Africa highlights: 5 December 2016

Summary

Russia and Pakistan to supply Nigeria warplanes and helicopters
Popular South African gospel singer Sfiso Ncwane dies
Top Gambian opposition leader released on bail
Malawi angered by Tanzania's new map
Kenyan mentally ill patients 'run away' amid strike by doctors
West African states to stop importing 'dirty fuels' from Europe
South Africa race row as Mandela's death commemorated
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Email stories and comments to africalive@bbc.co.uk - Monday 5 December 2016

Live Reporting

Dickens Olewe, Farouk Chothia and Lamine Konkobo

Scroll down for Monday's storiespublished at 18:14 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
That's it from us today
That's all from the BBC Africa Live page today. Keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast or checking the BBC News website.
A reminder of today's wise words:
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The person who has a skin can't lack a place to sleep."
A Kuria proverb sent by Andrew Marwa, Migori, Kenya
Click here to send your African proverbs.
And we leave you with picture from Instagram of a girl walking past a butchery in Kechene slum in Ethiopia's capital Adds Ababa.
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How did fake US embassy operate in Ghana for a decade?published at 18:14 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
News has travelled the world that an organised gang based in Ghana ran a fake embassy selling real US visas for $6,000 (£4,700) for "about a decade". How did they get away with it for so long?
The US State Department says, external Ghanaian and Turkish organised crime rings were running the fake embassy complete with a US flag and a portrait of President Barack Obama "unhindered... for about a decade".
The faded building couldn't have looked more different to the real embassy.
Read full story
Image source, US STATE DEPARTMENT
Fighting continues in Sirtepublished at 18:13 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
Military operations against the Islamic State (IS) group in Libya's Site city are ongoing, Ahmed Hadia, a spokesman for troops battling the militants, has told the BBC.
Earlier, another spokesman was quoted by AFP news as saying that troops loyal to Libya's UN-backed government had taken full control of Sirte.
Mr Hadia denied this, saying: "The millitary operations are still ongoing.”
Malawi protests Tanzania's new map over lakepublished at 17:58 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
Image source, tzaffairs.org
A new map by Tanzania, which shows it owns half of the disputed Lake Malawi/Lake Nyasa, has stirred a fresh row with Malawi which says that the map is "wrong".
Tanzania’s map shows the north-eastern part of the lake being part its territory but Malawi claims full ownership.
Malawi has since asked for intervention from the United Nations, African Union and other international organizations, Malawi's The Nation newspaper reports., external
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Rejoice Shumba said Malawi's has written to key institutions, asking them to disregard Tanzania’s map.
The paper quotes her as saying:
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“Government indeed wrote a letter to protest the new map. We did not want some countries and organizations to start recognising and using the wrong map as advanced by Tanzania”.
For decades, the two countries have failed to resolve the boundary dispute over the lake which is the third largest in Africa and potentially rich in oil and gas.
This is not the first time Malawi has objected to Tanzania’s map.
Tensions escalated from 2011 when Malawi began oil exploration activities on the lake.
Tanzania's government is yet to respond on the new development.
Image source, AFP
Image caption,
Tensions escalated from 2011 when Malawi began oil exploration activities on the lake.
Migrant in Algeria: "They robbed us of everything."published at 17:53 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
Some of the 1,400 sub-Saharan migrants rounded up in Algeria and taken to a detention centre, where they are awaiting their deportation, have been telling their experiences to the news site Le Monde Afrique, external.
On Malian migrant, Mahamadou, told the news site:
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The riot police came... They shouted at us: 'Get on board the bus; we are taking you to the station and then we will set you free'. But ever since, we are still waiting to be released."
A father of a family among the detained migrants said:
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Last Thursday in the evening, the security forces came to collect our belongings. They then took us away and robbed us of everything: our luggage, our mattresses. So far, they gave us no explanation."
Senegal's leader: Jihadists not 'choir boys'published at 17:50 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
Senegal's President Macy Sall has called for African armies to be better equipped and trained to deal with the threat posed by militant Islamists.
"The terrorists are not choir boys," Mr Sall said at a peace and security forum in the capital, Dakar.
He added that the conflict in Mali turned it into "the bloodiest theatre in the history of [UN] peacekeeping missions".
"The truth is that in most of our countries, the armies are not up to the mark. Today, we have to make internal efforts to raise their levels," Mr Sall said.
Image source, AFP
Image caption,
The UN has suffered heavy casualties in Mali
Teachers protect schoolgirls from FGMpublished at 17:24 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
A journalist tells the BBC's Outside Source programme how she met a Kenyan headteacher who is guarding pupils in school during holidays to help them avoid undergoing female genital mutilation:
Media caption,
The Kenyan teacher protecting pupils from female genital mutilation
Bail for Gambian opposition leader welcomedpublished at 17:16 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
