Africa highlights: 'Shock' at Pistorius sentence, Zimbabwe denies internet block

EPACopyright: EPA

Once the world's golden boy and the poster child for the resilience of the human spirit, Oscar Pistorius will now forever be remembered as a murderer.

It has been a gruelling trial for the man known as the "blade runner", not just inside the Pretoria courtroom where his fate was decided but in the court of public opinion.

To say many South Africans are shocked at the sentence would be a gross understatement.

While what the public thinks has no bearing inside a courtroom, in the eyes of the man on the street, Judge Thokozile Masipa has failed Reeva Steenkamp.

Read Pumza's full analysis here

Zimbabweans have held a national protest over the state of the economy and alleged government corruption (see earlier posts).

The protests were organised on social media and when the internet went down, many people assumed the government was blocking access.

But this was denied by Information and Technology Minister Supa Mandiwanzira in a BBC interview:

Six-year-old boy Criscent Bwambale was born with cataracts and was able to make out only vague areas of light and dark.

But thanks to a simple operation he can now see. Here he is striding out of an eye hospital in Uganda with new glasses:

SightsaversCopyright: Sightsavers

For more: In pictures: Criscent Bwambale sees for the first time in Uganda

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• August 2012: Competes in London Olympics and Paralympics, where he won a gold medal
• February 2013: Shoots dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
• March 2014: Trial begins
• September 2014: Judge finds Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide
• October 2014: Begins five-year sentence
• October 2015: Transferred to house arrest
• December 2015: Appeal court changes verdict to murder
• July 2016J: Sentenced to six years in jail for murder

Read more: Pistorius, a fallen idol

Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim and Ory Okolloh of the Omidyar Network discuss the continent's brain drain and debate the best ways to keep talent at home.

APCopyright: AP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has visited a memorial for victims of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and laid a wreath at mass graves honouring those killed. 

"We are deeply moved by this memorial to the victims of one of history's greatest crimes and reminded of the haunting similarities to the genocide of our own people," he and his wife, Sara, wrote in the visitors' book at the site in Kigali.

His trip to Rwanda came during the first visit by a sitting Israeli prime minister to sub-Saharan Africa in three decades. 

Mr Netanyahu, who has spoken of wanting closer trade and security ties with African nations, has already been to Uganda and Kenya. He finishes his tour in Ethiopia on Thursday.

The Mozambican government says civil servants who have failed to present “proof of life” will have their salaries stopped from the end of this month.

The “proof of life” is a check to confirm the existence of staff on the payroll to avoid ghost workers.

Government spokesperson Mouzinho Saide said that more than 26,000 people had so far failed to complete the process and would have their pay suspended.

Quote Message: Their salaries will remain suspended until they can prove their existence."

Their salaries will remain suspended until they can prove their existence."

BBCCopyright: BBC

Six major mobile phone firms in Tanzania have been fined for failing to deactivate unregistered sim cards. The fines were:

• Airtel: about $34,000 (£26,000)
• Halotel: about $167,000
• Smart: about $3,200
• Tigo: about $43,000
• Vodacom: about $22,000
• Zantel: about $17,000.

The chief of the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority, James Kilaba, said the firms were still selling sim cards without registration.

He gave them until 31 July to pay their fines and deactivate all unregistered phones.

The move is part of efforts to boost security.

Recently, the East African nation joined other African countries in switching off all fake phones that did not have an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number – in a move also intended to protect financial transactions.

Reaction to Oscar Pistorius’s six-year sentence on the BBC Africa Facebook page (requires login) and to africalive@bbc.co.uk has been mostly critical:

Quote Message: The sentence still seems pretty lenient – very strange that the same judge as for the original trial is expected to put right the mistake the Supreme Court says she made originally. The state should appeal – and the follow-up trial be heard by an independent judge or panel of judges. Justice has not been served – and has been severely and unreasonably delayed. from Trevor Kappes

The sentence still seems pretty lenient – very strange that the same judge as for the original trial is expected to put right the mistake the Supreme Court says she made originally. The state should appeal – and the follow-up trial be heard by an independent judge or panel of judges. Justice has not been served – and has been severely and unreasonably delayed.

