A South African man has been given 25 life sentences for multiple crimes including rape and attempted murder.

The South Gauteng High Court sentenced 26-year-old Shadrack Xidada Chauke for 23 counts of rape and two of attempted murder.

He got another 254 years for multiple counts of attempted murder, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, robbery as well as kidnapping.

The police tweeted the news:

He committed the rapes between 2012 and 2014.

He broke into his victims' houses and assaulted them, in some cases he attacked the victims' partners and made them watch while he raped them.

Police spokesperson Mavela Masondo said Chauke was spotted by a rape victim, three months after the incident in December 2015, eventually leading to his arrest.

Forensic tests then linked him to 17 other cases.

Three Nigerians are in the five-person shortlist for the short story competition, the Caine Prize for African Writing: , external

The stories range from what happens when a prophet announces a Nigerian child is "destined" to go to America to robbers who are polite enough to warn their victims with a letter.

You can decide your own favourite in the links below:

• Nigerian Nonyelum Ekwempu's American Dream, external
• South African Stacy Hardy's Involution, external
• Nigerian Olufunke Ogundimu's The Armed Letter Writers, external
• Kenyan Makena Onjerika's Fanta Blackcurrant, external
• Nigerian Wole Talabi'sWednesday’s Story, external

The winner of the $13,000 (£10,000) prize will be announced on 2 July.

Image source, AFP

Angry villagers have set fire to police headquarters after a five-year-old girl with albinism was abducted and killed by armed men in Mali.

Djeneba Diarra, who lived in a village in Fana, 125km (78 miles) north of the capital Bamako, was taken from the courtyard where she was sleeping with her mother and sister in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The little girl's headless body was later found beside the mosque.

"We demand justice. Her head was taken. This is a ritual crime," activist Mamadou Sissoko told news agency AFP after going to the scene.

Witnesses said angry villagers then partially burned down the paramilitary police headquarters. Shops remained closed for most of Monday as protests continued, according to Studio Tamani [in French], external.

There are concerns the killing may be linked to Mali's presidential election, which is taking place at the end of July.

There is a belief among some groups in parts of Africa that potions made from the body parts of people with albinism can bring good luck and wealth.

Mr Sissoko said: "Every time there are elections, we become prey for people who want to make ritual sacrifices. This is not the first time this has happened in Fana.

"The state needs to take up its responsibilities."

A solidarity march for Palestinians is underway in South Africa's city of Cape Town.

It comes a day after South Africa recalled its ambassador after almost 60 Palestinians were killed while protesting against the US opening its new embassy in Jerusalem.

A news site monitoring the march has tweeted a video:

A Kenyan court has freed on bail controversial preacher Gilbert Deya who is facing charges of stealing babies between 1999 to 2004.

Mr Deya, who claimed he created miraculous pregnancies, was extradited from the UK in 2017, just over a decade after Kenyan authorities applied for his transfer to face charges.

His release on bail follows failure by the prosecution to conclude his trial within a period of three months, news site Capital News reports., external

Concerns were first raised about the conduct of Mr Deya, who ran a church in London, in a BBC investigation in 2004.

Infertile or post-menopausal women who attended the Gilbert Deya Ministries Church in Peckham, south-east London, were told they could have "miracle" babies.

But the babies were always "delivered" in backstreet clinics in Nairobi, Kenya's capital.

Mr Deya later moved to Scotland, and was arrested in Edinburgh in 2006 under an international arrest warrant issued by Kenya.

The head of Uganda's revenue authority has denied a report by privately-owned newspaper Daily Monitor about a plan to tax Bibles and Korans.

Doris Akol said the story was "fake news".

She replied to a tweeter who was questioning the government's alleged plan. She said the new tax plan exempts the religious books:

The Uganda parliament has also tweeted a reaction from Finance Minister David Bahati, he is quoted as saying, " there will be no such tax as this would mean standing in the way of spreading the word of God":

Read our earlier story.

Africa Eye - the BBC team which exposed the coedeine cough syrup scandal - has released its second investigation.

This time, they have followed human rights activist Brigitte Sossou Perenyi as she returns to look into the practice of "trokosi" in west Africa.

The practice sees girls forced to live and work with priests in shrines, some for the rest of their lives, to “pay” for the sins of family members.

But she is not just investigating it: she lived it.

Hear - and see - the remarkable piece below:

Ishaq Khalid
BBC Africa, Abuja

Reports from Nigeria say at least 80 people have been abducted by gunmen in the north-western state of Kaduna.

