Africa highlights: Monday 20 July 2015

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has written an article in The Washington Post, calling for greater US military help to fight militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

Mr Buhari is in Washington for talks with US President Barack Obama.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The war crimes trial of Chad's former President Hissene Habre has been adjourned until Tuesday. The judge said he will be forcibly brought to court after he refused to attend the first day of his trial in Senegal's capital, Dakar.

He is in the custody of Senegal's authorities who arrested him while he was exiled in the West African state for alleged atrocities committed during his eight-year rule which ended with his overthrow in 1990 by current leader Idriss Deby.

He denies the charges and refuses to recognise the African Union-backed court's right to try him.

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Nigeria's football league champions Kano Pillars have sacked their coach Okey Emordi.

The side are struggling in the league this season - they are ninth in the table and nine points behind leaders Sunshine Stars and Enyimba.

The club's board will meet on Tuesday to discuss a replacement.

At least 600 families have fled their homes in south-western Somalia's Bai region amid fears that heavy fighting could break out between militant Islamist group al-Shabab and African Union (AU) troops, the regional governor has told the BBC Somali service.

The families have arrived in Baidoa, the regional capital, after fleeing two towns controlled by al-Shabab, said Abdirashid Ali Mohamed.

Ethiopian troops operating under the AU banner are advancing by road towards Bardere and Dinsor towns to recapture them from al-Shabab.

The militants have been preparing to defend the towns, and have planted landmines in an attempt to block troops from over-running them, residents told the BBC Somali service.

APCopyright: AP

We have just been to the location of the grenade attack in Burundi's capital, Bujumbura.

There were no casualties, in the blast near Independence Square in the city centre.

A car was targeted - its windows were smashed and tyres punctured. The attackers are unknown.

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The explosion came ahead of Tuesday's presidential election, which has been marred by protests and violence since Burundi's leader Pierre Nkuruniza announced in April that he will be running for a third term.

The annual Zanzibar international film festival (ZIFF) is underway on the Tanzanian island, reports the BBC's Sammy Awami from there.

Two South African icons were on stage last night - Dorothy Masuka and Leleti Khumalo.

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Khumalo told the audience that she is now venturing into directing films.

She added that at the moment, Africa has very few female directors and it is time to change that.

A South African pastor who ordered his followers to eat a live snake in the belief it would turn into chocolate has been freed on $120 (£77) bail.

Pastor Penuel Mnguni of the End Times Disciples Ministries appeared in a magistrate's court outside the capital, Pretoria, on a charge of cruelty to animals after being reported to the police by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Pictures of him purportedly dangling a live snake before dropping it into a worshipper's mouth went viral on social media platforms last week‚ with one of his followers saying the reptile actually did taste like chocolate.

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US President Barack Obama has praised Nigeria's leader Muhammadu Buhari, saying he has a clear agenda to defeat militant Islamist group Boko Haram and to tackle corruption, Reuters news agency.

He was speaking as he met Mr Buhari for the first time at the White House since the Nigerian president was elected to office in March.

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I have been told by a credible source that a January date for the Fifa election was blocked by African delegates because it would have clashed with The African Nations Championship, which is taking place in Rwanda from 16 January to 7 February.

The election to choose Fifa president Sepp Blatter's successor will now take place on 26 February.

A huge explosion has just been heard in the city centre of Burundi's capital, Bujumbura.

Details are still sketchy, but it could be a grenade attack.

At least four people have been killed and several others wounded by a suicide car bombing at a military checkpoint in Nigeria's north-eastern city of Damaturu, police and witnesses have said.

"A vehicle loaded with explosives was detonated at one of our checkpoints on the outskirts of Damaturu, Yobe state" a police officer told the BBC Hausa service.

The checkpoint is on a major highway which connects the city with Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state and the biggest city in north-eastern Nigeria.

On Thursday, at least nine people were killed in Damaturu by a young female suicide bomber as worshippers gathered to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Fifa President Sepp Blatter has announced a number of reforms to world football's governing body, which has been besieged by allegations of corruption.

He said the measures would include term limits and integrity checks for top officials.

Mr Blatter also explained his sudden resignation, shortly after his re-election in May, saying he was defending Fifa, not himself.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

The organisation will choose a new president in February 2016.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari is holding talks in Washington with President Barack Obama shortly.

The two leaders will focus on co-operation in combating the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

The US had previously agreed to help Nigeria in its fight against the insurgents especially after the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok early last year.

However relations between the US and the previous administration of Goodluck Jonathan were strained, amid accusations of human rights violations by the Nigerian military.

Mr Buhari has also promised to tackle corruption and has said he will recover billions of dollars hidden in banks in the United States, Switzerland and elsewhere.

Nigerian governmentCopyright: Nigerian government

More pictures have come in of the dramatic way in which Senegalese police removed former Chadian leader Hissene Habre from court, where he is standing trial for crimes against humanity, after he denounced the authority of the judge.

