Snow and Storms Hit South Africa

Snow has fallen in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal while alerts have been issued for flooding in certain areas.

The heavy snowfall that has blanketed several areas in the northern parts of the Eastern Cape is melting.

South Africa: 57 Kids Trafficked From Malawi Found At Back of Window-Less Delivery Truck - Rescued in South Africa

Fifty-seven Malawian children between the ages of 11 and 21 have been rescued from three suspected human traffickers in South Africa.

Three Malawian nationals who were transporting the children have since been arrested by South African police.

Accoridng to Times Live, the suspectes appeared briefly at the Rustenburg Regional Magistrate's Court on Tuesday morning. Their case was postponed to September 13. They are facing 57 counts of human trafficking.

The men - aged between 25 and 36 - had refused to open the back of truck when they were apprehended by the police on Sunday near Rustenburg.

Accoridng to acting National Police Commissioner Kgomotso Phahlane , when police opened the truck' two children fell to the ground.

"On investigation and during the search, 57 undocumented children between the ages of 11 and 21 were found in the back of a delivery truck which did not have windows," Lieutenant General Phahlane is quoted by Eye Witness.

Phahlane said the Malawian children were being transported "as if they were goats."

The children are now being cared for at a place of safety by the social development department in North West. . Eighteen of them are girls while 39 of are boys.

"They are well looked after by under the auspices of the Department of Social Development in the North West Province [as] these centres provide support and care in line with the Child Care Act'" said Phahlane.

Phahlane says it's unclear at this stage whether the children were being trafficked for labour or sexual exploitation.

"These children were transported by the three adult occupants, including the driver, who are Malawian nationals. These adults could not provide a satisfactory account on the status of all the children," said Phahlane as quoted by IOL.

"The driver and his two companions were arrested for human trafficking. Further probe has revealed that all children were also Malawian nationals. An investigation is currently underway which involves authorities and law enforcement agencies including engagements with our counterparts in Malawi."

Kenya: Koffi Olomide - Controversy Has Always Stalked Singer

By Amos Ngaira

When popular Congolese crooner Koffi Olomide kicked one of his female dancers when he arrived in Kenya, he was just living up to his second name -- controversy.

Olomide is one of the continent's most colourful but controversial singers. He has a long history of violent altercations with band members and numerous fights with his counterparts back home in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Back in Kinshasa after being deported, the veteran musician will need to reflecting deeply on how his failure to manage anger blew his chances of a show at the Bomas of Kenya, a concert his fans were looking forward to.

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His tour promoter Jules Nsana, who was devastated by the turn of events confirmed that Mr Olomide arrived in Kinshasa on Saturday afternoon.

"After his arrest, arrangements were made for him and three dancers to travel home. His passport will be taken by the rest of the band members who are due to leave on Saturday night," he said.

Mr Nsana was non-committal on the amount he had lost in airline tickets and talent fees. But he apologised to Kenyans who had booked to attend the show.

"Those who booked online will get refunds," he said.

Speaking to the Nation on phone from Kinshasa on Saturday, Dr George Masafu, the Kenyan ambassador to Democratic Republic of Congo said he was liaising with the country's embassy in Nairobi to get details of what transpired at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Dr Masafu also confirmed that Mr Olomide had arrived home with the three dancers.

The veteran singer, who recently celebrated his 60th birthday, was put on a Kenya Airways plane by immigration and security officials, scuttling a performance that many fans, who love his latest hit song, Selfie-Ekoti Te, were looking forward to.

This followed an outcry when a video footage of the moment of madness at the airport went viral.

A flamboyant musician with a high sense of fashion, Mr Olomide seems to love controversy, and he has a copious choice of nicknames.

His many stage names include "Grand Mopao" and "Sarkozy", after former French president Nicholas Sarkozy.

At one time, to the chagrin of the largely Catholic DR Congolese, Mr Olomide christened himself "Pope Benedict".

He defied the widespread condemnation and still often uses the name.