Road transport union officials say the people were seized as they travelled on a major highway linking northern Nigeria with the south.

They added that the gunmen stopped several vehicles, herded dozens of travellers into a nearby bush and abandoned the cars.

The police spokesman told the BBC that there have been three kidnappings on that road recently, without giving details of times or numbers.

But, the spokesman refuted reports of "mass abductions".

On Monday, the Nigerian army chief visited the area to improve security following a spate of attacks by armed bandits.

Gunmen killed more than 70 people in a village in the area last week.

A fire which disrupted mobile phone service in Ivory Coast for weeks was probably a criminal act, news agency Reuters reports.

The fire gutted a technical centre owned by Orange, a French telecoms group, on 30 April.

On Tuesday, Ivory Coast communications minister Bruno Kone revealed an investigation into the fire had been handed to the police.

"The investigation is moving forward with the police," Mr Kone said, according to Reuters. "This is what the initial elements (of the investigation) seem to indicate."

Image source, Getty Images

The Ugandan authorities have ordered religious groups to pay taxes on the sale of Bibles and Korans, reports the Daily Monitor newspaper, external.

It comes after months of discussions between the tax authorities and religious organisations, the latter of whom remained opposed to the proposition.

The secretary-general of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, Ramathan Mugalu, told the Daily Monitor that the government has "gone too far".

"How can you tax the word of God?" he asked.

The secretary-general of the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda, Joshua Kitakule, was also unhappy about the decision.

"These items are not meant for profit; so, it is erroneous to tax them," he told the newspaper.

Canon Joram Kahenano, a Church of Uganda commissioner, told the Daily Monitor they would increase the price of their Bibles by 3,000 Ugandan shillings ($0.80; £0.59) to 18,000 Ugandan shillings.

Since publishing this story we learned that the head of the Uganda's revenue authority said the amendments are actually intended to exempt Bibles and Korans from taxes. Read the updated report.

Temidayo Olofinsawo
BBC Yoruba editor, Lagos

A long-promised report into a sex-for-food scandal at refugee camps in northern Nigeria has failed to appear.

Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) said it planned to look into the matter after media reports first emerged more than two years ago.

The scandal made headlines in 2015, as the internally displaced peoples’ (IDP) camps struggled to cope with the increased number of refugees fleeing Boko Haram.

But Hajia Ya Bawa Kolo, head of Borno State's State Emergency Management Agency, has now admitted to the BBC she does not know what happened to the report - saying she had only just taken over the role.

“You know when you don’t have the facts and figures, it is not wise to go and speak with the media," she said. "I am just trying to reorganise the organisation. They don’t even have proper records."

Ms Kolo said her main focus was currently on Ramadan, and getting food to people living in the camps.

The issue of sex-for-food re-emerged after a video of former Commissioner for Women Affairs in Borno State, Hajiya Maryam Bukar Petrol, was shared online, showing her raising concerns about the issue:

It is unclear where and when the video was recorded.

Two Kenyans have been jailed after they fought with a kiosk owner over a food bill amounting to just 130 Kenyan shillings ($1.30; £0.96 ), reports the Standard newspaper, external.

The newspaper says people in court were "in stitches" listening to their reasoning for the fight.

It appears the men were angry after the kiosk owner refused to serve them green pepper.

However, the fight escalated and kiosk owner Vincent Mulwa reportedly told the court the two followed him into the kitchen and threatened to stab him.

The two were sentenced to one month in jail, with an alternative fine of Sh5,000, the standard adds.

Image source, AFP

The owners of a dam which burst killing almost 50 people have issued a statement, almost a week after the disaster.

The statement was released by Solai Group chairman Mansukh Patel on Tuesday morning, according to Kenyan media.

It addresses the loss of the "47 precious lives", and expresses its "deepest condolences" to the families who lost loved ones in the disaster, which struck on the company's farm near the town of Solai, north-west of Nairobi, last Wednesday.

The statement - published in part by Kenya's Capital FM, external - continues: “Since 1935, the Patel family has been an integral part of the Solai community and has always supported projects that uplift the general standard of living of the Wananchi. We are currently investigation how this could have happened and deeply regret the occurrence.”

• Read more: Kenya dam was 'built illegally'

Image source, Getty Images

Liberian Vice-President Jewel Howard Taylor has apologised to President George Weah live on morning television for leaving the country "frequently" without informing him, reports the New Dawn newspaper, external.

The newspaper goes on to say there has been speculation for some time about bad blood between the two "with some pointing to lack of trust over connection with her ex-husband, jailed former President Charles Taylor".

