Africa highlights: Nigeria slum flattened despite court ban, SA top policeman 'not fit for job'

An informal settlement in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos, has been razed to the ground in defiance of a court order, rights activists are saying.

Residents of Otodo-Gbame saw excavators near the entrance to their community in the morning, Megan Chapman, from the Justice & Empowerment Initiative (JEI) which is working with the community, told the BBC.

She added that everything on land was destroyed "and half of what was on water" and nearly 5,000 people have been made homeless.

The future of the community was the subject of a court decision. And activists say that last October the court said that the status quo should be maintained in order to allow for mediation.

The authorities have not commented.

Amnesty International has shared some footage of the demolition taking place:

JEI is also sharing images:

In Focus on Africa radio's weekly satirical slot, the Resident Presidents consider hosting their own Commonwealth Games after the news that the South African city of Durban has lost the right to host them:

It looks like Ivory Coast and Manchester United star Eric Bailly has been taking it easy today after his side's 1-0 Europa League win against FC Rostov last night. 

He's posted a photo of him hanging out in jacuzzi with Zlatan brahimovic, Juan Mata and Marco Rojo:

Sahra Halgan is passionate about her homeland, and has recently returned to Hargeisa, having spent many years in France. 

She has set up a cultural centre there to try to revive arts and crafts lost during the civil war. 

The music she makes with her trio combines the songs of Somaliland with Malian and rock influences.  

Watch the Sahra Halgan Trio's special performance for BBC Global Beats in Zanzibar:

You can hear Global Beats' second programme from the renowned Sauti za Busara festival in Zanzibar on Saturday on BBC World Service radio at 14:00 GMT, or  catch up afterwards here  .  

AFPCopyright: AFP

King Mohammed VI of Morocco has appointed a new prime minister to break a political deadlock that has left the country without a government for five months. 

The king has asked Saad-Eddine El Othmani, a former foreign minister and a trained psychiatrist, to form a new government. 

Mr El Othmani replaces Abdelilah Benkirane as prime minister. 

Both are from the Islamist PJD party. 

The PJD got the most seats in elections last October, but Mr Benkirane was not able to form a coalition government. 

Angolan human rights activists are hoping to stage a demonstration in the capital, Luanda, tomorrow to protest against the introduction of new stricter anti-abortion measures, rights groups say.

A new penal code, intended to replace the one introduced in 1886, outlaws abortion in all cases without exception - not even rape or incest.

A statement from Human Rights Watch quotes one of the march's organisers as saying the new code would be “a clear step back in the struggle to recognise women’s human rights":

But the AP news agency is reporting that there is uncertainty over whether the march will be allowed to take place. Public protests are rare in Angola.

"We have often seen Angolan police use unnecessary and excessive force against peaceful demonstrators,'' Amnesty International's Deprose Muchena is quoted as saying.

The final vote on the draft penal code is slated for 23 March.

GettyCopyright: Getty

The appointment of one of South Africa's top police chiefs was unlawful and his position should be revoked, a high court in the capital Pretoria has ruled .

Berning Ntlemeza was chosen in 2015 to lead the elite police unit known as The Hawks, which deals with serious corruption and organised crime, despite a previous court ruling before his confirmation describing him as "dishonest, lacking in integrity and dishonourable".

The ruling comes on the same day that the government of President Jacob Zuma was heavily criticised by the Constitutional Court, as it ruled on a scandal over a contract for social security payments for millions of South Africans. 

The Hawks were not immediately available to comment on whether Mr Ntlemeza would be sacked or if he would appeal the decision.

The elite unit has been criticised in the past for carrying out politically motivated investigations. 

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has accused the Hawks of trying to intimidate him when they brought fraud charges, later dropped, against him in 2016. 

Cameroonian bluesman Roland Tchakounte performed for BBC Global Beats during Zanzibar's Sauti za Busara music festival.

His hero is John Lee Hooker and he told presenter Rita Ray that when he first heard the American legend's music, he was convinced he was listening to an African.

Daniel Kaluuya, whose parents migrated Britain from Uganda, has become the centre of attention this week for his starring role in the highly-rated movie Get Out.

The film is about a young black man meeting his white girlfriend's parents for the first time.

The film is being described as a comedy-horror and a satire on racial politics in the US.

Kaluuya told the UK's i newspaper  that he sympathised with the film's themes on how difference is treated:

Quote Message: I’m from Uganda and that brother who brings a white girl to a Ugandan wedding, that’s a thing."

I’m from Uganda and that brother who brings a white girl to a Ugandan wedding, that’s a thing."

Kaluuya was also the target of Samuel L Jackson's critique that black British actors weren't the best equipped to play African-American characters.

And according to a piece in the Telegraph newspaper Kaluuya responded:

Quote Message: I'm dark-skinned, bro. When I'm around black people I'm made to feel 'other' because I'm dark-skinned.

I'm dark-skinned, bro. When I'm around black people I'm made to feel 'other' because I'm dark-skinned.

Quote Message: I've had to wrestle with that, with people going: 'You're too black.' Then I come to America and they say: 'You're not black enough.' I go to Uganda, I can't speak the language. In India, I'm black. In the black community, I'm dark-skinned. In America, I'm British. Bro!"

I've had to wrestle with that, with people going: 'You're too black.' Then I come to America and they say: 'You're not black enough.' I go to Uganda, I can't speak the language. In India, I'm black. In the black community, I'm dark-skinned. In America, I'm British. Bro!"

A film telling the story of a single Egyptian woman's search for a sperm donor after failing to find love has topped the country's box office.

The marketing campaign for Bashtery Ragel (Buying a Man), in which a fake Facebook profile was set up asking the public for sperm donations, went viral, bringing the film huge public exposure.