Image source, AFP
Image caption,
Ousainou Darboe is a staunch opponent of outgoing President Yahya Jammeh
Leading rights group Amnesty International has welcomed a Gambian court's decision to free on bail opposition leader Ousainou Darboe and 18 others who were arrested in April for demanding the release of their colleague Solo Sandeng.
In a statement, Amnesty said:
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"The release of Ousainou Darboe and the 18 other peaceful protesters on bail is a big moment for them and their families, and we hope that this positive step indicates that they will be fully acquitted in due course.
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“We must also not forget others prisoners of conscience who still languish in jail simply for having expressed their opinion or participated in peaceful protests.
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These include three Imams arrested by the security forces over a year ago and not seen since. Their only ‘crime’ - presenting a petition to the government."
In an interview, external with The Gambia's Point newspaper, President-elect Adama Barrow said he would free all political prisoners, if Yahya Jammeh failed to release them before he stepped down in January.
Mr Barrow,a property developer, scored a stunning victory over the authoritarian ruler in elections last week.
Read: The man in charge for 22 years
Image source, AP
Image caption,
Gambians celebratde the victory of Mr Barrow
Ghana's Nana Akufo-Addo: 'The ruling party has run out of credit'published at 17:02 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
Image source, Af
Image caption,
Nana Akufo Addo says the economy has been badly managed
Ghana's main opposition candidate Nana Akufo-Addo has told the BBC he is confident of winning Wednesday presidential election.
Mr Addo, a third-time candidate, is up against President John Dramani Mahama and five other candidates.
In an interview with the BBC's Akwasi Sarpong, he said voters will give him a chance this time around because he represents the best option:
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The circumstances of the country are such that I think the ruling party has run out of credit. The performance has been poor. The management of the economy has been poor. And it has meant a lot of difficulties for the Ghanaian people. Lot of people don't have work. Income level is very fragile. The cost of living is very high. There is a great deal of despondency across the country."
Mr Akufo-Addo, the flagbrearer of the New Patriotic Party, praised the electoral commission's preparations for the poll:
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If [the arrangements] are carried out and respected, they should give us a credible election. [I mean] the legal arrangements that are in place and the administrative formalities that we have to go through are sound."
Mr Akufo-Addo called on his supporters to come out in large numbers to vote:
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They have to all come out and vote, be part of the process - not just of the voting but the observing of the process. That's what I am expecting our supporters to do."
International schools ordered to teach Kenyan historypublished at 16:47 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
Kenya's Education Minister Fred Matinag'i has said that all international schools must start teaching the country's history and Kiswahili, one of the official languages, from April, Capital News reports, external.
There are British, American and other international schools in Kenya with their own curricula.
They are especially popular with middle-class families.
Mr Matinag'i also said that teachers recruited by these schools, usually directly, will have to be vetted and approved by Kenya's Teachers Service Commission, the report says.
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Crowds cheer release of Gambia opposition leaderpublished at 16:32 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
The regional head of Amnesty international in West Africa is sharing more details about the release of Gambia's opposition leader Ousainou Darboe and 18 other members of his UDP party after the appeals court ruled they should be released on bail.
He says that's there's been a carnival atmosphere outside the court:
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Another member of the rights organisation has also a shared a picture from outside the court:
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Nigeria shows its 'independence from US'published at 16:04 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
Aliyu Tanko
BBC News
By turning to Russia and Pakistan to buy war planes and helicopters, Nigeria has shown that it is not dependent on the US.
Many thought that after the election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, the US would relax the arms embargo imposed on Nigeria because of its alleged poor human rights record.
But the chances of the embargo being lifted are slim, especially after the military was accused by rights groups of committing widespread atrocities against the minority Shia population in the north and the secessionists campaigning for the creation of Biafra state in the south-east.
Only recently a report in Nigeria's Punch newspaper , externalsaid the US blocked Brazil from selling US-manufactured light attack aircraft to Nigeria when the deal was almost done.
Nigeria has shown it has other options and says the warplanes and helicopters it has ordered from Russia and Pakistan are needed to ensure that the gains it has made against militant Islamist group Boko Haram are not reversed.
* See earlier post for more details
Image source, AFP
Image caption,
Boko Haram has caused widespread destruction in Nigeria
Mannequin challenge: Somalia versionpublished at 15:38 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
