DJ Edu
Presenter of This Is Africa on BBC World Service

Image source, Buki Bakare/BBC

Tanzania’s biggest star has been in London to promote his new EP First of All, and, despite suffering from a cold, no doubt brought on by the dramatic drop in temperature, Diamond Platnumz was in a very good mood.

We had invited him to a studio to perform a few of his new tracks acoustically, and he was in his element, picking up random musical instruments in the room and chatting about fingering to the guitarist we had brought in to accompany him.

He sang four songs: Fine, Sona, Loyal and Somebody - and would happily have done more if his team hadn’t been keen to whisk him off to his next engagement.

First of All has 10 tracks so would qualify as an album but Diamond explained that the EP was born because he had created so many songs in the process of making his next album.

An EP (meaning extended play) is longer than a single but shorter than an album.

But for the 32-year-old awarding-winning musician the main difference between the EP and the album is the amount of fanfare:

It is interesting that even with his success and experience, the pressure is still there when it comes to releasing new music.

There are up-tempo songs on the EP, including a banging track called Fresh featuring Focalistic, Costa Titch and Pabi Cooper, but the overall feeling is sweet and loved-up.

One of the love songs Diamond performed for us was Loyal - in it he sings: “I promise to be loyal… take my phone and take my password baby oh, take my ATM card spoil yourself eeoh.”

In the context of this, I had to ask him about his recent appearance on the Netflix reality show Young Famous and African.

On the show, he comes across as quite the player, pursuing South African rapper Nadia Nakai and talking about previous lovers and even children he may have out there.

You can hear my conversation with Diamond Platnumz and the songs he played on This is Africa this Saturday on BBC World Service radio, external and partner stations across Africa.

Image source, Buki Bakare/BBC

Gibril Massaquoi was a school teacher but then became the spokesman of a notorious rebel group.

Napoli striker Victor Osimhen says mental strength has been key in helping him during a challenging second campaign in Italy.

Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur questions Wimbledon's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this year's tournament.

BBC World Service
Newsroom

Image source, Getty Images

Senior officials from Europe and the US have said that international financial support for Sudan, including debt relief, can only follow the establishment of a credible civilian government.

Diplomats from France, Germany, Norway, the UK, the US and the European Union - who have been visiting Khartoum - criticised the rehabilitation of members of Sudan's former authoritarian regime by the current military government.

They warned that without progress in an agreed transition towards democracy, Sudan might lose billions of dollars in assistance from the World Bank, and that its IMF programme was also at risk.

You may be interested in:

• How Sudan's generals betrayed my generation
• Sudan anger over racist slur caught on air at Bashir trial

Image source, AFP

A court in Finland has acquitted a rebel commander of rape, ritual murder and the recruitment of child soldiers during Liberia's civil war.

The court said there was not enough proof to convict Gibril Ealoghima Massaquoi. The 52-year-old is from Sierra Leone and was a senior member of a notorious rebel group, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), that fought in neighbouring Liberia from 1999 to 2003.

He had moved to Finland in 2008 and was arrested two years ago.

Mr Massaquoi was a school teacher when Sierra Leone's civil war began in 1991. He joined the RUF, quickly rising through the ranks to become the group's spokesperson.

But he then gave evidence to the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone set up to investigate war crimes committed in that conflict.

He was relocated to Finland as part of a witness protection programme, which provided immunity for crimes committed in Sierra Leone, but not Liberia.

Prosecutors alleged that in Liberia, Mr Massaquoi had ordered buildings with people locked inside to be torched, and described the widespread rape and murder of civilians, often by enslaved child soldiers.

The ex-rebel said he was not in Liberia at the time.

The Finnish court had decamped to the Liberian capital, Monrovia, for a while to hear local testimony.

Around 250,000 people were killed during the internal conflicts that ended in 2003.

Mercy Juma
BBC News, Othaya

On the main road leading to the home of Mwai Kibaki in Othaya in central Kenya, a huge billboard has been erected showing a smiling photo of the former president, who died last week aged 90.

It states his years of birth and death against a backdrop of the national flag. People stop and stare at it - some form groups and talk amongst themselves.

Kibaki’s election to the presidency in 2002 was momentous as it ended 40 years of one-party rule - and as a trained economist, he made moves to liberalise the economy during his first term in power. However, his re-election in 2007 sparked months of nationwide violence.

On Saturday morning Kibaki will be buried here, where many look back fondly on his time in office.

“The assets I have today, I acquired during the 10 years he was president - it is when I can say I acquired the little that I have today, because the economy was friendly, everyone had money in their pockets,” one lady said

Another resident told us: “He changed this town and brought light. If he had served for 24 years, this place would be paradise.”

The roads to the grounds where the funeral service will be held have been freshly tarmacked and power lines are being serviced.

