Africa highlights: Gun pointed at sacked Tanzania minister, African solidarity over London attack

BBCCopyright: BBC

A policeman in plain clothes pointed a gun at Tanzania's sacked minister of information, Nape Nauye, in a bid to prevent him from holding a press conference at a hotel in the main city, Dar es Salaam. 

There was also a scuffle involving plain clothes officers, a man who had accompanied Mr Nauye, and other men who I could not identify. 

The gun was pointed at Mr Nauye to try and force him to return to his car. 

He eventually spoke, standing up through the sunroof of his vehicle.

Apart from journalists, many other people had come to hear Mr Nauye's reaction to his controversial dismissal from the cabinet by President John Magufuli ( see earlier post ).

Mr Nauye said he respected the president's right to sack him.

Referring to the scuffle, he said: 

Quote Message: Why would somebody point a pistol at me? I’ve been very patriotic to this country and my party, and I swear I will continue to be loyal."

Why would somebody point a pistol at me? I’ve been very patriotic to this country and my party, and I swear I will continue to be loyal."

AFPCopyright: AFP

Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz has said that he will press on with plans to hold a popular referendum despite the parliamentary upper house, the Senate, voting against a set of constitutional amendments earlier this month.

The controversial amendments include the abolition of the Senate with elected local councils created in its place, as well as changes to the national flag and anthem.

Referring to the upper house, Mr Abdelaziz said that "only 33 people" rejected the amendments, as opposed to the majority of Mauritanians whom he said supported them. 

Thirty-three senators out of 56 had voted against the move after it had been overwhelmingly endorsed by the lower house. 

"Are we going to leave the matter and the right to decide the future of Mauritania to 33 people?" he asked.

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Steve Kekana is one of South Africa's most celebrated musicians, but his journey to the top was pretty much the opposite of the modern-day manufactured pop star.

At five, he became blind after an illness, and ended up working as a cattle herder when he grew up, after a childhood he describes as "rough but enjoyable".

He's been telling his extraordinary life story to BBC Outlook's Mpho Lakaje:

Somalia was high on the agenda as UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson led today's UN Security Council meeting in New York.

Mr Johnson, who was in Somalia last week as part of a tour of East Africa, said that "if the international community learned the lessons of 2011 and acted decisively, famine could be prevented." 

An estimated 260,000 people died as a result of the famine that hit Somalia between 2010 and 2012. 

The UK's mission to the UN has been tweeting excerpts of Mr Johnson's speech:

Mr Johnson also commented on the state of democracy in the country, after MPs elected a new president last month:

Quote Message: I look forward to a one-person one-vote election in four years time."

I look forward to a one-person one-vote election in four years time."

Chadian troops have launched an operation to rescue a French citizen who has been kidnapped in the south-eastern Sofala region, Communications Mniter Madeleine Alingue has said.  

Two gunmen on motorbikes abducted the man - employed by a French gold exploration firm in Chad - in the village of Ndoroti, as he was going to pay workers, the private Chadian news website Tchadinfos.com reports  (in French). 

The minister said:

Quote Message: The government of the Republic of Chad strongly condemns this odious act and informs the public that search operations have been initiated throughout the region to find the victim and his captors."

The government of the Republic of Chad strongly condemns this odious act and informs the public that search operations have been initiated throughout the region to find the victim and his captors."

France's foreign ministry said French authorities were in contact with their Chadian counterparts "to secure the release of our compatriot'', AFP news agency reports. 

BBCCopyright: BBC

Tanzanians are grappling with a hike in tomato prices, with residents of the country's biggest city, Dar es Salaam, saying that prices have trebled in recent weeks. 

Whilst the wide ongoing food shortage across East Africa is attributed to a prolonged drought, the tomato case in Tanzania is said to be partly due to bad farming. 

The BBC's Sammy Awami has been investigating: 

Local media in Burkina Faso say a militant suspected of masterminding several attacks in the north has been killed.

Harouna Dicko was killed during a night-time raid by security forces in Soum region, near the Malian border, according to the Le Faso news site  (in French).

