regional leaders.
There are now more pirate attacks off West Africa than off Somalia, maritime groups said last week.
Patrols by foreign warships have reduced attacks by Somali pirates.
About 960 sailors were attacked in West Africa in 2012, compared to 851 off the Somali coast, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) and other seafarers' groups said last week.
This was the first time that more pirate attacks had been reported off the Gulf of Guinea.
The highest risk area for pirate activity in West Africa is off the coast of Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, correspondents say.
Speaking at a meeting of West and Central African leaders in Cameroon's capital Yaounde, Mr Ouattara said: "I urge the international community to show the same firmness in the Gulf of Guinea as displayed in the Gulf of Aden, where the presence of international naval forces has helped to drastically reduce acts of piracy."
Cameroon's President Paul Biya said it was vital to respond to the threat, to protect shipping routes and the economic interests of the region.
West African pirates mostly steal fuel cargo and the crews' possessions, often resorting to extreme violence, correspondents say.
Five of the 206 hostages seized last year off West Africa had been killed, said the report by the IMB and other seafarers' groups.
In contrast, Somali pirates usually seize a ship and its crew and hold them until a ransom is paid.
There had been a 78% drop in piracy off Somalia last year compared with 2011, the report said.
This was due to better practices by ship's captains and crews and the increasing use of armed guards aboard vessels in the region.
But it added that at least 78 hostages are still being held captive by Somali pirates.
Some of them have been held for more than two years.
Naval forces from around the world - including the European Union, China and the US - have been patrolling Somalia's coast.
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33cf0f06419778fbcb4c5f332c9e7d28 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23116760 | Obama 'humbled' to visit Mandela's Robben Island jail | Obama 'humbled' to visit Mandela's Robben Island jail
US President Barack Obama has toured Robben Island - the jail in which Nelson Mandela was kept for 18 years.
He said he and his family were "deeply humbled" to visit the prison once inhabited by Mr Mandela - who remains critically ill in hospital.
Mr Obama went on to give a speech at the University of Cape Town and launch a multi-billion-dollar electricity initiative.
The US leader did not visit Mr Mandela, but met the Mandela family in private.
Security was stepped up during this final Cape Town leg of his time in South Africa, following clashes on Saturday between riot police and anti-Obama protesters in Soweto.
Mr Obama and the first family visited Mr Mandela's bleak cell as well as the lime quarry - overlooked by a concrete watchtower - where anti-apartheid fighters including Mr Mandela were forced to undertake hours of back-breaking labour.
Mr Mandela was at the prison for 18 years and his long history of lung problems can be traced to the tuberculosis he contracted there - which he attributed to the dampness of his cell.
Later, Mr Obama wrote in the guest book in the prison courtyard: "On behalf of our family, we're deeply humbled to stand where men of such courage faced down injustice and refused to yield.
"The world is grateful for the heroes of Robben Island, who remind us that no shackles or cells can match the strength of the human spirit."
Mr Obama also visited a community project before delivering a keynote address at the University of Cape Town.
It was the same venue where 47 years ago, US Senator Robert Kennedy gave his famed "ripple of hope" speech, which gave inspiration to those fighting the racially divisive policies of apartheid rule and linked their struggle with that of the US civil rights movement.
Mr Obama paid tribute to South Africa's achievements over the past two decades but urged young Africans to fulfil Mr Mandela's legacy.
"Nelson Mandela showed us that one man's courage can move the world,'' he said.
More needed to be done to tackle poverty and disease, he said, adding that fear too often prevailed in Africa. For as long as war raged, democracy and economic opportunity could not take hold, he said.
Mr Obama also announced a $7bn (£4.6bn) five-year initiative to double access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, in partnership with African countries and the private sector.
Mr Obama arrived in South Africa from Senegal on Friday. On Monday, he is travelling to Tanzania, the final stage of his African tour.
Meanwhile Mr Mandela's grandson, Mandla, has said he will oppose a court action brought by the rest of the family, seeking to exhume the bodies of his father, Makgatho, two of Nelson Mandela's daughters and two other relatives.
The rest of the family want the remains to be reburied in Qunu, where the former South African president wants to be laid to rest, while Mandla, an ANC MP, wants them to stay in the nearby village of Mvezo, Nelson Mandela's birthplace, where he is building a museum dedicated to his grandfather.
South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper quotes local chiefs in the area as saying that Madiba, as Nelson Mandela is known in the country, will not be at peace until this issue is resolved.
On Friday, a court granted an interim action saying the bodies could be exhumed and reburied but Mandla Mandela says he was not aware of the case until it was reported in the media and he is now opposing it.
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e08bb01ef0e28b3c6c13d9fabaac164c | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23133214 | Obama backs 'new model' for Africa in Tanzania speech | Obama backs 'new model' for Africa in Tanzania speech
US President Barack Obama has said he wants a "new model" for development during his first visit to Tanzania.
Mr Obama and his family were greeted by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete and troupes of dancers as they arrived in the main city of Dar es Salaam.
In a speech on the last leg of his Africa tour, the US president said Tanzania had the potential to transform the region.
Trade was expected to top the agenda in his talks with business leaders.
Asked whether the US had done enough to help the continent, he said: "Ultimately the goal here is for Africa to build Africa for Africans.
"Our job is to be a partner in the process and Tanzania has been one of our best partners."
Mr Obama has been criticised for lacking a grand programme for Africa, and many Africans have been disappointed at what they see as his lack of engagement with the continent, despite his ancestry there.
The president said he wanted to move away from traditional forms of international development and work more closely with businesses in Africa.
"We are looking at a new model that's based not just on aid and assistance but on trade and partnership," he said.
"Increasingly what we want to do is use whatever monies that we're providing to build capacity."
Examples he gave included investment in health systems, food self-sufficiency and sustainable power sources.
During his first visit to Tanzania, Mr Obama will also visit an US-owned power plant following his announcement over the weekend of a multi-billion-dollar electricity initiative.
The $7bn (£4.6bn) five-year initiative is intended to double access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, in partnership with African countries and the private sector.
He made the announcement at South Africa's University of Cape Town after the US first family had visited Robben Island, the former jail where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years of his 27 years in captivity during his fight against the apartheid regime.
During his time in South Africa, the US leader did not visit Mr Mandela, who remains critically ill in hospital suffering from a lung infection, but he did met the Mandela family in private.
Correspondents say roads have been closed and security stepped up in Dar es Salaam for the US president's visit.
Hundreds of people lined the streets wearing T-shirts and sarongs bearing images of Mr Obama, in the warmest welcome he has received in his three-country visit to Africa, they say.
The crowds forced Mr Obama's motorcade to slow at times as it sped along a main road in the city that has been permanently renamed "Barack Obama Drive", in honour of America's first president of African descent, the Associated Press news agency reports.
"For development you need investments to utilise the huge potential that there is so that this huge potential can translate into incomes and jobs for our people and therefore development for our country," President Kikwete told the BBC's Newsday programme ahead of his arrival.
While in the country, Mr Obama is due to launch a programme helping Africa's eastern nations of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda trade both with each other and with the US.
He also signed an executive order aimed at preventing wildlife trafficking, particularly the sale of rhinoceros horns and elephant tusks.
On Tuesday, Mr Obama will lay a wreath at a memorial outside the US embassy in Dar es Salaam, in honour of 11 people killed in a bombing by al-Qaeda in 1998.
His wife Michelle Obama is expected to take part in African First Ladies Summit organised by the George W Bush Institute and hosted by her predecessor Laura Bush.
Mr Obama's second tour to sub-Saharan Africa since becoming president began in Senegal where he called on African governments to give gay people equal rights by decriminalising homosexual acts.
The US president has excluded from his itinerary Kenya, where his father was born, and Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer which has been hit by an Islamist insurgency.
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fb5b543ac85d0feae283fd9201c58af8 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23209181 | 'Dozens dead' in school attack in Nigeria's Yobe state | 'Dozens dead' in school attack in Nigeria's Yobe state
At least 29 pupils and a teacher have been killed in a pre-dawn attack by suspected Islamists on a school in northeastern Nigeria, reports say.
Eyewitnesses said some of the victims were burned alive in the attack, in Mamudo town, Yobe state.
Dozens of schools have been burned in attacks by Islamists since 2010.
Yobe is one of three states where President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in May, sending thousands of troops to the area.
A reporter from the Associated Press found chaotic scenes at the hospital in nearby Potiskum, where traumatised parents struggled to identify their children among the charred bodies and gunshot victims.
Survivors said suspected militants arrived with containers full of fuel and set fire to the school.
Some pupils were burned alive, others were shot as they tried to flee.
The BBC's Will Ross, in Lagos, says this area has frequently been attacked by the Boko Haram militant group.
More than 600 people were believed to have been killed in 2012 by the group, which is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state in Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north.
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891dbc93e0f8acee4a3f8fec275c9fd2 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23477992 | Libya protesters attack Muslim Brotherhood offices | Libya protesters attack Muslim Brotherhood offices
Protesters in Libya have attacked offices linked to the Muslim Brotherhood following the assassination of a prominent political activist.
Abdelsalam al-Mismari was shot dead as he left a mosque in Benghazi in eastern Libya after Friday prayers.
Demonstrators blaming the Brotherhood have taken to the streets.
They stormed offices of the Justice and Construction Party, the Brotherhood's political wing, in Benghazi and the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
A retired air force colonel and a senior police officer were also shot dead on Friday in Benghazi in the latest in a series of targeted killings of security personnel.
Libya's government is struggling to control armed groups nearly two years after Col Muammar Gaddafi was toppled.
There has been growing opposition to the increasing influence of the Justice and Construction Party (JCP) in the country's parliament.
Mr Mismari, a lawyer, was a vocal critic of the Brotherhood's presence in Libya.
He was one of the earliest organisers of protests that eventually led to the overthrow of Gaddafi in August 2011.
It is unclear who carried out the killing.
Protesters in Tripoli stormed the headquarters of the JCP and as well as those of the secular National Forces Alliance on Saturday, according to reports.
They smashed windows and looted furniture at the offices.
Demonstrators also attacked a building housing the JCP in Benghazi, the centre of the armed uprising in 2011.
"We want all political parties to be dissolved," Agence France-Presse news agency quoted one protester as saying.
"They're the cause of all our problems. First we need a constitution, then laws regulating political life before parties can begin operating."
Benghazi has seen a number of violent incidents since the fall of Gaddafi.
Radical Islamists were blamed for an attack on the US consulate last September in which the US ambassador and three other US citizens were killed.
The BBC's Rana Jawad in Tripoli said Mr Mismari's death represented the first assassination of an activist since the latest violence began.
Our correspondent says it marks a potentially dangerous turning point for the country. Some feel it is an attempt to silence civic groups, she adds.
In separate attacks on Friday, retired air force Col Salem al-Sarah was killed as he emerged from a mosque and police Col Khatab Abdelrahim al-Zwei was shot dead at the wheel of his car, officials said.
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8250f1e0061d67ea1c4255dfbf6e3e72 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23496929 | Tunisia government will not quit - PM Ali Larayedh | Tunisia government will not quit - PM Ali Larayedh
Tunisia's Islamist-led government will not step down despite opposition demands, the prime minister has said.
Ali Larayedh said it would fulfil its mandate and hold elections in December.
He was responding to anger over the murders of two leading politicians by suspected Islamist militants, including the assassination of an MP on Thursday.
As the political crisis continued, officials said that at least eight soldiers had been killed by gunmen near the Algerian border.
There were reports that some of the soldiers' throats had been cut, in what is thought to be one of the worst attacks on the military in decades.
The attack took place in the remote Mount Chaambi area, where troops have been searching for hideouts of suspected al-Qaeda-linked militants.
Tunisian TV suspended normal programming, and President Moncef Marzouki declared three days of mourning for the soldiers.
There have been further clashes in Sidi Bouzid, where the uprising that overthrew the previous administration in 2011 started.
The secular Ettakatol party had called for the coalition, led by the Islamist Ennahda party, to step down because of the tensions following the killing of Mohamed Brahmi, the leader of the small left-wing Popular Movement party.
"We have called for the dissolution of the government in favour of a unity government that would represent the broadest form of consensus," Lobni Jribi, an Ettakatol leader, told Reuters news agency.
In February, the murder of prominent secular figure Chokri Belaid sparked mass protests and forced then-Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali to resign.
In a televised speech, Mr Larayedh insisted the government was not simply trying to hang on to power in the wake of the furore over the murders.
"This government will stay in office: We are not clinging to power, but we have a duty and a responsibility that we will exercise to the end," the AFP news agency quotes him as saying.
He said the transitional government planned to hold elections by the end of 2013, setting the date for 17 December.
Mr Brahmi's death last week plunged Tunisia into another political crisis, with rival demonstrations taking hold in several cities, including the capital.
Thousands of people demonstrated in front of the national assembly in Tunis on Monday demanding the government's resignation.
The interior ministry said a crowd of up to 25,000 people - both supporters and opponents of the government - gathered outside the assembly.
Also on Monday, crowds of protesters clashed with police in Mr Brahmi's home town of Sidi Bouzid, widely considered the cradle of the 2011 revolution that toppled former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
In both cities, police reportedly fired tear gas to disperse the protesters.
Dozens of legislators have already withdrawn from the national assembly and called for the Islamist-led government to be replaced by a national unity administration.
They consider Mr Brahmi's killing a failure of government to protect its citizens.
The governing Islamist Ennahda party stands accused by its opponents of failing to rein in radical Islamists in the country.
Since coming to power, it has faced growing unrest - particularly among the youth - over a faltering economy and a rising radical Islamist movement.
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983137a663acd5980afa9d6a1888362e | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23564877 | Zimbabwe's perplexing election | Zimbabwe's perplexing election
Most elections provide answers. Zimbabwe's seems to be generating questions. As President Robert Mugabe romps to a devastating victory, here are a few that spring to mind…
Does the sheer size of Mr Mugabe's majority mean it's unlikely he could have rigged the vote to that extent, and therefore must have won legitimately?
What does this mean for Zimbabwe's economy? Will Zanu-PF match its campaign rhetoric on indigenisation with aggressive moves against foreign banks and other companies? And might that risk triggering a new crisis?
Can the MDC control the anger and frustration in its ranks? And can its leader Morgan Tsvangirai survive another defeat?
Mr Tsvangirai said his party wouldn't take part in any state "institutions". Will he stick to that promise?
Given that its concerns about the voters' roll were being articulated long before the election, would the MDC be in a stronger position if it had withdrawn from the ballot altogether?
Why, given its "grave concerns" about the voter roll (now echoed by the British government) did the African Union observer team rush to conclude that the election was "credible"?
How many arrests - particularly of civil society activists and MDC cadres - do you foresee in the coming days?
Will anyone even notice when Sadc finally rules on the "fairness" of the election sometime in September?
If conclusive evidence of rigging comes to light, will any parliamentary seats change hands?
Would Zimbabwe be better off if the MDC concedes defeat in the interests of harmony, or should it fight on?
How many British diplomats are cursing the day they ever pushed for sanctions against President Mugabe, given the astonishing propaganda value he's extracted from them?
Will anyone in the opposition ever get an electronic copy of that voters' roll - and work out exactly what happened to it?
Exactly what did Zanu-PF's Patrick Chinamasa mean when he said the new constitution "may need cleaning up"?
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c08800a8fdfa5ea28339c4de9a885a15 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23611228 | First international flights after Nairobi airport fire | First international flights after Nairobi airport fire
Some international flights have landed at Nairobi's international airport a day after fire gutted the arrivals hall, causing serious disruption.
A plane from London was the first to land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 06:30 local time (03:30 GMT), Kenyan airport authorities said.
Other planes from Bangkok and Kilimanjaro also arrived.
The cause of the fire is not yet known. Kenyan authorities say no serious injuries were reported.
The Nairobi airport is a regional hub serving more than 16,000 passengers daily and its closure caused widespread disruption.
International flights into the city had been diverted to other airports in Eldoret and the coastal city of Mombasa.
On Wednesday the interior ministry announced the resumption of domestic and cargo services.
The fire took about four hours to bring under control, by which time the arrivals hall had been gutted.
The Kenya Airport Authority told the BBC that Kenya Airways flights were arriving and taking off "now at more or less normal operations".
Other international airlines had not yet clarified their operations, it added.
The fire started in the airport's international arrivals and immigration area at around 05:00 on Wednesday and spread quickly.
Questions are being asked about why so few fire engines were available initially.
It appears that some engines got stuck in the Kenyan capital's notorious traffic jams. Many engines at the scene also quickly ran out of water.
Soldiers and police even came with buckets to help put out the fire, Sylvia Amondi, who was at the airport to pick up a relative who had been due to arrive there, told AFP news agency.
"The international arrivals station has been completely destroyed, the roof has caved in and the floor is covered in debris and water," she said.
A third of Europe's flower imports, and many fresh vegetables, come from Kenya and the Kenya Flower Council exporters' association described the fire as "disastrous".
Shares in Kenya Airways, which uses the airport as its main hub, fell 2% after the fire.
Foreign airlines which use the terminal include British Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways, KLM, Turkish Airlines, South African Airways and Ethiopian Airlines. Several cancelled flights to Nairobi on Wednesday.
The country's anti-terrorism chief, Boniface Mwaniki, has said he does not believe the fire - which happened on the 15th anniversary of the bombings by al-Qaeda of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - was connected to terrorism.
Correspondents say the airport is old and overcrowded.
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75c77dc7b88e7e53a3634815d675f5da | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23710741 | Somalia 'gang rape' investigated by African Union | Somalia 'gang rape' investigated by African Union
The African Union force in Somalia has said it is investigating an alleged gang rape involving its troops in the capital, Mogadishu.
A Somali woman has alleged she was abducted, drugged and repeatedly raped earlier this month by officers from the national army and the AU force.
The allegation has caused outrage in Mogadishu, and there have been protests by women activists.
Rights groups says rape and sexual abuse is a growing problem in Somalia.
Those living in camps for people displaced by conflict and the 2011 famine are most vulnerable, with many cases of rape going unreported because women fear stigma and reprisal.
In March, US-based Human Rights Watch said the abuse often takes place at the hands of armed groups, including government forces, and said the government should do more to tackle the issue.
The African Union mission in Somalia (Amisom) said it took allegations of abuse seriously and reiterated its "commitment to enhancing the safety of women".
It had set up a joint team with the Somali army "to investigate the matter... and appropriate action will be taken once the facts of the case have been established", its statement said.
MP Musa Sheikh Omar, deputy chair of the parliamentary committee on human rights and women, told the BBC that investigations so far had found that a married woman was arrested by Somali soldiers and taken to the Amisom barracks in Mogadishu suburb of Maslah earlier this month.
Hospital reports confirmed that the woman, who remains in hospital, had been gang-raped, he told the BBC Somali Service.
Mr Omar said the committee called on the government to make sure that once investigations were completed, those responsible were "brought before the courts".
In a statement, Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon said the government was "deeply troubled" by the incident, would work to bring justice and "ensure that such crimes do not occur again."
In January, a woman who alleged she had been raped by members of the Somali security forces was charged with "insulting a state institution".
Both she and a journalist she had spoken to were convicted and sentenced to terms in jail, though the verdicts were later overturned.
Some 18,000 Amisom troops from five African countries are supporting the government - the first one in more than two decades of conflict to be recognised by the US and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The UN recorded 1,700 rapes in the capital's 500 camps last year.
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6d99a9c32d1ba916d087beb5afad17b8 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23733748 | Zimbabwe's MDC drops Robert Mugabe election challenge | Zimbabwe's MDC drops Robert Mugabe election challenge
Zimbabwe's MDC party has dropped its legal challenge to President Robert Mugabe's re-election, saying it could not get a fair hearing.
It had filed a separate case seeking access to full details of the results from the electoral commission.
But the High Court has delayed judgement in the case.
The MDC says that without information such as the number of people not on the voters' roll who voted, it cannot prove that the elections were fraudulent.
The arguments in the MDC's legal challenge were due to begin on Saturday.
But MDC spokesman Douglas Mwonzora said that, without the extra information, the challenge "was going to be a mockery of justice", reports the AFP news agency.
The withdrawal of its challenge paves the way for Mr Mugabe, 89, to be inaugurated for another five-year term.
He has governed Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.
Mr Mugabe won with 61% of the presidential vote against 34% for MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who called the 31 July election a "huge farce".
The MDC has said that more than a million voters were prevented from casting their ballots - mainly in urban areas considered to be its strongholds.
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network, which had 7,000 observers around the country, has backed up these allegations.
But the African Union has said that any irregularities were not enough to overturn the margin of victory.
Allies of President Mugabe have dismissed the allegations and accused Mr Tsvangirai of being a bad loser.
Regional heavyweight, South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has urged the MDC leader to accept defeat.
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c242b6889f135d5c5d861425b190c632 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23754623 | Zimbabwe's Mugabe should not face sanctions, Sadc says | Zimbabwe's Mugabe should not face sanctions, Sadc says
Southern African leaders have called for the West to lift all sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe after endorsing President Robert Mugabe's victory in disputed elections last month.
Zimbabweans had "suffered enough", Malawian President Joyce Banda said.
The EU and US imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2002 after accusing Mr Mugabe of brutally cracking down on his opponents - a charge he rejected.
Mr Mugabe, 89, is due to be inaugurated for a seventh term on Thursday.
The European Union (EU) has a travel ban in place against President Mugabe and nine other of officials of his Zanu-PF party and has sanctions imposed on two companies.
The US also has a travel ban on Mr Mugabe and other top Zanu-PF officials, and has blacklisted companies linked to them from doing business with US companies.
Mr Mugabe won with 61% of the presidential vote against 34% for Morgan Tsvangirai, the outgoing prime minister and leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party.
On Friday, the MDC dropped plans to challenge Mr Mugabe's victory in court, alleging it would not get a fair hearing.
The MDC had alleged that the poll was marred by widespread fraud, a view rejected by African Union (AU) and other international observers.
Ending a meeting of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) in the Malawian capital, Lilongwe, on Sunday, regional leaders said in a statement that "all forms of sanctions" imposed on Zimbabwe should be lifted following the holding of "free and peaceful" elections.
"I believe Zimbabwe deserves better, Zimbabweans have suffered enough," said Ms Banda, Malawi's leader and incoming chairperson of the 15-nation regional body.
In a further display of support for Mr Mugabe, regional leaders appointed him as the next Sadc chairman and said the group's next annual summit would be held in Zimbabwe, AFP news agency reports.
The EU described last month's election in Zimbabwe as generally peaceful, but said it was concerned about alleged irregularities.
In March, the EU suspended sanctions against 81 individuals and eight entities in Zimbabwe after hailing a referendum to approve a new constitution expanding civil liberties as credible and peaceful.
However, it kept sanctions in place against two firms and 10 top officials, including Mr Mugabe.
Zimbabwe did not invite the EU and the US to monitor the elections, with Zanu-PF accusing them of bias.
The US described the vote on 31 July as "deeply flawed" and did not regard the results as a credible expression of the will of Zimbabweans.
The MDC has said that more than a million voters were prevented from casting their ballots - mainly in urban areas considered to be its strongholds, allegations backed up a 7,000-strong group of local observers, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network.
Allies of President Mugabe have dismissed the allegations of voting fraud and accused Mr Tsvangirai of being a bad loser.
Mr Mugabe's victory heralded the end of the power-sharing government he formed with Mr Tsvangirai in 2009 under pressure from regional leaders following elections marred by violence and allegations of rigging.
Mr Mugabe has governed the country, a British colony until 1965, from independence in 1980.
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3b789c62c5d556d9a39d88eb592224c3 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23808344 | Congo's Gen Dabira arrested in France over 'massacre' | Congo's Gen Dabira arrested in France over 'massacre'
A general from Congo-Brazzaville was briefly arrested in France and has been put under formal investigation for crimes against humanity, officials say.
It relates to the disappearance in 1999 of about 350 refugees who returned to Brazzaville from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
Gen Norbert Dabira told AFP he was "totally innocent" and would not leave France during the investigation.
Congolese authorities have always denied the returnees were massacred.
Rights groups and relatives of the missing say they were arrested, tortured and then executed upon their return to Congo on suspicion of backing an anti-government militia.
Gen Dabira was among 15 top army officers cleared of charges relating to the incident in a Congolese court in 2005.
The court acknowledged that 85 people had disappeared, but said it could not explain how this had happened and offered compensation to relatives.
French authorities opened an investigation into the alleged massacre in 2001.
Under French law, a formal investigation means investigating judges determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence to send a suspect for trial.
Gen Dabira, a former army inspector-general, is currently in charge of reintegrating ex-combatants in Congo and holds the rank of minister.
The 64-year-old army officer owns a home in France, according to AFP.
A full-scale civil war broke out in Congo in 1997 between soldiers loyal to President Denis Sassou Nguesso and southern rebels.
Towards the end of 1999 the rebels signed a ceasefire. At one stage in 1999 more than half of the population of the capital, Brazzaville, fled the fighting across the Congo River to DR Congo.
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d800bd47e94a171008a494d486cef422 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23830370 | Tunisia opposition in rally against Ennahda-led government | Tunisia opposition in rally against Ennahda-led government
Thousands of Tunisians have rallied in front of the National Assembly in the capital Tunis calling for the Islamist-led government to resign.
The opposition National Salvation Front has called for a week of protests over what it says is the government's inability to guarantee security.
The protests come a month after the assassination of a prominent opposition politician.
It was the second such politically-motivated killing this year.
The governing Ennahda party has offered to support an all-party government but has ruled out calls to dissolve the constituent assembly or remove Prime Minister Ali Laaraiedh.
"The people want the fall of the regime," chanted the crowds, repeating the slogan used when Tunisians ousted President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. His downfall triggered revolts across the Arab world.
Correspondents say Tunisian opposition parties have recently been emboldened by the Egyptian army's ousting of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
Witnesses said police monitored Saturday's protests but there were no reports of violence.
Protester Nejet Brissi, 41, said she wanted the government to step down and make way for a caretaker administration to oversee fresh elections.
"Since Ennahda came to power we have been suffering," she said.
"We have been crushed by the rising cost of living. There is no security any more. We are living in fear of terrorists."
Opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi was shot on 25 July, almost six months after secular opposition leader Chokri Belaid, a fellow leftist politician, was killed.
Tunisia's powerful UGTT trade union has been mediating between the Islamists and the opposition.
Ennahda said on Thursday it accepted in principle a proposal to form a technocratic government, but only after further negotiations.
The UGTT plans to continue its mediation work next week.
"We hope that we will find a solution responding to the interests of the nation above all, and which satisfies the different parties," said UGTT secretary general Hocine Abassi, after holding talks with President Moncef Marzouki.
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29a6e6d16825fba0097d56fcfa831495 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23840545 | DR Congo unrest: UN investigates Goma protest deaths | DR Congo unrest: UN investigates Goma protest deaths
The UN has opened an investigation into reports that its troops killed two Congolese civilians during protests in the eastern city of Goma, amid fighting with rebels.
Eyewitnesses told the AFP news agency the two died on Saturday when a crowd tried to storm a UN base and said troops from Uruguay had opened fire.
Uruguay has denied the allegations and blamed the Congolese police.
A new UN intervention brigade is deploying to the area to tackle rebels.
UN troops last week shelled rebel positions just outside Goma.
There has been no official statement on how many people have died in the fighting.
One local doctor has told the AP news agency he had seen 82 dead bodies, including those of 23 government soldiers on Sunday.
