Africa highlights: Ethiopian Paralympian protest, Zuma repays Nkandla money

Authorities in Tanzania are assessing the impact of a 5.7 magnitude earthquake which hit the northwestern region of Kagera on Saturday killing 16 people and leaving more than 250 injured.

The earthquake has been described as the worst earthquake to hit the country in at least a decade.

Zaka Khanis was one of those directly affected with his house reduced to rubble.

Watch his story:

Julius Kaggwa is a Ugandan who was born with genitalia not obviously male or female. 

He was raised as a girl and had a hard time growing up, being constantly moved from school to school to prevent others discovering his condition.

He knows all about the traumas involved and now campaigns to support those on the continent with this condition, known as intersex, as director of Support Initiative for People with Atypical Sex Development in Uganda.

Bola Mosuro heard his story.

Opposition parties in Zimbabwe plan to stage a mass protest to press for electoral reforms this coming weekend, the AFP news agency reports. 

Douglas Mwonzora, the spokesman for Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),  told AFP that they will go ahead with demonstrations despite the government threatening a crackdown.

"We are going ahead with or without their blessing or permission. We have the law in our favour and we are not going to negotiate the law with Mr Mugabe." he said. 

Mr Mwonzora was speaking on behalf of the National Electoral Reform Agenda, an alliance of opposition parties. 

Opposition partied are buoyed by the recent high court decision to overturn a two-week ban by police on demonstrations in the capital, Harare.

Read: Zimbabwe shutdown: What is behind the protests?

AFPCopyright: AFP

It's not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a mega-city like Lagos but sitting on the Atlantic Ocean means Nigeria's biggest city is a prime spot for surfers.  

Look at what they're up to:

A Kenyan man has got into trouble for posting a comment, supposed to be a joke, with extreme sexual innuendo involving minors on his Facebook page.  

The hashtag #KenWaMwangi (the name the man uses on Facebook) has been trending for hours in Kenya as people slate him for his comments. 

Even though he deleted the posts and later apologised for the comments - people have been sharing screenshots taken before the posts were taken down.

His employer the Kenya Airports Authority has acknowledged that the comments go against its policy and has tweeted that it's investigating: 

Zambia's privately-owned TV station Muvi TV, which was suspended from broadcasting on 22 August, has been allowed back on air by the country's Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA).

Its broadcasts were stopped over allegations of unprofessional conduct during last month's elections.

The IBA said at the time that Muvi TV's coverage posed a risk to national peace and stability.

One Zambian has tweeted the IBA statement today.

It said that Muvi TV admitted to flouting its in house editorial policy and said that it would take measures to ensure that it would not do so in the future:

Incumbent President Edgar Lungu is due to be inaugurated tomorrow. 

His main rival tried unsuccessfully to challenge the election result in court.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Many people have reacted to our story about Ethiopian Paralympic runner Tamiru Demisse, who crossed his arms above his head in a political protest as he went over the finish line in Rio.

He was expressing solidarity with the Oromo protesters back home.

The gesture echoed the one made by compatriot Feyisa Lilesa at the end of the Olympic marathon.  

Feyisa is now in the US and says he will not be returning to Ethiopia.

Some are supportive of his protest while others see it as a ploy to seek asylum. Here's a sample of some of the comments: 

Quote Message: No one can protest against the ruling government [in Ethiopia] so that they have to take the opportunity to show the world the truth." from Urjii B. Boriif

No one can protest against the ruling government [in Ethiopia] so that they have to take the opportunity to show the world the truth."

Quote Message: We must separate politics from sports or else it will kill what unites us as one world - where even warring nations come to play together and embrace." from Mohammed Tahir

We must separate politics from sports or else it will kill what unites us as one world - where even warring nations come to play together and embrace."

Quote Message: It is the only way of seeking political asylum so that in the end he can be granted refugee status.They are not doing it for the people back in Ethiopia." from Albert F Wamba

It is the only way of seeking political asylum so that in the end he can be granted refugee status.They are not doing it for the people back in Ethiopia."