Quote Message: Only poor people are subjected to long-term sentences but because Pistorius has money that’s why he has been given a six year term from Emmanuel Nkhonjera Mwai

Only poor people are subjected to long-term sentences but because Pistorius has money that’s why he has been given a six year term

Quote Message: If it was a black man he could be sentenced up to 25 years behind bars; Pistorius is a white man - anyway money talks from Richard Chizengeni

If it was a black man he could be sentenced up to 25 years behind bars; Pistorius is a white man - anyway money talks

Quote Message: This morning in Scotland, a mother was sentenced to life for murdering a family member. Oscar gets six years, for taking that beautiful lady’s life. Money talks. South Africa’s legal system should be ashamed of itself. Oscar should have got life. from John D Murray

This morning in Scotland, a mother was sentenced to life for murdering a family member. Oscar gets six years, for taking that beautiful lady’s life. Money talks. South Africa’s legal system should be ashamed of itself. Oscar should have got life.

For one tweeter, the whole case is still unresolved:

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South African tennis player Raven Klaasen is into the semi-finals of the men’s doubles at Wimbledon along with his partner, Rajeev Ram of the US. 

The number 11 seeds beat the second seeded Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, in straight sets. The Bryans are three-time winners at Wimbledon.

The South African-US pair will play the winners between French duo Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin and the third seeds, Jamie Murray of Britain and Bruno Soares of Brazil (who are on court at the moment).

Outside Magazine tweets about one of Zimbabwe's conservation efforts - selling off some wildlife:

The Western Sahara independence movement needs a new leader after the death of its long-standing secretary general, Mohamed Abdelaziz, last month.

Visiting fellow at European Council on Foreign Relations tweets:

In the aftermath of the UK inquiry into the Iraq war, which has found that ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair overstated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein, a spokesman for former UN chief Kofi Annan says the Ghanaian diplomat stands by his earlier comments:

Read Chilcot Report Live - for more reaction.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Nigerian militant group the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) says its only Twitter account remains suspended and other accounts purporting to represent it are "imposters". 

The group has previously used Twitter to publicise its claims of having carried out attacks on oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta. Its account was suspended on Monday but others with similar names have since sprung up.

Twitter declined to comment on the reasons for suspending the NDA account but said its policies included a "specific rule pertaining to violent threats" which states that "you may not make threats of violence or promote violence, including threatening or promoting terrorism". 

The NDA has carried out a barrage of attacks on oil installations, causing a huge decline in oil production in the Niger Delta, which is the mainstay of the West African state's economy. 

You can read more about the NDA in this BBC profile of the group.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

The mass stay-at-home protest in Zimbabwe is the biggest large-scale demonstration against the government in many years (see earlier post).

Some activists behind the action are calling for 92-year-old President Robert Mugabe to resign.

The shutdown follows strike action this week by doctors and nurses and protests from taxi drivers and traders amid an economic crisis which has led to a chronic shortage of cash.

The BBC’s Brian Hungwe in the capital, Harare, says what has irked most people today was that the internet and messaging app WhatsApp seemed to be blocked – or were very slow.

The government's Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has issued a statement warning people against what it described as "irresponsible use of social media and telecommunication services”:

WhatsApp contributorCopyright: WhatsApp contributor

But the government has denied there has been any jamming.

According to AP news agency, police detained several journalists and forced them to delete pictures of skirmishes between police and Harare residents.

Meanwhile, President Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980, met his ruling party’s politburo – though it is not clear what was discussed.

BBCCopyright: BBC

The UN envoy for climate change and El Nino, Mary Robinson, has hit out at the international community for being distracted by issues such as migration and Brexit while millions of people in eastern and southern Africa face the worst drought in decades.  

The former Irish president, who is visiting Ethiopia, says pledges made by the West to help countries such as Ethiopia, Somalia and Zimbabwe have not been honoured despite millions facing the worst drought in nearly half a century.

In Ethiopia alone, more than 10 million people are now entirely dependent on food aid and the UN has warned that the number could further rise towards the end of the year. 

The situation has been compounded by the El Nino weather pattern, which has led to the deaths of more than 100 people in floods. 

Mrs Robinson spoke as she toured projects funded by three Irish aid agencies aimed at improving the resilience of communities during drought.

A Kenyan police station has been set ablaze by an angry mob protesting about the deaths of an abducted lawyer and two others.

According to Kenya’s Capital FM website, the police camp is in Syokimau in Machakos district, south of the capital, Nairobi, where lawyer Willie Kimani, his client and their taxi driver were allegedly detained before being murdered.

Protesters demanding justice marched along the main highway to the camp.

"They stormed into the container [containing cells, an office and an armoury] and removed valuables before setting the whole place on fire," a witness told Kenya’s Star newspaper.

An activist tweeted this footage from the scene.