"I'm overwhelmed by what I've seen: bodies blown apart, arms and feet here and there," said Isaac Warwanamiza, speaking from a hospital north of Goma.
Many Congolese accuse the 18,000-strong UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo of not doing enough to end two decades of conflict in the east of the country.
Hundreds of people reportedly joined Saturday's protests, after rockets killed several civilians in the city, and called for the UN to attack the M23 rebel group.
Augustin Matendo, one of the protesters, told AFP that Uruguayan troops opened fire.
"Two people were killed instantly and four others were injured and rushed to hospital," he told AFP.
Uruguay President Jose Mujica denied the claims.
The UN intervention brigade has the strongest mandate ever given to such a peacekeeping force and is tasked with eradicating the rebel groups which have plagued eastern DR Congo since 1994.
On Sunday, the UK pulled its Foreign Office staff out of the city due to security concerns, while the US condemned the rebel attacks.
In November, the M23 rebels briefly captured Goma, which borders Rwanda, withdrawing in exchange for a series of demands, including negotiations with the government.
Rwanda has repeatedly denied UN allegations that it has been backing the M23 rebels.
Like Rwanda's leadership, M23 fighters mostly come from the Tutsi community.
They deserted from the Congolese army in April 2012, forcing an estimated 800,000 people from their homes in the ensuing unrest in the mineral-rich region.
Peace talks taking place in Uganda this year to resolve their grievances have stalled.
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22164eb81fc11454325c69843cef513a | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24028714 | Kenya's William Ruto formed an army for war, ICC hears | Kenya's William Ruto formed an army for war, ICC hears
Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto formed an army prior to the elections in 2007 "to go to war for him", the prosecution has alleged at his trial.
He pleaded not guilty to crimes against humanity charges as the trial began at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Mr Ruto and President Uhuru Kenyatta are accused of orchestrating violence after elections in 2007, and are being tried separately at The Hague.
Mr Ruto becomes the first serving official to appear at the ICC.
The two trials are seen as a crucial test of the ICC's ability to prosecute political leaders.
This is a politically controversial trial with a complex legal history, says the BBC's Anna Holligan in The Hague.
Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto were on opposite sides during the 2007 election and are accused of orchestrating attacks on members of each other's ethnic groups.
They formed an alliance for elections in March, saying they were an example of reconciliation.
Analysts say the ICC prosecutions bolstered their campaign as they portrayed it as foreign interference in Kenya's domestic affairs.
Mr Ruto watched and smiled during proceedings and pleaded not guilty to each of the three counts of murder, persecution and forcible transfer of people, our correspondent says.
Mr Ruto's defence lawyer, Karim Khan, accused the prosecution of building its case on "a conspiracy of lies".
"We say that there is a rotten underbelly of this case that the prosecutor has swallowed hook, line and sinker, indifferent to the truth, all too eager to latch on to any... story that somehow ticks the boxes that we have to tick [to support charges]," Mr Khan said.
He downplayed claims his client was driven by ethnic hatred, telling the judges that two of Mr Ruto's sisters of the Kalenjin ethnic group were married to members of the rival Kikuyu group.
Chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said Mr Ruto had planned violence over an 18-month period prior to the 2007 elections, exploiting existing tensions between his Kalenjin group and Mr Kenyatta's Kikuyu group.
Mr Ruto used his power to procure weapons, secure funds and co-ordinate the violence, Ms Bensouda said.
A group of Kenyan MPs and other supporters welcomed Mr Ruto and his co-accused Joshua arap Sang as they arrived for the trial, AFP reports.
He is the head of a Kalenjin-language radio station and is accused of whipping up ethnic hatred.
In Kenya, many people are following the case closely and opinion is split with opposition supporters welcoming the trial and government supporters opposed to it, says the BBC's Caroline Karobia in the capital, Nairobi.
Some 1,200 people were killed and 600,000 forced from their homes in weeks of violence after the disputed December 2007 election.
More than 40,000 people are estimated to be still living in camps, which Mr Kenyatta last week promised to close by 20 September.
On Sunday, he gave cheques worth more than $4,500 (£3,000) per family so they could move out of camps and rebuild their lives.
Ex-UN chief Kofi Annan said,
in an article in The New York Times
, that the trials were not an assault on Kenya's sovereignty but the "first steps toward a sustainable peace that Kenyans want, deeply".
"Making clear that no one is above the law is essential to combat decades of the use of violence for political ends by Kenya's political elite," he wrote.
Mr Annan brokered the peace deal that brought an end to the brutal killings.
It included an agreement that those responsible for the violence must be held to account.
A commission was set up to investigate the violence and it recommended that if efforts to establish special tribunals in Kenya failed, the matter should be sent to The Hague.
Kenya repeatedly failed to set up such tribunals and so the ICC indicted those it said bore the greatest responsibility for the violence.
The ICC on Monday said the two trials would not clash, after Mr Kenyatta warned that the constitution prevented the two men from being abroad at the same time.
The president is due to go on trial in November. He also denies charges of fuelling violence.
The judges said the two cases could be heard alternately - in blocks of four weeks.
On Thursday, Kenya's parliament passed a motion calling for the country to withdraw from the ICC.
The court said the cases would continue, even if Kenya withdrew.
In May, the African Union (AU) accused the ICC of "hunting" Africans because of their race and urged it to drop the Kenyan cases.
The ICC says it pursues justice impartially and will not allow perpetrators of violence to go unpunished.
The court was set up in 2002 to deal with genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.
It has been ratified by 122 countries, including 34 in Africa.
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4676bafa49c1fec58e9e763464973f75 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24035538 | Congo explosions: Soldiers jailed by Brazzaville court | Congo explosions: Soldiers jailed by Brazzaville court
Six soldiers have been jailed by a court in Congo-Brazzaville for explosions at an arms depot that killed nearly 300 people in March 2012.
The main accused, Corporal Kakom Kouack Blood, was sentenced to 15 years' hard labour for wilfully setting fire to the depot in the capital, Brazzaville.
Twenty-six others were acquitted of the blasts, blamed at the time on a short-circuit that caused a fire.
The explosions wounded more than 2,300 and left 17,000 homeless.
They were so powerful that windows were blown out and roofs damaged several miles away in Kinshasa, across the river in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The criminal court in Brazzaville also sentenced the former deputy secretary general to the national security council, Colonel Marcel Tsourou, to five years' hard labour for his role in the explosions, AFP news agency reports.
Congo is a poor country, ruled by Denis Sassou Nguesso who first came to power some three decades ago with military backing.
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3f9d66659b937f0295d736dc745bf8f5 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24057725 | Somali Islamic scholars denounce al-Shabab in fatwa | Somali Islamic scholars denounce al-Shabab in fatwa
Some 160 Somali religious scholars have issued a fatwa denouncing al-Shabab, saying the group had no place in Islam.
Correspondents say it is the first time Somali religious leaders have come up with a fatwa against the group, which controls many rural areas.
At a conference on the phenomenon of extremism in Mogadishu, the scholars said they condemned al-Shabab's use of violence.
Al-Shabab, or "The Youth", is fighting to create an Islamic state in Somalia.
Despite being pushed out of key cities in the past two years, it still remains in control of smaller towns and large swathes of the countryside.
The announcement comes as residents of central Somalia say al-Shabab executed a young man in the town of Bula Burte and performed a double amputation on another in front of a crowd of several hundred people.
One of the aims of the conference was to issue Islamic opinion on whether the group had legitimacy or not, with the final fatwa concluding that it is not an Islamic movement, Sheikh Hassan Jaamai told the BBC.
"It's like a gang that comes together to kill Somalis... without any legitimate reason or justification," added the Islamic scholar, who flew over from the US to take part in the conference.
"The only thing they want is to create chaos in the country so that they can survive, " said another participant from the Gulf, Sheikh Abdikani, referring to bomb attacks on a restaurant in central Mogadishu that killed 15 people on the opening day of the meeting.
Al-Shabab said it carried out the attacks.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud opened the government-organised conference that drew Somali scholars, elders and imams from both within the country and abroad.
At the end of the four-day conference, the seven points of the religious edict were read out by Islamic scholar Sheikh Abdirizak Ahmed Mohamud:
•"Al-Shabab has strayed from the correct path of Islam, leading the Somali people onto the wrong path. The ideology they are spreading is a danger to the Islamic religion and the existence of the Somali society.
•"The Somali government is an Islamic administration; it is forbidden to fight against it or regard its members as infidels.
•"Al-Shabab, an extremist group, must atone to God and must cease its erroneous ideology and criminal actions.
•"It is forbidden to join, sympathise or give any kind of support to al-Shabab.
•"It is a religious duty to refuse shelter to al-Shabab members, who must be handed over to Somali institutions responsible for security.
•"It is a taboo to negotiate on behalf of al-Shabab members in custody or release them from jail.
•"Somali officials have a religious duty to protect the Somali people from the atrocities of al-Shabab. The Somali public also has an obligation to assist the government in its security operations against al-Shabab."
Nairobi-based Somali analyst Mohamed Abdullahi told the BBC's Newsday programme that the fatwa, issued by so many prominent scholars, is likely to sway opinions on the ground, but is unlikely to change the path of those in the group's top leadership.
"The fatwa includes a security element of community policing against al-Shabab," he said.
But it should be coupled with other efforts to win the hearts and minds of people on the ground, he added.
"There must be another parallel programme to ensure that those young men who joined for economic reasons, for instance, are provided with employment or opportunities as well as convincing those who are really not extremist in ideology."
Last week, al-Shabab's Twitter account was suspended for a second time after claiming on its feed that it had ambushed the convoy of the president, who was unhurt.
It has since set up a new account.
President Mohamud took office a year ago in a UN-backed bid to end two decades of violence, with clan-based warlords, Islamist militants and its neighbours all battling for control of the country.
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a6234ea2485ed2f81d71e1de33722d76 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24098791 | Archbishop Ignatius Kattey freed by Nigerian kidnappers | Archbishop Ignatius Kattey freed by Nigerian kidnappers
One of Nigeria's most senior Anglican clerics, who was kidnapped by armed men more than a week ago, has been freed.
Archbishop Ignatius Kattey was released without a ransom on Saturday evening near the southern city of Port Harcourt, police said. He was in a stable condition.
Officials provided no further information about his captors.
Kidnapping for ransom has become common in the oil-rich Niger Delta region around Port Harcourt in recent years.
Numerous armed gangs operate in the area following years of violent protests against the oil industry.
Archbishop Kattey is the head of the Anglican Church in the predominantly Christian Niger Delta.
The cleric and his wife Beatrice were seized close to their Port Harcourt residence on 6 September. His wife was released unharmed several hours later.
"The archbishop was released behind a filling station at Eleme in Rivers state," police spokeswoman Angela Agabe said in a statement.
"His captors dropped him when the police were about to close in on them. No ransom was paid."
Last year, the mother of Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was abducted and held for five days.
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ac5d111078eade914724b14d5f466106 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24216233 | Kenya’s Westgate attack: How does al-Shabab work? | Kenya’s Westgate attack: How does al-Shabab work?
In the aftermath of the deadly events at Nairobi's Westgate Mall, Kenya's security services will be expected to conduct a thorough post-mortem examination and implement strategies to prevent future attacks.
The scale, speed, ferocity and apparent sophistication of the Westgate assault have stunned many in Kenya's establishment. Such has been the magnitude and depth of consternation that a return to business-as-usual will, for many, be unacceptable.
The crisis has evidently tipped the scales but whether it can unleash the positive energy needed to radically reconfigure and transform the security architecture and culture is hard to tell.
Authorities have promised a speedy and forensic probe, but it may take time to produce a coherent narrative to explain who the masterminds were and how the operation was conceived.
But anecdotal evidence and fragments of intelligence have already emerged which offer potentially useful leads.
A number of sources, including the Kenyan government, now believe the attack was carried by a "multinational" team of between 10 and 15 militants.
Initial eyewitness accounts indicated women were involved but these have been dismissed or explained by the fact that some were disguised in women's clothing.
The claims about women for a while fed speculation that al-Shabab - the Somalia-based militant group that claimed responsibility for the operation - may not have been involved because it did not match the group's modus operandi.
The group has used female suicide bombers in the past but there is no evidence it has deployed women in active combat duties. Indeed, an al-Shabab spokesman dismissed the claim of female involvement.
The big question, however, remains whether al-Shabab has the capacity to conduct such a sophisticated operation beyond Somalia's borders at a time when it is weakened by factionalism and power struggles.
No less important a question is what tactical and strategic aims the operation was designed to advance?
The skill and capacity is certainly there, shown by the number of sophisticated large-scale bomb attacks and commando-style raids on government facilities in Mogadishu in recent months.
Assuming there is still a level of close coordination and skills transfer between the autonomous cells of al-Shabab, there is no reason why its cells in Kenya and the rest of East Africa cannot adopt the same tactics we have seen put to devastating effect in Mogadishu.
It is reasonable to assume the objective of the attack is propaganda - to spread the message that hardline factions allied to al-Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane are still strong, cohesive and capable of striking their domestic and external enemies.
Hardliners have been claiming that al-Shabab is more cohesive and potent after being purged of "hypocrites" and "ditherers".
In recent years it has shed
senior figures like faction leader Hasan Dahir Aweys
and former spokesman Mukhtar Robow. Others key figures like Ibrahim Al-Afghani and
Omar Hammami (al-Amriki) have been assassinated.
So what better way to prove this new cohesion than to escalate the jihad with a spectacular operation?
This hypothesis assumes the hardliners are no longer guided by self-preservation and are oblivious or indifferent to the risks of provoking Kenya into a retaliation that would degrade their capabilities further.
A series of media interviews given on Monday by a man identifying himself as Abu Umar, an al-Shabab commander in the Somali port of Kismayo, has fed speculation that he might be speaking on behalf of a mutant new splinter faction.
Abu Umar spoke in impeccable English and offered details on the identity of the gunmen and the siege that suggested a command centre inside Somalia was in constant contact with the gunmen and running the operation.
Analysts have been excitedly speculating that the Westgate Mall attack was the work of a multinational jihadi outfit composed of Somali and foreign fighters eager to use the al-Shabab brand name, nominally sympathetic to its goals, but operationally autonomous of it.
It is a fantastical and disconcerting prospect that, given the context and complex evolution of violent extremism in Somalia, is impossible to discount.
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88f65f56e89b0d67428516b4dd0ee8f0 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24239264 | South African teen 'played dead' to survive Westgate attack | South African teen 'played dead' to survive Westgate attack
Zachary Yach is an 18-year-old South African whose family recently moved to Kenya. He told the BBC's Will Ross how he defied his dad's orders to leave a restaurant where he was trapped for two and a half hours during the Westgate attack:
My sister, my mum and I had just come from a doctor's appointment and we headed off to a burger restaurant at Westgate for lunch.
We had just ordered our burgers and I was looking at the woman across from me and some pebbles, small rocks pieces of concrete were thrown at her and I was looking to see who was throwing the stuff.
Then a huge explosion really swept us off our feet - it was like a big gust of wind, like a sandstorm, things hitting your face and then a huge explosion which was ear piercing.
So we just dropped to the floor under the table, put our heads down and curled up for a good 20 or 30 minutes.
That was when a lot of grenades were being thrown and a lot of gunfire was happening and once that had subsided a bit, we put our heads up to see what was going on because we were completely clueless.
I saw one of the waiters - he was OK but he had a lot of blood coming from his head. Also, in the other corner of the restaurant, I looked and I saw a lot of dead bodies and I was really just praying for them to just wiggle a bit to see if they were OK and alive.
Thank God someone else moved his head and I pointed to him and asked him: "Are you OK?" you know with my thumbs up.
He had been shot in the arm so he managed to grab a knife and come towards us. He cut his T-shirt and tied it around - we helped him and tried to get him to keep pressure on.
In these kind of situations there's no time to think, you just react. So the first thing I thought of was just to make sure my family was OK and once they were fine, to help anyone else I could.
There were still bursts of gunfire.
The first time we saw the terrorists come out, I just said to my mum: "It's a scary thought but just play dead." So we did that but I kept an eye open to see what was going on and if they were coming into the restaurant.
We were there for a good two and a half hours under the table and about halfway into it, the police arrived with the army and they started heading up the steps of the main entrance.
There was a bit of a gun battle going on whilst we were still on the floor.
I managed to grab mum's phone and was SMS-ing my dad to tell him what was going on. But he didn't understand - he's like: "Just leave. Get up and walk out."
And I'm like: "No dad you don't understand, we're under the table and bombs are going off."
He's like: "OK, I'm coming down to get you, don't worry."
I said: "Dad, listen that's not what's going on."
So he turned on the news and saw what was happening.
It was incredibly scary. I had never realised how loud a gun was and how scary and threatening they are because every time a shot went off, you flinch and grab something.
The scariest part was the police and the army and the ambulances were there for a very long time but we never knew because there was a hedge between the road and our restaurant - we couldn't tell if the police were there because there were no sirens so we just stayed there all that time.
Then I looked across and saw what looked like a tactical team coming in the ArtCaffe entrance.
They were not wearing a uniform and they had handguns. At first I thought they were the terrorists but then they started checking the pulses of the bodies lying on the floor. They checked and did the finger-across-the-throat dead signal.
At this point I realised these guys were here to help us so I lifted up my hand and I whistled to say: "Come here we need help," so they opened a small gate and told us to crawl to them.
So I got my mum and sister to go first and then we went back to help the guy with the blood running from his head and the guy with the bullet wound in his arm. All five of us survived.
My dad was incredibly happy to see us.
I feel so sorry for the people younger than me who had to experience that - it is such a terrible thing to happen to anyone.
I'm just lucky that my family and I weren't taken hostage we were just observing it from under the table.
Even after surviving that I'm still very cautious. Even when I heard a door shut, I flinched.
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522bf6c94fa931f509b5b94a083c0c16 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24470850 | Libyan PM Ali Zeidan detained by militia | Libyan PM Ali Zeidan detained by militia
Libyan PM Ali Zeidan has been seized from his hotel in the capital, Tripoli by a former rebel militia loosely allied to the government.
The group said it arrested Mr Zeidan following a prosecutor's warrant, but the government has denied this.
An official said he was being held at an interior ministry anti-crime department and being "treated well".
There has been anger in Libya over a US commando raid on Saturday which seized senior al-Qaeda suspect Anas al-Liby.
Many saw the raid as a breach of Libyan sovereignty amid growing pressure on the government to explain if it was involved.
On Monday, Libya demanded an explanation from the US ambassador over the arrest of Mr Liby, who is wanted in the US over the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
A number of militia groups operate in Libya - they are nominally attached to government ministries but often act independently and, correspondents say, often have the upper hand over police and army forces.
The government has been struggling to contain these militia, who control parts of the country, two years after the revolt which overthrew Muammar Gaddafi.
Mr Zeidan was taken by armed men from Tripoli's Corinthia Hotel - considered one of the more secure buildings in the city - in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The head of security at the hotel, Abd al-Razaq ben Shaban, told Reuters news agency "revolutionaries" had arrived carrying papers with an order from the prosecutor general for the arrest of the prime minister.
However, state-run National Libyan TV quoted Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani as saying that the prosecutor general had issued no warrant for Mr Zeidan's arrest.
The Revolutionaries Operations Room said it had seized Mr Zeidan, and was acting on the orders of the prosecutor general in accordance with Libya's criminal code.
A spokesman for the group told Reuters that they took Mr Zeidan following comments by US Secretary of State John Kerry that the Libyan government had been "aware of the operation".
The Libyan government said on its website earlier that Mr Zeidan had been taken from a hotel "to an unknown place for unknown reasons by a group thought to be from the Tripoli Revolutionaries Operations Room and the Committee for Fighting Crime".
Al-Arabiya TV station broadcast images on Thursday morning which showed Mr Zeidan looking dishevelled and being escorted by what the station said were armed men.
Libya's cabinet has been summoned for an immediate meeting under the leadership of the deputy prime minister.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the capture and called for Mr Zeidan's immediate release.
"It is vital that the process of political transition in Libya is maintained. The government and people of Libya have our full support at this concerning time," he said.
US state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US was looking into the reports and was "in close touch with senior US and Libyan officials on the ground".
'Act of sabotage'
Libyan politician Guma El Gamaty told the BBC that the US raid against Mr Liby on Saturday had sparked anger on the Libyan streets.
"Accusations have been pointed at the prime minister that there is some sort of a collusion - that the prime minister knew in advance that Abu Anas al-Liby was going to be kidnapped," he said.
In an interview with the BBC on Monday, Mr Zeidan had said Libya was being used as a base to export weapons throughout the region, and called on the West to help stop militancy in Libya.
Last month Mr Zeidan visited the UK and appealed for British help to remove weapons from the country amid fears of increased arms smuggling to Syria.
In April he urged Libyans to back their government in the face of "people who want to destabilise the country".
He also complained at that time of other attacks and "acts of sabotage" carried out by separate groups, against the interior ministry and national TV headquarters.
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54cdef12a7bd414a6c8c329f53b431eb | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24694214 | 'Shocking' abuse claims at South Africa's Mangaung prison | 'Shocking' abuse claims at South Africa's Mangaung prison
"We stripped them naked and throw them with water so the electricity can work nicely... some of them would black out.
"So we would pour water on them... and then we would go again."
This is the account of "Mpho", a South African man in his mid-thirties, who, under condition of anonymity, has admitted his part in what he calls "common practice" at the Mangaung correctional facility.
He was until recently an emergency security team member at the maximum-security jail, which is the only one is South Africa that is run by British security firm G4S.
The South African government has taken over the prison, as a temporary measure, to tackle what they called a "loss of effective control" by G4S.
The government says it is currently investigating accounts of punishment using electric shocks and forced injections.
G4S for its part says it has seen no evidence of these practices, denies that they are widespread but is investigating the allegations.
On the available evidence, it is difficult to prove whether or not Mpho's harrowing account illustrates standard practice at Mangaung, which houses nearly 3,000 inmates.
At the
Wits justice project
at Wits University in Johannesburg, researcher Ruth Hopkins shows a pile of letters on her desk.
"Over the last year I have interviewed and received letters from nearly 30 inmates who told us about electroshocking and beatings," she says, "as well as 14 members of these security teams, and accounts from regular warders in the prison."
She adds that "inmates complained about broken limbs, blood in their urine and other serious injuries.
"Some said they would pass out when the shocks became too intense."
Some of the evidence is difficult to watch. The BBC has obtained leaked footage filmed inside the prison, in which one can hear the click of electrified shields, and shrieking.
The inmates shout "stop" in the local language of Sotho, while the guard tells him "I am doing my job".
After 300 warders went on strike protesting at the sacking of colleagues, G4S says it offered to engage with them on safety concerns and complaints about the violence inside the prison, on the condition that the warders returned to work.
The warders refused, and so were fired.
It is this industrial action that G4S points to as the catalyst for both a recent rise in violence at the prison, and for sacked workers to come forward with accounts such as the above.
Mpho's justification for such inhumane behaviour is the extremely violent nature of the prison, where several warders have been overpowered and taken hostage by inmates, stabbed or even raped.
He and other warders who have spoken to the BBC allege they didn't have enough staff or protection to deal with the maximum-security prisoners they were working with.
"We want them to be afraid of us," he says, "because we are few."
When asked about allegations of electric shocking and beatings, Andy Baker, the regional president of G4S for Africa told the BBC that he "doubts if it is possible that it was widespread".
"We work with complete transparency and if there were these types of extreme abuses it would be there for all to see," he said.
However, Mr Baker did concede a "difficulty in an environment with so many people and so many moving parts, to categorically state that there has never been somebody stepping over the line".
"To my knowledge, there has never been an abuse of this type or nature," he said.
The embattled British security firm G4S was given the contract to run the prison in 2000.
It is one of two in South Africa which are privately run.
At her office in South Africa's administrative capital Pretoria, the acting national commissioner of correctional services, Nontsikelelo Jolingana, says a government team is now in place at the prison.
"It's quite shocking information that's coming to the fore but we are investigating, and until then we can't say what is the appropriate intervention to deal with the situation," she told the BBC.
However, as long ago as 2010, concerns were being raised about the prison.
A leaked government report seen by the BBC protests the "brutality" of the security teams and the electroshocking used, as well as the infrequent visits of the head of the prison to the cells.
It compares the prison to "Quantanamo" (sic).
When asked why the government did not intervene, Ms Jolingana could only repeat that she is "investigating".
"As well as electric shocking, we have received nearly 20 complaints of forced injections - that is, involuntary medication with powerful anti-psychotic drugs, with serious side effects," says Wits researcher Ruth Hopkins.
"Emergency security team warders have further told us that they would assist in administering forced injections up to five times a week.
"This is highly illegal as forced medication is only allowed if the patient is incapable of making an informed decision, or is a danger to himself or others."
Leaked footage filmed inside the prison shows a prisoner, Bheki Dlamini, chatting and co-operating with the demands of a team of guards.
When he realises he is to be injected he resists.
"I don't want this injection… they are like injection for horses," he says. Held down by the guards he shouts "No, no, no".
Egon Oswald is a lawyer acting on Mr Dlamini's behalf in a civil case against the government, G4S and the healthcare providers in the prison.
He says that in one instance, Mr Dlamini was injected after complaining about nothing more than the food.
"It seems that in Mangaung prison these injections are used as a method of punishment or control, rather than what they are meant for, which is to deal in rare cases of extreme psychosis."
If it is used as a method of control, does it work? I ask him.
"Well he won't be asking again," he says.
Mr Oswald says he has 14 other similar complaints that he is looking into.
Andy Baker of G4S made it clear that administering and prescribing injections is not the domain of G4S staff, but of independent medical staff.
In a statement to the BBC, G4S said while the video could not be verified, the company "takes such allegations very seriously and will be launching our own investigations into the matter".
A government investigation into the prison will present its preliminary findings at the end of October. It is not yet clear if they will be made public.
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7be78ce7c774e8e5b3c46b6868a80573 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24713609 | Niger migrants 'die of thirst' crossing the Sahara | Niger migrants 'die of thirst' crossing the Sahara
Dozens of people traversing the Sahara desert on their way to Europe are feared to have died of thirst in Niger, officials say.
Five bodies have been found, while a further 35 are missing after their vehicle broke down and they set off to seek help, said the Agadez governor.
Agadez lies on one of the main migrant routes from West Africa to Europe.
Hundreds of migrants have died this month when their boats sank as they tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
Agadez mayor Rhissa Feltou said two vehicles had left the town of Arlit, north of Agadez, earlier this month, carrying "at least" 60 migrants.
The convoy was heading for Tamanrassett, an Algerian town in the heart of the Sahara, he said.
The mayor of Agadez said that after one vehicle broke down, passengers went to look for spare parts and bring them back for repairs.
He said the migrants broke up into small groups and started walking.
Days later, the survivors who reached Arlit, a centre for uranium mining, alerted the army, but troops arrived too late at the scene, he added.
The authorities have called off the search for the missing.
They consisted of "entire families, including very many children and women," Azaoua Mamane, who works for the non-governmental organisation Synergie in Arlit, told the AFP news agency.
The bodies found are of two women and three girls aged 9-11.
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0dacd3fea7099cd9445dca4ee8d305a4 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24735293 | Four French hostages freed in Niger - President Hollande | Four French hostages freed in Niger - President Hollande
Four French hostages kidnapped in Niger in 2010 have been released, France's President Hollande has announced.