What particularly appears to have incensed Kenyans was the apparent lack of remorse during the Citizen TV interview, in which he tried to spin an unconvincing tale about "pickpockets" who were harassing his dancers. This lie infuriated top government officials even more, and after considering several options, a decision was reached to revoke his visa and bundle him onto the next plane.

ATTEMPTED RAPE

During the interview, not only did Mr Olomide deny ever kicking the dancer identified as Pamela, but also attempted to draw his victim into declaring that there was no bad blood between them.

"I have no grudge with women and what was seen was just a bad internal scuffle," Mr Olomide said. He seemed not to know that the incident captured on a phone camera by a bystander, was already doing the rounds on social media in Kenya and beyond and it showed him as sadist.

This is just one of the many incidents that Mr Olomide has been involved with his female dancers.

In the mid 1990s, he allegedly tore the passport of one dancer whom he accused of attempting to blackmail him during his maiden tour of Kenya.

It took the intervention of the Congolese Embassy in Nairobi for the dancer to get temporary travel documents back home .

Mr Olomide's reputation would be sullied a few years later when he was arrested in Paris, after one of his dancers accused him of trying to rape her.

He allegedly escaped conviction after jumping bail and flying back to Kinshasa.

Ever since that incident, Paris has been more of a no-go zone for Mr Olomide with French authorities waiting to arrest him should he set foot there.

According a Congolese musician, who spoke to the Nation by phone from Paris, Mr Olomide has also been targeted by anti-President Joseph Kabila activists opposed to musicians seen as being too cosy with the Kinshasa leadership.

In 1998, the musician was involved in another scuffle with one of his then promising singers, Suzuki Luzubu, after a show in Kenya's capital, and reportedly snatched and tore his travelling documents.

Mr Suzuki also needed temporary papers to return to home to Kinshasa.

Other musicians have also accused their band leaders of disrespect and cruelty.

DR Congo's Koffi Olomide Arrested

Congolese musician Koffi Olomide has been arrested and questioned in his home town of Kinshasa, adding woes to the famed singer who was deported from Kenya for kicking a woman.

"May the righteousness of man be just and fair," Mr Olomide, one of Africa's most celebrated musicians, updated in his Facebook page moments after his arrest in Congo.

The BBC has reported that reasons for his arrest are still unclear. He was arrested on orders of the Attorney-General.

Mr Olomide's troubles have extended across the borders after the Agricultural and Commercial Society of Zambia bowed down to public pressure and cancelled his planned shows in Lusaka.

The Society said that the "disappointing" incident was behind its decision to ban the 60-year-old musician, who rivals the recording prowess of the legendary Franco (Luambo Luanzo Makiadi), the legend of Congolese music who died in 1989, but one with an explosive career characterized by violence.

On Sunday, the Zambia Association of Musicians, in a statement, announced that during his last tour in Zambia, on New Year eve 2013, Mr Olomide beat up one of his dancers and photojournalist at a music concert. He escaped a police dragnet to arrest him.

According to Zambia's Post Newspaper, in 2011, Mr Olomide also escaped arrest by police exiting Zambia on a motorbike over differences with his promoter.

"Koffi has proved to be violent when musicians are generally peace ambassadors," the association said.

After his deportation from Kenya, Mr Olomide, who is recognized as the most celebrated and distinguished Zaire modern artist, returned home to the welcome of jeers and boos at the airport.

In Togo, lawyers of a cultural promoter have called for his arrest and prosecution after he failed to turn up in Lome for a music concert which he had been paid partly.

In August 2012, he received a light suspended sentence of three months after he was found guilty of assaulting his producer over a debt.

On February 15, 2012, a French judge charged Mr Olomide with three counts of rape and illegal confinement, after complaints from three of his backup singers.

In 2008, he was arrested after he fought a cameraman at a concert in Kinshasa. Reconciliation was later brokered.

Mr Olomide whose other names are Antoine Christophe Agbepa Mumba is a celebrated singer, dancer and producer with classic hits and a number of his albums listed in the international list of 1001 albums one must hear before they die.

