Africa highlights: SA policeman shows minister 'middle finger', Uganda 'sex lubricant' row

Officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo screened at a press conference a video they say is the film of the execution of two UN experts who were kidnapped and killed last month, AFP reports. 

The bodies of US citizen Michael Sharp and Swedish national Zaida Catalan were discovered in the central Kasai region, two weeks after they went missing. 

The graphic video shown to reporters in Kinshasa features voices of the alleged killers firing shots at the experts, as they were prompted by a voice off screen. 

Mr Sharp and Ms Catalan had been to Kasai to investigate reports of abuses after local rebels took up arms.

The violence in the region was sparked by the killing of traditional leader Kamwina Nsapu, who was leading an uprising against President Joseph Kabila. 

Commenting on the video, a police spokesman suggested it showed the brutality of fighters loyal to Kamwina Nsapu.  

Read more: DR Congo's Kasai conflict - Voodoo rebels take on Kabila

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

The presidential election in Angola, which is likely to see the departure of Africa's second-longest serving leader, has tentatively been scheduled for 23 August, the AFP news agency reports. 

President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who has led the oil-rich country since 1979, has said he will not be seeking a new term. 

AFP quotes a presidential spokesperson, Joao Maria de Sousa, as saying: 

"On a proposal from the President, the Council of the Republic approved on Monday the date of 23 August to hold the general elections in Angola."

The president still needs to give his official approval.

Last February, Mr dos Santos's party, the MPLA, picked the current Defense Minister Jose Lourenco to run as his possible successor. He is now considered the favourite to succeed the veteran leader.

Despite its oil wealth most people in Angola survive on less than $2 a day and child mortality rates are among the highest in the world.

Read more: 

• Cult of Dos Santos and the state of Angola
• Elite hoard Angola's new-found wealth

Political parties in Kenya have been given five extra days to nominate their candidates for general elections in August, following a high court ruling. 

Primaries must now be held by 1 May, after a successful legal challenge that argued the previous deadline this Wednesday (26 April) would deny party members the right to choose their candidates for elections.   

In many areas across the country, there had been delays with the process, with some skirmishes also reported as contestants accused their opponents of rigging.

President Uhuru Kenyatta admitted to reporters that not enough election materials had been provided.

Earlier the country's electoral body had said that it would not extend the deadline despite calls from the political parties to do so.

August's polls come a decade after ethnically-driven violence killed 1,200 people and displaced half a million from their homes after elections in 2007.  

AFPCopyright: AFP

Kenya has arrested suspects and recovered a gun following the shooting of Italian-born conservationist Kuki Gallmann at her conservation park on Sunday, Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery has said, Reuters news agency reports.

The 73-year old author of the memoir I Dreamed of Africa was recovering in intensive care at a hospital in the capital, Nairobi, after undergoing a seven-hour operation, her family was quoted by Reuters as saying. 

Mr Nkaissery did not say how many people had been arrested over the attack, which he described as an "isolated" act of banditry, Reuters reports. 

He added that they were carrying out ballistic tests on the weapon to confirm whether it was the one used to shoot Ms Gallman.  

She was shot in the stomach in an ambush at her conservation park in central Kenya.

A luxury safari lodge she owns was burned down last month by suspected cattle herders, who have been in conflict with landowners.

Read: Are Kenya ranch invasions driven by drought or politics?

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBC Somali TV launches shortly (17:00 GMT), with a flagship TV news programme that will cover global and regional news, business, technology sport and entertainment.

The 15-minute daily programme will be aired on some local free-to-air TV stations bringing impartial, independent and objective information and analysis to millions of Somali speakers in the region and the diaspora. 

Presenter Farhan Jimale says: 

Quote Message: Our aim is to reach young and aspirational Somalis who are increasingly consuming news via TV, digital and social media platforms. We hope this TV programme will soon become essential viewing for Somali audiences globally."

Our aim is to reach young and aspirational Somalis who are increasingly consuming news via TV, digital and social media platforms. We hope this TV programme will soon become essential viewing for Somali audiences globally."

The team has posted a trailer for the programme on its Twitter feed:

BBC Somali currently reaches an audience of 3.6 million people across all platforms.

Read more about the launch

AFPCopyright: AFP

It's one year since the the king of Congolese Rumba died while performing during a music festival in Ivory Coast. 

His fellow countryman, the singer Lokua Kanza, played a major role in his career by writing and producing some of Papa Wemba's biggest hits. 

He's been talking to the BBC's Ata Ahli Ahebla about the loss of his friend:

Quote Message: Papa Wemba was not just a singer. He was an incredible man; he was an incredible human being. I got the chance to work with him and for me, we lost someone very important. Important for me and for our continent.

Papa Wemba was not just a singer. He was an incredible man; he was an incredible human being. I got the chance to work with him and for me, we lost someone very important. Important for me and for our continent.