The men boarded a French government plane on Wednesday from Niger's capital Niamey. They are expected to be greeted by Mr Hollande in Paris.
The French defence minister said the four men were freed without a military assault or a ransom being paid.
They were seized on 16 September 2010 in raids targeting two French firms operating a uranium mine near Arlit.
The al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) group said it was responsible.
Mr Hollande made the announcement during a visit to Slovakia on Tuesday.
Breaking from the script of the speech he was giving, he said: "I have some good news. I just learned from Niger's president that our four hostages in the Sahel, the Arlit hostages, have been released."
"I want to express all my gratitude to the president of Niger who obtained the release of our compatriots," he added, without providing further details.
No further details of the release were given, but it is believed that Niger's top negotiator Mohamed Akotey, a former Tuareg rebel, obtained the release over the last few days.
Mr Akotey, who works with the French mining company Areva, is a respected figure in Niger.
The four men were identified as Thierry Dol, Daniel Larribe, Pierre Legrand and Marc Feret.
Mr Dol told the French news agency AFP that his time in captivity "was very difficult but it was the test of a lifetime."
"I'm happy, excited," Mr Legrand's aunt, Brigitte Laur, told AFP. "We waited for so long. After three years it's hard to believe."
They were all employees at the uranium mine run by the French nuclear company Areva.
"We can't say that they're in great health but their health is fine," said a source close President Hollande, quoted by AFP.
Since their abduction there had been sporadic signs that they were alive, and a vocal campaign in their support was led by family members in France, the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris reports.
France's military intervention in neighbouring Mali earlier this year was a worrying time because of fears the hostages could be killed in reprisal, our correspondent adds.
During the military campaign, French troops forced Islamists out of northern Mali, killing or scattering them across the vast Sahel region.
Security has been stepped up at Areva's Arlit operation following an attack in May in which one person was killed and 14 injured.
Islamist militants claimed responsibility for the attack.
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f1f25759f571955b14983675bb16eb56 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24753100 | Niger migrants' bodies found near Algerian border | Niger migrants' bodies found near Algerian border
Rescue workers in Niger say they have found the bodies of 92 people who died of thirst after their vehicles broke down as they tried to cross the Sahara.
Rescue worker Almoustapha Alhacen said the corpses were in a severe state of decomposition and had been partly eaten, probably by jackals.
Those found are thought to be migrant workers and their families. Most were women and children.
Niger lies on a major migrant route between sub-Saharan Africa and Europe.
But among those who make it across the desert, many end up working in North African countries.
According to Mr Alhacen, one of the vehicles that the migrants were travelling in broke down some time after they left Arlit at the end of September or beginning of October.
Security officials said the second vehicle broke down as it was on its way back to Arlit to get spare parts.
It appears that some of the group set out on foot, including up to 10 people who made it back to Arlit and raised the alarm, he said.
It was reported on Monday
that five bodies had been found.
On Wednesday, volunteers and soldiers working in searing heat found other corpses about 10km (six miles) from the Algerian border.
Mr Alhacen told the BBC's Hausa service the bodies of 52 children, 33 women and seven men had since been buried.
He said that it was most likely that the people were from Niger, judging by their dress and how the women's hair was braided.
Korans and tablets used by children at madrassas [Islamic school] were found amongst the belongings, said Mr Alhacen.
Speaking from Arlit, a centre for uranium mining north of Agadez, Mr Alhacen said he had experienced the worst day of his life when he found the bodies.
"The corpses were decomposed; it was horrible," he said.
"We found bodies across a wide area. We had no idea what to expect because we didn't know how many people had been in the vehicles."
They were given Muslim burials where they were found, Mr Alhacen said.
''What was shocking was that they were small. There was a dead woman holding her baby," he added.
Given that so many of those found were teenagers, Mr Alhacen said it was possible they were on their way to low-paid jobs in neighbouring Algeria.
"My guess is that the children were madrassa children, being taken to Algeria to work. That is the only explanation that I and others can find for such a large number of children having travelled together,'' Mr Alhacen said.
About 80,000 migrants cross the Sahara desert through Niger, according to John Ging, director of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
"They are basically economic migrants. They are in search of work. They are so impoverished that they have to make these hazardous journeys," he told the BBC's Newsday programme.
Niger is one of the world's poorest countries and frequently suffers from drought and food crises.
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2fbca5e4c8673d72f97ceb5bc925d616 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24816223 | DR Congo M23 rebels 'end insurgency' | DR Congo M23 rebels 'end insurgency'
The M23 rebel group in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo says it is ending its insurgency, hours after the government claimed military victory.
In a statement, the movement said it would adopt "purely political means" to achieve its goals and urged its fighters to disarm and demobilise.
The government said the last remaining rebels had either surrendered or fled the country overnight.
The army says it will now pursue other rebel groups that do not disarm.
At least 800,000 people have fled their homes since the M23 took up arms in 2012 but several other armed groups still operate in the mineral-rich eastern DR Congo.
M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa announced on Tuesday that "the chief of general staff and the commanders of all major units are requested to prepare troops for disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration on terms to be agreed with the government of Congo".
His decision to pursue its aims by political means was posted on a
Facebook page
linked to the group.
Although the statement came after an apparently heavy military defeat, it also followed an agreement by African leaders on Monday night that the M23 should make "
a public declaration renouncing rebellion
" to allow a peace accord to be signed with the Congolese government.
Congolese Defence Minister Alexandre Luba Ntambo, after the summit in the South African capital Pretoria, said once the rebels had publicly abandoned their insurgency the government "would make a public declaration of acceptance of this". Five days later, a formal peace agreement would be signed, he added.
The BBC's Milton Nkosi in South Africa says, with its announcement on Tuesday, the M23 appears to have met the conditions of the African leaders.
While Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was at the summit, Rwanda's Paul Kagame was conspicuous by his absence, our correspondent says. Rwanda's foreign minister was at the meeting, however.
The UN has regularly accused Rwanda and Uganda of supporting the M23, although both governments deny the allegation.
The US and other donors have cut aid to Rwanda over the allegations.
'Hit-and-run operations'
DR Congo Information Minister Lambert Mende said on Tuesday that Congolese special forces had driven the rebels out of their final hilltop strongholds near the Ugandan border.
Tanks and helicopters from a UN intervention brigade
with a tough new mandate to "neutralise" rebel groups approved earlier this year
have also been involved in recent fighting.
"We can say that it's finished. But you never know," Mr Mende told the BBC's Newsday programme. "Those who escaped can come with hit-and-run operations so we have to end everything politically so that we are sure our people can sleep quietly without any threat."
Rebel military chief Sultani Makenga was among those who had crossed the border either to Rwanda or Uganda, he added.
Army spokesman Colonel Olivier Hamuli said it was "a victory for the Congolese people" but it was now important to sue for peace.
"We now speak to other armed groups to surrender because if they don't want to, then we will disarm them by force," the army spokesman told the BBC.
A number of rebel factions operate in the two eastern provinces of North and South Kivu.
The information minister also warned that other rebel groups would now be targeted by the army. "There is no more place in our country for any irregular group," Mr Mende told AFP news agency.
The M23, made up mainly of ethnic Tutsis, had now been replaced as "top of the list" by the Rwandan Hutu FDLR militia, he said. "We are going to get on with disarming them."
Rwanda's Tutsi-led government has twice invaded DR Congo, saying it wanted to stop Hutu groups, such as the FDLR, from attacking its territory.
Analysts say that if the FDLR were defeated, this would remove Rwanda's main justification for its involvement in Congolese affairs, although it denies backing the M23.
US special envoy Russell Feingold told reporters in Pretoria the M23's announcement was "a significant, positive step". Rebels should be protected when they had disarmed, he said, but those guilty of serious crimes should not be given an amnesty.
Peace talks broke down in October in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, following two months of negotiations.
The Congolese army began a big offensive against rebel positions on 25 October, securing their last major stronghold at Bunagana on the Ugandan border last week.
The M23, made up of army deserters, was named after a 23 March 2009 peace deal signed by the government and a former militia.
The rebels accused the government of failing to live up to the terms of the agreement and took up arms in April 2012, at one point seizing the regional capital, Goma.
Earlier this year, heavy fighting broke out between rebel factions of the M23 which led to one of its leaders, Bosco Ntaganda, fleeing to the US embassy in Rwanda. The former Congolese army general, known as "the Terminator", then surrendered to the International Criminal Court to face trial in The Hague on war crimes charges.
The end of the M23 would send an intimidating message to the other groups, raising hopes of an end to two decades of conflict, BBC Africa security correspondent Moses Rono says.
Eastern DR Congo has been wracked by conflict since 1994, when Hutu militias fled across the border from Rwanda after carrying out a genocide against Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
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9f37c18cfc157f768a960324195096e9 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24959938 | Deaths at Libya anti-militia protest in Tripoli | Deaths at Libya anti-militia protest in Tripoli
At least 31 people have been killed and 235 injured in clashes in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, officials say, after militiamen opened fire on protesters.
The demonstrators had marched to the headquarters of the Misrata militia to demand that it leave Tripoli.
Hours after the incident, armed men returned to storm the compound, where militiamen are still holed up.
The Libyan government has been struggling to contain numerous militias who control many parts of the country.
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan gave a televised address in which he said all militias had to leave Tripoli without exception.
However, it is unclear how the authorities plan to dislodge them, the BBC's Rana Jawad reports from Tripoli.
There have been increasing demands from civilians that the militias - which emerged during the 2011 revolution - disband or join the army, in line with an end-of-year deadline set by the interim government in Tripoli.
Mr Zeidan also blamed TV stations for inflaming the situation and advised them to exercise control over who was speaking on TV, since Libya did not have "a stable democratic situation" which would allow for freedom of expression.
"The demonstration was peaceful and had been permitted by the interior ministry, and then the protesters were fired on when they entered the Gharghur district," where the headquarters of the militia are located, Mr Zeidan told Reuters.
Saddat al-Badri, the leader of Tripoli's local council, who was at the initial protest, also said the demonstration was peaceful, but that the militiamen "fired their weapons as soon as we arrived, there was a 106mm used, and even an RPG".
"The protesters were not armed and they were all there chanting 'Libya'," he said, adding that the city risked descending into armed warfare.
The scene of the confrontation remained volatile and tense on Friday evening, our correspondent reports.
Military jets could be seen and heard flying low over the Airport Road area earlier in the day, and heavy gunfire was ringing out.
Witnesses said that armed men had stormed the militia HQ hours after the protesters were shot at, with some buildings set on fire.
Army vehicles have reportedly arrived to seal off roads and try to separate the combatants.
The militia was involved in clashes in the capital last week which left two people dead.
Last month, Mr Zeidan was briefly seized by a militia group in Tripoli.
Two years after the overthrow of Col Muammar Gaddafi, Libya still has no constitution and divisions between secular and Islamist forces have paralysed parliament.
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3325848eb7afe2354a6f69a4b9009919 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25169194 | South Africans on Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom | South Africans on Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
South Africans are flocking to the cinemas to watch a film about their former President, Nelson Mandela. The movie Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, starring British actor Idris Elba, is based on the former political prisoner's autobiography of the same title and seems to be hitting the right notes.
I went to watch the epic 146-minute film in one of Johannesburg's busiest economic hubs, Rosebank, and I found very few critics of the film among the general public.
Almost everyone I spoke to expressed their pleasant surprise at how well the film came across. A big thumbs-up for the lead actor, given that he is not South African, let alone not being Xhosa, Mr Mandela's tribe. Some sang Elba's praises because they felt that he got the accent right - not exactly like Mr Mandela, but close enough.
Part of the legacy of the apartheid system is that two decades since the introduction of democracy, the minds of South Africans are still very much defined along racial lines. So inevitably I must tell you what the white people thought and what the black majority said.
In 1994, no-one thought we would still be talking about the colour of our skins in 2013 - especially considering the fact that we are just reviewing a film. However, that's the reality of today's South Africa.
Take Karabo Nkabinde, a teenage girl who can be best described as a born-free - the label attached to those who were born after the country was liberated from racial oppression and Nelson Mandela was elected president in the country's first multi-racial election.
Clad in a fashionable small black hat and thick-framed spectacles, she told me that she had loved the film because it reminded her of the sacrifices Mr Mandela had endured.
"He's actually been through a lot for us South Africans… for the youth and it is our job to make him proud," she said.
Her friend Kgomotso Maloka, wearing a glamorous maroon lip gloss, said that she was pleased that, as a young black person, she could watch a film about Mr Mandela in a climate of peace where both black and white lived together in harmony.
"My favourite part was the ending, when he got freed and so did everybody else. Freed from fear and from the past! The movie is very touching and it could get you crying!" she said.
I then met a young white couple just as they walked out from Cinema One at Rosebank's Ster Kinekor movie house holding hands. The man told me that he thought it was a very moving film which reminded him both of the liberation struggle and that there was still a long way to go to redress the imbalance of the past. They were shy to reveal their names.
After watching the film myself, I thought it was hard to squeeze such a rich life - including a 27-year prison sentence - into two hours without leaving out some key historical moments. And given that challenge, the film, in my view, captured the spirit of the man and his people in their desire to free themselves from the shackles of a brutal racist system.
While clearly the film was about Mandela the man, it also left me with a sense of the struggle of an entire people. When I asked a middle-aged white lady what she thought about the portrayal of the cigarette-smoking white men who ran the country under apartheid, she told me: "They were adequately portrayed, just as they were."
I personally thought the death of Chris Hani ought to have been marked, even if it meant doing it with one single frame. I mention Chris Hani because his assassination on that fateful Saturday morning on 10 April 1993 delivered what is today celebrated as the nation's biggest public holiday - Freedom Day on 27 April.
At the time of his death, Hani was the second most popular leader in the African National Congress after Nelson Mandela. He was shot by a Polish immigrant, Janusz Walus, in a killing ordered by right-wing politician Clive Derby-Lewis.
They are both serving life sentences for killing Hani, with the sole purpose of starting a racial conflagration - something Mr Mandela prevented, and which was the primary reason he won the Nobel Peace Prize.
There were reports that, in some cinemas near Soweto, people took a day off work to watch the film. One cinema manager was quoted as saying that attendance was "unusually high".
The film has broken box-office records for a non-holiday movie in South Africa, opening at number one.
However, even though it is about a much-loved figure like Mr Mandela, there has been some sharp criticism of Anant Singh's production.
Writing in The Times, a national daily newspaper, Tymon Smith said: "If you want to really get to grips with the man though, you can do better by reading the books. One day someone will make a film that says something new and interesting about Mandela, but this is not that film and it seems a wasted opportunity rather than the fulfilment of a dream.
"It is also unfortunate that, because of all the power, money and influence behind it, all future films will have to struggle in its undeservedly long shadow."
So, clearly not everybody is singing from the same hymn sheet. However, even Smith agrees in part that the actors are a class act: "The film certainly looks as good as any other epic and you can see the money on the screen."
I should mention here the local cast of stars is also something that could not go unnoticed. Take the Walter Sisulu character, the man who recruited Nelson Mandela into the ANC, played by the talented Tony Kgoroge.
He was just brilliant alongside Elba and another British actor, Naomie Harris, who plays Winnie Mandela. And there are many other local talents like him in this biopic.
Considering that Mr Mandela is recuperating from a long illness at home just a few blocks away from the cinema, I was struck by the reality of it all. We have become accustomed to watching big Hollywood blockbusters on our local screens and listening to stories about others, so how refreshing it is to see characters of the very people I had drinks with just a week ago.
This story is not just about Mr Mandela but is a story of the people through the life of one man.
That's what I take away from it. And with the current levels of poverty, inequality and unemployment which are in essence the legacy of apartheid, the story of the people continues where the film ends.
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a7ae5e3dbe580132bb8c8c8709440ee0 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25292929 | Egypt recovers ancient stolen statue of Tutankhamun's sister | Egypt recovers ancient stolen statue of Tutankhamun's sister
Egyptian police say they have recovered an ancient statue of Tutankhamun's sister, stolen during unrest in August.
The limestone figurine believed to be of Ankhesamon was among hundreds of artefacts taken from the museum in Mallawi, amid the unrest following the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi.
It was traced by police to a coffee shop owner in the Khan el-Khalili bazaar district of the capital, Cairo.
A senior official told the BBC the statue was largely in a good condition.
It needed some restoration work, but would go on display in a new museum devoted to the family of Tutankhamun's father, the Pharaoh Akhenaten, said Ahmed Sharaf, head of Egypt's museum department.
The family of Akhenaten, who ruled ancient Egypt around 1,500 BC, would now be reunited, said Mr Sharaf.
The Mallawi museum was one of several ransacked across the country during the riots which broke out as the security forces cracked down on Islamist supporters of Mr Morsi who were staging a sit-in in the capital, Cairo.
Antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said the 32cm (13 inch) statue of the girl was "one of the most important in the museum".
Mr Ibrahim told the AFP news agency that about 1,050 artefacts had been stolen at that time, of which about 800 had been recovered.
Egypt's ancient sites have been targeted by treasure-seekers for centuries, with the tomb of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamen famously surviving almost intact.
But the BBC's Arab Affairs editor Sebastian Usher says the upheavals in Egypt since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in 2011 have helped looters target museums and archaeological sites for ancient treasures to sell on the black market.
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1492afc457a38073edc8c94f2e721c58 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25386729 | Nelson Mandela buried at Qunu ancestral home | Nelson Mandela buried at Qunu ancestral home
Nelson Mandela's body has been laid to rest in a family plot, after political and religious leaders paid tribute to South Africa's first black president at a state funeral service.
His widow, Graca Machel, and President Jacob Zuma were present for the private, traditional Xhosa burial at Mr Mandela's ancestral home in Qunu.
Mr Zuma had earlier told the larger funeral service that South Africans had to take his legacy forward.
Mr Mandela died on 5 December aged 95.
The last of 10 days of commemorations for Mr Mandela began with his coffin being taken on a gun carriage from his home to a giant marquee where his portrait hung behind 95 candles - each representing a year of his life.
The coffin, draped in the South African flag, was placed beneath a lectern where speakers paid their tributes.
Some guests sang and danced to celebrate Mr Mandela's life as the service began.
After the national anthem, the service heard from a family spokesman, Chief Ngangomhlaba Matanzima, who thanked the army medical team that had treated Mr Mandela before he died.
"A great tree has fallen, he is now going home to rest with his forefathers. We thank them for lending us such an icon."
Close friend Ahmed Kathrada, told mourners he had lost an "elder brother" who was with him for many years in prison on Robben island.
Mr Kathrada's voice filled with emotion as he spoke of the difficulty of recent months and of how he had held his friend's hand the last time he saw him in hospital.
"Farewell my dear brother, my mentor, my leader," he said.
Two grandchildren then addressed the congregation. Ndaba who
read an obituary
, and Nandi, who spoke fondly of her grandfather as a disciplinarian.
"We shall miss you... your stern voice when you are not pleased with our behaviour. We shall miss your laughter," said Nandi.
Listening to the tributes were Graca Machel and Mr Mandela's second wife, Winnie-Madikizela Mandela. They sat either side of President Jacob Zuma.
Both women were praised for their love and tolerance, in an address by Malawi's President Joyce Banda.
African National Congress members, veterans of the fight against apartheid and foreign dignitaries - including several African presidents and the Prince of Wales - were among the guests.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu - a long-time friend of Nelson Mandela - was also there, as was US talk-show host Oprah Winfrey.
While the service took place, a 21-gun salute sounded far away in Pretoria.
President Zuma, who was booed at last week's stadium commemoration in Soweto, led the service in song before giving his funeral oration.
It had been been a long and painful week, he said.
"Whilst the long walk to freedom has ended in the physical sense, our own journey continues."
An unexpected contribution came from Kenneth Kaunda, 89-year-old former president of Zambia, who lightened the tone of the proceedings by jogging to the stage.
He recounted failed appeals he had made to two South African leaders, John Vorster and PW Botha, for the release of Mr Mandela and his ANC colleagues from prison.
As the political tributes overran, the organisers made an unsuccessful attempt to cut back the religious element of the service.
The master of ceremonies, ANC Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, had earlier explained that burial had to take place at midday, in line with the traditions of Mr Mandela's Thembu tribe in Qunu.
"A person of Mandela's stature is meant to be laid to rest when the sun is at its highest and when the shadow is at its shortest."
The BBC's Pumza Fihlani says it was a fitting send-off for a man widely seen as the "father of the nation".
As the state funeral drew to a close, military pallbearers carried the coffin to the grave site for the more private ceremony.
There, a chaplain spoke of Mr Mandela achieving ultimate freedom at the end of a "truly long walk".
George Bizos, another close friend who was part of Mr Mandela's legal team at his
1964 Rivonia trial
, was among those who attended the private burial.
"We have known each other for 65 years. Now he is gone," he said.
Three helicopters trailing South African flags then flew over the scene followed by six jets. TV pictures of the grave site came to a close.
British entrepreneur Richard Branson, who attended the burial, said Desmond Tutu told mourners Nelson Mandela "doesn't need a stone - he is in all of our hearts".
The former archbishop was at the private ceremony despite conflicting statements on Friday about whether he had been invited.
According to tradition, the Thembu community were holding a private traditional Xhosa ceremony - including songs and poems about Mr Mandela's life and his achievements.
An ox was due to be slaughtered and a family elder was to stay near the coffin, to talk "to the body's spirit".
'Sad but happy'
The burial brought to an end more than a week of mourning across South Africa.
Tens of thousands of people flocked to the FNB stadium for a public memorial on Tuesday, to hear President Barack Obama and other international leaders pay tribute to Mr Mandela.
Over the next three days, at least 100,000 people saw the former president's body lying in state in Pretoria. Thousands more had to be turned away.
On Saturday, Mr Mandela's coffin was flown from Waterkloof airbase in Pretoria to Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.
A military guard of honour then took the casket on a 20-mile (32km) route to Qunu, where Mr Mandela had wanted to spend his final days.
Crowds waving flags and cheering and singing lined the route, which culminated at the Mandela homestead.
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4faec1f92150bfec3a3668461523c36c | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25469736 | South Sudan crisis: Deadly attack on UN base condemned | South Sudan crisis: Deadly attack on UN base condemned
The UN mission to South Sudan has condemned Thursday's attack on its base in which two Indian peacekeepers and at least 11 civilians were killed.
Unmiss said the perpetrators of the "heinous crime" in Akobo, Jonglei state, must be brought to justice.
A similar attack is feared at another UN base where several thousand armed youths are reported to have gathered.
Clashes began in South Sudan when President Salva Kiir accused his ex-deputy of a failed coup a week ago.
At least 500 people are believed to have died since last weekend.
An estimated 34,000 people have taken refuge
at UN compounds.
The unrest has pitted gangs from the Nuer ethnic group of former Vice President Riek Machar against Dinkas - the majority group to which Mr Kiir belongs.
A number of countries have begun evacuating their nationals.
Britain was sending another flight
on Friday, a day after a military transport plane evacuated 182 people, including 53 Britons, to Uganda.
Uganda has sent a small contingent of troops to help pull out its nationals.
A US plane was also due to take Americans out of the country. And China's National Petroleum Company was evacuating oil workers to Juba.
France's ambassador to the UN, Gerard Araud, said there were fears of another assault as armed youths gathered near the UN compound in the town of Bor, in Jonglei, on Friday.
The base shelters some 14,000 civilians.
Earlier, Unmiss said two Indian peacekeepers were killed on and one injured on Thursday when some 2,000 armed youths believed to be of Nuer ethnicity surrounded the base in Akobo and opened fire "in the direction of Sudanese civilians of the Dinka ethnic group who had sought refuge in the compound".
Unmiss said at least 11 South Sudanese civilians also died. It had earlier put the death toll at 20.
Unmiss said all its personnel - along with civilians and members of non-governmental organisations - had now been airlifted from the base.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday in an Unmiss compound at the airport in the capital Juba.
It is one of several areas where clashes have occurred.
Also on Friday, President Kiir told African mediators he agreed to "unconditional dialogue" to stop the violence.
He made the commitment during a meeting with foreign ministers from Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda.
President Kiir has blamed the violence on soldiers who support Mr Machar. Mr Machar, who was sacked by Mr Kiir in July, has denied trying to stage a coup. His whereabouts remain unknown.
Jonglei state has witnessed some of the worst violence since South Sudan became independent in 2011, with hundreds killed in periodic clashes between rival heavily-armed ethnic militias sparked by cattle-rustling.
Following decades of conflict, weapons - such as machine guns - are widely available in much of South Sudan.
Forces commanded by Gen Peter Gadet, who is loyal to Mr Machar, are said to be in control of the town of Bor - the capital of the Jonglei state.
Gen Gadet launched his campaign after reports of his fellow Nuers being killed.
South Sudan's government insists the clashes are over power and politics, not between ethnic groups.
The oil-rich country has struggled to achieve a stable government since becoming independent.
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7a37dc94ac9d462a2c39a86410a88a13 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25476920 | South Sudan evacuation aircraft fired on, US troops hurt | South Sudan evacuation aircraft fired on, US troops hurt
Four US service personnel on an evacuation mission have been wounded after their aircraft were shot at in South Sudan, the US military says.
The three CV-22 Ospreys were attacked as they approached Bor, which is occupied by forces loyal to the former Vice-President Riek Machar, it added.
South Sudan has been in turmoil since President Salva Kiir accused Mr Machar a week ago of attempting a coup.
Mr Machar told the BBC the rebels were under his control.
He was in control of large parts of the country, he said, and troops loyal to him had also seized control of Unity, a state on the border with Sudan which produces much of the country's oil.
He added that he was prepared to negotiate with the government if politicians arrested earlier this week were released.
At least 500 people have been killed since the fighting began.
The US military said the Ospreys, aircraft which can fly both like helicopters and like planes, were involved in the evacuation of US citizens from Bor.
A statement said all three aircraft were damaged by small arms fire by unknown forces as they approached the town.
The aircraft returned to Uganda's Entebbe airport, from where the wounded service personnel were transferred onto a US Air Force C-17 transport aircraft and taken on to Nairobi, Kenya, it added.
All four were treated and are in a stable condition, the statement said.
The BBC's former Sudan correspondent James Copnall, who spoke to Mr Machar, says his forces were likely to have fired on the aircraft thinking they were Ugandan.
Uganda is one of a number of other countries trying to evacuate their citizens from South Sudan.
It has sent troops to take part in the operation. They will also try to secure the capital Juba, just 75km (50 miles) from the border, reports say.
However, Uganda has denied reports that it has been helping the South Sudanese army by bombing Mr Machar's forces in eastern Jonglei state, of which Bor is the capital.
The army is trying to retake Bor. Jonglei is one of the most volatile regions in the country.
Troops backed by helicopter gunships were advancing on the town, army spokesman Philip Aguer told the French AFP news agency.
A spokesman for UN peacekeepers Unmiss in Bor said considerable numbers of people had arrived over the past 24 hours from surrounding areas seeking their protection.
In Unity state, a major oil-producing region, a senior commander, General James Koang, was reported to have defected to Mr Machar's forces.
Mr Machar said General Koang was now in control of the state, but the military, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), says he defected alone and did not take any forces with him.
A resident in Unity state told the BBC that Gen Koang announced on local radio he had joined Mr Machar's rebellion.
On Friday African mediators held talks with Mr Kiir in an attempt to avert civil war.
The talks are set to continue and US Secretary of State John Kerry said he was sending a special envoy, Ambassador Donald Booth, to help foster dialogue.
