Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Image source, AFP

Controversial Zambian musician Fumba Chama has today been granted bail after being arrested last Wednesday as he returned from South Africa, where he had been living in self-imposed exile.

Chama fled to South Africa in January after receiving death threats over his song, Koswe Mumpoto (Rat in the Pot), which was interpreted as being critical of President Edgar Lungu and his ministers.

The song was a major hit in Zambia when it was released last December. Chama sang that the ruling elite was behaving like rats that steal food - an allegation which was strongly denied by ruling party supporters.

He was arrested in September 2017 for taking part in a protest against the government’s purchase of 42 fire engines for about $1m (£740,000) each. He fled to South Africa while on bail.

A warrant for his arrest was issued in February after he failed to appear in court on what human rights group Amnesty International called "trumped up" charges related to the protest.

Despite telling the court last Thursday that he escaped to South Africa for fear of his life, his attempt to get bail failed and he had been in police cells since.

But when he appeared in court this morning, Lusaka principal resident magistrate Mwaka Mikalile granted him bail with two working sureties from recognised institutions.

She advised the state to offer protection to all citizens and avoid situations where they have to flee the country for their own safety.

His detention had attracted international interest, with legendary Zimbabwean musician Thomas Mapfumo yesterday joining calls for his release.

“The Zambian government is targeting people like Pilato (which Chama is popularly known as) because they are standing up and demanding accountability from their government,” said Mapfumo.

“Pilato is a victim of a government that is trying to consolidate its base through the limiting of freedom of expression and in this case artistic expression.

"He is not a criminal. Instead of targeting criminals who are eroding state institutions, they are using him as a scapegoat. He must be released immediately and unconditionally.”

Almost 200 people have applied for asylum in Australia after travelling to the country for last month's Commonwealth Games.

So far, 190 applications have been made, while another 15 athletes or support staff have applied for other types of visas, Malisa Golightly from the Home Affairs Department told a parliamentary hearing in the capital, Canberra.

Another 50 or so remain missing, Ms Golightly added.

It is not known exactly where the people are from. However, it has previously been reported they come from Cameroon, Uganda, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.

Refugee advocates have said a number of African athletes reappeared after their visas ran out on 15 May.

• Where are the missing Commonwealth Games athletes?

Image source, EPA

Guests at an upmarket hotel in the Kenyan capital have shelled out one million shillings ($10,000, £7,500) to watch the royal wedding on a giant screen, Kenyan media report.

The event at the Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club, on the outskirts of Nairobi was said to have been sold out.

Guests enjoyed a multiple-course banquet and flew to Mount Kenya by helicopter for breakfast the following morning.

One couple said they had come to get ideas for their own wedding, external.

"We are getting married soon and came here to get inspiration on wedding ideas. The event has been very enjoyable and the money was well worth it," they told the Standard.

The event drew criticism from some in the media because of the substantial price tag in a country where millions live in poverty.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Anne Soy
BBC Africa, DR Congo

Image source, AFP

The first people are due to receive Ebola vaccinations in the Democratic Republic of Congo today - despite the fact it has yet to be licenced.

The vaccine is the only one targeting Ebola which has gone through human trials. The research was conducted in Guinea in 2016 with support from the UK Department for International Development.

However, it is the first time any vaccine will have been used to control the spread of Ebola.

The people close to the identified cases will be vaccinated. They include their relatives and close contacts, as well as health workers who are treating the patients.

There is huge hope the 300,000 doses will be able to curb the spread of the disease.

During the trials, it showed 100% efficacy, meaning everyone who got it did not contract Ebola, but those who didn't got the disease.

"This is an important step for a vaccine with huge potential," said Dr Seth Berkley, chief executive of the vaccine producer, Gavi. He said the drug was safe and effective.

South Africa's sports minister has waded into an escalating racism row after former Springbok rugby player Ashwin Willemse walked off air in the middle of a Saturday evening broadcast.

Sports and Recreation Minister Toko Xasa called for Mr Willemse's co-hosts Nick Mallett and Naas Botha to be suspended from the South African television channel Supersports after the winger hit out at them live on air.

Mr Willemse said he could no longer bear to be "undermined", saying he had been referred to as a "quota" Springbok, referring to a defunct system that ensured a certain number of black players were chosen for national teams.

He then added he "refused to be patronised by two individuals who played in an apartheid era".

It is unclear exactly what caused the outburst, but it stoked an outpouring of support for Mr Willemse, who was named South Africa's Player of the Year in 2003.

On Sunday, Ms Xasa added her own thoughts to the issue.

“The continued appearance of Mallett and Botha will be seen as an endorsement of their alleged racist behaviour‚” she said, according to TimesLive, external.

“This behaviour of entitlement by some white South Africans who continue to think that their whiteness represent better must come to an end. If it was not for a barbaric nonsensical apartheid system that privileged them, we could not have implemented [a] quota system to normalise an otherwise abnormal system.”

Broadcasters SuperSport said "they were aware of the on-air incident and are looking into the matter".

Image source, AFP

The results of a constitutional referendum in Burundi are expected later today.

The vote took place on Thursday, and could see President Pierre Nkurunziza's rule extended to 2034.

The electoral commission (Ceni) said the results would come in at 16:00 (14:00 GMT), AFP news agency reports.

Mr Nkurunziza is a former rebel leader who came to power at the end of Burundi's ethnically charged civil war in 2005.

His run for a controversial third term in 2015, despite being constitutionally limited to two terms, set off a wave of violence and an attempted coup, which was foiled by government forces.

The political crisis led to hundreds of deaths, and more than 400,000 people fled the country, according to the United Nations.

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