Malawi: President Mutharika Orders Arrest of HIV-Infected Man Paid to Devirginise Girls in Malawi - 'This Nonsense of Hyena Culture Must Stop'

Malawi President Peter Mutharika has ordered the arrest of Eric Aniva, an HIV-infected man in Nsanje district of the southern Malawi who has the job of devirginising girls who had just their first menstruation.

Aniva, a Malawian in his forties, is what's known as a 'hyena' - a man paid to have sex with young girls as a form of ritual cleansing.

Sexual cleansing involving 'hyenas' is common practice in southern Malawi- and women are required to participate in it at various points in their life, including if their husband has died or if they have an abortion.

The story Aniva has hit headlines in international media prompting President Mutharika to condemn the sexual violations against girls in Nsanje district and other parts of the country, saying it is v"ery disturbing and unacceptable."

Mutharika, according to a statement issued by Presidential spokesman Mgeme Kalilani, said it is shokcing that the sexual violations are reportedly done with the full knowledge and support of some parents who ironically are supposed to be the guardians of the innocent children and the girls.

"Am reliably informed that these violations are done under the guise of culture which I find to be very extremely unacceptable," said Mutharika.

The story has gone viral after a BBC News report in which Aniva explained that he takes a child's virginity in a three -day sexual cleansing ritual.

Aniva said: "Most of those I have slept with are girls, school-going girls. Some girls are just 12 or 13 years old, but I prefer them older.

"All these girls find pleasure in having me as their hyena. They actually are proud and tell other people that this man is a real man, he knows how to please a woman."

Aniva says he is one of 10 "hyenas" operating in his community and he is paid K3,000 to K6,000 (about $3.9 to $6.6) by locals to perform the rituals.

Despite his declaration that there was nothing wrong with the practice and that the girls actually enjoyed it, one local woman said she was pressured into taking part.

President Mutharika, reacting to the reports, has directed the Police to "immediately arrest Mr. Eric Aniva", a State House statement said.

The President also wants police to investigate him and prosecute the sexual predator for the defilement cases which he apparently confesses to.

"And since Mr. Eric Aniva confesses to be HIV positive and that he never uses protection in his evil acts against the innocent girls and women, he should further be investigated for exposing the young girls to contracting HIV and further be charged accordingly," President Mutharika said.

The President has also directed the Police, the District Commissioner and Chiefs in Nsanje to investigate all men and parents involved in this shocking malpractice.

" All people involved in this malpractice should beheld accountable for subjecting their children and women to this despicable evil," said Mutharika.

The President says harmful cultural and traditional practices such as sexual cleansing cannot be accepted in Malawi.

"These practices not only cast a shadow on the hard-earned achievements my Government has made on issues such as violence and HIV prevention but they also go against a vision of development that seeks to ensure that the youth (and in particular young girls), are able to achieve their full potential.

"Furthermore, these horrific practices although done by a few also tarnish the image of the whole nation of Malawi internationally and bring shame to us all," said Mutharika.

The President reiterates that his government will not tolerate human rights violations upon any child, girl or woman.

Mutharika has since called on all citizens and in particular guardians as well as parents and leaders at all levels, to guard against harmful practices that expose children, girls and women to danger and violate their fundamental human rights.

" Children, girls and women must be cared for, protected and provided every opportunity to survive peacefully and become productive citizens.

"Together, we owe to the more vulnerable in society to make a commitment to make this country a safer place for our children and women, for the future development of Malawi."

In the report published by BBC magazine, Dr May Shaba, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Gender and Welfare, said: "We are not going to condemn these people. But we are going to give them information that they need to change their rituals."

Charity organisations are working towards stopping the socially sanctioned gender-based violence through education.

Dr Howard Kasiya, health expert and director of the Adolescent Girls' Advocacy Network of Malawi, told The Guardian that being to undergo 'sexual cleansing' is 'often a death sentence for girls'.

'Malawi has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world and 10 per cent of the population is HIV-positive,' Dr Kasiya said.