Muslims have been marking the festival of Eid al-Adha, which celebrates Ibrahim's obedience to God.

According to Islamic tradition, God ordered Ibrahim to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, as a test of his faith. However, just as Ibrahim was about to kill Ishmael, God instructed him to sacrifice a ram in his place. 

Eid al-Adha is one of the two major holidays in the Islamic year and is celebrated with prayer and thanksgiving to God, as well as feasting and gift giving.

The BBC's Siraj Kalyango snapped some people listening to a sermon at the Wandegeya Mosque in Uganda's capital, Kampala.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Goats were slaughtered for a feast:

BBCCopyright: BBC

Meanwhile in Ghana's capital Accra, the BBC's Thomas Naadi snapped an imam taking his Eid message to the streets of the Muslim-dominated suburb of Madina

BBCCopyright: BBC

We have been reporting about allegations of corruption and nepotism against President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar made in a report by a new investigative unit called The Sentry, which was co-founded by US actor and activist, George Clooney. 

The report says that top leaders in the country have invested in property in neighbouring Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda. It also says that they have interests in Australia. 

Those accused have not yet made any comment on the allegations.

See here for more details of the allegations..

AFPCopyright: AFP

A Nigerian woman has given birth to a boy on board a rescue ship in the Mediterranean after being plucked from an overcrowded rubber dinghy.

Medical charity MSF said because the baby was born in international waters, his nationality was still under debate.

A midwife on board the ship MV Aquarius described the birth as "normal... in dangerously abnormal conditions".

MSF said that the baby's parents, Otas and Faith Oqunbor, had named him Newman Otas. They had been making the perilous crossing with their two other children, aged seven and five, and were rescued just 24 hours before the baby was born.  

Thousands of refugees and migrants risk the dangerous crossing from Libya to Europe in search of a better life.

Last year, more than 3,700 people are believed to have died attempting the journey.

Heads of state are continuing to send out their Eid best wishes, including Gabon's President Ali Bongo.

He was declared the winner of August's presidential election by a margin of less than 6,000 votes.

The announcement of the result was followed by street protests carried out by opposition supporters and there have been allegations of vote rigging. 

Mr Bongo's main rival, Jean Ping, has gone to court to challenge the result.

Meanwhile, the president has tweeted that during Eid - or Tabaski - people should celebrate with "fraternity, tolerance and peace".

Three miners who have been trapped in an abandoned gold mine in the South African city of Johannesburg since Wednesday have emerged alive.

The men fled the scene as soon as they came out fearing they would be arrested for illegal mining, police said.

Others though remain trapped. It is not clear how many are stuck as the site is a popular location for illegal mining.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

On Sunday four miners were rescued from the shaft, which is Johannesburg's oldest.

Rescue workers say the only way to reach the miners is to crawl through 1.5km (0.9 miles) of small tunnels.

But operations have been halted and the mine cordoned off after a fire broke out on Sunday.

Read BBC News Online for more details.

The Sentry organisation is currently giving more details of its allegations that South Sudan's political and military elite have made themselves rich while the country has struggled under a civil war of their making.

The panel at the press conference in Washington DC, including actor George Clooney, has been listing the upscale properties that some of those named have bought elsewhere on the continent:

The SentryCopyright: The Sentry

You can view the press conference here.

Zambia's opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) has failed in its efforts to block Tuesday's presidential inauguration.

Its leader Hakainde Hichilema lost the 11 August vote to incumbent President Edgar Lungu.

Mr Lungu got 50.35% of the vote, just getting over the threshold to avoid a second-round run off.

Complaining of irregularities, Mr Hichilema went to the Constitutional Court to get the result annulled. But this was thrown out on a technicality with the judges ruling that the UPND had missed the 14-day deadline for cases to be heard.