President Kiir, a member of the majority Dinka ethnic group, sacked Mr Machar, who is from the Nuer community, in July.
He said that last Sunday night uniformed personnel opened fire at a meeting of the governing party, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).
Violence then broke out in Juba and has since spread across the country, pitting gangs of Nuer and Dinka against each other.
The whereabouts of Mr Machar, who has denied trying to stage a coup, remain unknown.
Thousands of civilians have flocked to UN compounds seeking shelter from the unrest.
The UN on Friday condemned an attack on its compound in Akobo, Jonglei state, a day earlier in which two Indian peacekeepers and at least 11 civilians were killed.
Jonglei state has seen some of the worst violence since South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011, with hundreds killed in periodic clashes between rival heavily-armed ethnic militias sparked by cattle-rustling.
Following decades of conflict, weapons are widely available across much of South Sudan.
South Sudan's government insists the clashes are over power and politics, not between ethnic groups.
President Kiir said the majority of those arrested after Sunday's alleged coup attempt were Dinka, not Nuer.
The oil-rich country has struggled to achieve a stable government since becoming independent.
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2c412e920b1853ce47b3a42ed3b6d3c7 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25502457 | South Sudan sees 'mass ethnic killings' | South Sudan sees 'mass ethnic killings'
New evidence is emerging of alleged ethnic killings committed during more than a week of fighting in South Sudan.
The violence follows a power struggle between President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, and his Nuer ex-deputy Riek Machar.
A reporter in the capital, Juba, quoted witnesses as saying more than 200 people, mostly ethnic Nuers, had been shot by security forces.
The UN says it has discovered a mass grave in Bentiu in the oil-rich Unity State, containing about 75 bodies.
"There are reportedly at least two other mass graves in Juba," UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said in a statement.
A spokeswoman for the Geneva-based human rights office told the BBC the ethnicity of those killed in Bentiu was unclear - but there are reports they are ethnic Dinkas.
Ravina Shamdasani said the other two reported mass graves were in Jebel-Kujur and Newside, near Eden.
She said it was not clear who was responsible for the killings.
The fighting first erupted in Juba last week and has spread throughout South Sudan, with rebels supporting Mr Machar seizing the major towns of Bor and Bentiu, north of the capital.
Bentiu is the capital of the oil-producing Unity State.
Mr Kiir has accused Mr Machar, whom he sacked in July, of plotting a coup. Mr Machar denies he is trying to seize power, while the government has denied it is behind any ethnic violence.
The fear is that the personal rivalry between the former allies will spark a full-scale conflict between the Nuer and Dinka groups.
Hannah McNeish, a journalist in Juba, told the BBC that she had interviewed a man called Simon, living at a UN camp, who said he was shot four times but managed to survive a mass killing by hiding under dead bodies.
"He tells of being rounded up with about 250 other men, driven to a police station in one of Juba's busiest suburbs. He describes an ordeal whereby over the course of two days, forces outside the windows fired into this room, killing all but 12 men," she said.
McNeish said this account had been corroborated by two other survivors at the camp.
Another man interviewed at the UN base in Juba reported that Dinka gunmen were shooting people in Nuer districts who did not speak the Dinka language.
UN humanitarian co-ordinator Toby Lanzer, who was in Bor over the weekend, told the BBC he had witnessed "some of the most horrible things that one can imagine".
The claims of atrocities have not been independently verified.
The official death toll stands at 500, but aid agencies say the true figure is likely to be much higher.
There has also been fighting in Upper Nile State but few details have emerged.
Another 81,000 people have been displaced, the UN's humanitarian agency says, with about half seeking shelter at UN bases.
It warned many more people could be affected in more remote areas.
The UN has 7,000 soldiers deployed in South Sudan, but on Monday, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the Security Council to reassign another 5,500 troops from UN missions in other African countries, including Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He also asked for hundreds more police, three attack helicopters, three transport helicopters and one military transport plane.
He has said all reports of human rights violations and crimes against humanity will be investigated and those responsible held accountable.
Two Indian peacekeepers were killed last week in a rebel raid on a UN compound.
President Kiir has said he is willing to hold talks with Mr Machar - and that a delegation of East African foreign ministers had offered to mediate - but that his former deputy would have to come to the table without any conditions.
Mr Machar told Reuters news agency that he was open to dialogue if his political allies were released from detention.
Sudan suffered a 22-year civil war that left more than a million people dead before the South became independent in 2011.
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4935b0fc321863ca0901bb2c1480adf2 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25637619 | Zambia's Frank Bwalya charged over Michael Sata potato jibe | Zambia's Frank Bwalya charged over Michael Sata potato jibe
An opposition politician in Zambia has been arrested and charged with defamation after he compared the president to a potato.
Frank Bwalya allegedly described President Michael Sata as "chumbu mushololwa" on radio on Monday.
The Bemba language phrase refers to a sweet potato that breaks when it is bent and is used to describe someone who does not listen to advice.
Mr Bwalya faces a maximum jail term of five years if he is convicted.
He is a former pastor and supporter of Mr Sata. He now heads the opposition Alliance for a Better Zambia (ABZ) party.
Deputy Home Affairs Minister Steven Kampyongo said Mr Bwalya had been arrested for making defamatory remarks against the president.
"President Sata is the same old man who was on all radio stations defaming former Presidents Banda and Mwanawasa and nobody arrested him," said ABZ secretary-general Eric Chanda, the AFP news agency reports.
Opposition National Restoration Party (NRP) leader Elias Chipimo demanded Mr Bwalya's release, saying he was a fearless politician.
"Zambia desperately needs leaders that will openly declare - when necessary - that 'the King is naked'," Mr Chipimo added in a statement.
The phrase "chumbu mushololwa" was not an insult, he added.
"It describes a person who lacks flexibility and who like a potato [icumbu] will only break when you try to change their fixed ideas," he said.
In September, Nevers Mumba of the opposition Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) was questioned by police after allegedly calling Mr Sata a liar.
In 2005, a Zambian man, Edward Longe, was sentenced to nine months in prison for insulting then-President Mwanawasa in a bar.
In 2002, a newspaper editor was arrested for calling Mr Mwanawasa, who died in 2008, a "cabbage".
The charges were subsequently dropped.
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b657754bcd19b4bee07d4edcdbff9ddc | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25855025 | Morocco amends controversial rape marriage law | Morocco amends controversial rape marriage law
The parliament of Morocco has unanimously amended an article of the penal code that allowed rapists of underage girls to avoid prosecution by marrying their victims.
The move follows intensive lobbying by activists for better protection of young rape victims. The amendment has been welcomed by rights groups.
Article 475 of the penal code generated unprecedented public criticism.
It was first proposed by Morocco's Islamist-led government a year ago.
But the issue came to public prominence in 2012 when 16-year-old Amina Filali killed herself after being forced to marry her rapist.
She accused Moustapha Fellak, who at the time was about 25, of physical abuse after they married, which he denies. After seven months of marriage, Ms Filali swallowed rat poison.
The case shocked many people in Morocco, received extensive media coverage and sparked protests in the capital Rabat and other cities.
Article 475 provides for a prison term of one to five years for anyone who "abducts or deceives" a minor "without violence, threat or fraud, or attempts to do so".
But the second clause of the article specifies that when the victim marries the perpetrator, "he can no longer be prosecuted except by persons empowered to demand the annulment of the marriage and then only after the annulment has been proclaimed". This effectively prevents prosecutors from independently pursuing rape charges.
In conservative rural parts of Morocco, an unmarried girl or woman who has lost her virginity - even through rape - is considered to have dishonoured her family and no longer suitable for marriage. Some families believe that marrying the rapist addresses these problems.
While welcoming the move, rights groups say that much still needs to be done to promote gender equality, protect women and outlaw child marriage in the North African country.
"It's a very important step. But it's not enough," Fatima Maghnaoui, who heads a group supporting women victims of violence, told the AFP news agency.
"We are campaigning for a complete overhaul of the penal code for women."
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aff4e5df3e2f63a396507e4e41bef468 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25860645 | Kenya athletes threaten boycott over tax | Kenya athletes threaten boycott over tax
Some of Kenya's top athletes have threatened to stop representing their nation at international competitions like the Olympics over new tax laws.
Wesley Korir, an MP and former Boston marathon winner, said athletes would end up paying tax twice as they already pay tax on their winnings abroad.
Addressing a forum of athletes in Eldoret, he said athletes only pocket about 15% of their earnings.
The move could also see many athletes changing nationality, he said.
Kenya is home to some of the world's best middle- and long-distance runners.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) wants prize-winning athletes to pay the top rate of tax - 30% - on their earnings from this month.
But addressing the meeting at the University of Eldoret grounds in Kenya's Rift Valley, Mr Korir said the authorities should see the athletes as an asset.
"The breakdown for taxation and deductions is as follows: 30 to 35% for the country of origin, 15% for the agent, 10% for the manager, and now the KRA wants to add salt to injury by slapping a 30% tax of that amount," the Reuters news agency quoted him as saying.
"On behalf of the athletes, I say no - we say no taxation," he said to applause, a Kenyan TV report shows.
"When these athletes will stop going to the track to run, in the Olympics or the World Championships, that's when the importance of an athlete will be felt."
Other countries tended to reward their athletes - and these punitive measures could have long-reaching consequences, the MP said.
"Qatar pays Olympic medal in dollars… we are sounding the alarm that KRA may trigger a massive athletes' exodus," Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper
quoted him as saying
.
Florence Kiplagat, a two-time world champion, agreed, Reuters reports.
"If this matter goes on like this, I will defect to another country which will appreciate my effort," she said.
"We are taxed abroad. Then we invest our remaining earnings here although the government does nothing to support us. We work hard to give this nation a positive image abroad yet we get nothing in return."
Several high profile Kenyan runners have already switched their nationalities in recent years.
Tax has put other sports stars off running in some countries, like Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.
He only appears at events in the UK when the government gives a tax exemption, as the country not only taxes earnings, but also taxes a proportion of an athlete's global sponsorship income.
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8f3fcb192caf65dd05ff781fcefc6e65 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25894161 | Egyptian embassy staff 'seized' in Libya | Egyptian embassy staff 'seized' in Libya
At least four Egyptian embassy personnel have been kidnapped in the Libyan capital Tripoli, the Libyan foreign ministry says.
Another embassy official was seized in the Libyan capital on Friday.
Several kidnappings of officials in Libya recently have been blamed on militias. They are often paid by the government, but their allegiance and who controls them remain in doubt.
On Friday a Libyan militia commander was arrested in Egypt.
Shabaan Hadiya is the leader of the Revolutionaries' Operation Room, one of the militias that sprang up during the fight to topple Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Libyan government officials blamed the Operation Room for the brief abduction of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan in October 2013.
Among the Egyptian embassy staff seized overnight was the cultural attache.
An administrative adviser was abducted on Friday. A high-ranking member of the Operation Room denied any involvement in that kidnapping, Reuters news agency reported.
An Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman, Badr Abd-al-Ati, said that the administrative attache had contacted embassy staff in Tripoli to say he was being well-treated, Egypt's Mena news agency reported.
High-profile contacts were underway to free the personnel, the agency added.
Meanwhile, the presidency of the General National Congress, Libya's highest political authority, ordered the ambassador in Cairo to demand an explanation of Shabaan Hadiya's arrest, according to the AFP news agency.
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a48a2fd11ce2ff57894c0ae76b3f540a | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-26034078 | Zimbabwe’s multi-currency confusion | Zimbabwe’s multi-currency confusion
Once known for its billion dollar notes and hyper-inflation, Zimbabwe must be the only place in the world to have eight currencies as legal tender - none of them its own.
For the last five years most people have been using US dollars or South African rand, but pula from Botswana and British pound sterling have also been changing hands.
Now the central bank is also allowing the use of Australian dollars, Chinese yuan, Indian rupees and Japanese yen.
For the moment, customers can open bank accounts in these currencies but the hard cash is not yet in circulation.
"I definitely think there is going to be confusion being caused by so many currencies - for a cashier to be handling so many currencies at the same time," says Denford Mutashu, general manager of Food World, a nationwide supermarket chain.
Currently most shops in the capital, Harare, mark prices in US dollars. The rand is more commonly used in Bulawayo, closer to the South African border - and cashiers check daily exchange rate for conversions.
Acting central bank governor Charity Dhliwayo says she hopes the move will bring in more cash, as a liquidity crisis has meant some banks have stopped lending, making imports difficult.
But there is concern that with more currencies, transactions could become more tedious, leading to long queues at the till.
"We wait to see how this will shape up. Shoppers want quicker, easier transactions, not to be bogged down negotiating currencies when you are racing against time to get public transport home or to work," admits Mr Mutashu.
"People don't have time to waste any more. We will have to find ways to expedite the transactions."
The central bank said that over Christmas, when there was a severe shortage of cash, there was also a surge in counterfeit currency.
Given the complexities of the multiple currency system, there are now fears that forgery will be easier with unfamiliar notes.
However, it may mean that small change, which has long been scarce, will become available in shops.
Zimbabwe's liquidity crisis means shopkeepers and market traders often give change in sweets, airtime for mobile phones and even condoms.
"If it makes our life easier for us, that's ok. At the moment we don't have change -if it's going to make transactions easier, [then it is] better," said one shopper in his mid-50s, who was buying bread and vegetables in Harare Food World.
Tawanda Huruwa, a small-scale miner, is more cautious about the news that he can open up bank accounts in currencies from four more countries.
"Personally, as a Zimbabwean doing business I am not comfortable with using these currencies. What I want to see is how the banks themselves will respond to the use of these currencies."
"I am not happy using these currencies," adds Cuthbert, a 45-year-old taxi driver. "We do not know the currency, even the exchange rates; I do not think it's necessary to use this currency. Even the banks can lie to us."
His colleague, Farayi 20, feels the introduction of the yuan heralds yet more influence from China on the economy.
"They are trying to get the whole African market. So it is a way of colonising in some sense. What do we benefit out of this Chinese currency - that's the big question - because at the moment these guys are not banking here in Zimbabwe but actually they are taking all the money out of Zimbabwe," he says.
But a second-hand car businessman says the multi-currency system is an advantage for him.
"We have the option of using many currencies given different clients we deal with," the Zimbabwean businessman, based in Japan, says.
"We are immune from constant currency fluctuations if we are operating the same currency accounts in Japan and Zimbabwe."
For economist Christopher Mugaga, the introduction of new currencies is not the solution to Zimbabwe's economic woes, with its chronic unemployment and shrinking manufacturing sector.
"Bringing on board more currencies will not change the trajectory of any economy," he said.
"You hear about the corporate bankrupts, companies are closing, shops - our unemployment rate is always on the increase. Banks are almost freezing their loan books simply because the economy is almost in an intensive care unit.
"It's not all auguring well in terms of trying to attract any investment in the country."
One elderly shopper in Food World, buying 5kg of the staple food, maize meal, says the severe cash shortages, which meant the festive season was hard to endure, make her nostalgic for the Zimbabwean dollar.
"We want our currency, we want our Zimbabwean money," she says.
During last year's election campaign, allies of President Robert Mugabe hinted at this, prompting warnings it could lead to a return of hyper-inflation, which was cured by the introduction of foreign currencies.
However Ms Dhliwayo says the central bank has no such plans, and for Mr Mugaga the prospect is "unimaginable".
"For the ordinary Zimbabwean it's going to be quite tough, a difficult year," he warns.
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367edae21a24616865b4c97233ac464d | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-26035238 | JD 'Okhai Ojeikere: Nigeria's top photographer dies | JD 'Okhai Ojeikere: Nigeria's top photographer dies
One of Africa's most prominent photographers, JD 'Okhai Ojeikere, has died in Lagos, Nigeria, aged 83.
His family announced that he had passed away on Sunday afternoon, after a brief illness.
He was best known for his series of about 1,000 black and white photos of African hairstyles.
Last year a selection of them was shown at the Venice Biennale. They were also exhibited at Documenta in 2007, and in many galleries and museums.
Ojeikere grew up in a village in south-western Nigeria and started taking pictures with a Brownie D camera when he was 20 years old.
In 1954 he began working as a darkroom assistant in the photographic department of Ibadan's Ministry of Information.
Five years later, shortly after Nigeria gained independence, he became a photographer for the Western Nigerian Broadcasting Services, and in 1963 he moved to Lagos.
"We had so many dreams at the time. We thought a country so rich in natural resources could really go ahead on its own. But our dreams were shattered by tribalism," he told the BBC's Manuel Toledo in 2010.
"Then came the military dictatorships, one after another, for so many years. It makes me sad to think that things have not changed much. You see the same elites holding on to power and getting richer and richer," he said.
"The state has never really cared about the arts here and, although we have many people who are very rich, we also lack good private institutions for the promotions of the arts," he lamented.
He began working on his Hairstyle series in the late 1960s after he joined the Nigerian Arts Council and began documenting the country's culture.
At the same time, he was taking hundreds of pictures - many still unpublished - of some of the now iconic buildings of Lagos as they were being built, including the National Theatre.
But he did not forget his village life and in his private album of architectural photos he kept some of ant hills. "For me, they're the first skyscrapers," he joked.
His family said that his burial arrangements will be announced later.
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034fd9bcaf0507404b35cf48b86f71d0 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-26186194 | Kenya's battle to end 'sex for fish' trade | Kenya's battle to end 'sex for fish' trade
The shores of Lake Victoria in western Kenya bustle with business - wooden fishing boats competing for space, carrying in the morning catch of tilapia, perch or catfish.
Under the scorching sun, the fishermen bargain with those queuing up to buy: mainly women, who hope to make a small profit at the local market.
But in this deeply poor part of Kenya, the transaction between fisherman and female market seller is rarely a financial one.
The currency is sex, not money: women selling their bodies in the hope of taking back a prize catch.
The practice is known colloquially as "sex for fish" - or, in the Luo language of the area, "jaboya".
Lucy Odhiambo, 35, prepares her latest purchase for the market, descaling the fish and slitting them open to remove their innards. A widow and mother of five, she says women here are in a bind.
"I'm forced to pay for the fish with sex because I have no other means," she tells the BBC.
"Usually I sleep with one or two fishermen a week. I could get diseases but I have no other choice: I have my children to send to school. Jaboya is an evil practice."
The "disease" is indeed widespread here - the HIV infection rate in this area is almost 15%, double the national average - and it is largely down to "sex for fish".
But, slowly, the tide is turning.
Agnes Auma takes me out on the lake aboard a boat she now owns.
It is steered by fishermen she employs and when they catch the fish, she manages the sale.
Some of the money is paid to her staff, some is used to repay the cost of the boat - and the rest she keeps.
It is a project run by a local charity called Vired, supported by the US Peace Corps, and it is changing the lives of the women involved.
We talk as the boat winds its way past reeds and water hyacinth, the fishermen sweating as they navigate the narrow path.
"I saw I would have died, giving up my body for fish - and I couldn't continue," Ms Auma says.
"This project means I no longer have to depend on men to survive. I can fend for myself. And when I repay the money for the boat, I do it with a clean conscience."
As we reach the open lake, the net is unfurled for Ms Auma's catch.
A few minutes later, it is brought in: kilograms of silver cyprinid - the size of whitebait - glisten in the morning sun.
And then a large lungfish is brought up, slithering on to the boat as Ms Auma keeps watch.
"I'm very happy and proud of my fishermen and I'm very happy that I'm a strong fisher lady," she says with a smile.
To date, just 19 women are part of the project but Vired hopes it will gradually build.
"Sex for fish is very dangerous because every day we realise that people are dying from HIV and Aids," says Dan Abuto from the charity.
"We need to ignite these women, to empower them so they can take charge of their destiny. We are very proud because it's having a positive impact."
But this is just one part of a country where "jaboya" is common.
And even here, there are plenty of fishermen still happy to accept payment in kind.
I meet one, Felix Ochieng, a 26-year-old who is married but still sleeps with three women a week in return for his fish.
He tells me sometimes a female customer will pay 500 Kenyan shillings ($6; £3.50) in cash and another 500 shillings with their body.
"I inherited this practice from my father, who used to do the same," he says, promising he uses a condom.
I ask if he is ashamed of what he does.
"Yes I am ashamed," he replies, staring out at the lake, "and it's a bad thing. But there are temptations that come with women."
Still some way to go then to eradicate a risky, long-entrenched practice.
But little by little, the numbers involved are falling and the women of Lake Victoria are understanding the dangers involved.
To end "sex for fish" for good, though, will require a change of mindset, for gender attitudes to be overturned.
And that will be far harder: a challenge to bring the purchase of fish here above board for good.
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89dc966d3193b6294dc012a0b86f044e | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-26327037 | Seven Egyptian Christians found dead near Benghazi | Seven Egyptian Christians found dead near Benghazi
The bodies of seven Egyptian Christians have been found on a beach near the Libyan city of Benghazi, officials say.
They died after being shot in the head and chest, security officials said.
A Libyan interior ministry official told the BBC's Rana Jawad that authorities could not "at this stage speculate on the motive of the crime".
The Libyan government has struggled to impose order since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, and killings and assassinations have become common.
Last month, a British man and a woman from New Zealand were shot execution-style west of the capital Tripoli.
Egypt evacuated its diplomatic missions in Tripoli and Benghazi last month following the abduction of five of its diplomats in Tripoli.
They were subsequently released unharmed.
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4e551ee2b752f483e7a21adb1f6bf2ce | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-26334682 | Pistorius case: Partial televising of trial allowed | Pistorius case: Partial televising of trial allowed
A South African judge has ruled that the trial of athlete Oscar Pistorius can be partially televised.
Mr Pistorius shot his girlfriend, the model and reality TV star Reeva Steenkamp, more than a year ago, and his murder trial begins next Monday.
State prosecutors allege the killing was premeditated, but he claims he mistook her for an intruder.
The BBC's Pumza Fihlani says it will be the first time parts of a trial in South Africa are televised live.
Judge Dunstan Mlambo at the court in Pretoria was asked to decide how much, if any, of the proceedings could be filmed and broadcast live.
The application was brought by media groups MultiChoice, eNCA and Eyewitness News, reported Sapa news agency.
Justice Mlambo said the entire audio of the trial could be broadcast live, and sections of the trial could be filmed and televised live.
These included opening arguments, evidence of experts, police witnesses and closing arguments.
The testimony of the accused and his witnesses were exempt, the judge said.
Three cameras could be set up to be operated remotely - and no close-ups or recordings of private conversations were allowed, he said.
Witnesses could apply in writing if they did not want to be on camera - and allowances could be made to have faces obscured or filmed from the back, he added.
MultiChoice is planning 24-hour coverage of the trial on its own dedicated channel - the Oscar Pistorius Trial channel - which is due to begin broadcasting on Sunday.
Defence lawyers had said it would prejudice proceedings.
Justice Mlambo said the broadcast of a "celebrity" trial might go a long way to address misconceptions about justice system.
However, he warned against a trial by media and said the court could be the only place where Mr Pistorius was tried.
Ms Steenkamp, 29, was shot three times through the toilet door of Mr Pistorius' Pretoria home in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year.
Mr Pistorius said he thought she was a burglar and denies prosecution claims that they had an argument in the hours before the shooting.
Much of the case will depend on ballistic evidence from the scene of the shooting, correspondents say.
The arrest of the national sporting hero astounded South Africa.
The 27-year-old double amputee won gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games and also competed at the Olympics.
As well as the charge of premeditated murder, Mr Pistorius also faces a charge of illegal possession of ammunition.
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572766cc8b484a8a493954649f2728e8 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-26533594 | Libya PM Zeidan dismissed as oil tanker 'breaks blockade' | Libya PM Zeidan dismissed as oil tanker 'breaks blockade'
Libya's parliament has dismissed PM Ali Zeidan after a tanker laden with oil from a rebel-held port reportedly broke through a naval blockade.
MPs called a vote of confidence in Mr Zeidan after they were told the North Korean-flagged ship had escaped to sea.
Defence Minister Abdullah al-Thinni was named interim prime minister.
Earlier, Libyan officials had said they had "complete control" of the tanker as it tried to leave the port of Sidra. But the rebels rejected the assertion.
Separatist militants have occupied three major eastern ports since August.
They are seeking a greater share of the country's oil revenues, as well as autonomy for the historic eastern region of Cyrenaica.
The tanker - named Morning Glory - was reported to have taken on at least 234,000 barrels of crude at Sidra's oil terminal.
It was the first vessel to have loaded oil from a rebel-held port since the separatist revolt against the central government in Tripoli erupted in July.
The government is still struggling to assert its authority over the armed groups and tribesmen who helped topple Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The BBC's Rana Jawad in Tripoli says Mr Zeidan's removal is likely to raise more concerns over the stability of Libya as it struggles to maintain control over large parts of the country.
Members of Libya's parliament, the General National Congress, said that bad weather had stopped the navy's ships from following the tanker into the Mediterranean from Sidra.
Abdelkader Houili, a member of the GNC's energy committee, told al-Nabaa TV that the navy vessels had been forced to sail close to the coast.
"The tanker then took advantage of the gap to head for the open sea," he said.
Analysts say it is unlikely the ship is owned or controlled by North Korea and it is probably sailing under a flag of convenience to keep its true ownership secret.
On Monday, the GNC ordered a special force to be deployed to "liberate" all rebel-held oil terminals. The operation is due to start within one week.
Libya's government has tried to curb protests at oil fields and ports, which have seen vital oil revenues plummet.
However, there has been little progress at the indirect talks between officials and Ibrahim Jathran, a former anti-Gaddafi militia leader and regional head of the Petroleum Facilities Guard who is now leading the protests.
His demands include the formation of an independent commission representing the three historic regions of Libya, which will supervise the sale of oil and ensure the country's east gets a greater share of revenues.
Libya's oil output has slowed to a trickle since the protests started in July last year, depriving the Opec producer of its main budget source.
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1e041cbd5a2ba55dfc6c3a95f87a3d13 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27005788 | Guinea-Bissau votes for new president and parliament | Guinea-Bissau votes for new president and parliament
Voting has ended in presidential and parliamentary elections in Guinea-Bissau with no reported problems or incidents.
The impoverished west African country of 1.6 million is plagued by corruption and cocaine trafficking.
It is the first election since a coup in 2012, after which the EU and others suspended aid donations.
With a history of coups, no elected leader has served a full term since independence from Portugal in 1974.
A BBC reporter in the capital Bissau said turnout appeared to be high as he saw large queues at polling stations.
There were 13 candidates for president and 15 parties fielding candidates for parliament.
Among the presidential hopefuls are political heavyweights such as former Finance Minister Jose Mario Vaz, and Abel Incada, a member of the Party for Social Renewal (PRS) of former President Kumba Yala, who died last week.
The dark horse, however, could be 50-year-old independent candidate Paulo Gomes, an unusual proposition in a political landscape hitherto dominated by political grandees who made their names during the war of independence.
A gifted economist who has spent most of his life working abroad, including as the leader of the World Bank's sub-Saharan Africa division, he believes he has the know-how to begin to turn around the country's fortunes.
The west African nation has stagnated since 2012, under the rule of a transitional government backed by its all-powerful military.
With few resources other than cashew nuts and fish, South American drug cartels have turned the country into a cocaine trafficking hub.
The money that generates has corrupted many of the country's public institutions, particularly its armed forces.
A year ago, the US charged 2012 coup leader Antonio Indjai with drug trafficking and seeking to sell surface-to-air missiles to Colombia's FARC rebels, to shoot down US patrol helicopters. He has not been extradited.