Image source, Peter Njoroge/BBC

The final touches are also being put in place at the grounds of the Othaya Approved School: white tents decorated with national flags have been erected.

Image source, Peter Njoroge/BBC

Image source, Peter Njoroge/BBC

It is fitting that the event is taking place on the grounds of a school, as perhaps one of Kibaki’s most enduring legacies was the introduction in 2003 of free primary education. I’ve met people here who say they were only able to send their young children to school because of this.

Early on Friday morning, as a memorial service was held for Kibaki in the capital, Nairobi, technicians here in Othaya were doing sound checks and testing the public address systems.

Dozens of workers were on the grounds cleaning chairs and arranging them.

Image source, Peter Njoroge/BBC

At least 15,000 people are expected to attend the event which will be the final public ceremony before Kibaki is taken to his home, about 5km (three miles) away from the grounds.

Image source, Peter Njoroge/BBC

A short private ceremony will then be held before he is buried.

• OBITUARY: Kenya's Mwai Kibaki: The hope and disappointment

Hanna Temuari
BBC News

Mosques and churches were reportedly set ablaze by mobs in multiple places in northern and southern Ethiopia on Thursday.

Violence erupted after at least 20 Muslims were killed and hundreds more injured while attending a funeral of a local religious figure on Tuesday in Gondar city in Amhara region.

The regional Islamic Affairs official told the BBC that four mosques were burnt.

Three churches were also burned down in southern Ethiopia, the head of the administrative body of the Orthodox Church in Silte confirmed to the BBC, in what appears to be retaliatory attacks for the earlier violence.

The government says more than 370 people have been apprehended in connection with the violence in Gondar.

It has warned that it will take additional measures against anyone involved in spreading tensions to other cities.

Muslims in the capital, Addis Ababa, have planned a mass gathering at Meskel Square late on Friday as they break their fast to protest against the killings.

Muslims make up nearly 34% of Ethiopia's more than 115 million inhabitants.

Richard Kagoe
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

Kenyans have braved the early morning chill after a night of heavy rains to attend the memorial service for the late President Mwai Kibaki.

They began streaming into the venue at dawn and there were long queues as people lined up to enter the Nyayo National Stadium.

Various choirs kept the crowd engaged as they patiently waited for the arrival of the funeral procession to arrive from State House, Nairobi.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, Reuters

Various dignitaries including heads of state led by South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa, South Sudan's Salva Kiir, Ethiopia's Zehle Zewde and former Malawi President Joyce Banda have paid their respects.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, AFP

People are dressed in black and there is a sombre mood at the stadium.

Hawkers are selling merchandise bearing Kibaki's portraits and notable quotes.

Lebo Diseko
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma would do anything the wealthy Indian-born Gupta family wanted him to do from early in his first term, corruption investigators have concluded.

The commission investigating allegations of widespread corruption in South Africa during Zuma’s nine years in power, known as “State Capture”, says the former president placed the interests of corrupt associates ahead of those of his country.

Further, it says that the Guptas identified Zuma as someone whose character could be used against the people of South Africa to advance their own business interests.

These scathing conclusions were revealed in the fourth part of the commission’s report - released on Friday.

Central to the commission’s investigations has been the claim that the Guptas bought their way into the most influential organs of the state via Zuma.

Its latest report details how Zuma hired and fired ministers central to the running of the country’s economy at the behest of the Gupta family.

In particular it describes the sacking of a finance minister because he would not comply with the Guptas’ wishes, and the appointment of two subsequent ministers who were friendly to the family’s interests.

Zuma, who became president in 2009, and the Gupta family, who came to live in South Africa in 1993 just as white minority rule was ending, deny any wrongdoing.

Image source, Gallo Images

Last June, Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in jail for defying an instruction to give evidence to the commission but was later freed on medical parole.

Its fourth report also details a web of corruption at the state electricity utility Eskom, culminating in key members of the company’s executive being put in place by the Guptas.

Eskom has had to receive several taxpayer-funded bailouts because of poor management, with South Africans now experiencing rolling blackouts.

The report recommends that criminal prosecution of the former Eskom chief executive and chief financial officer be considered by the country’s law enforcement agencies.

• The Guptas and their links to South Africa's Jacob Zuma

BBC World Service
Newsroom

An investigation has been launched in Egypt into the circumstances surrounding the suicide of a journalist at the offices of the state-run newspaper, Al-Ahram.

Eyewitnesses say that Imad el-Feki hanged himself inside his office.

The journalists' union in Egypt has urged people not to speculate about what prompted him to take his own life, amid rumours that he was under great pressure at work.

Some have called for conditions in the media - which has come even further under state control in recent years - to be reformed.

Image source, AFP

The authorities in South Africa have reportedly recovered a vehicle stolen from transport ministry technicians while they repaired a road damaged by recent floods.

