Summary

  • Court says Mr Lungu would not be breaching the constitution

  • Mob kills suspected arsonist in South Africa

  • Liberia leader orders officials to declare assets

  • Africa 'world's worst for road traffic deaths'

  • Dozen health workers die in DR Congo Ebola outbreak

  1. Scroll down for this week's storiespublished at 17:50 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

    We'll be back next week

    That's all from BBC Africa Live for this week. Keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast or check the BBC News website.

    A reminder of today's wise words:

    Quote Message

    If you live by the river you can hear the crab cough

    Sent by Felix Jennings Boafo in Accra, Ghana

    Click here to send us your African proverbs.

    And we leave you with one of our favourite pictures from this week, which caught ballet dancers mid-flight in Kenya's capital Nairobi:

    Ballet dancersImage source, EPA
  2. Date set for SA minimum wagepublished at 17:49 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

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    South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the start date for the national minimum wage.

    The minimum wage of 20 Rand ($1.41; £1.11) comes into effect on New Year’s day.

    "This is a great achievement for working people in South Africa who have endured decades of exploitation", he is quoted as saying in IOL News.

    Mr Ramaphosa signed the bill last month and according to official estimates, it is expected to benefit six million workers in the country.

    However, there have been critics on Twitter and #NationalMinimumWage has been trending in South Africa.

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  3. Resident Presidents mull stolen artefactspublished at 17:13 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

    BBC Focus on Africa's satirical Resident President - Olushambles and Kibarkingmad - debate the merits of looted art being returned to Africa.

    Olushambles is not convinced he wants Africa's stolen art back. Listen to their banter:

    Media caption,

    Olushambles is not convinced he wants Africa's stolen art back

  4. Burundi president: Rwanda is our enemypublished at 17:01 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

    Prime Ndikumagenge
    BBC Africa

    Burundi President Pierre NkurunzizaImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Pierre Nkurunziza has been president since 2005

    Burundi's president has called neighbouring Rwanda an enemy in a letter to the Ugandan president.

    Pierre Nkurunziza wrote to Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, who is chair of the six-nation East African Community (EAC), saying he regards Rwanda not as a partner but as an enemy.

    President Nkurunziza wants a special summit of the EAC - which comprises Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and South Sudan - to discuss the conflict.

    Heads of state of the EAC are due to meet on 27 December - a change in plan after the Burundian delegation did not show up to the last meeting.

    Relations between Burundi and Rwanda have gone from bad to worse in recent years.

    Bujumbura accuses Kigali of backing a coup attempt in 2015 and of offering asylum to those who were involved.

  5. E Guinea army chief fired after 56 dayspublished at 16:50 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

    President Teodoro Obiang NguemaImage source, Gett
    Image caption,

    President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has ruled Equatorial Guinea for 39 years

    Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has sacked the army's Chief of General Staff, according to AFP citing state media.

    Col Ruslan Hermes Nguema Oyana's was appointed to the post only 56 days ago - on the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence from Spain.

    AFP adds that the reason given for Col Oyana's dismissal was "irregularities in the performance of his duties".

    President Obiang has ruled Equatorial Guinea since 1979 has faced several coup attempts.

  6. Analysis: Big win for Edgar Lungupublished at 16:40 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

    Kennedy Gondwe
    BBC News, Lusaka

    Edgar LunguImage source, Reuters

    The ruling that Zambian President Edgar Lungu can stand again in 2021 does not surprise many.

    Mr Lungu was first elected in January 2015 after the death of Michael Sata in October 2014.

    But since Zambia had scheduled elections the following year, Lungu effectively only served for a year and a half.

    Those who were against Mr Lungu’s "third term" had been encouraged by a part of the Zambian Constitution which says someone who has held office twice as president is not eligible for election as President.

    Opposition party UPND released a statement rejecting the Constitutional Court’s ruling.

    Last year Mr Lungu warned of chaos if they dared to "go the Kenyan way" by ruling against his eligibility.

    He was referring to the Kenyan courts which had annulled the election of incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta.

    So this is a big victory for Mr Lungu.

    It's a bold decision by the Constitutional Court whose judges been accused of being unqualified to sit on the bench.

    Straight after today's ruling, Mr Lungu’s party declared him their candidate for the 2021 elections.

  7. Soweto Gospel Choir nominated for Grammypublished at 16:11 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

    Milton Nkosi
    BBC Africa, Johannesburg

    South Africa's Soweto Gospel Choir has been nominated for a 2019 Grammy Award in the World Music Album category.

    The nomination is for the album entitled Freedom, which includes the song Umbombela:

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    This is not the first time that the Soweto Gospel choir has been recognised - it previously grabbed the award in the same category in 2007 and 2008.

    Other African nominees include Fatoumata Diawara, Egypt 80 and Seun Kuti.

    The award ceremony is expected to take place on 10 February 2019.