Polling was monitored by 550 international observers and a presidential runoff is scheduled for 18 May if no candidate emerges as the clear winner.
The country is ranked 177th out of 187 in the UN's human development index, with two-thirds of the population living below the poverty line.
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494db959f29c8dd465b40db21697e1f8 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27141581 | South Africa’s townships - a magnet for entrepreneurs | South Africa’s townships - a magnet for entrepreneurs
South Africa has been a magnet for immigration in recent years, with many of those coming to Africa's second-largest economy to set up small family businesses in bustling townships.
But their business acumen has not always been welcomed at first by local people, as Kharul Islam, a slightly built Bangladeshi in his mid-20s, can affirm.
He runs a small grocery shop, known in South Africa as a spaza, in the crime-ridden area of Delft, about 30km (19 miles) east of Cape Town.
With its red painted exterior, the Comic Grocer is easy to spot from a distance; look closer and you notice the bullet-proof glass and the metal mesh guards
"I've had to put in bullet-proof glass to protect me. When I first came people threatened to kill me," he says.
It was local criminals who tried to intimidate him when he moved in three years ago.
Last year alone, the area recorded 113 murders, 129 cases of attempted murder and nearly 1,500 cases of violent crime in 2013, according to police statistics.
"But now that they know me it's better and safer," he says.
His customers come in to buy single items like a roll of toilet paper, sugar, milk or bread, but it is clear that the Bangladeshi, who has a Tanzanian and Zimbabwean to assist him, has developed a good relationship with them.
Operating in an economically depressed area like Delft, with a 43% rate of unemployment, the foreign shop owners have adapted their products to meet the needs of their customers.
Like many foreign traders, Mr Islam sells small quantities of essentials like tea, coffee, sugar and flour.
"People don't have money to buy the pre-packed quantities provided by the suppliers so I make it easier and more affordable for them. I give them what they need."
Following the advent of democracy in South Africa in 1994, it was initially Somalis, fleeing their country's civil strife, who made inroads into the townships.
Using their renowned trading skills, they established themselves in the spaza market, often to the displeasure of local traders who saw their share of this business sector cut back.
The past five years has seen a new wave of traders from mainly Bangladesh - and to a lesser extent countries like Pakistan, Egypt and Ethiopia - trying to squeeze into what has become an increasingly competitive market.
The Spaza News industry newsletter says South Africa's spaza sector comprises more than 100,000 enterprises with a collective annual turnover of 7bn rand (about $663m; £395m).
Eight urban sites studied between 2010 and 2013 showed that nearly 50% of spaza shops were operated by foreign entrepreneurs, according to researchers at the University of Western Cape's Political Science Department and the non-profit organisation Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation.
Most of the foreigners work a punishing 16-hour day, seven days a week, and most have a mattress and washing facilities in a modestly furnished room attached to the shop.
Not surprisingly, local shop owners have complained about the influx of foreign competitors who they say have impacted on their trade.
Evelyn Domingo, who runs her spaza shop not far from Mr Islam's, says her business has suffered over the past two years.
"I'm not happy; business has been slow since the foreigners started opening up. They are able to keep their prices down because they group together which enables them to buy at lower prices," she says.
"It's only the lotto [national lottery] tickets that attract people to my shop because it's only me and the post office down the road that sells the tickets."
Ms Domingo, whose husband was killed in a robbery two years ago, says the government promised to do something to help local traders, but has failed to do so.
While many of the foreigners, especially the closely knit Somali community, have managed to secure cheaper prices from wholesalers by buying in bulk, the influx of migrant traders has also provided business opportunities for local entrepreneurs like Mujeeb Rockman.
He has been supplying items like washing powder, toilet paper, sweets and cool drinks for the past year to small shops in the townships.
"The majority of locals are selling their shops off to foreigners or renting the buildings out to them," he says.
"The number of foreign-run shops has increased dramatically which is not a bad thing because they are good business people; they like to bargain for a better price.
"What also helps is that they don't have extravagant lifestyles, so they are able to cope with smaller profit margins because they are able to live with less."
The success of the foreign business people in the townships has made them an easy target for local criminals, allegedly backed in some cases, orchestrated campaigns by envious local spaza owners.
Whenever there is a protest about the lack of basic amenities - a fairly frequent occurrence in townships - the foreign-owned businesses are often among the first to be targeted by opportunists within the community who loot their shops.
But things are changing, as three men convicted of killing and robbing a Somali trader and injuring two of his compatriots last year received jail sentences of 25 and 30 years.
"We have tried to change the perception that we are easy targets. We are also working closely with the police," says Mohamed Aden, spokesperson for the Somali Association of South Africa.
Altaafur Rhaman, Mr Islam's brother-in-law, also runs a spaza in Delft, although it is a much smaller concern.
Well-protected behind a strongly barricaded mesh steel safety gate, which features a small opening through which sales are conducted, Mr Rhaman is aware of the dangers of trading in an area like Delft.
"It's dangerous here, many of my friends have been robbed and there are many poor people here, but it's OK, I'm able to make a living," he says.
"I try to be friendly and to help where I can."
Mr Rhaman has tried to win over the residents in his immediate vicinity.
He says he is trying to learn the local languages - Afrikaans and Xhosa - and also tries to understand the needs of the economically depressed community.
"I like to buy from him, he's very nice," says a young woman who has come to buy eggs.
Another customer, a neat young man in jeans and a fashionable baseball cap, agrees: "I like them [the Bangladeshis], not everything is cheaper than at the locally owned shops but it's a pleasure to buy from them."
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d6c240d42372035bca84059e2ff0d008 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28010234 | Nigeria atheist Bala 'deemed mentally ill' in Kano state | Nigeria atheist Bala 'deemed mentally ill' in Kano state
A Nigerian man has been sent to a mental institute in Kano state after he declared that he did not believe in God, according to a humanist charity.
Mubarak Bala was being held against his will at the hospital after his Muslim family took him there, it said.
The hospital said it was treating Mr Bala, 29, for a "challenging psychological condition", and would not keep him longer than necessary.
Kano is a mainly Muslim state and adopted Islamic law in 2000.
The
International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) says
that when Mr Bala told relatives he did not believe in God, they asked a doctor if he was mentally ill.
Despite being told that he was not unwell, Mr Bala's family then went to a second doctor, who declared that his atheism was a side-effect of suffering a personality change, the group says.
Mr Bala, a chemical engineering graduate, was forcibly committed to a psychiatric ward at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, but was able to contact activists using a smuggled phone, it says.
IHEU spokesman Bob Churchill said the group was concerned about his "deteriorating condition" and called for his "swift release".
The hospital said in a statement that Mr Bala was "comfortable and conscious".
He had been admitted because he required treatment under supervision, it added.
Mr Bala's lawyer Mohammed Bello told the BBC he intended to arrange for an independent psychological evaluation of his client because of conflicting accounts of his health.
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da5945b92facb83dddc199a823c897b0 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28550906 | Ebola outbreak: Asky bans flights in West Africa | Ebola outbreak: Asky bans flights in West Africa
A major West African airline has stopped flying to Liberia and Sierra Leone amid growing concern about the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.
Asky said it took the decision to keep "its passengers and staff safe during this unsettling time".
The number of people killed by the virus in West Africa has now reached 672, according to new UN figures.
In Sierra Leone, the doctor who led the fight against Ebola, Sheik Umar Khan, has died of the disease.
Government officials hailed Dr Khan, 39, as a "national hero".
The government disclosed last week that he was being treated for Ebola and had been quarantined.
His death follows that of prominent Liberian doctor Samuel Brisbane at the weekend.
Ebola kills up to 90% of those infected, but patients have a better chance of survival if they receive early treatment.
It spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids.
The outbreak - the world's deadliest to date - was first reported in Guinea in February. It then spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Asky is the second airline, after Nigeria's largest airline, Arik Air, to ban flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone.
It had not halted flights to Guinea, but passengers departing from there would be "screened for signs of the virus", Asky said.
Last week, Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, reported its first case - that of Liberian finance ministry official Patrick Sawyer who flew to the main city, Lagos, in an Asky flight.
Liberia has deployed police officers at the international airport in the capital, Monrovia, to ensure passengers are screened for symptoms of Ebola.
"We have a presence of the police at the airport to enforce what we're doing,'' said Binyah Kesselly, chairman of the Liberia Airport Authority.
"So if you have a flight and you are not complying with the rules, we will not allow you to board.''
Most border crossings in Liberia have been closed to contain the outbreak and affected communities are being quarantined.
Liberia has also suspended all football activities in an effort to control the spread of Ebola.
"Football being a contact sport - people are sweating - they do contact each other, and that could result in contracting the disease," the president of its football association, Musa Hassan Bility, told the BBC.
"It also has to do with the fans because whenever there is a game, a lot of people come together and we want to discourage gathering at this point," he said.
The association had also told football governing body Fifa to cancel trips to Liberia scheduled for August and September because "we do not want the life of the Fifa president [Sepp Blatter] to be exposed to this disease", Mr Bility said.
In a statement
, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said that 1,201 Ebola cases had been reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Of the 672 deaths, the highest number was in Guinea with 319, followed by Sierra Leone with 224 and Liberia with 129, it said.
The BBC's Jonathan Paye Layleh in Monrovia says that public awareness campaigns around Ebola have been stepped up in the city.
Many people are worried about the outbreak, and fewer people are going to restaurants and entertainment centres, he says.
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3839cd2dfb68750f0c2b414c4bb01f4c | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28855292 | Boko Haram crisis: Nigerian soldiers 'mutiny over weapons' | Boko Haram crisis: Nigerian soldiers 'mutiny over weapons'
A group of soldiers in north-eastern Nigeria is refusing to fight Islamist Boko Haram militants until they receive better equipment, one of the mutineers has told the BBC.
The soldier, who requested anonymity, said at least 40 of his colleagues would refuse orders to deploy.
A defence ministry spokesman said the incident was being investigated.
A state of emergency that was declared in three north-eastern states last year has failed to curb the insurgency.
Boko Haram is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria - and has stepped up its attacks after being pushed out of its bases in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, targeting towns and villages in deadly raids.
"Soldiers are dying like fowl," the soldier, who said he and his colleagues were just outside Maiduguri, told the BBC Hausa service.
"The Nigerian army is not ready to fight Boko Haram," he said, explaining that soldiers were not being given enough weapons and ammunition to take them on.
"Boko Haram are inside the bush, everywhere," he said "They [senior commanders] are sacrificing soldiers," he said.
Defence ministry spokesman Gen Chris Olukolade told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that he could not confirm the reports of a mutiny but would investigate.
He denied that soldiers were being "sent to die".
"We may not have all it takes but we are improving on it [equipment] regularly," he said.
Who are Boko Haram?
Who are Boko Haram?
Profile: Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau
Even the vehicles the soldiers were expected to use were old armoured cars that were not up to the job, he added.
A general in the army, who asked not to be named, told the BBC that he was unable to confirm the mutiny, but said "cowardice" was not uncommon in times of war - and any mutineers would be punished.
When the solder was asked if he feared being court-martialled for taking part in the mutiny, he said that a soldier could only be taken to task for refusing to go to war.
"I joined the army to defend my country", but you cannot defend it without being equipped to do so, he said.
In April, Boko Haram caused global outrage by abducting more than 200 girls from a boarding school in the remote town of Chibok in Borno state.
The group has also carried out a wave of bombings and assassinations, including that of moderate Muslim leaders opposed to its ideology.
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498c1a8b2b7343ac1fe4f08423349d49 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29110663 | Nigeria's Boko Haram 'seize' Michika in Adamawa state | Nigeria's Boko Haram 'seize' Michika in Adamawa state
Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko Haram has captured the key north-eastern town of Michika, residents say, gaining more territory in its efforts to create an Islamic state.
People fled into bushes as gunfire rang out in the town, they added.
Boko Haram has changed tactics in recent months by holding on to territory rather than launching hit-and-run attacks.
The government called on Nigerians not to lose hope.
The military was committed to defending Nigeria's territorial integrity, it said.
Soldiers killed 50 militants during a raid on their hideout in the small north-eastern town of Kawuri at the weekend, the army said.
Last month, Boko Haram said it had established an Islamic state in areas it controls in north-eastern Nigeria.
Michika is a trading centre in Adamawa state not far from the Cameroon border.
Concern is mounting that the group plans to target Maiduguri, capital of neighbouring Borno state, says the BBC Hausa Service's Bilikisu Babangida.
Thousands of people who have fled towns and villages captured by Boko Haram are taking refuge in the city, which has a population of about two million.
The fall of Michika will add to the fear and panic that has gripped the north-east, as it shows Boko Haram is gaining territory not only in their heartland of Borno but also in Adamawa state, our reporter says.
Amid fears that Boko Haram could advance further into Adamawa, the university in Mubi town has shut, she says.
On Thursday, the militants captured the small town of Gulak after earlier seizing Madagali, which borders Adamawa and Borno states.
Residents told the BBC that Boko Haram fighters entered Michika on Sunday in a convoy of vehicles.
A military jet circled over the town, causing the militants to hide in people's homes, they said.
There was confusion as people ran into the bush fleeing gunfire, residents added.
It was unclear who opened fire as the insurgents often wear uniforms similar to the Nigerian soldiers, they said.
Last year, President Goodluck Jonathan imposed a state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, vowing to send more troops to crush the insurgency.
However, Boko Haram has stepped up its offensive since then.
In April, the militants captured more than 200 girls from a boarding school in the town of Chibok, also in Borno state.
Countries such as China, France, the UK and US have sent military assistance to help find the girls but they have not yet been rescued.
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6a804736f03bf39eacdaf45a6f495ad2 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29823354 | Obituary: President Michael Sata, Zambia's 'King Cobra' | Obituary: President Michael Sata, Zambia's 'King Cobra'
Michael Chilufya Sata, Zambia's fifth president who has died in London at the age of 77, will be remembered with equal affection and derision as "King Cobra".
Gravelly-voiced as a result of years of chain-smoking, he was a seasoned and astute politician.
Some Zambians loved him, others loathed him - but in his prime, Mr Sata was a charismatic and witty speaker.
"I would rather go to prison on behalf of the people of Zambia than keep quiet," he once said.
He once belonged to the United National Independence Party (Unip), then led by Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia's first president, but later switched to the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD).
When the MMD thwarted his presidential ambitions, he broke away to form the Patriotic Front (PF) in 2001.
Mr Sata finally achieved his life-long ambition to be president at his fourth attempt, winning elections in 2011 and unseating the incumbent Rupiah Banda.
The irony is that after all his efforts, he was not able to finish his first term.
Instead, he became the second Zambian president to die in office.
And like Levy Mwanawasa, who passed away in 2008, Mr Sata died abroad.
Some 50 years after Zambia became independent from British rule, it was a sad indictment of the country's hospitals - but also, the lack of faith politicians had in them.
In fact, Mr Sata was not even present in the country when Zambia turned 50 on 24 October.
For some months in 2014 he had not been seen in public due to ill health.
His last public appearance was in September when he managed to briefly attend the opening of parliament in Lusaka.
By then his voice was weak and thin but he retained his jocular manner, and joked "I am not dead".
Born in 1937, Mr Sata grew up a devout Catholic and worked as a police officer, railway man and trade unionist during colonial rule.
After independence, he spent time in London as a railway porter, and then back in Zambia he worked for a taxidermist company.
It was in the 1980s that he rose to prominence.
As governor of Lusaka, he quickly earned a reputation for hard work. Later, he became known as a populist man of action at the country's health ministry.
But he was also known for his authoritarian tendencies.
As he worked his way up through Zambia's rough and tumble political scene, he quickly gained a reputation for abrasiveness.
During his days under President Frederick Chiluba as minister without portfolio, Mr Sata himself admitted that he "was the minister for the MMD", his party at the time.
Critics said that his sharp tongue was unsuited to the refined diplomacy of international politics - and that his nickname of "King Cobra" was well-deserved.
When Mr Sata was elected in 2011, he looked as if he would keep his election promises to tackle corruption and create jobs and prosperity.
But three years into his five-year term, his administration was tarnished by a crackdown on the political opposition.
His declining health was mirrored by the declining economy, and he left behind an impoverished country with one of the lowest life expectancies in the world.
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5dd84d7c43ef2bc574068d4571018f40 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30228551 | Tanzania PM Mizengo Pinda caught in corruption row | Tanzania PM Mizengo Pinda caught in corruption row
Tanzania's prime minister is under pressure to resign over alleged fraudulent payments worth $120m (£76m) to an energy firm and top officials.
Mizengo Pinda failed to properly oversee government finances, a parliamentary watchdog committee said.
It also called for the resignation of two powerful government ministers. All three have denied any wrongdoing.
Last month, donors suspended about $490m in aid to Tanzania until the allegations were investigated.
President Jakaya Kikwete took office in 2005 with a promise to tackle corruption in government, but critics accuse him of failing to live up to his pledge.
Parliament, dominated by the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, is currently holding a special session to discuss the public accounts committee's call for Mr Pinda's resignation, despite his efforts to block the session.
It shows how angry ruling party MPs are with the government over the issue, reports the BBC's Aboubakar Famau from parliament in the capital, Dodoma.
The committee's investigation found government money had been taken from an escrow account, paid to an energy firm and then given to various government ministers, our correspondent says.
The committee also called for the resignation of Attorney General Frederick Werema and Energy and Minerals Minister Sospeter Muhongo.
Our reporter says the committee has reflected the public mood by calling for their resignations, with people pointing out that $120m could buy 40 million school desks or finance the studies of 10 million pupils.
A group of 12 donors - including Japan, the UK, the World Bank and the African Development Bank - decided last month to withhold aid until the government took action over the alleged corruption, Reuters news agency reported at the time.
MPs had accused senior officials of fraudulently authorising payment of around $120m from the escrow account held jointly by state power firm Tanesco and independent power producer IPTL to IPTL's owner Pan Africa Power (PAP) in 2013.
PAP said the transfer was legal, Reuters reported.
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bcc50990b4d0dbc970a6f2da264b4305 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30301535 | Kenya bus attack survivor: 'I played dead' | Kenya bus attack survivor: 'I played dead'
Kenyan head teacher Douglas Ochwodho Ondari was on a bus that was attacked by Somali al-Shabab militants last month in north-eastern Kenya, near the border with Somalia. He survived the attack, but 28 passengers, including his wife, did not. He told the BBC his distressing story:
We set off at 2am from Mandera to Nairobi. I was in seat number 34. My wife was in seat number 31, ahead of me.
After about 15km [nine miles] we found six people standing by the side of the road - they started shooting and said: "We are soldiers, stop!"
However, when we approached them we saw that their faces were covered, you could only see their eyes. That is when the driver said: "These are al-Shabab, these are not soldiers."
The driver tried to drive on but the men fired at the vehicle. Up ahead there were others holding grenades and they said: "If you can't stop we will just destroy the bus."
Some people in the bus shouted to the driver to stop the bus because it would be better than being hit by a grenade. So he was forced to stop.
The driver stopped but refused to open the door. The armed men shot at the door and got in. They also shot at the front window and came in that way. Some went on top of the bus onto the roof rack. They spoke English, Swahili and Somali.
We were lying on top of each other on the floor of the bus. They told us to sit properly and they ordered the driver to drive on, on the same route that he had been using before, on our journey to Nairobi.
I noticed that the man in the seat next to me - a Somali looking man - was stooped low in his seat. He was bleeding heavily. He had been hit by one of the bullets fired by the armed men when they shot at the bus. I tried to speak to him. I lifted his hand and it dropped. I realised he was dead.
The armed men seemed sad to have shot the Somali-looking man next to me. They shouted at the driver to try and give him first aid. One of them took a first aid box and tried to treat him. But when they tried to treat him they realised he was already dead.
At some point, the bus went off the main road and after a while it got stuck in the mud. The driver and his conductor were asked to get out and try to clear the mud from the wheels. This did not work and the bus was still stuck.
The armed men had checked our IDs. Those of us who were not Somalis or from any of the tribes around that area were asked to step out of the bus. They asked the women to leave first. The women were standing on one side of the bus.
Then they asked us men to step out of the bus. As each man reached the door of the bus, they were asked to put their hand in between a metal pole - used to assist one in getting on the bus - and the door frame. The armed men then twisted one hand of each man and broke it. The sound was dreadful. It was like hearing dry firewood timber being broken.
I had been sweating a lot in the bus and my hand was also covered by some of the blood from the man sitting next to me who had died. My hand slipped and the armed man thought he had broken it. They only broke the Kenyan men's hands.
They [then] asked people to recite the Koran. If you were able to recite the Koran you stood aside. If you were not able to recite the Koran you lay down on the ground, face-down. There were 30 of us - women were lying on one side and the men were lying on the other side.
I knew the men lying next to me. One was a friend of mine, he was lying next to me. Two were soldiers from Mandera, another two were doctors.
The driver tried to plead with the armed men to let us go, telling them that we could give them money. They refused.
My wife had given me all the money she had in her purse, 42,000 shillings (£297, $465).
I tried to speak to one of the armed men who spoke Swahili and told him: "Brother, let me give you money and you let us go."
He asked me: "Who are you with?" I said: "My wife."
He said: "We don't need your money." However, they later took money from every person who did not look Somali.
They did a search and took the IDs of those they had not taken. Then 12 men came on one side and the others on the other side. They told us: "Tell your Kenyan soldiers to come and save you now."
They then started shooting each person. Me, I was number five. I saw my wife being shot. I heard my wife say: "Oh, God." That is what I heard my wife saying.
I tried to get up to help her but the soldier who was lying next to me held me down and told me: "Just surrender, don't try and get up, don't even try and lift your hand up."
They started shooting, then they got to the friend of mine, who was lying next to me. I thought I felt mud fall on my head, when they shot him, then I realised it was his flesh that had fallen on my head. They were shooting about six bullets per person.
I was tainted with the blood of the passenger who had died sitting next to me - that is maybe what saved me. And then also there was the flesh that had fallen on my head.
When they finished, I heard them talking Somali and they were kicking us. I could feel them kicking me several times. Then after a while they started clapping their hands. After about 30 minutes I didn't hear anything.
I don't know how long it was before I heard what sounded like soldiers talking and saying: "Have they killed our people?" That is when I got up. They were the Home Guard, and they were there with soldiers from Mandera. They took me to hospital.
Since I got to hospital I've been in a bad mental state. I pray to God to forgive the men who did this. Everyone must pray for the innocent.
Translation by Michael Kaloki, BBC Nairobi
Douglas Ondari spoke to Outlook on the BBC World Service.
Listen to the interview again on iPlayer
or
get the Outlook podcast
.
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c44a4c21fd5acfb57c260f93307abca5 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30532889 | Egypt court jails dozens of Islamists over violence | Egypt court jails dozens of Islamists over violence
Dozens of Egyptian Islamists accused of torching churches and police stations after the ousting of former President Mohammed Morsi have been jailed for up to 15 years.
Prosecutors said the 40 men were involved in attacks which swept through the southern city of Assiut last year.
The court acquitted 61 others involved in the case.
The Egyptian authorities have jailed more than 16,000 people since last August.
At least 1,400 people have also been killed in a wide-ranging crackdown against opponents of the government.
Following the ousting of Mr Morsi in the summer of 2013 there was unrest across the country.
In Assiut, several police stations were set alight along with five churches and a number of shops.
Delivering its verdict the city's criminal court sentenced two defendants to 15 years in prison, AFP news agency reported, while others were handed jail terms ranging from one year to 10.
Dozens of Mr Morsi's supporters have been sentenced to death in mass trials over the past year.
Mr Morsi and fellow leaders of the now banned Muslim Brotherhood organisation are also being held in jail or on trial facing the death penalty.
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d450d9d3041ceb65ad6146876f31fa0e | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30611758 | Al-Shabab militant Zakariya Ahmed Ismail Hersi 'surrenders' | Al-Shabab militant Zakariya Ahmed Ismail Hersi 'surrenders'
A top al-Shabab militant, Zakariya Ahmed Ismail Hersi, has given himself up, Somali officials say.
Mr Hersi, a leading figure in the militant group's intelligence wing, surrendered to police in the Gedo region, they add.
In June 2012,
the US state department offered
$3m (£1.9m, 2.5m euros) for information leading to his capture.
It comes three months after al-Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane was killed in a US air strike.
A Somali intelligence officer, quoted by the Associated Press news agency, suggested Mr Hersi may have surrendered because of a dispute with al-Shabab members loyal to the former leader.
Mr Hersi fell out with Godane last year and has been on the run ever since but he is still a powerful figure, says BBC Africa editor Mary Harper.
Police stormed a house Mr Hersi had been hiding in for six days, close to the border with Kenya, after receiving a tip off, the district commissioner of the town of El Wag told the BBC.
He said that although Mr Hersi had a pistol, he did not put up a fight.
"Al-Shabab leader Zakariya Ismail surrendered to government forces in El Wag, Gedo region. He is expected to be flown to Mogadishu tomorrow," an unnamed official told Reuters news agency.
There has been no immediate comment from al-Shabab.
•$5m: Ibrahim Haji Jama, co-founder
•$5m: Fuad Mohamed Khalaf, also known as Shongole, financier
•$5m: Bashir Mohamed Mahamoud, military commander
•$5m: Mukhtar Robow, also known as Abu Mansur, spokesman
•$3m: Zakariya Ismail Ahmed Hersi, intelligence chief
•$3m: Abdullahi "Yare", senior figure
Ahmad Umar was named the new leader of al-Shabab, days after Godane's killing last September.
The US has supported the African Union (AU) force that has driven al-Shabab out of the capital Mogadishu and other towns since 2011.
The al-Qaeda-linked fighters want to overthrow the UN-backed Somali government and frequently attack government targets as well as neighbouring countries that provide troops to the AU force.
Three members of the AU force and a civilian contractor were killed in an al-Shabab attack on its headquarters in the capital Mogadishu on Thursday.
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31db26b0705181f42dad8db18bcab2ee | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30616817?ocid=socialflow_gplus | Libya airstrikes hit Misrata militants for first time | Libya airstrikes hit Misrata militants for first time
Libya's air force has struck the western city of Misrata for the first time in the latest clash between government and militant forces.
A Misrata source confirmed the strikes to the BBC, adding that there were no casualties or material damage.
The airstrikes come after a 72-hour ultimatum issued by the air force to militants based in Misrata.
The Misrata-led Libya Dawn militia alliance controls much of western Libya, including the capital, Tripoli.
The government has been pushed back into eastern areas.
Libya has been plagued by instability and infighting since the toppling of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, and violence has been steadily increasing in recent months.
The bombings came after militants had attacked the eastern oil ports of Sidra and Ras Lanuf.
Militants were "still in high spirits, and [the] bombings will not affect our resolve," the Misrata source told the BBC.
He said there were two air raids, which hit an air force academy near the airport and an area near the sea port and steel factory.
An attack on a power plant in the Libyan city of Sirte on 25 December left at least 19 soldiers dead.
Libyan military sources said Libya Dawn, which includes some Islamist armed groups, was responsible for the attack.
In a separate incident, an oil tank at Libya's largest oil export terminal in Sidra caught fire when it was struck by a rocket during fighting on Saturday.
That attack, and the fight for control of Ras Lanuf, prompted the air force to issue its ultimatum.
The United Nations mission to Libya has been trying to schedule talks between the key players of warring sides for nearly a month.
The talks have been postponed twice in recent weeks and are now scheduled to take place on 5 January.
The BBC's Rana Jawad in Tripoli says it is still not clear if they will go ahead.
She says the prospects for any negotiations get dimmer by the day, as the fighting on the ground and the rhetoric from both sides escalate.
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c044b5d0e5d642ca8393b69811672fcc | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30681904 | Greek oil tanker bombed in Libyan port of Derna | Greek oil tanker bombed in Libyan port of Derna
Libyan air force jets have bombed a Greek-operated oil tanker chartered by Libya's national oil company, killing two crew members.
A Libyan military spokesman told the BBC that the ship's movements at the port of Derna had aroused suspicion.
The oil company rejected this, saying the ship was delivering fuel to industrial facilities there and the authorities had been kept informed.
Derna has been controlled by Islamist militants for the past two years.
The Libyan military attacked the port several times last year in an attempt to weaken militant groups there.
The military spokesman, Colonel Ahmed Mesmari, said the tanker had been targeted because it had failed to submit to an inspection before entering the port.
He said the vessel was supposed to dock at a power plant in Derna but instead "took a different route", entering a "military zone".
"We asked the ship to stop, but instead it turned off all its lights and would not respond so we were obliged to strike it.
"We bombed it twice," he said.
Libya's National Oil Corporation said the tanker had picked up 13,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil in Brega, a port south of Libya's second city, Benghazi, which it was due to deliver to a power plant and water purification facility in Derna.
It said the vessel was attacked before it could enter the port to unload its cargo.
There were 26 crew members on board the ship, Araevo, including nationals from the Philippines, Greece and Romania.
Two were injured in Sunday's attack, in addition to those killed.
The Liberian-flagged tanker is operated by an Athens-based shipping company, Aegean Shipping Enterprises Company.
The company said there was no leakage of oil and it was assessing the damage.
Col Mesmari told Reuters the vessel had been bringing Islamist fighters to Derna.
"We had warned any ship not to dock at the port without prior permission," he was quoted as saying.
The National Oil Corporation did not comment on the allegation but said the bombing of the tanker would have a "very negative" impact on oil shipping from Libyan ports.
It said it remained neutral in the conflict in Libya and the incident would hinder its ability to maintain supplies within the local market.
Libya has been in chaos since its long-time leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, was overthrown with Western military help in 2011.
Numerous militias govern their own patches of territory, with successive governments struggling to exercise control.
The competition for power and resources has led to frequent fighting and battles to control facilities, including ports, linked to Libya's oil industry.
The internationally recognised government is based in Tobruk, near the Egyptian border, having been expelled from the capital, Tripoli, by militias in 2014.
A rival militia-backed administration now controls the capital while Benghazi is largely in the hands of Islamist fighters.
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9f6d74b2d25195fd591d03aa02795e06 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30777316 | Mozambique beer poisoning deaths rise to 69 | Mozambique beer poisoning deaths rise to 69
The number of people killed after drinking a "poisoned" homemade beer in Mozambique has risen to 69, state radio has reported.
The beer, usually made from millet, may have been contaminated with crocodile bile, a health official said.
A toddler was among those killed after apparently drinking the beer at a funeral in Tete province on Saturday.
An official said it was the worst such tragedy to hit Mozambique, with 39 people still being treated in hospital.
The government declared three days of national mourning in a decree published on Sunday.
The beer, known as "phombe", is traditionally served at functions in Mozambique's Tete province. Deaths from drinking it are rare, correspondents say.
Carle Mosse, the province's health director, said it was suspected that the poisoning had been caused by crocodile bile although this had yet to be confirmed in tests.
It was not immediately clear how the beer had been contaminated and whether it was intentional.
The woman who brewed the beer and several members of her family were among the victims, Radio Mozambique has reported.
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b2ba76a287303e7875f4f6293a4b98f4 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-31056814 | Eugene de Kock: Profile of an apartheid assassin | Eugene de Kock: Profile of an apartheid assassin
Eugene Alexander de Kock, nicknamed "Prime Evil" by the media in South Africa, was part of the apartheid killing machine.
News of his parole after serving 20 years in a South African prison could not be a better birthday gift for the apartheid assassin.
He turned 66 the day before the justice minister said he was being released in the interest of "nation building".
De Kock's primary duty as police colonel was to silence the leaders of the anti-apartheid movement, particularly those from the African National Congress (ANC).
Ironically it is the ANC government that has released him from prison.
Born in South Africa's Western Cape Province, his father, Lawrence de Kock, was a magistrate and a very close personal friend of former apartheid Prime Minister John Vorster.
His brother, Vossie de Kock, described him as a "quiet boy" who "wasn't violent at all".
From an early age De Kock wanted to be an officer in the police.
Eugene de Kock at glance:
Like many young Afrikaner males he first tried the army but he was disqualified because of a stutter.
He became a policeman although his attempt to join the elite Special Task Force unit was turned down because of poor eyesight.
In 1979 he found his feet when co-founded the notorious Koevoet unit.
Its main task was to kill freedom fighters from the South West Africa People's Organisation (Swapo), which was led by Sam Nujoma.
Swapo was fighting for the liberation of present day Namibia.
Koevoet became well known for its high assassination rate.
In 1983, the South African Police transferred De Kock to C10, a counter-insurgency unit based some 10km (six miles) from the capital, Pretoria, on a remote farm known as Vlakplaas.
De Kock rose through the ranks and became the commander of Vlakplaas under a new code name of C1.
This unit became the number one death squad for killing largely black anti-apartheid activists.
He was arrested after South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994 when Nelson Mandela became president.
He appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was set up by Mr Mandela and chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
At the TRC, De Kock confessed to crimes against humanity.
His revelations shocked South Africans and revealed the length and brutal techniques the apartheid regime was prepared to take to stay in power.
He was granted amnesty for many of the crimes committed in defence of a racial segregation system.
But he was sentenced to 212 years plus two life terms for the murders and crimes he committed which the commission felt went beyond the call of duty.
While serving time in Pretoria's C-Max prison, De Kock conducted a radio interview in which he described the last apartheid leader FW de Klerk as man whose hands were "soaked in blood."
Mr De Klerk, who shared the Noble Peace Prize with Mr Mandela for ending apartheid, denied the allegations.
South African psychologist Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela interviewed De Kock many times while he was in jail.
In her book, A Human Being Died That Night, she argued in favour of a pardon for a man she said had been a servant to a brutal regime.
Whilst in jail, the former police colonel asked for forgiveness from some of his victims.
In a letter he wrote to the family of Bheki Mlangeni, a lawyer he killed with a letter bomb, he said: "There is no greater punishment than to have to live with the consequences of the most terrible deed with no-one to forgive you.
"For me, even my own death can't compare."
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d826e4e1e7904f6dd3d5df0e78620fe8 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-31168615 | Somalia criticises US bank's move to halt remittances | Somalia criticises US bank's move to halt remittances
Somalia has criticised a move by a US bank to close accounts of money transfer companies, warning it could create a dangerous black market.
Merchants Bank of California handles about 80% of money transfers - remittances - from the US to Somalia, worth about $200m (£131m) annually.
But it announced on Thursday that it had to withdraw its services due to new money-laundering regulations
Regulators are concerned that money is being funnelled to extremists.
But the Somali government has warned that suspending legal transfer services may give rise to a new unregulated black market in cash transfers that could make it easier to channel money to militant groups.
It also expressed concern that the move would jeopardise stability in Somalia and the welfare of millions of Somalis who depend on financial assistance from abroad.
Total annual remittances to Somalia are estimated at $1.6bn (£1bn).
Nicholas Kay, the United Nations special representative for Somalia, said the remittances were a survival mechanism for Somali families.
Analysis: Mary Harper, Africa editor, BBC World Service
Somali remittances are a lifeline. The United Nations estimates Somalis in the diaspora send home $1.6bn annually, significantly more than foreign aid.
According to a UN study, more than 40% of Somalis receive remittances, the bulk of which are used for basic needs, including food, clothes, medicine and education.
As stability returns to some parts of the country, remittances are increasingly used for investment. They are an essential part of rebuilding Somalia.
There is no functioning banking system in Somalia, so remittances are the only way people outside the country can support those at home. They play a crucial role during the frequent droughts as international aid agencies use them in cash for food programmes.
While it is understandable that banks fear potential fines by regulators, closing the accounts of Somali remittance companies risks driving underground the flow of cash to Somalia, exacerbating the problems of violent Islamism, piracy and the trafficking of arms, drugs and people.
"They are the lifeblood... for many, many Somalis, so from a humanitarian perspective it is clearly worrying if there is a complete stop in remittances," said Mr Kay.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a federal regulator, told the US bank last year that it found its anti-money laundering procedures inadequate.
In the US, bank directors are responsible for ensuring all the funds they handle are used for legitimate purposes.
The OCC ordered the Merchants Bank to determine more exactly the destination of the funds it was wiring.
But in a letter to its clients last month, officials from the bank said they could not meet the regulators' requirements and would have to close their money wiring service,
US media reported
.
Abdullahi Ismail, a Somali-born US citizen who lives in California, told the BBC that the local Somali community was baffled by the decision.
"Nobody knows what to do at this point but everybody's just shocked by that news," he said.
"I really don't know if anybody sends money to the terrorists or launders money. Most Somalis send the remittances to their families, who are not doing anything wrong in Somalia."
In a similar move in 2013, UK banking giant Barclays also sought to cut ties with Somalia by closing the account of leading Somali money-transfer operator Dahabshiil.
Barclays, which said the move was part of a crackdown on money laundering, eventually agreed to keep the account open so that Dahabshiil could find a replacement bank.
Somalia does not have a proper banking system and has been in turmoil since the fall of Siad Barre's government in 1991.
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8e4bd937e6022d5695ac9eb1f724ac98 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55333625 | Race in South Africa: 'We haven't learnt we are human beings first' | Race in South Africa: 'We haven't learnt we are human beings first'
Legal discrimination along racial lines in South Africa ended with the demise of apartheid but racial categorisation is still being used by the government for monitoring economic changes and continues to cause controversy, as Mohammed Allie writes from Cape Town.
The charge of fraud made three months ago against teacher Glen Snyman for ticking the "African" box on his application form when applying for a head teacher job in 2017 has highlighted the country's ongoing problem with racial classification.
Mr Snyman, who was defined as coloured (mixed racial heritage) by the apartheid government, subsequently had the charge dropped by the local authority but the issue the case raised has not gone away.
The Population Registration Act was the cornerstone of the apartheid policy that legalised discrimination. It was introduced in 1950 and divided South Africans into four broad groups - white, African, coloured and Indian - to enforce the minority government's policy of racial segregation.
It was repealed in 1991 as the country moved towards democratic governance in 1994 but racial classification is still very much part of the conversation in the country.
The government uses it to gather data to help redress the stark imbalances in income and economic opportunities that are a legacy of the official racism of the past.
But many in the country, including Mr Snyman, who founded the organisation People Against Racial Classification (Parc) in 2010, believe the use of the categories has no place in a democratic South Africa.
"The fact that the Population Registration Act was scrapped gives job recruitment officers, any government or private system, no legal right to classify any South African by race," he wrote in a submission to the country's Human Rights Commission.
While acknowledging there are still huge imbalances that need to be redressed, Mr Snyman suggests that government should instead use a poverty measure to replace racial classification as a means of giving those in need a much-needed leg-up.
"The government doesn't have to know the identity of people by groups, they need to know the people who are in need of services, jobs or whatever the need might be.
"The government and private sector should deliver to all South Africans equally and not discriminate on identity," he said.
Ryland Fisher, a former newspaper editor who initiated the One City Many Cultures project in 1999 while at the Cape Times, agrees.
"If we adopt class as the marker for redress we will inevitably be able to benefit more black people," he said.
"Blacks are the majority in this country and they are also the majority of poor people in this country.
"If you say you will redress on the basis of class, a black person who has lived a life of privilege won't qualify for economic opportunities via the government's affirmative action policies."
During the 1970s when the anti-apartheid struggle was gaining momentum, and inspired by the Black Consciousness Movement led by famed activist Steve Biko and the South African Students Organisation, many among the disenfranchised - African, coloured and Indian - identified as black in a statement of solidarity in the fight to topple the apartheid regime.
And it is in this vein that Mr Snyman has received support from the country's largest teaching union, the South African Democratic Teachers Union.
"Many of us have made a conscious decision not to identify with the racial classification as prescribed by the apartheid regime. We regard ourselves as black, African, South African," says the union's Western Cape spokesperson Jonavon Rustin.
Pointing to a much more nuanced understanding of identity, he adds that "some people embrace the ethnic classification of coloured, Khoisan, African, Xhosa, Zulu, white, Camissa African, Korana African, Griqua, European, Afrikaner and so on."
But some make a distinction between a political or cultural identity and addressing the imbalances created by apartheid.
Zodwa Ntuli, South Africa's Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Commissioner argues that as much as racial classification is an anomaly in a country trying to move away from its race-based past, regulators and government can only measure progress through statistics based on the old categories.
The impact of apartheid discrimination against Africans, Indians and coloured people, she points out, was so pervasive that white people continue to dominate the economy in terms of ownership and decision-making power.
But she stresses that "no-one in South Africa is permitted to use the racial or gender classification for purposes of excluding any citizen from enjoying the rights in the country - that would be illegal".
Kganki Matabane, who heads the Black Business Council, says that even though democratic rule is nearly 27 years old, it is still too soon to ditch the old categories.
"We need to ask: Have we managed to correct those imbalances? If we have not, which is the case - if you look at the top 100 Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed companies, 75% or more of the CEOs are white males - then we have to continue with them."
As apartheid discriminated on the basis of race then that is the only way the problems can be dealt with, rather than looking at class, he adds.
"We can only have a sunset clause when the economy reflects the demographics of the country. Until it gets to that, it will be premature to talk about the end of black economic empowerment."
More on race relations in South Africa:
But in some cases the continued use of racial classification to monitor change has led to the hardening of the categories.
In the Western Cape, which has a large number of people formerly classified as coloured, there is a long-standing feeling among some that in an effort to redress the problems from the past, the democratic government has ignored their needs.
In Cape Town, a group of activists who identify as coloured, started a pressure group called the Gatvol ("fed up") Capetonian movement in 2018.
In an introductory video on the group's Facebook page, their leader Fadiel Adams explains that "all arms of government have declared an economic war on the coloured people", complaining that there are no jobs for members of the community despite them making up the majority in the area.
Mr Fisher, the former newspaper editor, said people who were classified as coloured were happy to fight alongside black people in the anti-apartheid struggle. But he blames the African National Congress (ANC) government for the sharpening of racial differences.
"What has happened in recent years is that the majority [in Western Cape] has decided to raise their voices and to assert their right to identify as coloured.
"The ANC didn't really take into consideration these kinds of nuances. They alienated people who identified themselves as coloured. What it meant is that these people… identified the kind of things that could affirm their identity as coloured people including things around culture, food, music and language."
He, and others, accuse the ANC-led government of not doing enough for coloured people, and instead concentrating on the national majority, who are officially classified as African, or black.
Dr Saths Cooper, a clinical psychologist who was an associate of Steve Biko during his student days in the 1970s, argues that dominance of a racial identity has prevented the forging of a truly common identity.
"We haven't learnt we are human beings first," he says.
"We always put a colour, we put external attributes to it and then we put maybe language and maybe belief to it and that allows for further division. That narrative then perpetuates itself.
"We haven't given people enough reason to say we identify as South Africans."
Mr Snyman, through Parc, is meanwhile continuing the fight to outlaw racial classification. "We will take all steps, including legal ones to rid South Africa of this scourge that has once again led to discrimination against those who do not meet the preferred criteria of the present government."
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286469bbc0d7bc5e2b3ba67739bf470b | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55334348 | How Gambia is grappling with gruesome past under Yahya Jammeh | How Gambia is grappling with gruesome past under Yahya Jammeh
In our series of letters from African journalists, Sierra Leonean-Gambian writer Ade Daramy reflects on the impact that testimony at Gambia's truth commission is having.
Gambians are being forced to re-evaluate their self-image as a relaxed, peace-loving people, who live on what is marketed to tourists as the "Smiling Coast".
Revelation by revelation they are learning the shocking truth about what really happened during the 22-year rule of President Yahya Jammeh, which ended with him fleeing the country in 2017.
The proceedings of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) have just passed the two-year mark and the live daily broadcasts have gripped the nation.
Viewers have heard stories of extreme violence and torture, arbitrary arrests and murder, and the impact of the president's fake health cures.
Some things were always suspected, and there was no doubt that people feared President Jammeh, but the extent of the crimes has come as a surprise.
Here are five things that we have learnt so far:
Mr Jammeh was fond of joking that if anyone crossed him they would end up in one of his "five-star hotels" - his nickname for prisons.
Witnesses, both former inmates and guards, have told the TRRC that if an alleged crime related to the president, the torture of prisoners was guaranteed.
One former head of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) admitted to the commission that following Mr Jammeh's fall he tried to cover up the violence by having builders renovate a prison to get rid of the torture chamber and most of the equipment.
Many former prisoners have told the TRRC how they were jailed on the flimsiest of evidence.
One man admitted that he was a "witness for hire", giving evidence in several high-profile cases (including alleged coup plots that led to people being executed) when he had no knowledge of the events. In all, he said he gave 32 paid-for statements against 12 people.
Several witnesses have given evidence about how they were detained after someone passed their name on.
Omar Jatta was a victim of the NIA's "special treatment". He told the commission that he was arrested in 1995, taken to the NIA, undressed and electrocuted.
He was detained because he had been seen speaking to a veteran opposition politician at a naming ceremony.
I became aware of the fear of informants after attending a dinner-dance event in 1998. A comedian did a perfect impression of President Jammeh, but I was the only audience member out of 300 who was in stitches.
Everyone else just stared at the floor. Later, someone explained: "You never know who's watching."
A group of soldiers confessed to the capture and killing of over 50 African migrants, including 44 Ghanaians who, in July 2005, made the mistake of trying to travel through the country on their way to Europe.
They were arrested by security forces when their boat docked and with no evidence and no trial they were accused of being mercenaries hired for a possible coup attempt.
Over the following 10 days, almost all of those detained were killed in The Gambia or taken across the border into Senegal and shot and their bodies dumped in wells.
One soldier recounted how, just before he was shot, one of the migrants asked if he could reach into his pocket and retrieve something. It turned out to be a $100 bill which he handed to the soldier saying: "I obviously won't be able to spend this, you can have it."
The soldier admitted that he took it and spent.
In one of his most outlandish claims, President Jammeh said in 2007 that he had a cure for HIV, asthma and diabetes.
He then took patients off conventional antiretroviral treatments and enrolled them in his Presidential Alternative Treatment Programme.
One witness, who was HIV-positive, said he had to strip naked. He then had a lotion rubbed on to his body and was given something to drink.
The patients who did not die are still HIV-positive and now undergoing conventional treatment.
When the president was on the road all traffic had to give way. So far, so normal but there were serious consequences for those who failed to move.
The TRRC has heard from several witnesses who were left disabled after not getting out of the way of the presidential convoy fast enough. Others died.
Sometimes, soldiers would break away from the stream of vehicles to beat up drivers or pedestrians who did not move in time.
Mr Jammeh's former family waiter was one of many to comment on his habit of throwing biscuits to crowds as the convoy swept past.
People scrambling to pick up the snacks would then get run over by other speeding cars in the entourage. The witness estimated that 20 were killed in this way between 2001 and 2008.
The stories that have come out from witnesses as well as perpetrators have led Gambians to reflect on what they knew of the country and themselves.
Before the TRRC it was common to hear people say that foreigners must have been behind any alleged atrocities. But not one self-confessed killer or torturer has proved to be from outside the country.
While the truth about some of what happened may now be known, it is still not clear what room there is for reconciliation.
The commission has at least another six months to run and only after its report is published will there be a final reckoning with The Gambia's violent and troubled past.
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270d76f29661dca763ddb75cdd0b3fc9 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55338785 | Nigerian states close schools after students kidnapped in Katsina | Nigerian states close schools after students kidnapped in Katsina
More states in northern Nigeria have ordered all schools to close following last week's kidnapping of hundreds of pupils in Katsina state.
Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara and Jigawa have followed Katsina in closing schools following Friday's attack.
The Islamist militant group Boko Haram has said it was behind the raid.
More than 300 children are still missing, raising fears for the safety of other schools, especially those in remote areas.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Union of Teachers has threatened a nationwide strike unless the government urgently improves the security situation.
The union said pupils and teachers were now being actively targeted by gunmen and kidnappers. It said the attack was a sad reminder of previous raids - dozens of girls from Chibok, in northern Borno state, are still missing six years after they were abducted by jihadists.
Nigerian authorities say have been in contact with the kidnappers in the latest incident, but there are no details of the discussions.
The governor of Katsina state, Aminu Bello Masari, said on Twitter late on Monday: "Talks are ongoing to ensure [the pupils'] safety and return to their respective families."
The jihadist group issued its claim of responsibility in a four-minute recording.
However, security and local sources cited by AFP news agency said Boko Haram had recruited three local gangs to carry out the attack.
One source said the children had been taken across the border into Zamfara state and divided among different gangs "for safe keeping". Some of the gangs had since been in touch with authorities over the release of the students.
Boko Haram has previously targeted schools because of its opposition to Western education, which it believes corrupts the values of Muslims. The group's name translates as "Western education is forbidden".
Witnesses said the armed men came to the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara town at about 21:30 on Friday and that many students jumped the school fence and fled when they heard gunshots.
Many were tracked by the gunmen who tricked them into believing that they were security personnel, students who escaped said. Once the students were rounded up they were marched into the forest by the armed men.
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c91e914be2ef09bea60233207d7eb5da | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55357945 | Nigeria school attack: Hundreds of boys freed, local authorities say | Nigeria school attack: Hundreds of boys freed, local authorities say
Hundreds of schoolboys kidnapped last week from a boarding school in north-western Nigeria have been released, local authorities have told the BBC.
A spokesman for the governor of Katsina state said 344 had been freed and were all in a good condition.
However, other reports suggest some remain in the hands of their captors.
The attack was claimed by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which hours earlier released a video apparently showing some of the boys.
In his statement, the spokesman, Abdul Labaran, said the boys were being taken to the regional capital Katsina City, and would soon be reunited with their families.
He said the clip released by Boko Haram was authentic, but a message seemingly from the group's leader Abubakar Shekau was, instead, by an impersonator.
The authorities have previously given a lower figure than locals for the number abducted and it is unclear if all are now safe.
The state Governor Aminu Bello Masari was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying, "we have recovered most of the boys. It's not all of them," while a security source told the AFP news agency some remained with their captors.
Mr Labaran said none of the kidnapped boys had been killed, contradicting a boy shown in the video who said some had been killed by Nigerian fighter jets.
It is unclear how the boys' release came about but the news was confirmed to BBC Hausa by another state government official.
They were found in a forest near the town of Tsafe, in neighbouring Zamfara state.
Witnesses said armed men came to the school in Kankara town on Friday evening last week, and many students jumped the school fence and fled when they heard gunshots.
Others were tracked by the gunmen, who tricked them into believing that they were security personnel, students who escaped said. Once the students were rounded up, they were marched into the nearby forest by the armed men.
On Thursday, video was released bearing Boko Haram's emblem, showing dozens of boys, some of whom appear to be very young.
One of the boys said they were kidnapped by Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau's group and that all the government troops who had been sent to help them should be turned back.
Boko Haram has become notorious over the last decade for school kidnappings, including one in Chibok in 2014, when nearly 300 schoolgirls were seized. The group's name loosely translates as "Western education is forbidden".
However, these abductions have until now taken place in north-eastern Nigeria, where Boko Haram is based.
Despite Boko Haram's claim, the Nigerian government said the Katsina abduction was carried out by local gangs connected to the Islamist group.
Armed attacks and kidnappings are rife in north-western Nigeria and are often blamed on bandits, a loose term for gangs operating in the area.
Amnesty International says more than 1,100 people were killed by bandits in the first six months of this year, with the government failing to bring the attackers to justice.
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6a1647f722441d380eb2f083376eafa9 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55364394 | Nigeria school attack: Hundreds of boys return home after kidnap ordeal | Nigeria school attack: Hundreds of boys return home after kidnap ordeal
More than 300 schoolboys have been reunited with their families, a week after they were kidnapped from their school in north-west Nigeria.
The boys arrived by bus in Katsina, capital of the state of the same name, where they were met by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Looking weary, some were still wearing their school uniforms, while others clutched grey blankets.
State authorities now say the children were abducted by local bandits.
Jihadist militant group Boko Haram had claimed to have been behind the mass kidnapping but some experts were sceptical because it occurred well outside their normal area of operations.
According to Governor Aminu Bello Masari, 344 boys were freed but others remain missing.
They were abducted on 11 December in an attack on a school in the town of Kankara.
Flanked by armed police, the boys walked in single file from the buses to a government building to meet President Buhari and the governor. They were also due to undergo medical checks.
Parents were overjoyed to be reunited with their sons. "I couldn't believe what I heard until neighbours came to inform me that it's true," one mother told Reuters news agency.
"I'm so excited," said another mother who been waiting anxiously with other parents after seeing her boy, 15. "I have to cry, the cry of joy when I saw him," she told AFP news agency.
One boy told a TV station the group had been fed bread and cassava during their captivity and that it had been cold. He said he was "really happy" to be back in Katsina.
Addressing the freed children, Governor Masari said: "You suffered physically, mentally and psychologically, but let me assure you that we suffered more and your parents suffered more."
Earlier he had told media: "I think we have recovered most of the boys- it's not all of them."
The government insists no ransom was paid but that the boys were released after negotiations with the kidnappers.
Zamfara state governor Bello Matawalle, in whose state the boys were released, told the BBC that three separate negotiations had taken place before the students' freedom was secured.
They were released in Tsafe town in Zamfara on Thursday evening, authorities say.
Mr Matawalle told BBC Hausa that during the negotiations the kidnappers had raised various grievances.
"Among their complaints was how people kill their cattle and how various vigilante units disturb them," the governor said, adding that the government had promised to look into the complaints of the kidnappers.
Conflict between herders and farming communities are common in Nigeria's central and north-western states, says the BBC's Nduka Orjinmo in Lagos.
Both groups have been warring for decades but deadly clashes have increased in recent years as farming communities and herdsmen have employed armed vigilantes, especially in Nigeria's north-west.
A spokesman for Governor Masari, Abdul Labaran, told the BBC the boys had been held by bandits.
"It wasn't Boko Haram," he said. "The local bandits we know about all along were responsible. These are people we know very well, I met some of their leaders. That is why an umbrella body of cattle breeders' association was used in contacting them. So the negotiation was made through this umbrella body of cattle breeders."
Witnesses say armed men raided the school in Kankara last Friday evening. Many students jumped the school fence and fled when they heard gunshots.
Some were tracked by the gunmen, who tricked them into believing that they were security personnel, students who escaped said. Once these students were rounded up, they were marched into the nearby forest by the armed men.
On Thursday, video was released bearing Boko Haram's emblem, showing dozens of boys, some of whom appeared to be very young.
One of the boys said they had been taken captive by "the gang of Abu Shekau". Abubakar Shekau leads Boko Haram, a group notorious for school kidnappings, including one in Chibok in 2014, when nearly 300 schoolgirls were seized.
The name of the group, which is based in north-east Nigeria, loosely translates as "Western education is forbidden".
Armed attacks and kidnappings are rife in the north-west and are often blamed on bandits, a loose term for gangs operating in the area.
Amnesty International says more than 1,100 people were killed by bandits in the first six months of this year, with the government failing to bring the attackers to justice.
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a3f36bf08753fc79ffc01872a8183e3c | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55386600 | Ethiopia explosion: 'Abandoned' bomb kills three in Addis Ababa | Ethiopia explosion: 'Abandoned' bomb kills three in Addis Ababa
Three people have been killed and five others wounded after an abandoned bomb exploded in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, police say.
The blast happened in the city's Lideta neighbourhood on Sunday.
The people who died were homeless and living on the streets, senior police officer commander Alemayehu Ayalke told state broadcaster EBC.
There is no indication that this explosion is linked to the crisis in the northern Tigray region.
Fighting between federal and regional troops from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) began there on 4 November and has forced 50,000 people into Sudan.
There have been other incidents in which police said "abandoned" bombs were either found or detonated in Addis Ababa in recent weeks, but most of those did not cause deaths, says the BBC's Kalkidan Yibeltal.
Reuters news agency reports that police have blamed the TPLF in several previous cases, but have not produced evidence to back up the accusation.
"An investigation regarding the explosion is now going on and the public will be informed once the investigation is completed," the state-owned Ethiopia News Agency reported on Sunday.
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07aff32357975476d60d7e94ff540cbb | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55412720 | Russia sends 300 military instructors to Central African Republic | Russia sends 300 military instructors to Central African Republic
Russia has sent an additional 300 military instructors to the Central African Republic (CAR) to deal with what its foreign ministry calls a "sharp degradation of security".
It said the CAR government, which is threatened by rebel groups ahead of Sunday's presidential election, had asked for help.
Former President François Bozizé denies plotting a coup.
UN peacekeepers have said the rebel advance has been halted.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said the Russian military was not involved in fighting in the CAR and that the military instructors were "not the army nor the special forces".
But a CAR government spokesman, quoted by AFP news agency, said Russia had sent "several hundred soldiers and heavy weapons" to support the government.
The spokesman, Ange Maxime Kazagui, said the Russian forces had been invited as part of bilateral agreements, AFP reports.
Private Russian security guards have been working in CAR providing security for the government and helping safeguard key economic assets.
Rwanda, which has troops serving in the UN mission in CAR, has also announced it is bolstering their numbers in support of the government.
The newly deployed forces will have "different rules of engagement which will enable them to protect our forces from being attacked, and protect civilians", Rwandan President Paul Kagame said.
At least 750 Rwandan soldiers and police officers have been operating under the UN peacekeeping force Minusca.
Minusca forces have also been deployed beyond the capital, Bangui, "to block armed elements", AFP quoted a UN spokesman as saying.
CAR President Faustin Archange Touadéra has insisted Sunday's election will go ahead, saying the presence of the army and UN peacekeepers means people have nothing to fear.
But opposition parties, including that of Mr Bozizé, have called for the vote to be postponed "until the re-establishment of peace and security".
Rebel groups have seized several towns close to Bangui, clashing with government forces and looting property, and the UN said its troops were working to prevent a blockade.
Mr Bozizé's spokesman, Christian Guenebem, said: "We categorically deny that Bozizé is at the origin of anything."
The CAR is one of Africa's poorest and most unstable countries, even though it is rich in resources like diamonds and uranium. The UN estimates that half of the population are dependent on humanitarian assistance and up to a fifth have been displaced.
On 3 December the CAR's Constitutional Court ruled that Mr Bozizé did not satisfy the "good morality" requirement for candidates because of an international warrant and UN sanctions against him for alleged assassinations, torture and other crimes during his rule.
Mr Bozizé, a Christian, came to power after a coup in 2003 and subsequently won two elections that were widely seen as fraudulent. He was ousted in 2013 by the Séléka - a rebel coalition drawn largely from the Muslim minority - which accused him of breaking peace agreements.
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e615005d8a1ba4d9a1b0e21c9c29719f | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55479480 | Algerian President Tebboune returns after Covid treatment in Germany | Algerian President Tebboune returns after Covid treatment in Germany
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has returned home after receiving coronavirus treatment in Germany for two months, state television reports.
Mr Tebboune was last seen in public on 15 October when he met with the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian.
The 75-year-old's absence had fuelled speculation over his ability to finish his first term.
"It is hard to be far from one's country," Mr Tebboune was quoted as saying upon his return.
He was advised on 24 October to self-isolate following a positive coronavirus case among his close staff.
His health deteriorated and he was flown to Germany on 28 October for treatment.
As concerns were rising over the president's health, he posted a video to social media on 13 December, vowing to return in a "few weeks".
Mr Tebboune, a former loyalist of ousted leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was elected last year on the promise to build "a new Algeria".
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b6cf52bd1e20f9e242b9450be5caac4a | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55497274 | Suspected Islamists kill dozens in attacks on two Niger villages | Suspected Islamists kill dozens in attacks on two Niger villages
Suspected Islamist militants have attacked two villages in Niger, with reports of dozens of civilians killed.
Around 49 died and 17 were injured in the village of Tchombangou, while another 30 died in Zaroumdareye - both near Niger's western border with Mali, Reuters reports.
There have been several recent violent incidents in Africa's Sahel region, carried out by militant groups.
France said on Saturday that two of its soldiers were killed in Mali.
Hours earlier, a group with links to al-Qaeda said it was behind the killing of three French troops in a separate attack in Mali on Monday.
France has been leading a coalition of West African and European allies against Islamist militants in the Sahel.
But the region continues to be affected by ethnic violence, banditry, and human and drug trafficking.
In light of Saturday's attacks, Interior Minister Alkache Alhada said soldiers had been sent to the area, according to French outlet RFI. But Mr Alhada did not say how many casualties there had been across the two villages.
A local official, quoted by AFP news agency, said many people were killed, and a local journalist spoke of up to 50 deaths.
Niger's Tillabéri region, where the villages are situated, lies within the so-called tri-border area between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, which has been plagued by jihadi attacks in recent years.
Travel by motorbike has been banned in the region for a year, as part of efforts to stop incursions by Islamic militants, who often launch attacks from the vehicles.
Areas of Niger are also facing repeated attacks by jihadists from Nigeria, where the government is fighting an insurgency by Boko Haram.
Last month, members of the group killed at least 27 people in Niger's south-eastern Diffa region.
The latest attacks in Tillabéri come amid national elections in Niger, as President Mahamadou Issoufou steps down after two five-year terms.
Election officials announced provisional results on Saturday, showing a lead for Mohamed Bazoum - a former minister and a member of Niger's ruling party.
A second round of votes is expected to be held on 21 February, once ballots have been validated by the country's constitutional court.
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703c5c8e6d85dd215c910cbce85eb15d | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55522236 | Sahel conflict: Two French soldiers killed in Mali | Sahel conflict: Two French soldiers killed in Mali
Two French soldiers died in Mali on Saturday when their armoured vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device.
The two were in the eastern region of Menaka collecting intelligence, the French presidency has said.
It comes days after three other French soldiers died in a similar way.
France has 5,100 troops in the Sahel region which has been a front line in the war against Islamist militancy for almost a decade.
The French first intervened in the Sahel region - a semi-arid stretch of land just south of the Sahara Desert which includes Mali, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania - in 2013.
These latest deaths brought to 50 the number of French soldiers killed in Mali since 2013, AFP News agency quotes army staff as saying.
France's Minister for the Armed Forces
Florence Parly tweeted
that France had lost "two of its children" Sgt Yvonne Huynh and Brig Loïc Risser.
Sgt Huynh, aged 33 and mother of a young child, was the first female French soldier killed in Sahel, AFP adds.
Earlier in the week three other French soldiers were killed in Mali, also when an improvised explosive devise hit their vehicle.
In that instance militants from the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), which is linked to al-Qaeda, said they were behind the attack.
No-one has yet said they carried out Saturday's attack.
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0edad946232e1f798adaaccb64247469 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55525677 | Niger village attacks: Death toll rises to 100 | Niger village attacks: Death toll rises to 100
Niger's prime minister says 100 people are now known to have been killed in Saturday's attacks by suspected jihadists on two villages.
Brigi Rafini said 70 people were killed in the village of Tchombangou and 30 others in Zaroumdareye - both near Niger's border with Mali.
It was one of the deadliest days in living memory, as Niger grapples with ethnic violence and Islamist militancy.
No group has said it carried out the attacks.
According to local mayor Almou Hassane, those responsible travelled on "about 100 motorcycles," AFP news agency reports.
They split into two groups and carried out the attacks simultaneously.
Former minister Issoufou Issaka told AFP that jihadists launched the assaults after villagers killed two of their group members, though this hasn't been officially confirmed.
Mayor Hassane said 75 other villagers were left wounded in the aftermath, and some have been evacuated for treatment in Ouallam and the capital, Niamey.
Prime Minister Rafini visited both of the villages on Sunday.
"This situation is simply horrible... but investigations will be conducted so that this crime does not go unpunished," he told reporters.
Niger's Tillabéri region lies within the so-called tri-border area between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, which has been plagued by jihadist attacks for many years.
Last month, seven Nigerien soldiers were killed in an ambush in the region.
Areas of Niger are also facing repeated attacks by jihadists from neighbouring Nigeria, where the government is fighting an insurgency by Boko Haram.
As part of efforts to quell the violence, France has been leading a coalition of West African and European allies against Islamist militants in the Sahel.
Coalition forces have become targets, and last week five French soldiers were killed in two separate incidents in Mali.
The latest attacks in Tillabéri also come amid national elections in Niger, as President Mahamadou Issoufou steps down after two five-year terms.
Election officials announced provisional results on Saturday, showing a lead for Mohamed Bazoum - a former minister and a member of Niger's ruling party.
A second round of votes is expected to be held on 21 February, once ballots have been validated by the country's constitutional court.
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81e0e4de3b1c674a2f75bcbcc63ecaf2 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55530351 | Ethiopia's Oromia conflict: Why a teacher was killed 'execution-style' | Ethiopia's Oromia conflict: Why a teacher was killed 'execution-style'
The shooting dead of Kitilaa Guddata has left his family in shock.
The 32-year-old high school teacher was among the latest casualties in the conflict between government forces and rebels in Ethiopia's Oromia region.
The violence centres around demands by an insurgent group for the "liberation" of Oromia - a vast swathe of land that is home to Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, the Oromo - and the subsequent security crackdown.
It has led to civilians being caught in the crossfire - including Mr Kitilaa. His family allege that he was killed after about 10 police officers took him from his home in Sekela town on the night of 19 November.
"His wife - the mother of his two children - begged them to take her instead, but they told her he would be back after some questioning," said a relative, who spoke to BBC Afaan Oromoo on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
The teacher never returned. His family said that after a frantic search they found his body, along with those of two other people, a couple of days later.
"There was a river and they killed him on a rock next to it. He was shot from behind; his hands were tied at the back. It looks like they used him as a target for shooting practice," the relative alleged.
Attempts to obtain comment from the Oromia Special Police Force were unsuccessful, but Oromia regional government spokesman Getachew Balcha said he was unaware of the security forces falsely accusing people of being allied with the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA).
"Measures are taken only against those whose crimes are known and exposed by the people," he told BBC Afaan Oromoo.
"But anyone found to have committed a crime, including police members and government officials, would be held accountable," he added.
The Oromia Special Police Force has increasingly become involved in operations aimed at quelling the insurgency in the southern and western parts of Oromia after an unspecified number of soldiers were hastily redeployed to the Tigray region
following the outbreak of conflict there in early November
.
It highlights the mounting security challenges in Ethiopia, ending the euphoria that had gripped the nation when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed rose to power in April 2018 and won the Nobel Peace Prize the following year.
He introduced sweeping reforms to end decades of authoritarian rule, including unbanning political parties and rebel groups, releasing thousands of detainees, and allowing exiles to return.
As Ethiopia's first Oromo prime minister, Mr Abiy's premiership was particularly welcomed in Oromia, with the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), the biggest rebel group, turning into an opposition party.
But one of its top military commanders, Kumsa Diriba, who is also known as "Jaal Maro", failed to reach a deal with the government over the disarmament of fighters.
After also falling out with the OLF, he continued the insurgency for what he calls the "liberation" of Oromia under the banner of the OLA from his forest hide-out in the west.
At the time in 2018, the security forces promised to crush his group within two weeks, but more than two years later they are still battling the insurgents.
Meanwhile, reports of civilian casualties mount. Another case is that of Galana Imana, a father of two.
In a BBC Afaan Oromoo interview, his younger sister Chaltu Imana said he was arrested by nearly 20 armed officers at his home in Ambo town, about 100km (60 miles) west of Addis Ababa, in November.
Ms Chaltu said she desperately searched for him for four days until she received news that police had found a body by a river. She then went to a local police station, where officers confirmed they had found a body and buried it.
"After some deliberations they asked us to bring his photo and describe how he was dressed the night he was arrested. Later they confirmed to us that the man they buried matched the photo and the description we gave them.
"They told us to go home and mourn him in the absence of his body. We had no option," she said, adding that the officers confirmed that her brother had died of a gunshot wound.
"We only know about his arrest. We don't know what his crime was, we don't know why they preferred to kill him rather than take him to court," Ms Chaltu said.
Her brother had only been politically active in the OLF, having served on a committee to welcome leaders who had returned from exile in 2018, she said.
The exact number of casualties from the conflict is unclear, but the state-linked Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said it had recorded the alleged killing of 12 civilians by the security forces in Oromia in November alone.
"Political disagreements are costing civilians dearly," commission adviser Imad Abdulfetah told BBC Afaan Oromoo.
He emphasised that OLA fighters have also been accused of targeting civilians.
Their victims include Amharas, the second largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and its historic rulers. More than 50 of them have been killed in western Oromia's Horro Guduru zone since November, in an apparent attempt to drive them out of the region.
The zone had been largely peaceful. The attacks suggest that the OLA has now moved in, and the killings have shocked people and raised fears of causing ethnic tensions.
According to government accounts, 13 Amharas were reportedly killed in the zone's Amuru district in November. In a deadlier attack in the same month, at least 34 Amharas were gunned down after OLA fighters called them to a meeting in a school compound in Guliso district.
The BBC also spoke to two residents of Abbay Choman district, who witnessed the killing of seven Amharas in December.
Residents said the gunmen, whose identities they were unsure of, used a loudhailer to summon both Oromos and Amharas to a meeting on the evening of 8 December.
"There were eight armed men, they had long hair, their faces were covered, they asked for residents who were Amharas to identify themselves. They told the rest of us to go home and took away about 10 of those who stood up," an Oromo resident said.
"We were waiting for their release the whole night, they didn't come. We found seven bodies the next morning," he added.
While it is unclear what exactly the OLA means by the "liberation" of Oromia, the main opposition parties in Oromia are demanding greater regional autonomy, believing it to be the best way to guarantee the political, cultural and language rights of different ethnic groups.
But their critics, especially urban elites with a more cosmopolitan outlook, fear this could result in ethnic identities becoming more entrenched, and Ethiopia disintegrating into ethnic fiefdoms.
Many Oromos feel Mr Abiy is leaning towards the latter view and wants to centralise power. This perception grew especially after he dissolved the ethnically based ruling coalition in 2019 and gave his newly formed Prosperity Party (PP) power at both the centre and in Ethiopia's 10 regions.
The same argument is part of the conflict in Tigray.
In Oromia, the security forces have also arrested almost the entire leadership of the two main opposition parties, the OLF and Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), accusing them of fuelling violence to advance their cause for greater autonomy. They deny instigating violence.
Their detention has led to many opposition supporters concluding that the political space Mr Abiy opened in 2018 had now closed. This has resulted in sympathy, if not support, for the OLA growing, especially among youths impatient for change.
The OLA has mainly attacked government officials and police officers - including commanders - in small towns and villages as part of a strategy to make them ungovernable for Mr Abiy.
However, it has also created a culture of fear among Oromos. Armed men raided two banks in Hagamsaa village in December and set ablaze an ambulance, which was taking a pregnant woman to a medical facility to deliver her baby, and a private vehicle in nearby Shambu town. Locals suspect that the rebels were trying to obtain money and vehicles for their insurgency.
The OLA is strongest in southern Oromia, which borders Kenya. The group suffered a major blow there in December when a powerful traditional leader in the region, Kura Jarso, denounced it as an "enemy of the people" after accusing its fighters of killing civilians, raping women and stealing cattle.
The conflict has also spilled into Kenya, where tens of thousands of Oromos live and are loyal to Mr Kura. In November, residents in the Kenyan town of Moyale said Ethiopian troops had crossed the border ransacking neighbourhoods and taking away 10 people they accused of sheltering members of the OLA, also referred to as OLF-Shane.
Mr Abiy visited the Kenyan side of the border with Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta in December.
In his speech, he lumped the Oromo rebels with Somalia-based militant Islamist group al-Shabab, which is the main security threat in Kenya. He said both should be "eliminated", although there is no evidence linking the ethnic nationalists to the Somali militants.
It was a further sign that Mr Abiy intends to continue taking a hard-line approach to tackling conflicts in Ethiopia.
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c9cefd3b0c38e7a85819a03ceb011429 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55532789 | Coronavirus: Kenya reopens schools after nine months | Coronavirus: Kenya reopens schools after nine months
Millions of mask-wearing pupils in Kenya have returned to school nine months after they were closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The learners' temperatures were checked and they were required to use sanitiser before entering classrooms.
There was excitement in most schools as the pupils were reunited, the BBC's Ferdinand Omondi reports from Nairobi.
The authorities say efforts have been made to ensure that pupils and teachers will be safe.
But Kenya's National Union of Teachers' Secretary General Wilson Sossion told the BBC's Newsday programme that the return to school plan was "inadequate".
He said the government had not released funds to schools to buy thermometers, sanitisers and other items required to implement the health protocols.
Education Minister George Magoha has especially been criticised for suggesting that schools should consider learning under trees as a way of avoiding overcrowding in classes.
Some said the minister was expressing a cavalier attitude towards public schools which, compared to private ones, often have fewer resources to cater for their huge pupil population.
Apart from pupils in their final year, who returned to school late in 2020, those in other grades will repeat the academic year.
Kenya has reported almost 97,000 cases of Covid-19 and more than 1,600 deaths since the start of the outbreak in March last year.
Over the weekend President Uhuru Kenyatta extended an overnight curfew until March to help prevent the spread of the virus.
The BBC's
Focus on Africa
programme has been speaking to a teacher and student about their experiences after their first day in school.
I was really happy and excited to see my friends.
It was fun but we had to social distance and I couldn't really hug my friends or interact with them like normal.
The teachers kept reminding us to keep our masks on and social distance so it wasn't difficult to remember to do so.
Our tables were spaced and we had stickers on the floor.
I prefer school to learning from home because I can focus more and it's easier for me to learn because I couldn't really understand what the teacher was saying during online learning - I found it hard to concentrate.
It was a bit strange, both the students and I were in masks and there would be a lag in communication because they were not speaking up loud enough to be heard over the mask.
There is also the aspect of social distancing which affects things that we would normally do like group work.
If we were to do something like singing we probably would have to consider doing that outside to ensure they are not in an enclosed space.
They also have to remember to keep their distance and to sanitise - it's definitely a big adjustment.
But this is a private school so the numbers are not as big and we are doing our best to ensure physical distance is kept, there's even markings on the floor so that we put desks in certain places.
Maybe for public schools they should have considered a phased reintroduction into the physical classroom because it's quite tasking, even though the teachers there are well trained and versed in ways of reminding the children put their masks on and other measures.
By Ferdinand Omondi, BBC News, Nairobi
A sudden cheerful yelp here. Somebody's name screamed out there. And uniforms everywhere.
It was the kind of buzz which Kenyans had missed for more than nine months.
Schools reopened countrywide, and for the first time arguably, the students themselves were looking forward to leaving home.
At Ayany primary school in Kibera, in the capital, Nairobi, the headteacher, Jackson Ndambuki, said 1,400 out of 1,500 registered students reported back.
Nearly all of them wore masks as ordered. Those that did not had government-issued masks provided to them.
There were temperature checks from the gate, lots of handwashing at designated washing areas, and sanitiser in each class.
But not so much for social distancing.
The young children kept hugging, touching and staying barely two feet from each other despite the incessant pleading and reminder by one of their teachers.
It was a day of excitement and chaos. When they finally settle down, the next big challenge would be for cash-strapped parents to pay school fees.
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44adcab470ae5a64f47800365c66d1e5 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55575420 | Ghana president Nana Akufo-Addo sworn in for a second term | Ghana president Nana Akufo-Addo sworn in for a second term
Nana Akufo-Addo has been sworn in for a second term as Ghana's president, hours after scuffles between rival politicians broke out in parliament.
Soldiers were briefly deployed after the unusual scenes in one of Africa's most stable democracies.
The president defeated his main rival, former President John Mahama, in December's tightly fought election.
He faces the twin challenges of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and trying to boost the economy.
Ghana has had more than 50,000 confirmed cases of the virus, and like many countries has experienced major economic disruption.
Things came to a head in parliament while MPs were voting on a new speaker. The situation escalated after one MP snatched a ballot paper and tried to run out of the building with it.
"There was total breakdown of law and order," said MP-elect Kwame Twumasi Ampofo of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Scuffles between MPs from the NDC and Mr Akufo-Addo's New Patriotic Party (NPP), neither of which has a majority, were eventually broken up by soldiers who briefly intervened.
An NDC MP, Alban Bagbin, was later sworn in as speaker. It is the first time Ghana has a president and speaker from different parties.
Earlier this week, in what was the final speech of his first term in office, President Akufo-Addo had urged parliamentarians to unite and accommodate each others' views.
The two parties have exactly the same number of MPs in the newly elected legislature, so there is the possibility of political gridlock.
Last week the NDC filed a petition at the Supreme Court seeking to annul President Nana Akufo-Addo's victory, citing voting irregularities.
The president obtained 51.6% of the vote in the 7 December election, compared with 47.4% won by Mr Mahama, who served in the top job from 2012 to 2017.
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30a55244546d1b5a811fdc25c300671d | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55611203 | Six rangers killed in DR Congo's Virunga National Park | Six rangers killed in DR Congo's Virunga National Park
Six park rangers have been killed after an attack at the famous Virunga National Park in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Officials have blamed the attack on a militia group known as Mai-Mai, one of many that operate in the region.
The rangers were ambushed while on foot patrol inside the park, a spokesperson told the BBC.
Staff working in the park, which is home to endangered mountain gorillas, have often come under attack.
In April last year 13 rangers were killed in a rebel ambush.
Several armed groups operate in the restive eastern region of DR Congo where Virunga National Park - a Unesco World Heritage site - is based.
A statement from the park said preliminary investigations suggested the rangers "were taken by surprise and had no opportunity to defend themselves" during the Sunday morning attack.
It said another ranger who was seriously injured in the attack was receiving treatment and expected to make a full recovery,
A local government delegate Alphonse Kambale told AFP news agency that two Mai-Mai militants had also been killed.
Nearly 700 armed rangers work in Virunga - Africa's oldest nature reserve - where at least 200 have been killed in attacks going back more than a decade, AFP reports.
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5c436d4d25e66ac58eecf75c9b7ee950 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55618994 | Uganda social media ban raises questions over regulation in Africa | Uganda social media ban raises questions over regulation in Africa
After Facebook's suspension of some Ugandan accounts, followed by the authorities' shutdown of social media and then the entire internet, the BBC's Dickens Olewe looks at the wider implications for Uganda, and elsewhere in Africa.
Facebook has said it was trying to implement its rules but that is not how President Yoweri Museveni saw it.
"There is no way anybody can come [here] and play around with our country and decide who is good [and] who is bad," he said as he railed against the company's decision to remove accounts linked to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) just days before Thursday's general election.
The president accused Facebook, which he and other candidates had been using to campaign, of "arrogance".
His press secretary Don Wanyama, whose account was among those affected, told the BBC that the social media platform was being "dictatorial".
"It is simply a platform, it should not morph into a political party. There must be regulation of these platforms and independent oversight bodies," Mr Wanyama said, adding that Uganda's communications commission should get involved to set a "level playing field".
In a statement, Facebook said it acted after an investigation found that the accounts were involved in a coordinated effort to undermine political debate in the country.
Regardless of the merits of the case, analysts have told the BBC that popular social media platforms like Facebook need to pay attention to the context in which they are operating.
They suggest that the companies should hire more people based on the continent and create an election response unit that works with civil society groups to enable them to tailor responses instead of relying on one-size-fits-all policies.
Mr Wanyama accused leading opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi - better known by his stage name Bobi Wine - of being behind the removal of the accounts.
This was denied by researcher Tessa Knight from Digital Forensic Research Lab, whose
investigation uncovered the coordinated campaigns by NRM targeting the opposition.
"After I completed my investigation, I sent through the data to Facebook. They conducted their own, independent investigation and concluded that the network of accounts were engaged in Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour (CIB) in an attempt to influence public debate ahead of the election," Ms Knight told the BBC, adding that she did not work with Bobi Wine as alleged.
CIB, as described by Facebook, is when groups of pages or people work together to mislead others about who they are or what they are doing while relying on fake accounts.
In one instance, some of the accounts identified in the Uganda investigation posted exactly the same message on Facebook and Twitter, backing a police crackdown on opposition supporters:
Late last year Facebook announced that it had uncovered similar attacks by France- and Russia-based accounts seeking to influence voters' opinions in the Central African Republic.
But according to Kenyan internet policy researcher Odanga Madung, banning the NRM-linked accounts exposed how sensitive the subject of content moderation can be and handed the Ugandan government the perfect excuse to do what it had already planned.
"Any casual observer of Ugandan politics expected the government to impose internet restrictions ahead of the elections, so Facebook's decision - especially the absence of tact when punishing infringements of its terms of service - offered Museveni a timely ruse to clothe the inevitable shutdown as a retaliation," said Mr Madung.
"What is clear from this fallout is that we'll see more of such collisions in Africa, especially in authoritarian countries, as social media companies come under pressure to implement their terms of service," he told the BBC.
"But I think this is an opportunity for Facebook and other platforms to increase their presence on the continent, beyond the few officials already here, and the fact-checking collaborations," Mr Madung said, adding that "we must remember that these are private corporations so their profit motives comes first".
Some commentators have noted that unlike in the US, where social media platforms banned a president, in Uganda it was the other way round.
Popular Tanzanian cartoonist Gado artfully captured this sentiment.
In justifying the social media ban, the Ugandan government has mimicked the words of the social media companies.
"There has been a lot of misuse of social media to spread unfounded information that has been discrediting government officials... really if we are to practice democracy we need people to present facts as they are," minister Betty Amongi told the BBC.
Political analyst Nanjala Nyabola, who has written extensively about technology in Africa, said the banning of US President Donald Trump from using the main social media platforms had opened a new phase in what had been a "very fraught conversation" internationally.
She believes that the context in which the action is taken is crucial.
"The social network could take the exact same action in different places and the interpretation would be completely different.
"It all depends on the pre-existing relationship between citizens and the government. In Uganda the government is saying that the ban is undemocratic but so is mass arrest and intimidation of opposition candidates. And the history of violence from the government against civilians changes the perception of the removal of these sites," she told the BBC.
There has also been a history of the Ugandan government trying to limit the use of social media.
In 2018 it introduced a controversial tax on the sites, which President Museveni defended as way of reducing "gossip" on the platforms.