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He refuses to return for the trial which has now been postponed until 1500GMT and the judge asked for Mr Habre to be brought back.

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Hollywood star George Clooney has launched an initiative aimed at ending conflicts in Africa by tracking the money that fuels them, the AFP news agency reports.

APCopyright: AP

The Sentry, founded by Clooney and ex-US government official John Prendergast, will probe the financing of conflicts in South Sudan, Sudan, Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo, the report says.

"Real leverage for peace and human rights will come when the people who benefit from war will pay a price for the damage they cause," the 54-year old Oscar-winner said in a statement.

He has a long history as a rights campaigner in Sudan and South Sudan,

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Former UN chief Kofi Annan's office has been reacting to calls for him to lead an independent commission which will look at how football governing body Fifa should be reformed.

"Mr Annan has not been formally approached on this matter nor does he plan to widen scope of already busy schedule," his spokesman said.

Campaign group NewFifaNow put forward the Ghanaian's name, saying: "Please come in and clean up this mess."

With Mr Habre's trial abruptly adjourned, we continue our coverage of other stories: Fifa has announced that the election of a new president will take place on 26 February 2016 in Zurich.

EPACopyright: EPA

The chairman of Liberia's Football Association Musa Bility has already indicated his interest to run for the post.

However, Michel Platini, from European football's governing body Uefa, has been asked by a majority of world football chiefs to stand for the presidency, says BBC sports correspondent Richard Conway.

Crucially, however, it is thought Platini has yet to decide if he will stand as a candidate to succeed Sepp Blatter, he adds.

Many of Mr Habre's alleged victims have been calling for the trial since his overthrow and exile in Senegal in 1990.

A Chadian truth commission found in 1992 that his regime was responsible for 40,000 deaths and disappearances, leading many to dub him Africa's Pinochet, after the Chilean military ruler Augusto Pinochet.

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In 2005 a court in Belgium issued a warrant for his arrest, claiming universal jurisdiction but, after Senegal referred the issue to the African Union, the AU asked Senegal to try Mr Habre "on behalf of Africa".

Senegal's then-President Abdoulaye Wade appeared to be reluctant to put Mr Habre on trial but this changed under his successor Macky Sall.

Mr Habre was indicted in 2013. He denies all the charges and refused to cooperate with the special court.

The judge has now ordered bailiffs to bring Mr Habre to court. It is unclear how they are going to do this. The court session has been suspended until 15:00 GMT.

The trial of Mr Habre has resumed. A judge has asked security officials to bring in Mr Habre. After some silence, one of them says that the former Chadian ruler has refused to come to court.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The decision by Senegal and the African Union to try Mr Habre is seen by many as a landmark.

Watch the BBC's Laeila Adjovi report from Dakar.

BBC West Africa correspondent tweets from court on what a lawyer representing alleged victims of Mr Habre's rule said: 

The special court trying Mr Habre is made up of three judges - one from Burkina Faso and two from Senegal.

The judge has announced the end of the opening session in the war crimes trial of Mr Habre. The case will resume in about 30 minutes.

"The world is watching this trial... It is for the sake of humanity," Jacqueline Moudeina, a lawyer for the victims of Mr Habre's alleged brutality, has told the court.

Mr Habre is being tried by an African Union-backed court in Senegal for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during his rule from 1982 to 1990.

He was exiled in Senegal, when he was arrested about two years ago to stand trial. He denies all the charges.

Prosecutors at the war crimes trial of former Chadian leader Hissene Habre have ended their statement to the court telling Mr Habre, who is not there, that "your silence will not be seen as a defence strategy" and will not affect a fair trial.

BBC West Africa correspondents tweets that a prosecutor is adddressing the court in Mr Habre's war crimes trial, although the former Chadian ruler is not there: 

Journalist with the UK-based Times newspaper tweets on Mr Habre's tirade against Western powers at his war crimes trial:

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A small crowd protested against Mr Habre outside the court where his war crimes trial is taking place.

The protester below carries a cartoon of human rights lawyer Reed Brody demanding justice for victims of the alleged atrocities committed during Mr Habre's rule in Chad from 1982 to 1990:

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Before Mr Habre was taken away from court, he shouted: "Down with imperialists! It is a farce by rotten Senegalese politicians! African traitors! Valet of America!"

There was much drama in court when Mr Habre's supporters entered, shouting that his war crimes trial was biased and controlled by the West.

"No to traitors, no to this justice bought by the West," one of his supporters shouted.

They also chanted that the same people who killed African revolutionary Thomas Sankara were now behind the trial because Mr Habre "would not give up the oil of his country".

BBCCopyright: BBC

While this was happening, Mr Habre was being evacuated from the court.