  8. Ghanaian boxing champion used to be homelesspublished at 15:51 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

    Isaac DogboeImage source, Getty Images

    Ghanaian boxing champion Isaac Dogboe has told the BBC that he used to be homeless, forced to secretly sleep on his gym floor.

    A switch to the professional game left him chasing opportunities around the globe, so much so that he and his father - who has trained him from the age of 14 - were left on the brink in California in 2016 while his mother was back in the UK.

    Quote Message

    People didn't know we had nowhere to sleep for about three months.

    Quote Message

    We had managerial problems and people took everything at once - the car, the house we were in, it all had to be given away. But we continued training. My dad said, 'Don't phone your mum and tell her the problems we are going through.'

    Quote Message

    After training we would dress up and hang out around the gym. We'd put our bags down when people had gone and sleep or wait for the next session.

    Quote Message

    It's hard to believe it as there are always smiles on our faces but when you go deep down, a lot has been sacrificed. Today when I see my father he reminds me that this is it, anything in our path we are clearing it."

    He has come a long way - as he is now the current World Boxing Organization super bantamweight champion.

    Watch his interview:

    Media caption,

    Isaac Dogboe: meeting Prince Charles, sleeping in a gym and becoming World Champion

    Read more: Boxer's struggle from Ghana to the UK and Madison Square Garden

  9. Kenyan farmers give animals antibiotics to save moneypublished at 15:35 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

    Rhoda Odhiambo
    BBC, Nairobi

    Cows eating
    Image caption,

    Antibiotic misuse is a global problem but it's a particular concern in Kenya

    A Kenyan trend in farmers giving their animals antibiotics has seen some farmers drugging their sick flock instead of going to the vet.

    Many farmers avoid veterinary services because they see it as an extra cost.

    Some have given antibiotics to the point of overdose and one farmer told the BBC that she gives her chickens antibiotics when they are well to prevent them from getting ill.

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned farmers against using antibiotics to treat their animals, saying it can harm the humans who eat the meat.

    A study by the Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership warns that Africa will be hit hardest by a growing resistance to antibiotics.

    It adds that 70% of antibiotics imported into Kenya are given to chickens, pigs and cows.

  10. Somali football team tours home country for first timepublished at 14:25 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

    Somali-Australian Football teamImage source, Ibrahim Omar Baafo
    Image caption,

    The footballers had never been to Somalia before

    A team of Australian footballers of Somali descent are touring Somalia - the first time they have ever visited the country.

    “These kids were born in Australia, they have never been to Africa before”, Ibrahim Omar Baafo who is the team coordinator told the BBC.

    “They are here to see their countrymen and learn about their culture and heritage.”

    The Somali Australian Team, as the football team is known, was dreamt up in Melbourne by a group of Somali parents.

    “They wanted their children to go back to their roots and do something for the Somali people”.

    As well as playing football, the team have helped raise money to pay for eye surgery for 450 people and surgery for 60 women suffering from obstetric fistula - where the bladder and rectum are damaged during childbirth.

    Medical Mission volunteersImage source, Ibrahim Omar Baafo
    Eye surgery patientsImage source, Ibrahim Omar Baafo
  11. Liberia leader orders officials to declare assetspublished at 13:01 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

    Jonathan Paye-Layleh
    BBC Africa, Monrovia

    George WeahImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Mr Weah didn't declare his own assets for six months

    Liberian President George Weah has ordered those officials who are yet to declare their assets to do so in one week “or face punitive action consistent with law".

    He said asset declaration under his regime "will be enforced to the letter and there will be no sacred cows".

    Mr Weah, who is an ex-footballer, said he had told the people of Liberia during his campaign that “our government would adopt a zero-tolerance posture towards corruption".

    The code of conduct for public officials mandates them to declare their assets before assuming office.

    But Mr Weah was in violation of this himself, only declaring his assets to the anti-corruption commission under public pressure six months after taking over on 22 January.

    Mr Weah did not make his declaration public - something officials are not obliged to do.

    Only 25% of members of the executive branch of government have filled in their asset declaration, according to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission.

    The commission says the vast majority of people in the judiciary have complied, but none of the 103 MPs have yet done so.

  12. Africa 'world's worst for road traffic deaths'published at 12:41 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

    Africa has the worst rate of road traffic deaths in the world, according to a report by the World Health Organization, external.

    The figures for Africa are 26.6 deaths per 100,000 population - that's nearly three times the rate in Europe.

    The report says many African and South American countries do not have sufficient speed limit laws.

    But the statistic on vehicle safety gives the most insight into the reason for the higher rate of accidents in Africa.

    The countries that do not apply UN vehicle safety standards are marked in red on the graph blow - as you can see, this is almost all of Africa.

    Graphic about countries that apply the UN's vehicle safety standardsImage source, WHO

    These standards require vehicles to have features that can prevent a crash - such as electronic stability control and advance braking.

    The number of road traffic deaths continues to rise steadily, the reports.

    Botswana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon are countries where death rates have increased.

