Africa highlights: UK charges Ethiopian with terrorism, composer's corpse feared stolen

The widow of the composer of Uganda's national anthem, George Wilberforce Kakoma, has gone to court to obtain permission to dig his grave to check if his remains are still there, the privately owned Monitor newspaper has reported.

Maria Tereza instituted court action after the grave was vandalised at the family's burial grounds in Wakiso in Uganda's Central Region.

Monitor UgandaCopyright: Monitor Uganda

A caretaker at the burial grounds William Kavulu was quoted by the Monitor as saying that he saw a big hole at the burial site:

Quote Message: I heard dogs barking at night but I did not take it seriously. However, when I was taking animals for grazing in the morning, I saw a big hole on the late Kakoma’s grave.”

I heard dogs barking at night but I did not take it seriously. However, when I was taking animals for grazing in the morning, I saw a big hole on the late Kakoma’s grave.”

Earlier, the state-linked New Vision newspaper reported that Mr Kakoma's body was missing.

His son, Paul Kakoma, was quoted by the Monitor as saying his father's body may have been stolen:

Quote Message: I have nothing to say but to pray that people who dig people’s graves stop the bad practice. Where shall we get our father’s body if they took it? But I ask God who brought our father on this earth to handle the situation we are going through.”

I have nothing to say but to pray that people who dig people’s graves stop the bad practice. Where shall we get our father’s body if they took it? But I ask God who brought our father on this earth to handle the situation we are going through.”

The United Nations refugee agency has voiced concern after 17 newly-arrived Eritrean asylum-seekers in eastern Sudan were taken by smugglers from a refugee camp.

The UNHCR denied reports that they had been kidnapped, saying they appeared to have had a prior arrangement with the smugglers. But the agency says it remains concerned for their welfare.

Sudan is a major transit point for people from the region who hope to migrate to Europe.

Over half of the 19 million eligible voters in the Kenya election in August are aged between 18 and 34, a key constituency for the politicians running for office.

On this week's podcast, I spoke to Nerima Wako from Siasa Place, a lobby group which is trying to get more Kenyan youth involved in politics.

And in our audience questions segment, I look at the state of Kenya's economy with Kwame Owino from the Institute of Economic Affairs.

Plus I focus on the governing Jubilee Party's energy policy, outlined in its election manifesto.

Listen to the show here:

It's 50 years since the start of the Biafran war, one of Africa's bloodiest post-independence conflicts. What was the Nigerian conflict about and why does its legacy still matter today?

Video journalist: Roderick MaCleod, Reporter: Tomi Oladipo

The two main candidates competing for Kenya's presidency in the 8 August election have pulled out of a planned debate organised by the local media.

The first of three debates had been scheduled for 10 July.

An aide of President Uhuru Kenyatta was earlier today quoted as saying that "shouting matches" are beneath the president and that he has other avenues of engaging with voters.

David Murathe told the Star newspaper that the president's team was not aware of the rules of the debate.

"So let them do it without him [Mr Kenyatta]," he added.

A statement from opposition leader Raila Odinga's team also said that he would not take part in the debate unless the format was changed.

The Committee of Presidential Debates, the body formed by media organisations to organise the debates, said all the campaign teams had been fully briefed about the debate rules.

It added that it would continue to work with the teams to find a solution.

Eight candidates, all men, will be vying for the presidency.

An Ethiopian political dissident who campaigns against his government from the UK has appeared in court in London charged with nine terrorism offences.

Tadesse Kersmo is accused of attending a training camp in Eritrea, and possessing information useful to terrorism, including texts on sniper training and urban guerrilla warfare.

Mr Kersmo works for Ethiopian opposition group Ginbot 7, which is banned in Ethiopia but not in the UK.

He was arrested after arriving at Heathrow Airport in January.

Appearing briefly at Westminster Magistrates Court, Mr Kersmo indicated he would plead not guilty to all the charges at his trial.

The case is the first terrorism charge in the UK in relation to a member of the opposition group which operates openly across Europe and the US.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot bailed Mr Kersmo subject to certain conditions, including a security of $32,000 (£25,000)

Mr Kersmo, who is also a management lecturer, was given political asylum in the UK after fleeing Ethiopia in 2009. He later became a British citizen.

Mr Kersmo has appeared from time to time in the media to argue for democratic changes in Ethiopia and has spoken before of being detained and beaten by government agents.

Three years ago, he and his supporters lobbied the UK's National Crime Agency to investigate whether the Ethiopian government had used novel surveillance techniques to install spying software on his computer.

He will next appear in the Central Criminal Court, commonly referred to as The Old Bailey, on 20 July.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The body of George Wilberforce Kakoma, the composer of Uganda's anthem, has gone missing from his grave, the state-linked New Vision newspaper has tweeted:

He died five years ago.