When girls are forced to sleep with 'hyenas' they are often then pushed into arranged marriages.

Gunmen Ubduct Sierra Leonean Diplomat

Gunmen have demanded the sum of $40m as ransom for the kidnapped Sierra Leonean diplomat, Nelson Williams who was said to have been abducted yesterday along the Abuja Kaduna Expressway.

The victim, a Deputy High Commissioner, was said to be on his way to a military graduation in Kano State when he was kidnapped.

Sierra Leonean Information Minister Mohamed Bangura announced the kidnap of the envoy from the capital, Freetown.

While the minister did not say a ransom was demanded by the kidnappers, staff at the embassy however disclosed that the kidnappers almost immediately contacted the embassy to demand the sum of $40m for the safe return of the Deputy High Commissioner.

According to report the victim was taken at gunpoint from his vehicle between Abuja and Kaduna. The report also had it that the victim as at the time of the kidnap was traveling in convoy with an armed police escort.

Recall that only last week, three Australians, two Nigerians, a New Zealander and a South African were traveling in convoy with armed police officers when they were attacked by gunmen in Calabar, Cross Rivers State.

The incident witnessed the killing of a Nigerian driver, while five of the hostages were injured. The victims were all workers of an Australian construction company.

Though they have since been released, however it is yet to be known how much was paid for their release if any was paid.

With the kidnap of Williams in less than two weeks after the Calabar incident, the menace of kidnapping is said to be have reared its ugly head making nonsense of whatever the nation may have achieved recently in driving out insurgency in the land.

Tanzania Introduces Value-Added Tax to Tourism Services

Tanzania Ejected Over 7,400 University Students

The government has announced that it has re-admitted only 382 out of 8000 suspended students at the University of Dodoma's science teachers training programme.

Students at University of Dodoma.

Hardly five per cent of the entire batch of about 8,000 students who were recently suspended from the University of Dodoma had the required qualifications to pursue the Special Diploma in Science Education at the public university.

The Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Vocational Training, Prof Joyce Ndalichako, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the 1,471 students, constituting about 19 per cent of the total number, lacked even the qualifications for the certificate course. Prof Ndalichako said the students have been disqualified, with the other 5,952 students relocated to other teaching colleges to continue with their studies.

Namibia: Lack of Documents Force Three Siblings to Stay Home

By Tuyeimo Haidula

THREE siblings aged between five and 12 cannot go to school because they do not have national documents.

The oldest, Lukas Daniel (12), sits quietly on a water container in the shade. Dressed in grey pants, yellow T-shirt and wearing shoes which both have holes, he moves his legs back and forth, unfazed by our presence.

His siblings, Tita Mukupa (7) and Ndapandera Tjaveondja (5), sit not too far from him where they play in the sand. It is school time, but the three, who live with their unemployed aunt Lita Paulus in Ongulumbashe, Katutura, are at home this morning (yesterday).

Paulus told The Namibian that these are her sister's children she is looking after.

She brought them to Windhoek from a farm about two years ago with the hope of enrolling them in a school, but the lack of identity documents has derailed her efforts.

She said the children were born on a farm in the Otjombinde constituency of the Omaheke region, and grew up there with their mother, who works on a farm.

"I decided to bring them to Windhoek and enrol them in school. Getting national documents is a challenge because home affairs asked for their birth details, which I do not have," Paulus stated.

She said even the parents of the children do not have any records of when they were born as they were delivered at home, and not in a hospital. "They only know the years." Paulus said she has also tried to enrol the children at nearby schools, but to no avail.

Lukas told The Namibian that he wants to go to school. He is evidently bored at home and unhappy with his situation, and his mood changes when he talks about how he helplessly watches other children go to school.

"I feel bad. I have nothing to do at home, and I wish I could go to school. Maybe one day I will get the birth certificate," he said. The three children can also not access social grants for vulnerable children from the ministry of gender equality.

Ministry of education spokesperson Johanna Absalom told The Namibian yesterday that there is unfortunately no exception, and schools need national identification documents to be able to enrol children.

