Africa highlights: Museveni 'buttocks insult' charge, Tanzania rapper 'tortured'

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

A Ugandan rights activist has denied charges of attempting to "disturb the peace, quiet or privacy" of President Yoweri Museveni through a Facebook post in which she called him a "pair of buttocks". 

Appearing in  court in the capital, Kampala, Stella Nyanzi said she was not guilty of cyber harassment: 

Quote Message: Your honour, I write a lot on my social media. I use metaphors in my writing. I am a writer and I use language as a tool. I have called His Excellency a rapist of the constitution. I have called him impotent. All those are metaphors. However, your honour, I am not guilty of cyber harassment.

Your honour, I write a lot on my social media. I use metaphors in my writing. I am a writer and I use language as a tool. I have called His Excellency a rapist of the constitution. I have called him impotent. All those are metaphors. However, your honour, I am not guilty of cyber harassment.

In response to the charge of "computer misuse", Ms Nyanzi said: 

Quote Message: Your honour, I have not offended the president. Ugandans are the ones who are offended. He makes promises to provide sanitary pads to girls and he doesn't deliver them. But, your honour, I am not guilty of computer misuse."

Your honour, I have not offended the president. Ugandans are the ones who are offended. He makes promises to provide sanitary pads to girls and he doesn't deliver them. But, your honour, I am not guilty of computer misuse."

See earlier post for more details

The Happy Feet youth project aims to "promote education and nutrition" through gumboot dancing, which has its roots in a protest developed by South African miners in the late 19th century, who were banned from talking while they worked.

About 200 children participate in the project in Langa, a neighbourhood in the city of Cape Town:

Video journalist: Glenn Middleton

 A rebel official in South Sudan and a Roman Catholic priest say a number of people have been killed in the town of Wau because of their ethnicity. 

The rebel,Dominic Ukello, told the BBC that government troops and an allied militia were targeting members of small ethnic groups seen as supportive of the rebels. 

He said they were taking revenge after a military defeat. 

A local priest, Father Moses Peter, said as many as 5,000 people had taken refuge in the Catholic church in Wau. The armed forces denied responsibility for the ethnic violence, saying it was carried out by rebels and their sympathisers.

Read: The wooden bridge between death and safety 

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Ugandan prosecutors have questioned the sanity of a prominent government critic, who has been charged with cyber harassment for calling President Yoweri Museveni a "pair of buttocks" in a Facebook post (see earlier entry ).

The hashtag #PairOfButtocks is now trending on Twitter in Uganda as people discuss the high-profile case.

Stella Nyanzi pleaded not guilty at a court in the capital Kampala, adding that she used language as a tool, which included the use of metaphor, and had in the past called Mr Museveni a rapist of the constitution.

Ms Nyanzi's social media posts were a reaction to the government's decision to go back on an election campaign promise to provide free sanitary pads for girls unable to afford hygiene products.  

In response, she has launched her own crowdfunding campaign , which has already received several thousand dollars, to buy sanitary pads for Ugandan schoolgirls.

The prosecution argued that the well-known academic and activist was insane and should be "placed under treatment" as per the provisions of the country's Mental Treatment Act. 

In court the prosecution said:

Quote Message: During her detention at Kira Police, officers keenly observed that her conduct and behaviour had periodic erratic episodes and other related unusual behaviour, characterised by gross indecent utterances.

During her detention at Kira Police, officers keenly observed that her conduct and behaviour had periodic erratic episodes and other related unusual behaviour, characterised by gross indecent utterances.

Quote Message: No sane person of her stature can exhibit such behaviour. [We] deeply believe that the suspect may be a person of unsound mind. [She should be] placed under treatment as per provisions of mental treatment act."

No sane person of her stature can exhibit such behaviour. [We] deeply believe that the suspect may be a person of unsound mind. [She should be] placed under treatment as per provisions of mental treatment act."

AFPCopyright: AFP

Ms Nyanzi has been remanded in custody until the case resumes on 25 April. 

Quotes from the defence to follow.

Popular Tanzanian rapper Ibrahim Musa aka Roma Mkatoliki says he was abducted by four armed men, tortured and then dumped near the ocean in the main city, Dar es Salaam, on Thursday.

Musa, famous for his anti-government songs, was found on Saturday, three days after his disappearance ( see earlier entry ).

Speaking at a press conference in Dar es Salaam, he said he did not know who his abductors were. 

He also refused to give details of the alleged torture, but showed he had scars on his, back, ribs, hands and on his leg.      

BBCCopyright: BBC

The musician said he was abducted with a producer, another artist and a domestic worker from a music studio in Dar es Salaam's Kinondoni suburb.

They were all tied and dumped by the ocean. 

Speaking at the same press conference, the Minister for Information, Art, Culture and Sport, Harrison Mwakyembe, said investigations were continuing and people should  not jump to conclusions on who was behind the abductions. 

Nigeria's military says it has released 593 people held on suspicion of being linked to militant Islamist group Boko Haram, Reuters news agency reports. 

The chief of army staff directed that those arrested be "released unconditionally if found not to have anything to do with insurgency or Boko Haram", said Brigadier General Abdulraman Kuliya.