The publication has not given further details of the incident.

A family’s night out on a beach in Libya's capital, Tripoli, has ended tragically with the killing of the mother and her four children by a stray rocket.

At least 18 other people were injured when the rocket landed by the shore near Mitiga Airport on Tuesday.

A spokesman for the interior ministry said the rocket was fired during clashes between rival armed groups which control different parts of the city

Libyans have grown accustomed to carrying on with their normal activities when fighting breaks out. They often feel feel that the fighting is far away and that they are out of the firing range.

The stray rocket was reportedly fired from the other side of Tripoli, at least a ten-minute drive from the area it hit.

The clashes between rival militias rival militia started near the airport on Tuesday, and have sporadically continued today.

Flights from Tripoli have also been temporarily suspended.

The BBC's Charlotte Attwood is in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a reporting trip and has shared some pictures with us from Mbandaka airport in the north-west.

She says the airport is one of the most chaotic and aggressive places she has ever visited.

A cleric, who was a fellow passenger, told her that "it's easier to get to heaven than it is through a Congolese airport".

Here are a few pictures that she snapped, including a piece of hand luggage which aroused her curiosity:

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBCCopyright: BBC

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma has warned of a "silent war" within the governing African National Congress (ANC), as the battle to succeed him heats up.

The party has been tearing itself apart, losing ground in elections, and is becoming increasingly corrupt.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Mr Zuma called for unity at the end of the party's policy conference in the commercial capital, Johannesburg.

“There is a war that is silent, and that destabilises ANC. It can’t be right. You almost have two organisations existing in one,” he told delegates.

But Mr Zuma is, himself, the biggest source of division.

He is beset by allegations of corruption - that he and his allies have been “captured” by crooked businessmen. He strongly denies the allegation.

His opponents in the ANC want their man, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, to take over as party leader at its elective conference in December.

Mr Zuma has endorsed his former wife, Nkosasana Dlamini-Zuma, who returned to South Africa at the end of her stint as African Union commission chairwoman in January.

Some believe the wrong choice could mean the ANC gets voted out of power nationwide in 2019.

Today Mr Zuma suggested that the party might be healed if the runner-up at the December conference becomes deputy leader of the ANC. That may prove to be a hard sell.

Read: Jacob Zuma, the survivor

An investigation into the cause of death for Cameroonian Bishop Jean Bernard Balla, whose body was retrieved in June from the River Sanaga in the central province, has found that he drowned.

Cameroon Attorney General Jean Fils Ntamack said forensic experts from Interpol had reached that conclusion.

The council of Catholic bishops had alleged that their colleague was murdered and that his death was part of a pattern of persecution.

The bishops are yet to officially comment on the attorney general's statement.

We have been reporting about a dawn attack by Islamist militants al-Shabab in the Pandanguo area of Kenya's coastal county of Lamu.

The privately-owned Daily Nation newspaper is now reporting, quoting a local administrator, that at least two policemen have been killed and seven others are missing in the ongoing clashes with over 200 militants.

The report quotes the local administrator, who wanted to remain anonymous, saying that some villagers are also missing:

Quote Message: Unknown number of officers and villagers are missing. Some of the injured persons have been taken to Witu Hospital."

Unknown number of officers and villagers are missing. Some of the injured persons have been taken to Witu Hospital."

Two militants were also killed as they attempted to raze Pandanguo police post during a dawn attack, the report says.

The administrator said that fierce fighting had paralysed learning in six primary schools in the area.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The arrest of Tanzania's opposition MP Halima Mdee for allegedly insulting President John Magufuli has been strongly condemned, with critics saying it is the latest sign that the government is abusing its power and trying to suppress freedom of expression.

Chadema spokesman Tumaini Makene told the BBC that the party was considering legal action against the district commissioner who ordered her arrest "and all other commissioners who are violating the law".

Ms Mdee is a member of Chadema, the main opposition party in the East African state.

She was accused by Ally Hapi - a district commissioner in the main city, Dar es Salaam - of insulting the president and inciting violence after she allegedly said that the president thinks his word is the law and one day he may order Tanzanians "to go topless".

The Alliance for Change and Transparency party leader Zitto Kabwe said her arrest was a "continuation of the misuse of power".

The law which gives a district commissioner the power to order an arrest "has nothing to do with what Mdee is accused of," he added.

Several people have previously been arrested for posting comments on social media that authorities deemed to be politically offensive.

The authorities believe they are acting within the law, and takings steps to ensure there are no "public disturbances" in Tanzania.