Today, the party went to the Supreme Court and, the Lusaka Times reports, Judge Nigel Mutuna ruled that decisions made by the Constitutional Court cannot be reversed by the Supreme Court.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Former Burkina Faso international Ben Idrissa Derme has died during a French third-round cup tie.

The 34-year-old suffered a heart attack early in the second half while playing for AJ Biguglia, from the French sixth division.

The medical services treated him on the pitch but were unable to revive him.

Derme had been capped four times by Burkina Faso and had played in the French lower leagues and in Moldova as well as in Burkina Faso.

A sport aggregating Twitter account has also shared the news: 

South African estate agent Penny Sparrow - who has been found guilty of using racially offensive language that attacked the dignity of black people - has apologised, News24 reports.

She was fined 5,000 rand ($344, £259) and got a two-year suspended sentence.

News24 says she read out an apology in court:

Quote Message: I will from now on strive to be a better citizen respecting others, working towards making our country a better place to live in. A place we can be accepting of each other. A place we can all call home."

I will from now on strive to be a better citizen respecting others, working towards making our country a better place to live in. A place we can be accepting of each other. A place we can all call home."

In the offensive post, she compared black people to monkeys while commenting on new year's eve celebrations in the coastal city of Durban.

Today, she said:

Quote Message: I accept that in comparing black people to monkeys in my Facebook post earlier this year I have impaired the dignity of African people. Please accept my heartfelt apology.”

I accept that in comparing black people to monkeys in my Facebook post earlier this year I have impaired the dignity of African people. Please accept my heartfelt apology.”

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

As we've reported, South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has paid for the non-security upgrades to his private rural residence in Nkandla in a saga that dates back several years.

He was directed by the corruption watchdog body led by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela to pay the bill back in 2014.   

If the president had paid this controversial bill much earlier he would have received more admiration.

Instead he refused and dragged the matter through endless debates in parliament and laborious court hearings. 

The reaction from ordinary people and civil society groups has been unsympathetic.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The Constitutional Court ruled that he had violated his oath of office by refusing to implement findings by the Public Protector which were binding. 

The president had ridiculed Ms Madonsela saying her orders were mere recommendations. 

President Zuma has had to take a bank loan to make the payment for a swimming pool, chicken coup, amphitheatre and a cattle kraal which were initially paid for with tax payer’s money.

However, the impact on the governing ANC was most felt in the losses in August's local government elections. 

The ANC suffered humiliating defeats in key metropolitan areas, including the economic hub, Johannesburg, and the capital, Pretoria. 

Many believe that if the infighting and allegations of corruption continue to plague the ANC, there is a real prospect of it losing the general election come 2019.

Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al Adha today.

It one of the most important Islamic holidays of the year and commemorates Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son to God.

People dress up in their finest clothes to pray and celebrate.

Worshippers in Nigeria's main city of Lagos have been captured on camera:

AFPCopyright: AFP

AFPCopyright: AFP

And a photographer in Jerusalem spotted these fantastically attired Kenyans at the al-Aqsa mosque:

AFPCopyright: AFP

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has repaid the money used for non-security upgrades to his private home as ordered by a court. 

The BBC's Milton Nkosi in Johannesburg reports that a spokesman of the National Treasury has confirmed that the money had been received. 

South Africa's treasury had recommended Mr Zuma pay back $509,000 (£385,000) to the government for upgrades made to his private home in Nkandla.

The country's highest court had ruled earlier this year that he should repay some of the $23m of public funds spent on his house in 2009.

The Nkandla scandal had threatened to derail Zuma's presidency. He dodged a move to impeach him and pressure calling for him to resign. 

He however apologised for the upgrades in a TV address in April, saying: "The matter has caused a lot of frustration and confusion, for which I apologise." 

Analysts say the scandal is one of the main reasons the ruling ANC suffered major loses in the August municipal elections.

AFPCopyright: AFP