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  1. 'Uproar' over shooting of pet dog Roxie in Lagos

    Dog
    Image caption: The shooting down of dogs in Nigeria is not a common practice, Jackie Idimogu says (Library picture)

    A Nigerian dog rights activist has told the BBC's Newsday programme that there is "uproar" over the killing of a pet dog called Roxie in her owner's estate.

    "Roxie was a beautiful well-bred pet dog," Jackie Idimogu, who runs a dog charity called My Dog & I Group, in Lagos said.

    She "happened to stray out of her home in the middle of the night", Ms Idimogu said, after which her owner alerted the estate security.

    Roxie was later found on someone else's compound and her owner was on the way to collect her, but an estate security officer then allegedly proceeded to shoot her "three times" right "in front of" the owner.

    People are upset over Roxie's death and have been "rising up" and want justice.

    The estate management were not available for comment at the time of Newsday's interview.

    The estate's rules said that a dog can be killed if it is dangerous or had attacked someone, but Ms Idimogu said this did not apply to Roxie.

    You can listen to the full Newsday here (scroll 49 minutes into the audio).

  2. Court dismisses appeal by Kenya terror attack convicts

    Emmanuel Igunza

    BBC News, Nairobi

    Suspected accomplices Hassan Aden Hassan (2nd L), Mohamed Ali Abdikar (C) and Rashid Charles Mberesero (2nd R) sit and wait for sentencing of abetting Somali jihadists who carried out a 2015 attack on Garissa University in northeast Kenya in which 148 people were kille
    Image caption: Hassan Aden Hassan (2nd L), Mohamed Ali Abdikar (C) were convicted in 2019

    A Kenyan court has dismissed an appeal by two men who are serving long sentences for their role in the 2015 Garissa University College attack, which left 148 people dead.

    Judge Cecilia Githua said Hassan Edin Hassan and Mohammed Abdi Abikar would spend 41 years in jail as their appeal had not shown that the magistrates' court had erred in giving out the long sentences

    The two Kenyans were convicted in 2019, while Rashid Mberesero, a Tanzanian national, received a life sentence before taking his own life in 2020.

    They were all found guilty of conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack and of belonging to the al-Qaeda linked group, al-Shabab, but they appealed against the magistrates' court ruling.

    But in her ruling, the high court judge said the punishment was lenient considering the “heinous, premeditated acts that caused much suffering to families of the victims”

    The two can appeal against the judgement in the Court of Appeal within two weeks.

    The attack at the university which killed mainly students, was the second-deadliest attack by the group in Kenya.

    The al-Qaeda bombing of the US embassy in 1998 killed more than 200 people.

    This case has been long-running and beset by many adjournments since the convicts were arrested soon after the April 2015 attack at the university.

    And today was no different, the court was briefly disrupted as the judge delivered her judgement via video link, after her connection was lost.

    The convicts, who were listening silently to the ruling from prison, briefly chatted to each other as the court waited for the judge to get back online.

    And then the court clerk also got lost in translation, as she interpreted to Swahili the verdict to the two who were dressed in black and white stripped prison uniform

  3. Mozambique orders probe into crackdown on protesters

    BBC Monitoring

    The world through its media

    Mozambique President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi
    Image caption: Mr Nyusi urged the police to resort to dialogue with citizens

    Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has ordered a probe into reports of abuses by the police units deployed to disperse peaceful protests in the capital Maputo on Saturday.

    He ordered the interior ministry to "investigate the reasons that led the police to engage in physical confrontations with the youths", state-owned Radio Mozambique reported.

    Local media reported that authorities used tear gas, rubber bullets and dog units to repress marches in tribute to the late rapper Azagaia, in Nampula, Beira, Xai-Xai and Maputo cities on Saturday.

    Civil society organisations, which denounced the brutal repression by the police, said dozens of protesters sustained severe injuries, and more than 100 people were arrested countrywide.

    On Thursday, Mr Nyusi urged the police to resort to dialogue to find common ground that will allow the citizens to exercise their rights and the police to perform its duties.

  4. SA MPs oppose inquiry into Eskom corruption

    Eskom workers walk at the Lethabo Power Station near Sasolburg, South Africa, on March 23, 202
    Image caption: South Africa has been grappling with a power crisis

    South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), on Thursday voted against a motion for an inquiry into alleged widespread corruption at the state power firm Eskom.

    The state utility firm has been at the centre of rampant corruption accusations allegedly involving top ANC officials - amid a energy crisis in the country.

    A tolal of 201 ANC members of parliament voted against the motion - againt 115 opposition members who voted for it.

    The ruling party legislators argued the parliament's oversight mechanism and the appointment of an electricity minister were enough to address all the issues.

    The motion had been tabled by the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party.

    South Africa has been grappling with a power crisis, enduring up to 12 hours of scheduled power cuts in recent weeks.

  5. Ramadan: Nigerians face arrest for 'eating in public'

    Muslim faithfuls gather at the Al-Furqan Mosque compound for Friday Jumat prayers in Kano, Nigeria, on February 24, 2023
    Image caption: The holy month of Ramadan for Muslims began on Thursday (file photo)

    Islamic police in Nigeria's northern Kano state have warned Muslims against violating religious norms during the holy month of Ramadan, including "eating in public".

    In a statement on Thursday, the religious police force, known as Hisbah Board, warned that those who engage in societal vices during the sacred month will be punished, local media reported.

    “Some of the youths who eat in public during the fasting period will not be spared either,” the commander-general of the board, Harun Ibn-Sina, was quoted as saying.

    Mr Ibn-Sina said the board has deployed officers to mosques to ensure the safety during the fasting period which started on Thursday.

    Hisbah Board enforces Islamic law in Kano, a largely Muslim state.

  6. Report blames pilot error for Tanzania plane crash

    Workers use a crane to pull the crashed Precision Air aircraft out of Lake Victoria in Bukoba, Tanzania, on November 8, 2022
    Image caption: Nineteen people died in the plane crash

    A report of an investigation into the November plane crash in Tanzania says pilots failed to heed warnings from an automatic alarm system.

    Nineteen people were killed in the 6 November crash into Lake Victoria, as the plane attempted to land in the lakeside town of Bukoba.

    An initial report from the transport ministry painted a damning picture of the emergency services' preparedness to deal with the disaster prompting anger over the response.

    On Thursday, a second preliminary report said a warning system that gave three alerts about "the excessively high descent rate" was "not followed by corrective action by the flight crew".

    The report also noted that the weather condition was bad amid poor visibility, which "may have contributed to the failure to react to terrain warnings during the final approach".

    Fishermen were first at the site of the crash, and spearheaded rescue efforts.

    There had been 43 people on board and 24 survived. The two pilots were among the dead.