Mr Taylor was convicted in 2012 for terrorism, rape, murder and the use of child soldiers by rebel groups in neighbouring Sierra Leone during the 1991-2002 civil war, in which some 50,000 people died.

The alliance between Mr Weah, the former World Footballer of the Year, and Ms Howard Taylor always seemed somewhat unlikely.

Historically Mr Weah was a staunch critic of Mr Taylor and his National Patriotic Party (NPP), so observers wondered about his motives.

That's especially as Ms Howard Taylor made her allegiance to her ex-husband clear. During campaigning for the election she said that the country needed to get back to the "agenda" outlined by Taylor when he was president.

Image source, Getty Images

A Zimbabwean mother has told of the horrifying moment she found a baboon with its teeth "sunk into" her daughter's face outside their home.

Jean Gama told news website Bulawayo24, external she was forced to beat the primate with a rock in order to force the animal to let the one-year-old go, who was bleeding and unconscious.

It is the latest of a series of incidents involving humans and baboons in Chinotimba, Victoria Falls, the news site reports.

In fact, Ms Goma said there was a second baboon bite victim in the hospital awaiting treatment when they arrived.

It is thought the baboon attacked the little girl, who had been playing outside with her brother, because it wanted her doll.

Reuben Dube, who lives in the area, said people were now accompanying their children to school because of the danger the animals posed.

"We have made several reports to the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) but they don't respond," he told the website.

A ZimParks spokesman said it was residents responsibility to keep themselves safe.

Hywel Griffith
BBC News, Sydney

Image source, AFP

More than a dozen African athletes who disappeared while competing in the Commonwealth Games in Australia have been told to hand themselves in or leave the country before the end of the day.

The competitors from Cameroon, Uganda, Rwanda and Sierra Leone all disappeared from their accommodation on the Gold Coast - some without even competing.

Their visas all run out today.

The Cameroon team chef de mission branded his country's missing boxers and weightlifters "deserters".

Until now they have been in the country legally, but in order to remain they must lodge a formal claim for refugee status before their visas expire, at the end of the day.

The BBC understands several athletes have taken legal advice from an asylum resource centre in Melbourne - others are understood to have travelled to Sydney and Brisbane.

The Australian government has told the athletes to hand themselves in or enforcement action will be taken - warning that anyone without a valid visa will be tracked down, detained and deported.

BBC World Service

One of Somalia's most accomplished diplomats, Abdulrahim Abby Farah, has died at his home in New York. He was 98.

He was Somalia's ambassador to the United Nations from 1965 to 1972 and also headed up Somalia's foreign affairs ministry.

One of his most prominent roles was as chair of the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid.

Mr Farah was born in Wales and educated at Oxford University in England.

People on Twitter have been paying tribute:

Image source, Reuters

South Africa has withdrawn its ambassador to Israel after the Middle Eastern country's soldiers killed almost 60 Palestinian protesters on Monday.

The government said the decision was made in light of the "indiscriminate and grave manner" of the attack on civilians by Israeli forces.

The protesters and soldiers clashed at the border as the US opened its first embassy in Jerusalem - a controversial decision which has been widely condemned and incensed Palestinians.

The killings have shocked many across the world.

However, South Africa's decision has been criticised by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and the SA Zionist Federation, which defended Israel's "right to defend its own border and its own citizens" in a statement released today.

The statement also accuses the government's rhetoric of playing a role in provoking "anti-Semitic comment on various social media platforms".

“This is a victory only for extremism in the Middle East. We call on the South African Government to reconsider its decision immediately,” it ends.

• Read more about the Gaza killings on the BBC website.

Enraged Kenyan women are marching to a Nairobi cafe, intending to take part in a mass breastfeeding event in protest at the venue's treatment of one young mother.

The women are heading toward the Olive Restaurant, where the young mother alleges she was told to cover up while breastfeeding her one-year-old.

The woman, who shared her story on a mothers' Facebook group, says she was told to feed her baby in the toilet, leaving her feeling humiliated.

The story sent shockwaves through Nairobi and further afield, with a protest eventually being organised for this morning.

The Daily Nation has tweeted this video from the march, which was due to start on Freedom Corner, before heading through parliament to the cafe:

The restaurant had appealed for calm in the face of the women's outrage, asking for time to deal with the matter internally.

Africa Live will keep an eye on the protest throughout the morning.

In the meantime, read BBC Africa's interview with the mother here.

Today's African proverb:

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