A BBC reporter in court tweets that the man believed to be the mastermind of the twin World Cup bombings that killed 74 people in 2010 is in now the dock, but denies the charges:

Nigeria’s foreign affairs minster has tweeted that he is to sign a visa-free pact with eight states:

He said the countries will be named at a later date.

They will not include those in West Africa as residents of countries in the regional bloc Ecowas can already travel without visas to member countries.

The minister told journalists in the capital, Abuja:

The judge reading out the verdict at the trial of 13 men suspected of being behind the al-Shabab World Cup bombings in 2010 (see earlier posts) has been giving details of how the attack was planned, as our reporter tweets:

Uganda's private Daily Monitor newspaper quotes the judge as saying the attack was planned in Somalia:

Another journalist tweets:

BBC reporters at the World Cup bombings trial in Uganda say that the judge had ruled that  the suspects cannot be found guilty of belonging to a terrorist group, as Somalia-based al-Shabab was not listed as one in 2010:

A Ugandan paper has tweeted photos of some of the 13 al-Shabab suspects  listening to the judgement being read out in Kampala's High Court  (see 08:53 post for details of their capture). 

The BBC's Patience Atuhaire in court says the suspects include five Ugandans, six Kenyans and two Tanzanians. She says there are two sets of brothers in the group - from Uganda and Kenya.

In July 2010, we did a gallery showing the aftermath of the bombings that occurred in the final minutes of the football World Cup final at two venues in the Ugandan capital.

In pictures: Uganda's World Cup twin blasts

Image source, AP

Patience Atuhaire
BBC Africa, Kampala

Justice Alfonse Owinyi Dollo has just started reading out the judgement at the trial of 13 al-Shabab suspects accused of being behind the twin bombings in Uganda's capital, Kampala, in July 2010 that killed 74 people watching the football World Cup final.

Twelve of them are charged with terrorism, belonging to a terrorist organisation, 76 counts of murder (which include the two suicide bombers), and attempted murder.

One is charged with aiding and abetting terrorism.  

They're all charged under the anti-terrorism act.

The suspects arrived at court earlier this morning for the verdict into the 2010 World Cup bombings trial  (see earlier post). 

One of our Kampala reporters tweeted this video:

Patience says there is tight security around the High Court and a sniffer dog had to check journalists' equipment:

And the courtroom is packed, our reporter says:

A new militant group in Nigeria says it has attacked a facility of US oil giant Chevron in the Niger Delta region. 

Niger Delta Avengers said in a tweet: 

A spokesman for the Ijaw Youth Council in the oil-rich region confirmed that militants had carried out the attack, Reuters news agency reports. 

"The attack truly happened," Eric Omare is quoted by Reuters as saying. 

Read: Chasing West Africa's pirates

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has pardoned more than 2,000 prisoners in an attempt to ease overcrowding in jails, the state-owned Herald newspaper reports, external. 

Those pardoned include all juveniles, irrespective of the grvaity of their crime, and all women, except those sentenced to death or life in prison, it adds. 

The newspaper quotes a prison official as saying that Zimbabwe's 45 prisons had more than 19,500 inmates, but they could hold only 17,000 prisoners. 

Catherine Byaruhanga
BBC Africa, Kampala

Image source, AFP

A verdict is expected in Uganda in the case of 13 men accused of being behind twin blasts in the capital Kampala that killed 74 people nearly six years ago.

The explosions, which also injured about 70 people, ripped through a rugby club and an Ethiopian restaurant as football fans watched the last few minutes of the 2010 World Cup final.

The Somali militant Islamist group al-Shabab said it was behind the attack that also injured about 70 people.

Ugandan troops make up  the biggest contingent of an African Union force fighting the militants in Somalia.

This is the first major trial of its kind. Al-Shabab has carried out similar attacks in the region with few convictions outside of Somalia.

Five Ugandans, six Kenyans and two Tanzanians are on trial - charged with terrorism and murder. All of them have pleaded not guilty.

The investigation into their arrest was led by the FBI.

A mobile phone found next to a bomb which failed to detonate is said to have helped investigators track down most of the suspects.

But it has taken so long for the trial to reach this stage, mainly because of allegations by some of the accused that they were tortured by regional, US and UK law enforcement agents. 

Some also say they were abducted from Kenya or Tanzania and brought to Uganda to be prosecuted.

The Constitutional Court here put aside those claims and said the trial could go ahead. If the men are found guilty they could face the death penalty.  

Today’s African proverb:

Image source, AFP

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