Human rights lawyer tweets a photograph of those who survived the alleged atrocities committed by former Chadian leader Hissene Habre:

AFPCopyright: AFP

Chad's former leader Hissene Habre has been dubbed "Africa's Pinochet" because of the atrocities allegedly committed during his eight-year rule.

BBC News profiles him.

Some supporters of Chad's ex-ruler Hissene Habre have been evicted from court after they chanted slogans alleging that his war crimes trial was a "betrayal of one of Africa's sons", reports the BBC French service's Anais Hotin from there.

Further tests are to be carried on two of the four Ebola patients in Liberia who were said to have recovered from the illness and were due to be discharged today from a treatment centre near the capital, Monrovia.

"They move around; they appear that they have recovered; but I still feel I should do another test," Dr Jerry Brown, clinical supervisor at the centre, told me.

"I just want to be safe on my side so that we don't discharge patients who would then infect other people," he added.

EPACopyright: EPA

Deputy Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah said on Friday that all four had recovered and would be discharged today.

The resurgence of Ebola in late June affected six people, two of whom succumbed to the disease.

The World Health Organisation and Liberian government declared the West African state Ebola-free in May.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Former Chadian leader Hissene Habre has arrived in court in Senegal's capital, Dakar, surrounded by police.

He is the first former African leader being tried by an African Union-backed court in Senegal for crimes against humanity, torture and war crimes (see 09:44 post).

He denies the charges and has previously said he does not recognise the court's jurisdiction.

The strong police presence prevented the media from taking pictures of him.

BBCCopyright: BBC

It looks like the African Union will not be able to deploy military and human rights observers before Tuesday's presidential elections.

In a press statement, the AU says the deployment has been delayed by Burundi's demand that the observers should have entry visas to Burundi on top of their diplomatic passports.

Talks between government and opposition collapsed over the weekend after they failed to reach an agreement.

Burundi has been in turmoil since President Pierre Nkurunziza announced in April that he would seek a third term in office.

AFPCopyright: AFP

In golf, South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen is joint leader of The Open as it heads into today's final round, which was delayed from yesterday due to bad weather over the weekend.

Oosthuizen won The Open the last time it was held at St Andrews in Scotland, that was in 2010.

He shares the lead with Australia's Jason Day and Irish player Paul Dunne, who as an amateur player is not able to win the $1.8m (£1,15m) prize money should he go on and win The Open.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

One shot behind that trio is the US's Jordan Speith, who is looking to win a third major this year having already won The Masters and the US Open. Oosthuizen and Dunne will begin their final round at 13:30 GMT.

Chad's former ruler Hissene Habre intends to boycott his war crimes trial, which is due to begin today in Senegal's capital, Dakar (see 09:06 post).

He says he does not recognise the jurisdiction of the court.

This is the first time one country is putting on trial the former ruler of another country on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

With many African leaders denouncing the International Criminal Court as neo-colonial, this case is seen as an opportunity for Africa to show it can hold its own to account.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The world's number two tennis player Roger Federer is scheduled to open a child care centre in Malawi to improve early childhood development.

"I have always thought children are tomorrow's future and I really enjoy supporting them and giving them an opportunity to be able to go to school," he told the AFP news agency after arriving in Malawi's capital, Lilongwe, on Sunday.

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Working with international charity Action Aid, Federer's foundation has been working in six districts in Malawi since 2011 and aims to reach 135,000 children by 2021.

Dubbed "Africa's Pinochet", Chad's former President Hissene Habre is due to go on trial at an African Union-backed court in Senegal for alleged war crimes, including 40,000 murders, during his rule from 1982 to 1990.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

"This is the first case anywhere in the world -- not just in Africa -- where the courts of one country, Senegal, are prosecuting the former leader of another, Chad, for alleged human rights crimes," Reed Brody, a lawyer for campaign group Human Rights Watch told AFP news agency.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Fifa President Sepp Blatter is set to announce his plans to reform football's crisis-hit governing body.

Mr Blatter will also hold talks with Fifa's executive committee over a date for the new presidential election.

The 79-year-old announced on 2 June he was stepping aside as head of Fifa, having just been re-elected, amid a US corruption investigation into the organisation.

The meeting is also expected to consider a number of reforms - including term limits for the Fifa president and executives, and publishing the salaries of top officials.

BBC Sport understands 16 December has been earmarked by several regional football confederations as their preferred date for the new ballot.

Four Italian citizens have been kidnapped in Libya, Italy's foreign ministry has said in a statement.

The four employees of construction company Bonatti were kidnapped near a compound owned by Italian oil and gas group Eni in the Mellitah area, about 100km (62 miles) west of the capital, Tripoli, it added.

Italy closed its embassy in Libya in February as lawlessness escalated in the North African state, where rival militias are battling for power.

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Today's African proverb: A frog does not jump backwards. Sent by Sunday Nyeleti, Lusaka, Zambia, and Idua Olunwa, Dallas, US.

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

AFPCopyright: AFP

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