A rights organisation in Somalia has taken advantage of the mannequin challenge, , externalwhere people maintain a chosen pose without moving, to highlight the ongoing conflict in Somalia and the forced recruitment of child soldiers by Islamist militant group al-Shabab.
#DropTheGunPickUPThePen aims to rescue the children and put them in school.
Watch the video below:
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Gambia opposition leader releasedpublished at 15:06 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
Umaru Fofana
BBC Africa, Freetown
Image source, AFP
Image caption,
Mr Darboe's arrest meant he could not contest last week's presidential poll
Gambia's appeals court has ruled that longtime opposition leader Ousainou Darboe and 18 other members of his UDP party should be released on bail.
They were arrested in April for taking part in an "unauthorised demonstration" which called for electoral reforms.
They were later sentenced to three years ahead of the 1 December polls.
Mr Darboe's imprisonment led to the rise of president-elect Adama Barrow who beat the incumbent and long-serving ruler Yahya Jammeh.
Read: A Trump-like shock
SA musician died of 'kidney failure'published at 14:08 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg
Kidney failure caused the death of South Africa's gospel music star Sfiso Ncwane, family spokesman Mhlo Gumede has said.
See previous post for more details
South African music legend diespublished at 13:50 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg
Popular South African gospel singer Sfiso Ncwane has died at the age of 37.
The cause of his death is unclear, but unconfirmed reports say he died at a hospital in the main city, Johannesburg, this morning.
He was reported to have been admitted after coughing blood late on Sunday.
One of Ncwane’s hit songs Kulungile Baba, a Zulu phrase for "it is well father", is playing on some local radio stations as news of his passing spreads.
The singer made headlines in 2015 when he bought his pastor a Mercedes Benz worth about $137,300 (£108,000), saying it was to thank him because his prayers had saved his life when he suffered a heart attack.
Many South Africans have taken to social media to share their shock at the news.
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West Africa bans 'dirty fuels' from Europepublished at 13:30 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
Five countries in West Africa have decided to stop importing "dirty fuels" from Europe, the UN Environment Programme says.
A report, external by campaign group Public Eye in September alleged that European companies were exploiting weak regulations in West Africa to export fuels with high levels of sulphur.
Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Ivory Coast have agreed on the ban, the UN agency said.
The move will help more than 250 million people breath safer and cleaner air, it added.
Nigeria’s Environment Minister Amina Mohamed is quoted in the agency's statement as saying:
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“For 20 years Nigeria has not been able to address the vehicle pollution crisis due to the poor fuels we have been importing. Today we are taking a huge leap forward – limiting sulfur in fuels from 3000 parts per million to 50 parts per million, this will result in major air quality benefits in our cities and will allow us to set modern vehicle standards.”
Image source, AFP
UN Environment head Erik Solheim said:
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West Africa is sending a strong message that it is no longer accepting dirty fuels from Europe. Their decision to set strict new standards for cleaner, safer fuels and advanced vehicle emission standards shows they are placing the health of their people first.
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Their move is an example for countries around the world to follow. Air pollution is killing millions of people every year and we need to ensure that all countries urgently introduce cleaner fuels and vehicles to help reduce the shocking statistics.
EU delays Gabon presidential poll reportpublished at 13:08 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
Image source, A
Image caption,
The opposition says Mr Bongo's victory was rigged
The European Union has delayed the publication of a report on the August controversial presidential election in Gabon which was narrowly won by President Ali Bongo, the AFP news agency reports.
This followed a request by Gabon's government, which said the report could not be released while Mr Bongo was abroad, in China, AFP adds.
Opposition candidate, Jean Ping - who lost by 6,000 votes, according to official results - insists he won the election.
The EU now expects to release the report on 12 December.
Mr Bongo's victory prompted deadly protests, leading the International Criminal Court to launch a preliminary investigation into the violence.
IS 'defeated' in Sirtepublished at 13:08 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
Image source, AFP
Image caption,
Killed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was born in Site
Libyan forces, backed by US air strikes, have taken full control of Sirte, the former headquarters of the Islamic State (IS) group, a spokesman has said.
The final cluster of buildings in the Ghiza Bahriya neighbourhood, where the militants were holding out, had fallen to troops led by brigades from Misrata, spokesman Rida Issa said.
Read: What next for IS in Libya?
Nigeria and Morocco in gas pipeline dealpublished at 13:03 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2016
Russell Padmore
Business correspondent, BBC News
Nigeria and Morocco have agreed to construct a gas pipeline that will connect the two nations and some other African countries to Europe.
The agreement was reached during a visit by the Morocco's King Mohammed to the Nigerian capital Abuja at the weekend. Nigeria and Morocco have also agreed to develop other businesses such as production of fertilisers for farming.
Africa's richest man, the Nigerian entrepreneur Aliko Dangote, said the deal would be very good for both economies.