The policy has instead made internet access more costly and resulted in the loss of revenue for telecoms companies.
The economic impact of the current internet restrictions will only compound the situation.
According to
recent research by Top1OVPN
looking at the cost of internet shutdowns in the year 2020, more than 50 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were affected by a shutdown, resulting in an economic cost of $237m (£173m).
In Uganda,
NetBlocks
- which calculates the cost of internet shutdowns - estimates the country will lose at least $1.7m (£1.2m) a day, the amount is an aggregated cost of indirect losses as well as a direct consequence of businesses staying offline.
This also raises troubling questions about the relationship between social media companies and governments in places where there are moves towards greater regulation.
Ms Nyabola is concerned that if there is a tightening of rules, then it could tilt the balance even more in favour of the state.
She added that social media companies now need to have a greater presence on the continent with local staff and a commitment to understand the social and political context to prevent the enforcement of their policies playing into the hands of authoritarian governments.
"If these corporations know that their platforms are increasingly going to play a part in elections around the world then they need to have an election response unit," Ms Nyabola said.
"There shouldn't be a single rule but a flexible approach that can be rolled out in different contexts."
The social media platforms would argue that their rules apply equally to everyone, including presidents.
However, the global debate about their power and influence in moderating speech, and whether their policies should be universal, or are fair, will not end with Mr Museveni, or Mr Trump.
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7bdd2d57b0e6bbab40e8070eea3feea7 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55675806 | Coronavirus: South Africa rolls out vaccination programme | Coronavirus: South Africa rolls out vaccination programme
South Africa has started Covid-19 vaccinations following the suspension of an earlier plan to use the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
More than a third of all Covid-19 cases in Africa have been in South Africa, with a new variant of the virus accounting for most of the new cases there.
South Africa is using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine which is administered as a single dose.
The country has received 80,000 doses of this vaccine, which has been shown to be effective against the variant first identified in South Africa.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says the country has secured nine million doses in total, and more doses are expected.
Pfizer has also committed 20 million vaccine doses, with deliveries expected at the end of the first quarter of this year.
Early in February, the country received one million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from India.
However, it put the roll out of these on hold, following a study that
showed "disappointing" results against the country's new Covid-19 strain.
The country is now considering administering the vaccine to 100,000 people to monitor its impact before deciding if it should be used more widely.
South Africa says it has so far secured enough doses for the target population of 40 million.
However, there has been criticism that the government was too slow to act.
Apart from bilateral deals with manufacturers, South Africa is sourcing vaccines from the World Health Organization-backed Covax scheme, as well as through an African Union programme.
Covax is a global initiative in which countries pool their resources to support the development of vaccines with a view to ensure that all countries receive a fair supply of effective vaccines.
South Africa expects to acquire doses for around 10% of the population
-
12 million vaccine doses - through Covax and has been told it will receive them from April through to June.
The African Union established the African vaccine acquisition task team
last year to source vaccine doses for the continent.
There's been concern that many poorer, less-developed countries are being left behind in the global competition to secure vaccine supplies.
However, critics suggest that South Africa - as the richest country in Africa - should not have been in this position.
"The stunning reality is that [South Africa] has neither a secured vaccine supply nor a plan for mass inoculation in the foreseeable future that can withstand scrutiny," the Progressive Health Forum, a group of leading medical experts in the country, said in January.
The opposition Democratic Alliance had earlier called on the government to give full details of its negotiations with vaccine suppliers,
accusing the government of "dropping the ball".
It claims the government only started to talk to vaccine suppliers in early January.
And it's also emerged that South Africa
will pay more than twice the price for AstraZeneca vaccines than countries in Europe.
Dr Anban Pillay, deputy director-general at the Ministry of Health, says the country was in touch with manufacturers as far back as last September.
"The vaccines that most of the other countries have procured are vaccines that may not be ideal for South Africa from various perspectives," he has said.
He said the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine wouldn't be appropriate for mass vaccination, often in remote rural areas,
due to its storage requirements of -70C.
And he added that the ministerial advisory committee advised against using this vaccine.
"We were waiting for the other vaccines that we can use as a mass rollout campaign, and those vaccines had not come through the production line yet," he said.
He also said some countries have gone ahead with some vaccines without completed clinical trial data, which wouldn't be allowed by the regulator in South Africa.
The government says it couldn't have signed deals early without knowing whether the vaccines were safe and effective, as this would have been in contravention of national financial laws.
Wealthy countries, such as the UK and others, signed deals for prospective vaccines
as early as July last year while they were still in development and undergoing trials.
And countries who can afford to pay most at the earliest stage of development and production can often secure an advantage, according to experts.
South Africa did take part in a trial for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine starting in July last year,
and involving some 2,000 people.
It's unclear whether or not the authorities used this to begin negotiating for supplies from the manufacturer.
Research by Duke University in the US tracking advance vaccine commitments by country
shows that the majority of doses purchased so far have been for high income countries.
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95cceb6eee246ced215fda22ca562e0e | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55689665 | Uganda's long-time leader Yoweri Museveni declared election winner | Uganda's long-time leader Yoweri Museveni declared election winner
Uganda's long-time President Yoweri Museveni has been re-elected, electoral officials say, amid accusations of vote fraud by his main rival Bobi Wine.
Mr Museveni won almost 59% of the vote, with Bobi Wine trailing with about 35%, the Electoral Commission said.
Thursday's poll may turn out to be the "most cheating-free" in the history of the African nation, the president said.
Bobi Wine, a former pop star, vowed to provide evidence of vote-rigging when internet connections were restored.
The government shut down the internet ahead of voting day, a move condemned by election monitors.
They said confidence in the count had been damaged by the days-long cut. A government minister told the BBC on Saturday evening that the internet service would be restored "very soon".
In a phone interview with the BBC World Service
, Bobi Wine said he and his wife were not being allowed to leave their home by soldiers.
"Nobody is allowed to leave or come into our house. Also, all journalists - local and international - have been blocked from accessing me here at home," he said.
Dozens of people were killed during violence in the run-up to the election. Opposition politicians have also accused the government of harassment.
The result gives President Museveni a sixth term in office. The 76-year-old, in power since 1986, says he represents stability in the country.
Meanwhile, Bobi Wine - the stage name for 38-year-old Robert Kyagulanyi - says he has the backing of the youth in one of the world's youngest nations, where the median age is 16.
"The electoral commission declares Yoweri Museveni... elected President of the Republic of Uganda," election commission chairman Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama said on Saturday.
He said turnout was 57% of the almost 18 million registered voters.
Earlier, Mr Byabakama said the vote had been peaceful, and called on Bobi Wine to make public the evidence for his fraud allegations.
The opposition candidate earlier said: "I will be happy to share the videos of all the fraud and irregularities as soon as the internet is restored."
But speaking after being declared the winner, Mr Museveni said: "Voting by machines made sure there is no cheating.
"But we are going to audit and see how many people voted by fingerprints and how many of those voted by just using the register."
Mr Museveni also warned that "foreign meddling will not be tolerated".
The EU, United Nations and several rights groups have raised concerns. Aside from an African Union mission, no major international group monitored the vote.
Earlier this week the US - a major aid donor to Uganda -
cancelled its diplomatic observer mission to the country
, saying that the majority of its staff had been denied permission to monitor polling sites.
The
US state department said the vote occurred in "an environment of intimidation of fear".
By Catherine Byaruhanga, BBC News, Kampala
President Yoweri Museveni has seen off countless challengers during his three decades in power - helped along by constitutional changes, which have allowed him to continue running for office.
His assurances of security and economic stability continue to win him votes. It's easy to underestimate how much the memories of decades of civil war and a failed state still cast a shadow over this country.
Bobi Wine rejects the results and says he will present evidence of rigging and voter intimidation. The opposition leader casts a lonely figure - in his home on the outskirts of Kampala.
His key advisers have either been arrested or are in hiding. Nevertheless, he will continue to play a key role in Uganda's politics.
His National Unity Platform is expected to be the biggest opposition party in parliament. What he says and does can inspire millions both in Uganda and across Africa where youthful political movements are taking hold.
Mr Museveni, who came to power on the back of an armed uprising in 1986, stood as leader of the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
He has long been depicted to Ugandans as a liberator and peace bringer.
But he has managed to maintain his grip on power through a mixture of encouraging a personality cult, employing patronage, compromising independent institutions and sidelining opponents, says the BBC's Patience Atuhaire.
The reggae star is known by his supporters as the "ghetto president".
His party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), campaigns for basic needs like improving access to healthcare, education, clean water and justice.
Over the last two decades Bobi Wine's musical output has been filled with songs about these issues and they have inspired a fervent following.
He grew up in Kampala's Kamwokya slum where he went on to build his now world-famous recording studio.
|
31113cccc714e7afff406f6c2a733447 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55694667 | Uganda election: Bobi Wine 'fearful for life' after Museveni win | Uganda election: Bobi Wine 'fearful for life' after Museveni win
Uganda's main opposition presidential candidate Bobi Wine says his life is being threatened following Thursday's election which saw Yoweri Museveni win a sixth elected term.
The singer-turned-politician told the BBC that he rejected the results "with the contempt they deserve".
He alleged there had been a lot of irregularities but Mr Museveni called it Uganda's fairest ever vote.
Campaigning had been marred by violence in which dozens of people died.
Just ahead of voting day the government shut down the internet, a move condemned by election monitors.
They said confidence in the count had been damaged by the days-long cut. A government minister told the BBC on Saturday evening that the internet service would be restored "very soon".
In a phone interview with the BBC World Service
, Bobi Wine, the stage name for 38-year-old Robert Kyagulanyi, said he was "worried about my life and the life of my wife".
He said he was not being allowed to leave his house which was surrounded by security forces.
"Nobody is allowed to leave or come into our house. Also, all journalists - local and international - have been blocked from accessing me here at home," he said.
Addressing what his party, National Unity Platform, might do now, he told the BBC that "all options are now on the table including but not limited to peaceful protest" but he stressed that he was not calling for violent insurrection.
The opposition candidate earlier said: "I will be happy to share the videos of all the fraud and irregularities as soon as the internet is restored."
The result gives President Museveni, 76 and in power since 1986, five more years as president.
Speaking after being declared the winner, he rejected claims of fraud describing the election as likely to be "the most cheating-free election" in the country's history.
Mr Museveni also alleged that another country in the region had sent "agents to come meddle in our politics".
"Foreign meddling will not be tolerated, we do not want foreigners interfering in our affairs. If foreign interference were a source of wealth then Africa would be the richest country in the world."
The president's supporters came out on to the streets of the capital, Kampala, on Saturday to celebrate his victory.
Issuing the final result on Saturday, the Electoral Commission said the vote had been peaceful, with a turnout of 57% of the almost 18 million registered voters.
But the EU, United Nations and several rights groups have raised concerns. Aside from an African Union mission, no major international group monitored the vote.
The AU has not yet commented.
Earlier this week the US - a major aid donor to Uganda -
cancelled its diplomatic observer mission to the country
, saying that the majority of its staff had been denied permission to monitor polling sites.
The
US state department said the vote occurred in "an environment of intimidation of fear".
In a statement Africa Elections Watch, a coalition of civil society groups, which said it had 3,000 election observers in Uganda, said that the vote did not "meet the threshold of a democratic, free, fair, transparent and credible electoral process".
By Catherine Byaruhanga, BBC News, Kampala
President Yoweri Museveni has seen off countless challengers during his three decades in power - helped along by constitutional changes, which have allowed him to continue running for office.
His assurances of security and economic stability continue to win him votes. It's easy to underestimate how much the memories of decades of civil war and a failed state still cast a shadow over this country.
Bobi Wine casts a lonely figure - in his home on the outskirts of Kampala.
His key advisers have either been arrested or are in hiding. Nevertheless, he will continue to play a key role in Uganda's politics.
His National Unity Platform is expected to be the biggest opposition party in parliament. What he says and does can inspire millions both in Uganda and across Africa where youthful political movements are taking hold.
Mr Museveni, who came to power on the back of an armed uprising in 1986, stood as leader of the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
He has long been depicted to Ugandans as a liberator and peace bringer.
But he has managed to maintain his grip on power through a mixture of encouraging a personality cult, employing patronage, compromising independent institutions and sidelining opponents, says the BBC's Patience Atuhaire.
The reggae star is known by his supporters as the "ghetto president".
His party campaigns for basic needs like improving access to healthcare, education, clean water and justice.
Over the last two decades Bobi Wine's musical output has been filled with songs about these issues and they have inspired a fervent following.
He grew up in Kampala's Kamwokya slum where he went on to build his now world-famous recording studio.
|
8da2a0f53e03f440478e50f4fb4ba1e6 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55695123 | Ethiopia Tigray crisis: Fear of mass starvation | Ethiopia Tigray crisis: Fear of mass starvation
"Hundreds of thousands might starve to death" in Ethiopia's Tigray region, according to a government official quoted in a leaked copy of notes taken at a meeting of humanitarian workers.
The government-run Tigray Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) is assessing needs following the conflict there.
The federal government declared victory at the end of November.
But sporadic fighting has continued and the UN has described the humanitarian situation as "severe".
It added that "
reports indicate that food is not available or is extremely limited in markets
, posing increased risks of malnutrition".
The ECC says that 4.5 million people need emergency food aid in Tigray,
according to a figure quoted in a UN report
. The population of Tigray is between 5-7 million. More than 50,000 have fled to neighbouring Sudan.
In a statement on Friday, the Ethiopia embassy in London said the authorities wanted to help those in need.
"The government of Ethiopia remains committed to working closely with its humanitarian and development partners to address any outstanding challenges that could hinder the safe, effective, and efficient delivery of humanitarian assistance to all affected populations," it said.
The UN has said that access to parts of Tigray is still limited but some aid is getting through.
Communication with much of the region remains difficult as phone lines and the internet have been cut making the verification of reports hard.
According to the leaked notes taken by a participant at an ECC meeting on 8 January, an official from the interim administration of the central part of Tigray "said that the situation [on] the ground is dire".
"Food and non-food items or other livelihoods are either looted or destroyed. He also added that if urgent emergency assistance is not mobilised hundreds of thousands might starve to death."
"People are dying because of starvation. In Adwa people are dying while they are sleeping," he was quoted as saying.
Another official, quoted in notes from a meeting on 1 January describing the humanitarian needs, said that "while we were on the road and visit different places, people asked our escort for a single biscuit".
Ethiopia's defence forces entered Tigray early in November to oust the region's ruling party after its troops had captured federal military bases.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed insists that the army has been using proportional force to restore law and order and bring a "criminal clique" to justice.
Since the end of November, there has been an operation to find fugitive Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) party leaders who vowed to continue the fight after the regional capital was captured by the army.
On Friday,
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said in a statement
that the situation on the ground had gone "well beyond a purely internal 'law and order' operation".
"We receive consistent reports of ethnic-targeted violence, killings, massive looting, rapes, forceful returns of refugees [to Eritrea] and possible war crimes," he said.
|
f3c9ecc886170d1937d5b3978b810a45 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55698454 | Letter from Africa: The continent no longer needs lectures from the US | Letter from Africa: The continent no longer needs lectures from the US
In our series of letters from African journalists, Waihiga Mwaura looks at what the continent could expect from new US President Joe Biden.
The red carpet was unrolled, the hall was packed, security was tight and Joe Biden took to the stage.
This was Nairobi in 2010 and Kenyans had come to listen to the-then US vice-president.
"I hope what I am saying doesn't come across as lecturing," he said in a phrase that usually heralds a lecture.
"I am not," he insisted. "But too many of your resources have been lost to corruption and not a single high-ranking official has been held accountable for these crimes."
I was one of those watching and, at that time, the US was a beacon of democracy and the rule of law, the land of the free and the brave and the source of an aspirational dream.
A decade on and a lot has changed.
Could Mr Biden now get away with a lecture - how ever well meaning - if he decides to visit Kenya?
President Donald Trump, through his America First policy, redefined the US' image abroad. But that image has also been altered through his actions and words - not least
his reported dismissal of African countries in highly derogatory terms
.
And though the office of the president can be separated from the individual, President Biden will, in the light of the last four years, have to address Kenya and the rest of the continent in a markedly different tone and with a markedly different message.
Examples of how Mr Trump steamrolled norms, and thereby tarnished the view of the US, are too many to fit in this piece.
But aside from the failure to release tax returns, undermining intelligence agencies and contradicting scientists in the midst of a pandemic, the events of 6 January, when the president's supporters stormed the US Capitol, showed that this went beyond one man.
The US was no longer the shining city on the hill.
Five people died as the protesters attempted to stop a joint session of Congress to certify Mr Biden's election victory, leading to accusations that the outgoing president was attempting a coup.
The world watched in horror as scenes only witnessed in - shall I say - less developed democracies unfolded before their eyes.
Kenyan newspaper editors were not alone in describing the events as "chaotic" and "shameful" - and calling Mr Trump "disgraced".
And terms like "banana republic", "failed state" and "fragile democracy" were thrown the way of the US.
Mr Biden takes over in the White House with the knowledge that the world no longer respects the United States in the same way.
And this could have implications for governance across the continent.
Presidents no longer hold the US in awe and will find it easier to dismiss concerns about democratic processes.
In the run-up to the vote in Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni told a Channel 4 reporter that his administration's crackdown on protesters was aimed at preventing scenes similar to what unfolded in Washington.
In military terms, for many years the US has been described as the world's policeman but when it comes to democratic norms it has also been called the world's prefect. But can opposition movements and civil society groups in countries like Kenya now rely on Washington for support when elections come?
Ugandan opposition candidate Bobi Wine appealed to the US to keep the government accountable during and after the polls but some wondered whether it was too engrossed with internal strife to have had any impact.
Despite the heightened security, there was an orderly transfer of power in the US and Congress has gone back to the business of legislating suggesting the importance of strong institutions that rise above the individual.
Also, President Biden may now know what it feels like to live in a country where individual leaders can easily trample on norms and conventions.
Nevertheless, he will now need to tread more carefully when it comes to relations with Africa and he'll need to carefully weigh up any words of advice.
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|
39a3543e31e4c95b976ac94074c57242 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55713555 | Tunisia protests: Hundreds arrested as clashes continue | Tunisia protests: Hundreds arrested as clashes continue
Police in Tunisia say they have arrested more than 600 people as a fourth night of violent protests saw protesters return to the streets.
On Monday, crowds of mainly young demonstrators again gathered in the centre of the capital, Tunis, throwing stones and petrol bombs at police.
Security forces responded with tear gas and water cannon.
Tunisia faces severe economic problems and a third of its young people are unemployed.
The economic crisis has worsened under the pandemic.
The latest unrest comes almost exactly 10 years since the Tunisian revolution ushered in democracy and triggered the Arab Spring revolts across the region. However, hopes that this would bring more jobs and opportunities have been disappointed.
Outside Tunis, clashes were reported on Monday in the cities of Kasserine, Gafsa, Sousse and Monastir.
A spokesman for the interior ministry said the majority of those arrested since the current wave of protests began on Friday were minors who had been detained over acts of vandalism and looting.
Khaled Hayouni said two policemen had been injured.
"This has nothing to do with protest movements that are guaranteed by the law and the constitution," Mr Hayouni said. "Protests take place in broad daylight... without any criminal acts involved."
The clashes took place mainly in densely populated and under-privileged areas where the relationship between young people and the police is historically tense, the BBC's Rana Jawad in Tunis reports.
Social tensions have worsened under sporadic lockdown measures and a nightly curfew in place since October to combat the spread of the coronavirus, our correspondent says.
Earlier on Monday, demonstrators gathered outside government offices in Tunis's Bourguiba Avenue calling for those arrested in recent days to be released. They chanted "no fear, no fear, the street belongs to the people".
One protester, Sonia, an unemployed graduate who did not give her family name, said: "They call everyone who protests against the system a thief. We have come with exposed faces by day and not by night to say we want jobs...we want dignity."
Amnesty International urged authorities to exercise restraint and to uphold the rights of those detained.
A decade on from the revolution that overthrew the dictatorship of Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali, many Tunisians are growing increasingly angry at stubbornly high unemployment and poor public services.
The economy shrank by 9% in 2020 and consumer prices have risen sharply.
Tunisia's key tourism industry has been particularly badly hit by the pandemic.
|
e3966dd49fa94f31518cb340b9b61b9e | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55725305 | Vedanta mine settles Zambian villagers' pollution claim | Vedanta mine settles Zambian villagers' pollution claim
More than 2,500 Zambian villagers are to receive an undisclosed settlement from UK-based mining giant Vedanta Resources over their pollution claims.
The claimants live by the huge Nchanga Copper mine, owned by Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), a Vedanta subsidiary.
In 2015, they alleged that toxic discharge from Nchanga had poisoned water sources and destroyed farmland.
In a landmark ruling four years later, the UK Supreme Court said the case could be fought in the UK courts.
In its judgement, the Supreme Court had said the firm owed villagers a duty of care and
there was a risk they would not be able to achieve justice in the Zambian courts
.
A joint statement from UK-based law firm Leigh Day, which is representing the claimants, and Vedanta said the mining companies did not admit liability but had settled all claims "for the benefit of the local community".
"It was claimed that toxic effluent discharge from the mine damaged local land and waterways used for irrigation and the use of polluted water for drinking, washing and bathing caused residents severe health problems,"
it said
.
The villagers had sought damages and an end to the "alleged continual pollution that they say is gravely impacting their lives", the statement added.
Leaked documents seen by the BBC in 2015 appeared to show that KCM had been spilling sulphuric acid and other toxic chemicals into the water sources.
The communities of Hippo Pool, Kakosa, Shimulala and Hellen said that the Mushishima stream and the Kafue had become rivers of acid.
|
4719b8b01d519b359523dfed1dfbaa49 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55755710 | Uganda's Yoweri Museveni overcomes Bobi Wine challenge - for now | Uganda's Yoweri Museveni overcomes Bobi Wine challenge - for now
The keenly contested Ugandan election that saw the country's long-standing leader defeat a former pop star was not without drama but has it heralded any change? The BBC's Patience Atuhaire reports from the capital, Kampala.
It was billed by some as an election like no other - a 38-year-old musician raised in a Kampala slum was challenging a man who first became president 35 years ago.
When Robert Kyagulanyi, better known by his stage name Bobi Wine, first launched his presidential bid, some in President Yoweri Museveni's ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) dismissed the threat.
They said he was only popular in the capital, but then he kept drawing crowds even in far-flung corners of the country. Then, as a government minister commented, it was claimed that the excitement around him was simply because he was a celebrity.
But it felt like more than that.
Tech savvy and accessible, Bobi Wine used social media to call on young Ugandans - the majority of the population - to work with him towards "a new Uganda". And they lapped it up.
Or so it seemed.
The authorities certainly appeared rattled. As the campaigning reached a crescendo, the tear gas, live bullets and arrests meted out to Bobi Wine and his supporters made it clear that the powers that be were leaving nothing to chance.
The NRM relied on incumbency and the full force of the state.
Bobi Wine the performer, not Robert Kyagulanyi the politician, was the person on the campaign trail.
He worked the crowds - who gathered despite coronavirus concerns - into a frenzy with the "people power, our power" chant, complete with the arm-waving.
But what he wanted to do with that power was rarely fleshed out at the rallies. Even on the few occasions when the security forces took a break from harassing him, he hardly ever spoke about the issues in his manifesto.
In fact, covering this election was reduced to reporting the violence the opposition were subjected to, rather than the agenda the candidates were presenting to the electorate.
But the "people power" fire that Bobi Wine had lit among Ugandans seemed to burn all the way to the ballot box and then fizzle out.
Official figures, which the opposition alleged had been tampered with, would later show that the large rallies and social media popularity did not necessarily translate into a majority of votes.
Bobi Wine got a respectable 35%, but this was nearly the same percentage won by the top losing candidate, Kizza Besigye, in 2016. And then, like Dr Besigye, Bobi Wine was confined to his home by security forces.
The aftermath of the election had a familiar feel to it.
Before this, the morning of the vote - when opposition optimists still dreamed of another future - was misty and chilly, quite uncharacteristic for a Kampala January.
I arrived at a polling area in Nsambya, at the southern end of the city by 07:30, to find huddled groups of voters talking in muted tones.
The large sports field comprised five polling stations. The voting materials had arrived but the casting of ballots was yet to start.
As the queues grew longer, tempers rose with the warming temperatures. A young man shouted out what everyone must have been thinking: "We arrived here at 6am! What is holding us up?"
Several others grumbled, some hurling insults at the polling officials. Either his outspokenness paid off, or the officials just wanted to get rid of him. When voting finally begun, two hours late, he was moved to the front of the line.
I crossed the city to another large polling area in Nansana, on the northern side, where voting was delayed until 10:00. With queues as long as the eye could see, I could read the agitation on people's faces.
"I arrived here and was told this is not my rightful polling station. When I went the other side, I was sent back here. I'm waiting. My friend had a voter location slip, but her name is not in the register. She got discouraged and left," said Fatuma Namuleme.
I recalled similar queues here in 2016, rivulets of sweat running down the faces of voters standing in the mid-morning sun, waiting for materials to arrive. I remembered heavily armed soldiers disembarking from lorries to take charge of an increasingly tense situation.
On that day, the voting process in Kampala was so marred by the late delivery of materials that there were protests in some areas and voting had to be pushed to the next day.
But this time, there were only a couple of baton-wielding policemen ensuring the lines were orderly.
With an internet blackout and limited access to information from other parts of the capital and the countryside, voting day felt like an anti-climax.
As updates from the Electoral Commission streamed in, it became quite clear from early on where the poll result was headed - five more years for Mr Museveni.
Despite the long queues witnessed in Kampala, only 57% of over 18 million registered voters cast their ballots, 10 percentage points lower than the last election.
The president's winning percentage has also been steadily declining in the last three elections; from 68% in 2011, to 60.6% in 2016 and 58.6% this year.
And the opposition has kept a hold on Kampala and much of the central region.
Bobi Wine's newly formed National Unity Platform (NUP) party won most of the parliamentary seats in central region and will have a total of 56 MPs out of more than 500, making it the largest opposition party in parliament.
The NUP has become a home for younger, energetic politicians looking for fresh alliances who could shake things up.
The 2021 election left the same man at the top, but knocked several bricks out of the political house he has built over three decades.
Twenty-five members of cabinet, including Vice-President Edward Ssekandi, lost their parliamentary seats.
And if this election showed us anything, it is that Ugandans do not suffer turncoats. Among those who were voted out are opposition-turned-NRM members who quickly earned themselves ministerial posts upon switching sides.
In his victory speech, Mr Museveni nodded to the need to improve healthcare and education and promised to boost agriculture and manufacturing. He also lashed out at politicians who put their interests before those of the masses.
As for the NUP, its leaders are determined to go to court to challenge the result.
But that may be a struggle as Lina Zedriga, the party's vice-president for the northern region, said that its polling agents who had evidence of vote rigging have either been arrested or have gone missing.
Nevertheless, she is patient.
"We will stay as long as we want change," she said.
"For as long as we want the true reflection of the will of the people of Uganda, we will remain resolved. We have waited for 30-something years. We are not losing hope at all."
The determination to hold on to hope will depend on whether the youth that Bobi Wine has fired up will be prepared to put themselves in harm's way.
Otherwise, the pattern of the last three decades will be repeated, with Mr Museveni and the NRM maintaining their stranglehold on power.
|
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