    Egypt, Angola, Burkina Faso and Burudi are among those that have seen a reduction.

    Africa also has the highest proportion of pedestrian and cyclist moralities.

    In Ghana, almost half of those killed are pedestrians; in Ethiopia, and Kenya this is 37%.

    In Kenya, one in four of those killed is in an accident involving two- and three-wheeled vehicles.

  13. 'At least 17 killed' in DR Congopublished at 11:26 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

    Soldiers in PaidaImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Militants reportedly attacked a barracks

    Seventeen people have been killed in two attacks by a militant group in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, AFP news agency reports a local mayor as saying.

    The regional army's spokesman said five of the killings - in the troubled Beni region near the Ugandan border - happened during an attack on barracks in the village Paida.

    The government has often blamed Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militants for killings, robberies and kidnappings, but sometimes it is unclear who the true assailants are, AFP adds.

    ADF is an armed group formed in late 1990s by a puritanical Muslim sect in the Ruwenzori mountains of western Uganda.

  14. Zambian president 'allowed to run for third term'published at 10:35 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018
    Breaking

    Edgar LunguImage source, Reuters

    Zambia's Constitutional Court has ruled that President Edgar Lungu can stand in presidential elections due in 2021, reports Reuters news agency.

    The court found that he would not be breaching a constitutional two-term limit, the agency reports.

    It said in its ruling that this was because Mr Lungu's first period in office lasted only one year and six months, when he took over after the death in office of the previously elected president, Michael Sata.

    Mr Lungu argued that the constitution says a president is only deemed to have served a term if he is in office for at least three years.

  15. DR Congo Ebola outbreak: 12 health workers diepublished at 10:27 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

    Louise Dewast
    Kinshasa, DR Congo

    A health care worker carries a baby suspected of being infected with Ebola virus in a hospital in Oicha, North Kivu Province of Democratic Republic of Congo, December 6, 2018.Image source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Health workers continue to try and contain the virus, including this one who suspects this baby has Ebola

    Twelve health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have died of Ebola, the minister for public health says.

    They are part of a group of 44 health workers who have been infected with the virus.

    This is a worrying development for those working to contain the virus, which has now spread to a dozen towns in eastern DR Congo.

    Since the outbreak began in July, 273 people are believed to have died from Ebola.

    While an experimental vaccine - administered to more than 40,000 people - has helped saved lives according to officials, the presence of armed groups in the affected provinces of North Kivu and Ituri continues to make the response an ongoing challenge.

    An outbreak of Ebola in western DR Congo earlier in the year was contained.

    Read: Why Ebola keeps coming back

  16. Mob kills suspected arsonist in South Africapublished at 09:08 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

    A man who was attacked by people who suspected him of starting a fire in South Africa has died of his injuries in hospital.

    Reports say police have still not ascertained the cause of the fire in Alexandra township, north of Johannesburg.

    But, as News 24 reports, external, residents believed it was arson and attacked a man who they thought was responsible.

    The fire, which broke out on Thursday afternoon, destroyed at least 500 shacks, leaving hundreds homeless.

    Pictures of the fire have been shared on social media:

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    EWN tweets that the clean up has begun:

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  17. Friday's wise wordspublished at 09:06 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

    Our proverb of the day:

    Quote Message

    If you live by the river you can hear the crab cough."

    Sent by Felix Jennings Boafo in Accra, Ghana

    Click here to send us your African proverbs.

  18. Good morningpublished at 09:05 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2018

    Welcome back to BBC Africa Live where we will bring you the latest news from around the continent.

  19. Scroll down for Thursday's stories 👇published at 17:56 Greenwich Mean Time 6 December 2018

    We'll be back on Friday

    BBC Africa Live
    Clare Spencer

    That's all from BBC Africa Live today. Keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast or check the BBC News website.

    A reminder of Thursday's wise words:

    Quote Message

    It’s easy to catch fire with someone else's hand."

    An Oromo proverb sent by Kinbeyen in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

    Click here to send us your African proverbs.

    And we leave you with this photo from Guinea-Bissau:

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  20. Militia 'behead two Islamist militants' in Mozambiquepublished at 17:56 Greenwich Mean Time 6 December 2018

    Jose Tembe
    BBC Africa, Maputo

    ArmyImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    The army has increased patrols in northern Mozambique since the attacks began last year

    A militia in Mozambique has captured and beheaded two Islamist militants, according to Carta de Moçambique newspaper.

    Residents in Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique, are reported to have taken the law into their own hands in retaliation for the sporadic raids and killings carried out by Islamist militant group Ahlu Sunna Wa-Jama, locally known as al-Shabab.

    The group, which has no known ties to the Somali jihadist group of the same name, decapitated 10 villagers last May.

    The recent revenge raids seem to have been sparked by an attack against the village of Lilongo early on Wednesday morning.

    The government has encouraged communities to hand over suspected wrongdoers to the relevant authorities.

    Read more: How Mozambique’s smuggling barons nurtured jihadists