Summary

  • Al-Shabab militants executed in Somalia over restaurant blasts

  • Tanzania seeks diplomatic solution with Zambia over seized lorries

  • Children among 27 killed in head-on collision in Kenya

  • Senegal boat disaster kills 17

  • Tanzania expels top UN official

  • Outrage over Cameroon reporter's sentencing

  • Row over '500kg woman's' weight loss

  • Email stories and comments to africalive@bbc.co.uk - Tuesday 25 April 2017

  1. Scroll down for Tuesday's storiespublished at 18:02 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    We'll be back tomorrow

    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:  

    Quote Message

    When a lion eats a bad person and it is not killed, it will next eat a good person."

    Sent by Awadi Lupai Sebit, Juba, South Sudan

    Click here to send us your African proverbs

    And we leave you with a photo of a South African man paddling a sea kayak in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Town: 

    A South African man paddles a sea kayak in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Town, South Africa 25 April 2017.Image source, EPA
  2. Kenya rhino 'hottest single' on dating app Tinderpublished at 18:01 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    Alastair Leithead
    BBC Africa correspondent

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    A real heavyweight described as "the most eligible bachelor in the world" has appeared on the dating app Tinder. 

    He's world famous, lives in a beautiful part of Kenya, and is urgently looking for a mate. Swiping through all the choices on the dating app Tinder, this extremely eligible bachelor certainly stands out. 

    He really is one of a kind. 

    Countless TV shows have been made about him and he even has his own team of armed bodyguards 24 hours a day. 

    Sudan, as he's known - and his close friends - are desperate to help him find a mate. He's a northern white rhino - the last male of his species left on the planet. 

    The last two northern white rhino females live with him, but all efforts to help them mate have failed. Hence the turn to Tinder. 

    Sudan, the white rhinoImage source, OI Pejeta Conservancy
    Image caption,

    Sudan is almost 100 in rhino years

    There are thousands of southern white rhino females he can have a surrogate with - to keep the species alive. 

    The listing is more about raising money - swiping right to make a donation. More than $9m (£7m) is needed to save the species. 

    At 43 human years Sudan is almost 100 in rhino years, so time for the world's most eligible batchelor is running out. 

  3. UN official leaves Tanzania on government orderspublished at 17:18 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    Leonard Mubali
    BBC Africa, Dar es Salaam

    The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country director in Tanzania, Awa Dabo, has left the East African state after the government gave her 24 hours to leave.  

    The Foreign Affairs Ministry accused Ms Dabo, a Gambian, of having "strained relations" with her staff, which it said had impeded the performance of her office.

    The decision has drawn the ire of many in the country, including opposition legislators. 

    MP Paskal Haonga said it soiled Tanzania's reputation in diplomatic circles. 

    He said the reasons given for the expulsion of Ms Dabo were not strong enough to warrant her deportation. 

    Many are seeing a political hand in the move by the government. One national newspaper said the expulsion could be linked to her harsh criticism of last year's electoral process in the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar. 

    She is the most high-profile individual to be expelled by President John Magufuli's administration since he took office in 2015.

  4. Niasse's match ban overturnedpublished at 17:02 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    Niasse at football matchImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Niasse has scored five times for Hull since joining on loan from Everton in January

    Hull City forward Oumar Niasse has had a three-match ban overturned after his red card against Watford was rescinded.

    The 27-year-old Senegal international was shown a straight red card for a tackle on M'Baye Niang during Hull's 2-0 win over the Hornets on Saturday.

    However, Hull, who are two points above the relegation zone with four games to play, made a successful appeal to the Football Association.

    It means Niasse will be available for Hull's trip to Southampton on Saturday.

  5. Anti-apartheid hero's daughter 'concerned about death threats'published at 16:45 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    Lindiwe Sisulu, the daughter of Walter SisuluImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Lindiwe Sisulu is a potential candidate for the governing party's leadership

    The daughter of South Africa anti-apartheid hero, Walter Sisulu, has said she is worried about reports of death threats against her as the leadership contest for the ANC draws closer. 

    Lindiwe Sisulu is among a number of high profile figures who are being encouraged to stand for the leadership of the governing African National Congress (ANC) when it holds its elective conference in December.  

    Despite protests and a vote of no confidence due to be held in parliament next month, President Jacob Zuma has made it clear that he intends to remain until the conference. 

    Ms Sisulu, who serves in his cabinet as housin minister, has been an outspoken critic of the "populism" of the current ANC leadership.

    She occupied top ministerial posts in the past, but analysts believe she has limited appeal to the masses. 

    Unofficial campaigning has already begun with some of the top names in the ANC being touted as a possible successor to Mr Zuma. 

    Cyril Ramaphosa - a wealthy businessman and Mr Zuma's deputy - has made his provisional bid for the top job by lambasting the president's link with the wealthy Gupta family, describing it as the "elephant in the room" which needed to be properly investigated. 

    The Guptas are widely seen by critics to be wielding undue influence over matters of state. The family denies the allegation. 

    South African president and African National Congress (ANC)'s president Jacob Zuma sings and dances during the Party official launch of the Municipal Elections manifesto on April 16, 2016 in Port Elizabeth, South AfricaImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Mr Zuma has strong support in rural areas

     Alongside Mr Ramaphosa, Nkosozana Dlamini-Zuma, the former head of the African Union commission and President Zuma's ex-wife appears to have the backing of the youth and women's wing of the ANC. 

    Some analysts claim that with Ms Dlamini-Zuma leading the governing party, Mr Zuma would be able to call the shots from the shadows and she would be in a position to shield him from any future corruption prosecutions.

    A High Court ruled last year that the president should face corruption charges over a 1999 arms deal.

    Mr Zuma, who denies any wrongdoing, is appealing against the ruling.

    Las year, Mr Zuma also survived an impeachment vote after the Constitutional Court ruled that he had failed to uphold his oath office by failing to repay government money used to upgrade his private residence. 

    He has been under renewed pressure after he sacked the respected Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in March, resulting in South Africa being downgraded by rating agencies to "junk status". 

    Read: South Africa's tough road out of junk status

  6. Ugandan police 'provide protection to gangs'published at 16:34 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    A suspect arrested for involvement with gangs blamed for a crime wave in the Ugandan capital Kampala says police officers have knowingly provided protection to criminal groups, the local Daily Monitor reports. 

    The man made his allegations against police when he was being paraded in front of Kampala's top-ranking police officer, the paper adds.

    Police say they have arrested more than 50 suspects believed to belong to a group blamed for a series of burglaries and the circulation of anonymous letters warning villagers of impending attacks, according to the paper.

    In March, Uganda's New Vision paper carried a front-page headline quoting President Yoweri Museveni as saying that criminals had infiltrated the police. 

    Mr Museveni's comments came after an assistant police inspector, Andrew Kaweesi, was shot and killed in his car.

    Assistant Inspector General of Uganda's police, Andrew  KaweesiImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Top police spokesman Andrew Kaweesi was murdered in an ambush last month

  7. Tanzania to seek 'diplomatic outcome' over Zambia stranded lorriespublished at 15:25 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    A truck transporting a load of logs.Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    The Tanzanian trucks were carrying logs from the DR Congo

    Tanzanian officials say they are seeking a diplomatic solution to an incident involving Zambia, where 600 Tanzanian lorries and their drivers have been held for the last two months. 

    Zambia seized the vehicles on their way back from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they had been to pick up timber. 

    Zambian President Edgar Lungu on Monday said he will not allow his country to be used as a transit for logs, suggesting the Tanzanian lorry drivers violated Zambian regulations on log transportation. 

    Tanzanian officials are mandating staff at their embassy in Zambia's capital, Lusaka, to take up the matter with relevant officials for a "quick solution".  

    The Tanzanian Truck Owners Association (Tatoa) says their members fulfilled all customs and exports procedures to allow them to cross into DR Congo. 

    Tatao says its members have lost more than $6m (£4.5m) in the two months the trucks and drivers have been in custody. 

  8. Ugandan activist remanded in custodypublished at 15:01 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    Stella Nyanzi pleaded not guilty to the cyber harassment chargeImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Stella Nyanzi has pleaded not guilty to cyber harassment charges

    A Ugandan activist, arrested for calling President Yoweri Museveni a "pair of buttocks", has been remanded in custody until next month. 

    Stella Nyanzi's lawyer told a packed court room in the capital Kampala that his client had been denied access to her family and legal team. 

    Ms Nyanzi, who has been charged with cyber-harassment, says she has done nothing wrong as she writes in metaphors. 

    Ms Nyanzi's social media posts were a reaction to the government's decision to go back on an election campaign promise to provide free sanitary pads for girls unable to afford hygiene products.  

  9. Why does this rhino have 24-hour security?published at 14:50 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

      Sudan is the only male northern white rhino left alive, and the last chance for the survival of his species.  

    Media caption,

    Why does this rhino have 24-hour security?

  10. Tanzania expels top UN officialpublished at 13:38 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

     Tanzania's government has expelled the top official of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the country, the foreign ministry has said. 

    It ordered Awa Dabo, a Gambian who is the UNDP's country director in the East African state, to leave because her relationship with some of her staff had become strained, resulting in the organisation's performance in Tanzania deteriorating, it added in a statement. 

    The ministry said it wanted to remind the UNDP to work with the government to achieve its development goals in the East African state.   

    The UNDP has not yet commented. 

  11. Cameroon reporter's imprisonment 'outrageous'published at 13:07 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    A banner with the message, "Free Journalist"Image source, RSF
    Image caption,

    Campaigners say the sentencing is politically motivated

    The sentencing in Cameroon of a reporter to ten years in prison on terrorism-related charges is aimed at intimidating journalists, campaign group Reporters Without Borders  says. 

    Ahmed Abba, a reporter for the Hausa Service of Radio France Internationale, was arrested in 2015 over his coverage of attacks by Islamist militant group Boko Haram in northern Cameroon. 

    After nearly two years, a military court convicted him of non-denunciation of terrorism and laundering the proceeds of terrorist acts. 

    He has always maintained his innocence.

    Describing the sentence as outrageous, Clea Kahn-Sriber of Reporters Without Borders said: 

    Quote Message

    This journalist has been given an utterly disproportionate sentence although the prosecution produced no hard evidence. This is a clearly political decision designed to scare all journalists, especially those who might try to cover the security situation in northern Cameroon."

    See earlier post for more details

  12. 'Sharp increase' in measles cases in Somaliapublished at 12:50 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    Mary Harper
    Africa editor, BBC World Service

    The United Nations children's agency says severe drought in Somalia has led to a huge increase in the number of people contracting measles. It says more people caught the disease in the first four months of this year than the whole of 2016. 

    Many of the 5,700 cases are children displaced by the drought, the worst in decades.   

    Measles thrives in the over-crowded, unsanitary camps where people fleeing drought gather. The disease often kills children already weakened by a lack of food and water, living in tiny, makeshift shelters.

    In the past few days, Unicef has vaccinated nearly 30,000 young children in the south-western town of Baidoa, where last month alone 70,000 people arrived seeking help. 

    Just six years ago, more than 250,000 people died in a famine in Somalia. More than half were children under five with measles a major killer. 

    Many children in Somalia have never been immunised. They live in areas affected by nearly three decades of conflict or controlled by the violent Islamist group al-Shabab, which has kidnapped health workers and opposed vaccination as a Western evil.

    Howa Hassan (C), a blind Somali octogenarian refugee, sits with her grandchildren as one of them is vaccinated at a paediatric vaccination centre at Hagadere refugee site within the Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya's north-east province on August 1, 2011.Image source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Many Somalis battle to get access to good healthcare

  13. Ugandan pastor 'denies burning Bibles'published at 12:19 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    worshipper reads the bible in the Hillbrow neighbourhood overlooking downtown Johannesburg on June 30, 2013.Image source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Most people believe the different versions of Bibles currently in circulation are authentic

    A pastor in Uganda has denied burning bibles, a pentecostal group has said.

    The National Fellowship Of Born Again Pentecostal Churches of Uganda (NFBPC) said it met Pastor Aloysious Bugingo on Sunday after becoming "greatly alarmed"  by reports that he was "leading a campaign to burn Bibles".

    A  video emerged recently on social media of the pastor purportedly condemning the current version of the Bible. 

    Photos have also circulated of Bibles being set on fire, but Pastor Bugingo is not seen in them.  

    In the video, the pastor, speaking in a mixture of English and Luganda to his congregation, he said:

    Quote Message

    Have you examined it well? Is it full of [references to] 'ghosts'. Yes, it is for burning. Did you read that one? It has 'ghosts'? Bring it...

    Quote Message

    People from the Bible Society wanted to call me to explain to me. But I told them it is not necessary to explain to me.

    Quote Message

    Tell those who publish them to return the verse where it should be. And write it as it is supposed to be written. Actually I am not ready for any meeting with anyone. Not at all!.

    Quote Message

    If I am doing the wrong thing. I am ready for hell.

    Quote Message

    There is no era that is wise enough that prints Mathew 17 verse 20 and they hide verse 21. These are for burning.

    Quote Message

    But when you are [spiritually] strong [like I am] I keep some of them because I want to teach correctly about them...but if you are not strong and you are not planning to teach others just burn it... Put the Bible for burning there."

    In a statement, Joshua Lwere of the NFBPC said the pastor denied burning the bibles and accepted that "age-long original manuscript controversies can only be handled by a corporate body forum, and by specialized, professional and scholarly expertise".

    Mr Lwere added: 

    Quote Message

    I, therefore, urge all Christians and non-Christians alike to desist from any act of burning bibles. Whatever version you have, respect it as the word of God, irrespective of the version, or apparent inconsistencies in translations."

    Uganda's privately owned NBS TV also put a video of Pastor Bugingo in which he denies calling for the Bible to be burned, saying: Who can burn the Bible when it is where we find the word that binds us?" 

    Pastor Bugingo, the leader of House Of Prayer Ministries, is based in Uganda's capital, Kampala. He calls the property where his church is based Canaan Land, or the Promised Land.   

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  14. First all-African team racing on Tour de Romandiepublished at 12:09 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    Nick Cavell
    BBC Africa Sport

    A cyclist holding a logo of the Tour de RomandieImage source, Getty Images

    For the first time ever an all-African cycling team will take part in a UCI Pro-Tour race today. 

    The line-up for South Africa-based Team Dimension Data for the Tour de Romandie includes four Eritreans, two South Africans, an Algerian and a Rwandan. 

    The six-day race in Switzerland begins today and ends on Sunday.

    It is part of the second tier of races behind the three biggest events on the cycling calendar (Tour de France, Vuelta a Espana and the Giro d'Italia). 

    Some of the biggest names in cycling are taking part in the Tour de Romandie including the three-time Tour de France winner Kenyan-born Chris Froome. 

    Team for Tour de Romandie: 

    • Merhawi Kudus - Eritrea 
    • Natnael Berhane - Eritrea 
    • Mekseb Debesay - Eritrea 
    • Adrien Niyonshuti - Rwanda 
    • Youcef Reguigui - Algeria 
    • Daniel Teklehaimanot - Eritrea 
    • Jay Thomson - South Africa 
    • Jaco Venter - South Africa 
  15. Kenya rhino campaign gets Tinder boostpublished at 11:41 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    Anthony Irungu
    BBC Africa, Nairobi

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    A long-standing campaign to save the northern white rhino from extinction has been taken online on Tuesday. 

    Conservationists in Kenya have teamed up with online dating app, Tinder, to start an awareness campaign to save a rare species of rhino from extinction. 

    The northern white rhino is listed as critically endangered, with its entire population down to just three. 

    The three are under the protection of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, which together with Tinder has launched 'The most eligible bachelor in the world named Sudan' campaign, describing it the last option to save the species. 

    Sudan is the only remaining male of its species and is aged 43 years. Researchers say that he does not have very long to live. 

    His two female counterparts are infertile and the campaign aims to raise $9m to facilitate research on assisted reproductive techniques. 

    Richard Vigne, CEO of Ol Pejeta, told the BBC:

    Quote Message

    If we get the money, the technology to achieve this will be ready by the next two or three years and by then we can have a new offspring from Sudan and the two female counterparts."

    Sudan, the only remaining male rhino of its speciesImage source, IO Pejeta Conservancy
    Image caption,

    Sudan is aged 43 years.

    The dating application Tinder which says it has over 10 million users is optimistic that Sudan will be seen in 190 countries and over 40 languages as part of the campaign. 

  16. Row over '500kg woman's' weight losspublished at 11:00 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    Eman listening to musicImage source, Eman listening to music

    The sister of Eman Abd El Aty, an Egyptian woman thought to have been the world's heaviest, has accused doctors of lying about her weight loss after surgery in India.

    She underwent surgery in Mumbai's Saifee hospital, and last week doctors said she had lost 250kg (550lbs).

    But her sister said this was untrue, adding that her sister was in delicate health as she may have had a stroke.

    The hospital has angrily rejected the allegations.

    Read the fill BBC story here

  17. Al-Shabab fighters executed in Somaliapublished at 10:45 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    Destroyed buildings and vehicles are seen on 28 February, 2016 in Baidoa after twin explosions in the Somali city killed at least 30 peopleImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    The executed militants were involved in bombing restaurants

    The authorities in Somalia have executed four men who were behind twin blasts which killed dozens of people in the south-western city of Baidoa in February 2016, military officer Major Nur Aden has said, Reuters news agency reports.  

    The four, who were members of militant Islamist group al-Shabab, were sentenced to death in February by a military court which found them guilty of blowing up two restaurants simultaneously in 2016. 

    Eyewitnesses said the men were shot by firing squad in a public place in  Baidoa. 

    "More men accused of being al-Shabab members will be executed today or tomorrow," Major Aden was quoted by Reuters as saying.

    Al-Shabab has carried out a wave of bombings and assassinations as part of its campaign to overthrow the UN-backed Somali government.

    Somali Al-Shebab fighters gather on February 13, 2012 in Elasha Biyaha, in the Afgoei CorridorImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    The militants want to impose a strict version of Islamic law in Somalia.

    Read: Somalia's 'Mr Cheese' president has a lot on his plate  

  18. Piles of cash keep turning up in Nigeriapublished at 09:51 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    Money in NIgeriaImage source, EFCC

    Nigerians have been shocked and bemused after huge piles of cash have been unearthed in various parts of the country in recent months. Journalist and writer Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani looks at what is going on.

    In February, $9.2m and £750,000 were discovered by Nigeria's anti-corruption agency, the EFCC, in a property belonging to Andrew Yakubu, a former director of the national oil company, NNPC.

    In March, large sacks containing bundles of "crispy" banknotes worth a total of $155,000 (£130,000) were found in Kaduna airport.

    In April, a stash containing $43.4m, £27,800 and 23.2m naira were recovered from a Lagos apartment with its owner yet to be identified.

    And these are just the tip of the iceberg.

    EFCC head Ibrahim Magu was quoted in the local media as saying that the total amount recovered by the agency in the past few months was about $53m, £120m and €547m, on top of hundreds of millions of Nigerian naira.

    So what's going on? To find out, read Nigerian journalist and writer Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani column here 

  19. Senegal boat accident kills 17published at 09:06 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    Arwa Barkallah
    BBC Afrique, Dakar

    Seventeen people drowned on Tuesday in Senegal when a boat carrying them capsized in the Saloum river, near the northern border with The Gambia. 

    Among the dead are fifteen women and two men. 

    The boat capsized near Bitenti Island, in the Fatick region, with rescuers telling the BBC that the cause of the accident is still unclear. 

    The number of dead is expected to rise, rescuers say. 

    Locals in the region earn their living from fishing. 

    They often take to the waters without lifejackets, significantly reducing ther chances of survival when accidents happen. 

  20. Cameroon journalist jailed for terror-related offencespublished at 09:00 British Summer Time 25 April 2017

    BBC World Service

    This handout picture provided by French public radio RFI on July 30, 2016 shows RFI reporter Ahmed Abba in Maroua, Cameroon, posing in the streets.Image source, AFP
    Image caption,

    The reporter's sentencing has been described as a travesty of justice

    Radio France Internationale (RFI) says its correspondent in Cameroon, Ahmed Abba, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by a military tribunal. 

    He had been convicted of non-denunciation of terrorism and laundering of the proceeds of terrorist acts. 

    Campaign groups say Mr Abba was simply reporting on the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

    The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says the sentence is a travesty of justice. 

    RFI says Mr Abba, who has always insisted he is innocent, will appeal. 

    He has already been in jail for almost two years.