Those freed included elderly people and children Reuters reports.  

Funerals have been held in Egypt for victims of Sunday's suicide bombing outside a cathedral in Alexandria. 

Mourners crowded into a monastery for the ceremony, and the building was filled with the sound of Coptic prayers and chanting. 

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

In the aftermath of the attack a three-month state of emergency has been imposed across Egypt. 

The Islamic State group said it carried out the Alexandria bombing, along with a similar attack on a church in the Nile Delta. 

Thousands of people were forced from their homes in the fishing community of Otodo Gbame in Lagos over the weekend, human rights groups say.

Eyewitnesses say at least one man was shot dead and another seriously injured when the police opened fire. 

In a statement to the BBC, the Lagos state government vigorously contested that version of events.

It denied that the police had opened fire or killed anyone.

Hundreds of homes were burnt to the ground, forcing the community to flee in their fishing boats.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Just a handful of the homes built on stilts are still standing. 

We wanted to visit the site but thugs armed with machetes are now patrolling it.  

The Lagos state government described the community as an “illegal shanty” saying it was a “den for armed robbers, kidnappers and militants.”  

Locals deny this, saying the government was using this as a pretext to evict them from prime real estate.

One of those who fled was 18-year-old Nathaniel Loko, a high-school student.

BBCCopyright: BBC

He told me:   

Quote Message: I was born here... I was so scared about the guns. They were shooting at us like animals.

I was born here... I was so scared about the guns. They were shooting at us like animals.

Quote Message: I lost all my school belongings – testimonials, certificates, and my uniforms... We have nowhere to go so we will stay around here.

I lost all my school belongings – testimonials, certificates, and my uniforms... We have nowhere to go so we will stay around here.

Quote Message: The government should help to rebuild our houses.”

The government should help to rebuild our houses.”

Elizabeth Asogba lived in the community for more than a decade. She worked as a trader, selling soft drinks. 

This morning she went back to the community to salvage what she could from her home.

She was chased by thugs and was forced to jump into the water to escape. 

BBCCopyright: BBC

For Elizabeth and many others in the community the destruction of their community is an example of how the authorities only work for the rich and not the poor.  

She did, however, manage to collect a few of her belongings - a torch, a bottle of water, a few tops, a phone charger and a comb.

BBCCopyright: BBC

The Lagos state government denied that there was a court order blocking demolition of the settlement, as locals and some civil society groups have said.

It said a fire in November, which it blamed on ethnic clashes, had already completely destroyed the settlement, and meant that people should not have returned to the area to live. 

AFPCopyright: AFP

British Vogue has confirmed Ghanaian-born former model and stylist Edward Enninful as its new editor. 

He'll be the first non-white - and first male - editor of the prestigious fashion magazine.

Enninful, who has previously worked for Italian and American Vogue, will take over from Alexandra Shulman, who  announced her departure  in January.

Condé Nast International's Jonathan Newhouse said Enninful was "an influential figure in the communities of fashion, Hollywood and music".

He is currently the fashion and creative director at W Magazine, where he has worked since 2011.

The 45-year-old will start his new role on 1 August.

Read the full BBC story here

A Nigerian-American teenager has been offered a place at all eight prestigious Ivy League universities in the US, the BellaNaija website reports .

Jude Okonkwo, a US citizen, whose parents are Nigerian immigrants, wants to pursue a degree in medicine and dreams of eventually becoming a neurosurgeon. 

He now has the tough task of choosing between the likes of Harvard, Yale and Brown University, which are among the best universities in the world.

The site quotes him as saying:

Quote Message: It’s a tremendous honour to gain acceptance to all eight Ivy League schools. It’s something I never could have imagined. Tragedies occur in everyday life, and I want to be someone who can help a person and their family heal in their times of need.”

It’s a tremendous honour to gain acceptance to all eight Ivy League schools. It’s something I never could have imagined. Tragedies occur in everyday life, and I want to be someone who can help a person and their family heal in their times of need.”

Gunfire has broken out in the South Sudanese town of Wau, in the northwest of the country.

The UN radio station says at least 3,000 people have fled to the Catholic church in the town for safety. 

There are unconfirmed reports of militias aligned to the government going from house to house, looking for people from minority ethnic groups. 

Government officials could not be reached for comment. 

The civil war broke out in South Sudan in December 2013, and has increasingly been fought along ethnic lines. 

AFPCopyright: AFP

South Africa's scandal-hit President Jacob Zuma has denounced as racist some of the placards displayed at mass protests last week to demand his removal from power.

Mr Zuma has been speaking at a memorial for anti-apartheid hero Chris Hani, who was killed by a white supremacist in 1993, a year before minority rule ended in South Africa. 

Reuters news agency quoted Mr Zuma as saying: 

Quote Message: Many placards and posters displayed beliefs that we thought had been buried in 1994, with some posters depicting black people as baboons. It is clear that some of our white compatriots regard black people as being lesser human beings or sub-human."

Many placards and posters displayed beliefs that we thought had been buried in 1994, with some posters depicting black people as baboons. It is clear that some of our white compatriots regard black people as being lesser human beings or sub-human."

A BBC reporter has been tweeting more details from Mr Zuma's speech:  

The protests came after the opposition accused Mr Zuma of being corrupt, and being reckless with the economy by sacking Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. 

Mr Zuma denies the allegations. 

See earlier post for more details

@Roma_MkatolikiCopyright: @Roma_Mkatoliki

A Tanzanian rapper whose disappearance last week gripped the country is due to give a press conference to explain the mystery. 

Witnesses said that Bongo Fleva artist Ibrahim Musa, aka Roma Mkatoliki, whose songs are critical of the government, was abducted by armed men at his studio on Thursday.

He resurfaced on Saturday but has not spoken in public yet.

His alleged abduction followed the arrest of another prominent rapper, who was arrested for a song decrying the shrinking space for freedom of expression in the country.

The country’s Ministry of Information has released a statement denying the reports and saying that they are shocked by his disappearance.

The BBC's Sammy Awami is at the presser, where they are receiving conflicting information about whether the artist himself will appear to speak. 

It may be that the information minister, whose office said it was "shocked" at Musa's disappearance and that the rapper was not being held by police, will be the one to address the media instead. 

Watch this space.

BBCCopyright: BBC

A senior official of the South African Communist Party (SACP) has been booed at a memorial for anti-apartheid icon Chris Hani, following his call on President Jacob Zuma to resign for sacking respected Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.  

Solly Mapalia, a deputy secretary-general for the party, was booed at the memorial attended by Mr Zuma in Boksburg city in South Africa's Gauteng province.

A BBC reporter has been tweeting from the scene: 

A South African news site has posted a video of the incident: 

Tens of thousands of people marched on Friday to demand Mr Zuma's resignation, and anther march, organised by seven opposition parties, is due on take place on Wednesday. 

However, Mr Hani's widow praised Mr Zuma: 

Mr Hani, then the SACP general-secretary, was shot dead on 10 April 1993 by a white supremacist in an attack which threatened to derail South Africa's transition to democracy.

Mr Zuma declared his grave a national heritage site. 

The official government website has been tweeting about it, along with details of Mr Zuma's speech:  

See earlier post: Kathrada memorial disrupted

BBCCopyright: BBC

Ugandan activist Stella Nyanzi has been charged with cyber harassment over a Facebook post in which she referred to President Yoweri Museveni as "a pair of buttocks", a reference which her official charge sheet has described as "obscene or indecent".

The BBC's Patience Atuhaire, who is in court, has sent this copy of the police charge sheet:

BBCCopyright: BBC

Unexpectedly, there is no mention in the official charges of the insults she aimed at First Lady Janet Museveni. 

However, abusing the president is a criminal offence and easier to prosecute if proven.

There is a full court room in Kampala for the high-profile case:

BBCCopyright: BBC

And the hashtag #FreeStellaNyanzi has been trending across the country, with many shocked at what they consider to be government intimidation of someone who is speaking out over girls' sexual health ( see previous entry ):

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A prominent Ugandan activist and academic is due to appear in court after criticising First Lady Janet Museveni. 

Writing on Facebook, Stella Nyanzi aimed graphic insults at the First Lady, who is also the minister for education, after the government reneged on a campaign pledge to provide free sanitary pads to schoolgirls. 

Ms Nyanzi, a prominent gay rights activist and a lecturer at the country's prestigious Makerere university, is expected to be charged with what police are calling cyber harassment and offensive communication. 

The spat started in February, when Mrs Museveni told parliament that there was no money in next year's budget to buy sanitary pads for girls in schools.

The BBC's Patience Atuhaire has been down at the police station in the capital, Kampala, where Ms Nyanzi was detained over the weekend (see tweet above).

Journalists, along with long-term opposition leader Kizza Besigye (pictured below in light shirt) have been blocked by police from seeing Ms Nyanzi.

Our reporter has now rushed from the police station to the court, where a police car believed to carrying Ms Nyanzi has just arrived. 

BBCCopyright: BBC

A Kenyan accused of being the mastermind of a drug trafficking syndicate has arrived in the country under police escort following his deportation from Madagascar, the BBC East Africa bureau reports from Nairobi.  

Ndechumia Bilali Kimali is due to appear in court on drug trafficking charges. 

He fled to Madagascar in April 2015 after he was accused of being linked to heroin seized in a ship which was blown up by Kenyan authorities in the Indian Ocean.

He has not commented on the allegations. 

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has on several occasions cited Kenya a transit point for the repackaging and shipment of drugs to Europe and America.  

Egypt's cabinet has approved a three-month state of emergency declared by President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, following two church bombings which killed at least 44 people in Tanta and Alexandria cities on Sunday. 

AFPCopyright: AFP

Watch: Coptics explained in one minute

The usually busy streets of Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa are relatively empty this morning, following opposition calls for a day of protest against President Joseph Kabila. 

A journalist in Kinshasa has been tweeting photos from the ground.

France 24's correspondent has also been tweeting about the apparent shutdown of the city today:

See earlier post for more details