Screenwriter Inas Lotfy has been speaking to the BBC about the inspiration behind the film:

Quote Message: The idea came to me when a close friend of mine who is single went through many failed relationships... she told me she didn't want to look for a commitment or to have a man in her life anymore and that she only wanted a baby so as not to be alone."

The idea came to me when a close friend of mine who is single went through many failed relationships... she told me she didn't want to look for a commitment or to have a man in her life anymore and that she only wanted a baby so as not to be alone."

Explaining why she chose the genre of rom-com, Lofty said:

Quote Message: "It would have been hard for the audience to accept the story if it was done as a drama."

"It would have been hard for the audience to accept the story if it was done as a drama."

Listen to the full interview below:

Ethiopia's English-language magazine Addis Standard has published a detailed account of life on the rubbish dump in Addis Ababa, the collapse of which nearly a week ago killed more than 100 people .

The article also investigates what went wrong with the efforts to try and do something about the 54-year-old dumpsite and the people living around it. 

It says that alternative rubbish sites had been built in the city but have not functioned properly.

The piece rounds off with a damning conclusion:

Quote Message: On Saturday 9 March, the black mountain of dirt finally decided to end sheltering the people who have taken refuge in it from a city that loathes them but loves their labour.

On Saturday 9 March, the black mountain of dirt finally decided to end sheltering the people who have taken refuge in it from a city that loathes them but loves their labour.

Quote Message: Sadly, their story is not only a story of a waste mountain that collapsed on them, but has a trail of corruption... that left survivors with nothing but counting the bodies of their loved ones."

Sadly, their story is not only a story of a waste mountain that collapsed on them, but has a trail of corruption... that left survivors with nothing but counting the bodies of their loved ones."

APCopyright: AP

To help you wind down for the weekend, we've got a musical treat from our colleagues at BBC Global Beats.

Guinea Bissau singer Karyna Gomes, with a voice described by host Rita Ray as "seductive and free-flowing as liquid honey", performed specially for the latest show, which came from the Sauti za Busara festival in Zanzibar.

Listen to Global Beats' second programme from the renowned Sauti za Busara festival on Saturday on BBC World Service radio at 14:00 GMT, or catch up afterwards here .

The head of Uganda's police force has called on people to be more vigilant following the killing of the force's spokesman Andrew Felix Kaweesi outside his home this morning.

Police Chief Kale Kayihura told the BBC's Patience Atuhaire:

Quote Message: What has happened is not a sign of victory for armed thuggery.

What has happened is not a sign of victory for armed thuggery.

Quote Message: We have put many of them behind bars. And even those who are still out there, we have their information, they're running. These are just remnants.

We have put many of them behind bars. And even those who are still out there, we have their information, they're running. These are just remnants.

Quote Message: Our security system is robust. These people take advantage of a few gaps. All we need is what I have always said: to be more vigilant. We shall get these thugs."

Our security system is robust. These people take advantage of a few gaps. All we need is what I have always said: to be more vigilant. We shall get these thugs."

AFPCopyright: AFP

A campaign to get more Ugandans reading books has been taken to Nakawa market in the capital, Kampala.

#UgandaReading aims to get "those who are already reading to do it more... and inspire others also to read for the good".

Today, volunteers worked with vendors and customers at the market.

You may also like: Northern Nigeria's hunger for romance novels

Up to 40 schools have been closed in a town in central Ghana and a large number of government workers have fled following a threat to attack people from outside the town. 

An unidentified group known as the Concerned Members of Banda Ahenkro made the threat, which said that non-locals would be targeted in the way foreigners were in South Africa. 

The complaint is that Ghanaians from outside the town have taken jobs that locals should have.

About 70% of public sector workers including teachers and health personnel have fled.

Police have been deployed to prevent violence and the traditional authorities in Banda Ahenkro have assured government that they will do everything possible to maintain peace in the area.

APCopyright: AP

The Confederation of African Football has a new head - the first change in 29 years. On Thursday Madagascar Football Association chief Ahmad unseated Issa Hayatou. He's been giving his first interview to the press.

Q: Have you recovered?

A: Not really, bit tired now. The shock is leaving but now my body is tired.

Q: What's the next step now?

A: To go to the headquarters of Caf and look inside this house. After that I will do an audit. It’s not a suspicion but it’s management now, I have an obligation to do that.

Q: How quickly can your desired changes come?

A: When we finish the managerial and financial audit... I call the press to talk about the path that we can follow. And step-by-step, that is our obligation.

Q: You talk about change. What do you mean?

A: The first change is the new leader in Caf.

APCopyright: AP

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has tweeted his reaction to the gunning down of the country's police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kaweesi:

In response the president says security cameras will now be installed to improve surveillance:

Mr Kaweesi was attacked outside his home in the capital, Kampala, and was killed along with his driver and a bodyguard:

BBCCopyright: BBC

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Zanzibar has been admitted as a full member of the Confederation of African Football and will be able to play in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying.

The semi-autonomous archipelago is officially part of Tanzania but has its own government.

Zanzibar was given unanimous approval at Caf's general assembly on Thursday and its football association will now have a vote on continental issues.

It means Caf now has 55 full members and is equal with Uefa as the biggest of Fifa's six confederations.

Zanzibar was previously an associate member, allowing its clubs to play in Caf competitions but its national team was excluded.

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The Michael Jackson-like dance moves of Nigerian traffic policeman Umar Abubakar have earned him the nickname MJ Traffic.

He keeps the cars moving in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri as he jives and gesticulates to a beat that only he can hear.

Video journalists: Stephanie Hegarty and Vladimir Hernandez