Eighteen other suspected militants were also arrested during the operation.

Dicko was thought to have been a "lieutenant" of Ibrahim Malam Dicko, the leader  of Ansar al-Islam, the  Burkina 24 news site reports .

The group has claimed responsibiity for most of the attacks in the region, including the killing of 12 people in December.

Nigeria's national football team has been accused of double standards and hypocrisy by some fans on Twitter after it announced plans to honour the victims of the terror attack in London during its friendly match in the English capital later today.

Four people were killed in the attack outside parliament on Wednesday. 

But many of those commenting on the Super Eagles' decision say there has been no special tribute offered for the huge numbers of victims killed in the Boko Haram insurgency. 

At least eight people were killed in the north-eastern capital Maiduguri on the same day as the London attacks. 

But not everyone agrees with the negative assessment of the team's gesture:

Nigerian players observed a minute's silence before training at the Brazil World Cup in 2014, after a Boko Haram bomb attack on football spectators in northern Nigeria killed at least 21 people.

See earlier post

AFPCopyright: AFP

 The United Nations refugee agency says the huge number of people who've fled to Uganda from South Sudan has pushed the country to breaking point. 

Uganda currently hosts 800,000 refugees. Almost three-quarters of them have arrived since July. 

Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda said the unprecedented influx was placing an enormous strain on public services and local infrastructure. 

Uganda and the UN are appealing for urgent support to deal with the situation. 

Read more: I spent day hiding in a swamp

Mia Couto is a Mozambican writer and one of Lusophone Africa's most successful authors, shortlisted for the Booker International prize in 2015. 

He's been speaking to Focus on Africa's Hassan Arouni about his latest book and his famous open letter to President Jacob Zuma,  following a wave of xenophobic attacks in South Africa in 2015. 

Quote Message: I knew Jacob Zuma when he was a refugee in Mozambique. We were neighbours, living next to one another."

I knew Jacob Zuma when he was a refugee in Mozambique. We were neighbours, living next to one another."

Read more: Xenophobic violence - South Africa's identity crisis

Djibouti registered a first international victory since 2007 on Wednesday, when they beat South Sudan at the start of the race to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

They won the game 2-0, at home, to take the lead in their two-legged preliminary round tie.

In the other match,  Madagascar  beat  Sao Tome e Principe  1-0.

The teams are competing for places in the main group phase of the qualifying competition.

Read the full BBC Sport story

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Kenya’s mobile-traded government bond has been in the works since 2015, and was finally launched today. 

For as little as $30 (£24), Kenyan mobile users can now lend to the government and get paid 10% tax-free interest every six months. 

Even though the investment requirement for the M-Akiba bond is very low, government bonds have always been the preserve of the well-to-do, and a major awareness campaign will be required for less investment-savvy individuals to take this up. 

If successful, it will shake up financial services by giving small investors alternatives to low interest earning accounts in banks, mobile money wallets, and savings co-operatives. 

Apart from encouraging people to save, the platform will provide the Kenyan government with a new source of cheap money that it intends to use to finance large infrastructure projects.

Currently, only 2% of government bonds in Kenya are bought and sold by individual investors.

Farhan JimaleCopyright: Farhan Jimale

BBC Somali Output Editor Farhan Jimale has been posting pictures on Twitter from Minneapolis in the United States, which he says has the biggest Somali community in the West. 

He has even found a few street names to attest to this. 

Farhan JimaleCopyright: Farhan Jimale

Farhan JimaleCopyright: Farhan Jimale

Farhan is in the US to film news stories and features ahead of the BBC Somali TV launch on 24 April. 

You can follow him  @farhanjimale

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

New Ivory Coast coach Marc Wilmots wants to persuade Yaya Toure to come out of international retirement.

Wilmots, a former Belgium player and coach,  signed a two-year contract  with the Elephants on Tuesday.

Toure has not played competitively for his country since leading them to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations Cup title.

  Wilmots said of the 33-year-old: 

Quote Message: I know how important it is to have experienced players. It's not yet over for Toure, we've got to get him back.

I know how important it is to have experienced players. It's not yet over for Toure, we've got to get him back.

Quote Message: The Yaya Toure case will be one of my first missions."

The Yaya Toure case will be one of my first missions."

Read the full BBC story here

BBCCopyright: BBC

Global banking giant Citibank has agreed to pay a fine of 69.5m rand ($5.5m, £4.5m) for its role in a price-rigging scandal that broke in South Africa last month. 

Citibank is one of 17 banks which regulators accuse of colluding to manipulate the value of national currency, the rand.

Barclays, JP Morgan and HSBC were among other high-profile banks named as a result of a two-year investigation from the Competition Commission.

It says that the banks used online chat rooms to co-ordinate fictitious bids and offers in order to sway the market. 

When the news broke, South Africans took to social media to express their anger at the findings, calling for criminal charges against the banks implicated.    

The Competition Commission now wants Citibank to testify against the other financial institutions on their list, which would see them paying a lesser fine than the other banks.

As things stand, the watchdog wants the banks to be fined 10% of in-country annual turnover.

The rand is the highest it has been in almost two years, recovering some of its value after a five-year plunge, as the country went through crisis. 

A major maritime security exercise is taking place in Ivory Coast, as part of efforts to combat piracy and trafficking. 

Naval forces from Africa, Europe, South America and North America will be involved. 

West Africa has become a key transit route for smuggling drugs from South America to Europe, and the Gulf of Guinea is now the hub for Africa's pirates.

The navies will practice scenarios related to countering smuggling, oil spills, search and rescue operations and piracy.

The exercise, which will last until 31 march, is sponsored by the United States Africa Command, which has been sharing photos on its social media accounts:

Read more: Chasing West Africa’s pirates

Nigeria's national football team have asked the organisers of their friendly game v Senegal tonight in London if they can pay tribute to the victims of yesterday's terror attack in Westminster. 

The Super Eagles, who failed to make it to the Africa Cup of Nations in January, will be without star Victor Moses as they look to gain momentum before the start of their Afcon 2019 qualification campaign.   

There was a shock call-up for non-league Peckham All Stars goalkeeper Tope Okeowo, drafted in at the last minute as a replacement for the injured Carl Ekeme.

BBCCopyright: BBC

A pregnant mother from the UK has appeared in court in Rwanda on charges of spreading state secrets, trying to harm President Paul Kagame and attempting to form an armed group. 

Violette Uwamahoro, a Rwandan-British national, pleaded not guilty to the charges when she appeared in the High Court in the capital, Kigali. 

She looked calm during her court appearance, and smiled as she left the building, reports journalist Phocas Ndayizera from the scene.

She was remanded in police custody until her bail hearing, which is scheduled for Monday. 

Mrs Uwamahoro, a youth worker from Leeds who is five months pregnant with her third child, was arrested on Valentine's Day after travelling to Rwanda for a family funeral.

Her husband Faustin Rukundo said his wife is being victimised because of his role as a political activist.

He is involved with the  Rwandan National Congress  opposition group.  

Mrs Uwamahoro's co-accused, a policeman, pleaded guilty to the charges, saying they had conversations on WhatsApp about "conspiring" to overthrow the government.

President Paul Kagame has been accused by his crtics of leading a repressive regime, which he denies. 

Mrs Uwamahoro's children, Samuel, aged eight, and David, 10, have written to UK Prime Minister Theresa May and Mr Kagame in a bid to help their mother.  

Trials of a new vaccine to fight rotavirus, a fatal diahrroeal disease which kills about half a million children a year in sub-Saharan Africa, have been hailed by health workers in the region as a potential game-changer.

It's cheaper to make than other rotavirus vaccines and needs no refrigeration.

In tests in Niger, researchers found it was more than 60% effective. 

The vaccine, known as BRV-PV, which is manufactured in India and licensed there, needs final World Health Organisation approval before it can be used worldwide.

Rotavirus, a highly infectious stomach bug can lead to diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach ache and fever - most commonly in under-fives.