Mr Magufuli won presidential elections in 2015 and despite criticism from the opposition and rights groups, commands the support of many Tanzanians.

See earlier post for more details

AFPCopyright: AFP

The main opposition party in South Africa, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has called the burglary at the headquarters of the Hawks, an elite police unit which fights organised crime, as "politically motivated".

In a statement, it said the theft of computer hard drives, among other items, could be as a result of factional fights within the governing African National Congress (ANC):

Quote Message: The DA condemns in the strongest terms the break-in at the Hawks head office this morning, where several computers were reportedly stolen from the Human Resources, Finance and Supply Chain departments.

The DA condemns in the strongest terms the break-in at the Hawks head office this morning, where several computers were reportedly stolen from the Human Resources, Finance and Supply Chain departments.

Quote Message: It is quite likely that this break-in was a politically-motivated act as part of ANC factional fighting that is playing out in a public sector arena that is meant to be insulated from politics."

It is quite likely that this break-in was a politically-motivated act as part of ANC factional fighting that is playing out in a public sector arena that is meant to be insulated from politics."

The DA said the incident followed a series of suspicious attacks on those who "speak out or take a stand against corruption".

It listed several incidents, including last year's burglary at the office of the chief justice where computers with information about the country's judges were stolen.

Senior ANC leaders and government officials have been dogged by corruption allegations, and of colluding with businessmen to secure lucrative state tenders.

The Hawks unit has also become embroiled in factional battles, with critics accusing it of unfairly targeting rivals of the scandal-hit President Jacob Zuma.

Hawks boss Berning Ntlemeza was fired in April after a court ruled that his appointment was unlawful.

Campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for greater support for a newly-established court in the Central African Republic (CAR) to end impunity for widespread abuses against civilians by several armed groups.

HRW says it has documented more than 560 civilian deaths in a two-and-a-half year period.

The campaign group says the Special Criminal Court, which has both local and international judges and prosecutors, needs greater financial and political support to be effective.

HRW also says civilians need greater protection from the United Nations peacekeeping force.

Fighting continues in the country despite several peace deals.

Rwanda's long-serving ruler Paul Kagame has revealed that he spoiled his ballot when his party unanimously chose him as its presidential candidate for the 4 August election.

Mr Kagame received 1,929 of the 1,930 votes cast by delegates at the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front's (RPF) congress last month.

Mr Kagame told a local TV station yesterday that the one spoiled ballot belonged to him. He wrote the party's name on it, rather than voting for himself.

He was elected unopposed as the RPF's candidate, and is expected to secure a third term in the 4 August poll.

AFPCopyright: AFP

His decision to seek re-election was strongly criticised by opposition groups and his close Western allies.

The US and the European Union (EU) said Mr Kagame should step down to allow a new generation of leaders to emerge.

In 2015, Rwandans voted in a referendum, approving constitutional changes to allow him to run for three further terms and could potentially see him to stay in power until 2034.

His critics denounced the referendum as a sham.

Mr Kagame has dominated Rwandan politics since his rebel army ended the 1994 genocide.

Despite little evidence that it's a widespread problem, rumours of "plastic" rice being sold in Africa and elsewhere persist on social media - driven in particular by viral videos which show bouncing rice balls.

The rumours spread over the last few weeks in Senegal, Gambia and Ghana - and reached such a pitch that the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority decided to carry out an investigation.

They invited consumers and traders to submit samples of any rice brands they suspected of being made of plastic - and eventually concluded that there was no plastic rice being sold on the Ghanaian market.

Originating in China, rumours on social media have circulated since about 2010 of plastic rice being manufactured and mixed in with the real rice supply in order to trick consumers. The rumours were originally prompted by "fake rice" scandals, although they didn't involve food made entirely out of plastic.

Read the full article here

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An elite police crime fighting unit in South Africa - The Hawks - has admitted that it was the victim of a burglary at its headquarters.

A spokesman for the Hawks said thieves made off with hard drives and other computer equipment during the break-in at the offices in the capital, Pretoria.

He said no case files were stolen, adding that it was too early to say who the thieves were.

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AfpCopyright: Afp

Kenya's security forces responded quickly to the raid by militant Islamists on a rural area area in Lamu County as they had received a tip-off about a possible attack, a police officer has told me.

Policemen and soldiers are battling the al-Shabab fighters who managed to destroy a police post and attack a primary school in Pandanguo.

As the attack took place at dawn, the school was empty.

Residents escaped from their homesteads into the forest when they heard shots being fired, a Pandanguo village elder has told a local journalist.

A telephone mast in the area was disabled by the militants, severely affecting communication in the area, which is near the border with Somalia.

Details of casualties are still unknown.

Read: Who are al-Shabab?