Hijackers held them at gunpoint near Durban in KwaZulu-Natal province before driving away with the white pick-up vehicle, the authorities told local media.

The incident happened on Wednesday, on South Africa’s Freedom Day, with a local official terming it unfortunate that the workers had sacrificed the holiday to serve the community only to be targeted by the criminals.

Investigations began into the carjacking.

The vehicle was later found abandoned in undrivable condition and was towed away, officials told the IOL news website.

Queen Elizabeth has eulogised Kenya's former President Mwai Kibaki as a "great statesman" who had "a lifelong record of service to the Kenyan people".

Mr Kibaki died last Thursday aged 90 and his funeral service is ongoing at a stadium in the capital, Nairobi.

He was Kenya's third president after independence from British colonial rule in 1963. He served two terms from near the end of 2002 to 2013.

In her condolence message, the Queen says she "was sorry to receive the news of the death of Mwai Kibaki".

"Kenya can take pride in the legacy of his leadership," she said in a statement conveyed, external by the British High Commission.

Image source, AFP

Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari has issued a warning to diplomats against interreference in the forthcoming elections.

The warning was made during an Iftar dinner with diplomats on Thursday at the president's residence in the capital, Abuja.

Presidential elections are scheduled for February 2023.

"As Nigeria goes through this trajectory, I urge our friends in the global community, represented by you the diplomatic corps, to adopt a positive role that reinforces the doctrine of respect for our internal affairs and respect for facts and devoid of pre-conceived notions and bias," Mr Buhari is quoted as saying in a statement.

He also vowed to crack down on electoral fraud.

"Those planning to rig the forthcoming elections should think twice because I intend to resolutely protect and defend the sacred will of the Nigerian people, to be expressed through the ballot box," he said.

Mr Buhari's second term ends in May 2023 and he is not eligible for re-election.

The funeral service of former Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, who died last Thursday aged 90, is under way in the capital, Nairobi.

Global dignitaries including several African presidents and many Kenyans have already arrived for the funeral at the Nyayo National Stadium in the city.

The body of the late president left the funeral home in the morning for the State House in a military convoy - who are leading the funeral process.

Image source, State House Kenya

The soldiers have been marching in a procession to the venue of the service from State House.

Image source, State House

Kenyans have been streaming to the venue of the funeral service, which was about 40% full by 09:00 local time (07:00GMT), according to the BBC’s Richard Kagoe who is at the location.

Mourners had been advised to be seated by 08:00.

Security clearances have been delaying access to the stadium – and more people are still outside.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Fifty years on from a wave of ethnic massacres in Burundi, survivors are asking the government to do more to confront the legacy of the violence.

Up to 300,000 people died in mass killings which began on 29 April in 1972.

The violence was rooted in long-standing tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi - two ethnic groups who live in Burundi and neighbouring Rwanda.

Most of the victims were Hutu.

A truth and reconciliation commission which has been exhuming mass graves from the time has said the killings amount to genocide.

The worst outbreak of violence between the two groups was the 1994 Rwanda genocide which left around 800,000 Tutsis dead over the course of 100 days.

You may be interested in:

• What Burundi could teach Rwanda about reconciliation

Image source, EPA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made a fresh request to address African Union (AU) heads of state, according to AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki.

In a tweet, Mr Faki said he received the request during a call with Ukraine's foreign minister.

The pair also talked about President Zelensky's "wish to develop closer ties with the AU".

Mr Faki didn't disclose whether the request would be granted but tweeted that he had "insisted on the need for a peaceful solution to the conflict with Russia".

Earlier this month, President Zelensky held a call with his Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall, the current AU chairman, and asked to address African leaders.

African countries dominated the list of nations that abstained from voting on a UN resolution to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.

The resolution passed with 93 votes in favour, 24 against and 58 abstentions.

Image source, AFP

A state funeral service is being held on Friday for former Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki who died a week ago at the age of 90.

Several African presidents and other global dignitaries will be attending, with South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, Salva Kiir of South Sudan and Ethiopia’s Sahle-Work Zewde already confirming their attendance.

The event is being held at the Nyayo National Stadium in the capital, Nairobi. Major roads in the city have been closed to facilitate movement to the venue.

Kenyans have been queuing to pay their last respects to the late president for the past several days, viewing his body at parliament where it lay in state.

The country has set aside Friday as a public holiday to allow Kenyans to mourn and attend the service.

Neighbouring Tanzania has declared two days of mourning from Friday in solidarity with Kenyans.

Mr Kibaki was sworn in as the third president of Kenya near the end of 2002, and served until 2013.

The former president will be buried on Saturday at his home in central Kenya.

Read more:

• Kenya's Mwai Kibaki: The hope and disappointment

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