Quote Message: [He] was a friend. We did beautiful and great things together. The best way to remember him is to not forget what that guy was; what he gave to Africa; what he gave to the world. He had a unique voice. And he should also be remembered as a humble guy."

[He] was a friend. We did beautiful and great things together. The best way to remember him is to not forget what that guy was; what he gave to Africa; what he gave to the world. He had a unique voice. And he should also be remembered as a humble guy."

Hear the full interview below:

• Obituary: Papa Wemba
• What made Papa Wemba so influential?

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure would prefer to play "without a referee" in Thursday's derby with Manchester United after criticising the standard of officiating in the FA Cup semi-final defeat by Arsenal.

Referee Craig Pawson ruled out Sergio Aguero's first-half strike at Wembley.

Replays suggested the goal should have stood and City went on to lose the game 2-1 after extra time.

"I think the referees have to stop this," said Toure.

"I am very disappointed. It is not the first time, there have been a couple of times.

"Maybe on Thursday we are going to have a better referee or maybe play without a referee - I'd prefer that."

Read the full BBC Sport story

AFPCopyright: AFP

Zambia's main opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) has accused the government of trying to frame it for arson as part of a ploy to increase political repression in the southern African state. 

President Edgar Lungu said last week he might declare a state of emergency in some areas after public buildings were torched in attacks he blamed on opposition members protesting against the arrest of their leader, Hakainde Hichilema, on treason charges.

The UPND denied being involved in the arson attacks. 

Its spokesman Charles Kakoma told Reuters news agency: 

Quote Message: They are creating deliberate confusion to justify a state of emergency. There are no UPND members who have been arrested for arson."

They are creating deliberate confusion to justify a state of emergency. There are no UPND members who have been arrested for arson."

BBCCopyright: BBC

The Somali port city of Berbera is full of chatter about military bases.

That is because a deal has just been struck for the United Arab Emirates to build a facility there. 

There is talk of MPs being bribed handsomely to accept it.

Some Somalis feel this is part of yet another effort to colonise their country.

Read the full article by the BBC's Mary Harper here

South Africa's Police Minister Fikile Mbalula says he wants an arrest warrant to be issued for the disgraced head of an elite anti-corruption unit after he reported to work despite his dismissal. 

Berning Ntlemeza  acted unlawfully and "showed us the middle finger", Mr Mbalula said at a press conference. 

He added that Mr Ntlemeza attended a management meeting of the elite unit, known as the Hawks, and then ordered a car and left.

Mr Mbalula said: 

Quote Message: The car must be tracked down. I want that car back."

The car must be tracked down. I want that car back."

See earlier post for more details

Singer Rihanna and Hollywood actress Lupita Nyong'o have revived fans' hopes that the two will star in a film together. 

The source material? A single photo from Paris Fashion week three years ago (see tweet above).

The photo of Rihanna looking super glam and Lupita in her finest geek chic at the 2014 event prompted fans on social media to imagine them as two characters in a Hollywood heist movie: 

But now for the first time, both stars have said that they'd like to do it. 

Of course, it all sounds like a bit of fun. Would any serious Hollywood exec green-light a film based on a single photo? 

But when you consider the combined star-power of the two, and the fact that Rihanna's big-screen breakthrough came in Battleship, a Hollywood adaptation of a 1960s board game, suddenly it doesn't sound quite so ridiculous.

And if the unlikely project does get the green light, there'd be no shortage of people willing to offer studios their creative input:

 A South African man charged with murdering his parents and older brother with an axe in 2015 says they were, in fact,  killed by an intruder at their home in the wine-producing Stellenbosch area.

In a statement given to the High Court, Henri van Breda said he was in the toilet when he saw an axe-wielding man hacking his brother Rudi in his bed. 

His father, who burst in, was attacked by the laughing intruder, Mr Van Breda added. 

Then his mother and sister were also assaulted, he said.

Mr Van Breda's sister miraculously survived with severe head injuries, and is expected to be the key witness in the trial, reports the BBC's Nomsa Maseko from the main city, Johannesburg. 

But there are concerns about how much she remembers about the night of the murders as she suffers from amnesia, she adds. 

Mr Van Breda also faces charges of tampering with the crime scene. He has denied all the charges. 

Human Rights Watch says it is concerned about two South Sudanese men, an activist and a rebel official, who disappeared in the Kenyan capital Nairobi three months ago. 

The campaign group says it is believed Dong Samuel Luak and Aggrey Idris were abducted by or at the request of South Sudanese officials and taken illegally to South Sudan. 

Human Rights Watch says credible sources told it the two men were being held at a national security building in the South Sudanese capital Juba two days after their disappearance. 

The South Sudanese authorities have denied that the men are in their custody. 

AFPCopyright: AFP

The Ugandan health ministry has condemned the purchase of nearly a million dollars' worth of lubricant by the country's disease prevention programme because it thinks that the product is for gay people, the local Daily Monitor newspaper reports.

According to the paper, donor funds were used to buy 964,000 tubes of lube, at a cost of 3bn Ugandan shillings ($830,000; £650,000).

The paper quotes Health Minister Sarah Opendi condemning the use of cash from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to buy the lube:

Quote Message: The Global Fund money is supposed to help in the fight against malaria and other diseases not buying lubricants for homosexuals.”

The Global Fund money is supposed to help in the fight against malaria and other diseases not buying lubricants for homosexuals.”

Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda. 

However, global health authorities have recommended that lubricants be made available to both straight and gay couples as part of the fights against Aids. 

As of 2015, 1.5 million people in Uganda were living with HIV, with 28,000 Aids-related deaths in the same year. 

The use of water-based or silicon-based lubricants "lowers the chances that a condom will break or slip during sex", according to the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The UK's National Health Service says that lubricant "can make sex safer by reducing the risk of vaginal or anal tears caused by dryness or friction, and it can also prevent a condom from tearing". 

This post was amended. The original said that 30bn Ugandan shillings was spent, the figure was 3bn Ugandan shillings.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The controversial head of the elite Hawks police unit in South Africa has "sneaked" back to work, despite his dismissal by Police Minister Fikile Mbalula, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has said.

Berning Ntlemeza's lawyer confirmed that he had returned to work at the Hawks' headquarters in the capital, Pretoria. 

Mr Ntlemeza  reserved the right to institute legal action against the minister "should he be obstructed from getting on to the premises and performing his official duties", Comfort Ngidi was quoted by local media as saying.

DA supporters protested outside the building against his return, with the party's police spokesman Zakhele Mbhele saying:  

Quote Message: If he was man enough he would have faced the media and walked in with his head up high. But instead he sneaked in the back which further cements his devious ways."

If he was man enough he would have faced the media and walked in with his head up high. But instead he sneaked in the back which further cements his devious ways."

Last week, Mr Mbalula announced that Mr Ntlemeza's deputy, Yolisa Matakata, will be the new acting head of the Hawks after a court ruled that his appointment by the former Police Minister Nathi Nhleko was unlawful and invalid. 

"He must leave in peace," Mr Mbalula said at the time,. 

His  spokesman added that Mr Ntlemeza had been ordered to surrender equipment.

However, Mr Ntlemeza insisted that he was still the boss of the unit, pending an appeal against the court ruling. 

In a tweet, Mr Mbalula said he would be going to the headquarters of the Hawks today, but did not say what he planned to do:  

The Hawks unit is responsible for fighting organised crime, but has been mired in controversy with critics claiming that it unfairly targeted President Jacob Zuma's opponents. 

Mr Nhleko appointed Mr Ntlemeza despite the fact that a court ruled in 2015 that he lacked "integrity and honour" and had made false statements under oath.

The world's first vaccine against malaria will be introduced in three countries - Ghana, Kenya and Malawi - starting in 2018.

The RTS,S vaccine trains the immune system to attack the malaria parasite, which is spread by mosquito bites.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said the jab had the potential to save tens of thousands of lives.

But it is not yet clear if it will be feasible to use in the poorest parts of the world.

Read the full BBC story here

D POLAND/PATHCopyright: D POLAND/PATH

GOLDMAN ENVIRONMENTAL PRIZECopyright: GOLDMAN ENVIRONMENTAL PRIZE

An ex-child soldier who has spent years risking his life to fight illegal mining and wildlife poaching has been given a prestigious award.

The Goldman prize for park ranger Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, honours "environmental defenders" worldwide.

It comes as new analysis shows more environmental activists were killed in the last year than ever before.

Mr Katembo is one of several winners of this year's award.

He has been tortured and imprisoned and has suffered mock executions in his work defending the Virunga National Park. The park is home to one quarter of the world's critically endangered mountain gorillas.

Mr Katembo told the BBC:  

Quote Message: You cannot do this work and think you are going to earn money, because that will not happen. You have to do this because you have the heart and the passion to make a real change."

You cannot do this work and think you are going to earn money, because that will not happen. You have to do this because you have the heart and the passion to make a real change."

The Goldman Environmental Prize honours individuals who go to extreme lengths to protect the environment. Indeed, previous winners of the award were recently murdered.  

Read the full BBC story here

A South African man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering his parents and brother at a luxury golf estate in 2015.

Henri van Breda also denied attempting to murder his sister, at the start of his trial in Cape Town. 

You can follow live coverage of the trial on the local News24 website. 

Customs officials in Nigeria's main city, Lagos, have intercepted boats loaded with marijuana, worth about $1.3m (£1m). 

The illicit drug was allegedly imported from Ghana. 

It's the biggest such seizure made by customs officials in Lagos in recent years.