Head of the Namibia Red Cross Society's Khomas branch, Abia Uhongora, was in the area when The Namibian was doing the interview, and promised to help the children.

Uhongora said his organisation will contact the councillor of the Tobias Hainyeko constituency, Christopher Likuwa, to find out how many other children with similar ciurcumstances are in his area.

"We will then get their full names to assist with getting them identification documents before approaching schools to have them enrolled," he said, adding that they will also solicit funds for school uniforms.

Likuwa could not be reached for comment.

Home affairs spokesperson Salome Kambala also did not answer her phone, nor did she reply to a text message sent to her.

Bill Gates Presents 14th Annual Nelson Mandela Lecture

Delivering the 2016 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture at the University of Pretoria, philanthropist and entrepreneur Bill Gates has said he was optimistic about the future of the continent.

The law society has joined calls by the opposition to investigate how the late President Bingu wa Mutharika accumulated billions.

The law society has joined calls by the opposition to investigate how the late President Bingu wa Mutharika accumulated billions.

The late Bingu Wa Mutharika

Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority Marks 40th Anniversary

The firm has pledged to boost operations to benefict the two countries.

TAZARA Railway train halts at a station in Dar es Salaam.

Nigeria: Dog Saves Family From Cobra Attack in Bayelsa

A dog on Sunday saved a family in Otuasega Community, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa from cobra attack.

Mrs Catherine Isiki, who spoke in an interview on Tuesday in Yenagoa, described the attack as a "mystery to the family."

Isiki said that the cobra 'invaded' their home at about 1 a.m. on Sunday.

" I woke up as a result of alarm raised by my grand-daughter who was the first person to see the snake.

"I am alive today because of a dog that saved me and my family; neighbours could not kill the cobra due its size.

"Some of our neighbours could not even come near our compound due to fear; the Mastiff (dog) was awakened by the noise.

"It was the dog that went straight to the room where the snake was and began to fight the cobra until it killed it.

"I do not know how the snake managed to gain entry to our house because everywhere is tiled.

"In fact, it would have been a tragic story if we did not have the dog as a pet in the house; yes, the dog finally killed the snake, but it was God's intervention," she said.

Isiki appreciated God for sparing her family and encouraged people to keep dogs as pets.

"Dogs can save you from any untold danger, just as my entire family was saved because I have a pet dog in my house," Isiki said.

National Higher Education Entrance Exam Postponed in Ethiopia

The national university entrance exam was cancelled after the paper was shared on social media.

Ethiopia Blocks Social Media Sites Over Exam Leak

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Viber have been inaccessible since the weekend, and will be back up after university entrance exams are concluded, government officials say.

Eritrean Journalist Dawit Isaak Jailed for 15 Years 'Still Alive

After nearly 15 years behind bars without trial or official charge, Eritrea's Foreign Affairs Minister Osman Saleh says that Dawit Isaak will only be sentenced when the government is ready to do so.

Uganda: Museveni Roadside Call Excites Region

Kampala — Senior presidential press secretary Don Wanyama, said the president received an urgent call which he needed to "take privately" because of its nature

President Museveni on Monday surprised residents of Kyeirumba village in Isingiro District when he stopped on the roadside to make a telephone call.

Mr Museveni, according to his press office, sat by the roadside in Kyeirumba for about 30 minutes attracting curious residents who gazed at him as he made a call.

He acknowledged the residents' cheers with his trademark thumb-up.

Mr Museveni also directed his security not to block traffic while he made his call, his press secretary Linda Nabusayi said in a statement.

He was travelling from Isingiro where he had earlier attended the World Population Day commemoration.

Ugandan President's Photo 'Breaks' the Internet

The picture showing Yoweri Museveni taking "a private urgent phone call" on the side of the road has gone viral.

Museveni talking on phone by the roadside.

Tottenham Hotspur Signs Kenya's Victor Wanyama

The top English Premiership club (Tottenham Hotspur) has sealed a 5-year deal with Wanyama.

Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama