Image source, Getty Images

Pop star Rihanna is due to appear at a high-level summit in Senegal tomorrow but a religious association have declared her persona non grata, reports Jeune Afrique (in French), external.

"No to Freemasonry and Homosexuality", an association of around 30 religious groups in Senegal, accuse the singer of using masonic symbolism and being a member of the so-called Illuminati, a conspiracy myth which suggests that a shadowy group of global elites are working to establish a New World Order.

Such claims about Rihanna's beliefs have been roundly dismissed as outlandish by her musical collaborators in the past.

Rihanna will be visiting the West African nation in her role as an ambassador for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).

The organisation aims to help fund the teaching of millions of children and young people in developing countries.

Jeune Afrique quotes Senegal's interior minister as saying he will ensure the safety of all conference attendees.

As a deadly disease spreads, the fight for a banana plantation in northern Mozambique might hold the key to saving the world's favourite fruit.

Five years ago, Tropical race 4 (TR4), as it is formally known, was spotted there for the first time in Africa after it killed off millions of bananas in Asia from the 1980s onwards.

Neighbouring countries like Tanzania, just 150km (93 miles) north of the plantation, also depend on banana cultivation for a significant portion of their economic activity.

And although the type of banana grown for sustenance in Uganda and Congo - where residents get something like 35% of their daily nutrients from bananas - is thought to be resistant, no one knows for sure.

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Image source, AFP

Zimbabwe is to issue white commercial farmers with 99-year land leases with immediate effect as part of a directive by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, state-owned The Herald reports.

Previously, the farmers were only given a five year lease.

Mr Mnangagwa announced the policy in November as part of his push to restore confidence in the country's agriculture sector.

The lands ministry said in a statement that the new policy was to be implemented "with immediate effect".

A representantive of the white commercial farmers' union, Ben Giplin, welcomed the announcement but told the Herald that there had not been any official communication yet.

He said that there were only 200 commercial farmers, adding that:

Most white farmers were kicked off their farms during former President Robert Mugabe controversial land reform policy in the early 2000s which resulted in violent expulsion of some 4,000 white farmers.

Since taking office two months ago, Mr Mnangagwa has sought a conciliatory tone encouraging former white commercial farmers to return.

His agriculture minister has banned the illegal occupation of farms.

Fans, fellow musicians and the president have been paying tribute to Ugandan star Mowzey Radio who has died at the age of 33.

The musician, whose real name was Moses Ssekibogo, was being treated in hospital for head injuries he sustained in a bar fight in Entebbe two weeks ago.

Hopes for his recovery had been raised last week when his management said he had come out of a coma, external, but his condition then worsened.

Local media report that five people have been arrested, external in connection with Mowzey Radio's death.

His funeral is expected to take place tomorrow.

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