Africa Live: Nigeria monkey-eating warning, Grace Mugabe scorns 'ice cream plot'

 
 

Moneypox virus: Medics monitor 40 people

I have just spoken to the medical director of the Niger Delta University hospital in Nigeria's southern state of Bayelsa about the reported monkeypox cases.
Dimie Ogoina told me that the hospital was treating 13 infected patients, among them are three adults and one child, who had also been quarantined.
The hospital was working with the Nigerian Center for Disease Control, which had sent a team from the capital, Abuja, to visit the hospital, he said.
The were currently monitoring more than 40 people in Bayelsa who had had contact with the quarantined patients, but none had so far shown any symptoms, he added.
Mr Ogoina also sought to allay fears, urging members of the public not to panic.
His hospital and staff were well trained and adequately prepared for a scenario like this, he said.
See earlier post for more details.

Kenyan police disrupt opposition protest

Police in Kenya have fired tear gas at opposition protesters in the capital, Nairobi.
They had gathered for the second time this week to call for changes in the electoral system before the presidential election re-run.
Opposition coalition Nasa had earlier shared these pictures of some of its leaders and supporters marching in the capital:
Local media are also reporting that demonstrations are taking place in the coastal city of Mombasa and in the western city of Kisumu.
The Daily Nation paper says that protesters in Kisumu broke into a supermarket and have also destroyed a water pipeline that has disrupted the supply in parts of the city:
Opposition leader Raila Odinga has been warning that he will not take part in the 26 October presidential election re-run unless changes are made to the electoral system.
He also wants officials of the electoral commission, whom he accuses of bungling the 8 August election, to be fired.

Nobel winner: Liberia's healthcare failure

Leymah Gbowee shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for their work helping bring an end to the Liberian civil war.
Ms Gbowee now has new campaigns, including tackling the poor state of healthcare in her country.
She criticised her fellow laureate's legacy telling BBC's Newday programme that President Sirleaf had only pushed for an agenda that benefits her political career.
Listen to the interview below:

Fire at Kenya clothes market 'suspected arson'

A Kenyan radio station is reporting that a government minister has said that this morning's fire which has gutted a popular second-hand clothes market in the capital, Nairobi, could be as a result of arson.
Devolution Minister Mwangi Kiunjuri said that an investigation had been launched.

Report

Today's fire adds to several other suspicious incidents.
Local TV station KTN has put together a reel of its news presenters announcing fire incidents at Gikomba market over the past five years:

Reprt

Gikomba is a vast market, very near to Nairobi's central business district.

SA's VP warns of pension-looting plot

South Africa’s deputy president has warned of a plot to loot the country’s huge multi-billion dollar pension fund.
Cyril Ramaphosa spoke of nefarious forces seeking to divert money from the Public Investment Corporation.
It is the biggest pot of public money in South Africa - and for weeks, sensational allegations and rumours have been circulating.
Claims that powerful political forces are plotting to seize control of the Public Investment Corporation.
Speaking to union members on Thursday, Mr Ramaphosa gave new credence to those alarming claims.
South Africa’s Finance Ministry has insisted that the money, and the pensions of the country’s civil servants, are safe.
But the warnings are linked to a growing scandal about “state capture” - the allegation that President Jacob Zuma and his business allies are seeking to create a corrupt shadow state here.
Mr Ramaphosa is hoping to succeed Mr Zuma as president - and his comments must also be seen in the context of an increasingly vicious succession battle.

Kenyan clothes traders count losses after fire

The BBC's Ferdinand Omondi and Mercy Juma are at Kenya's Gikomba market, where firefighters have been fighting a blaze at the popular second-hand market.
One trader told them he had lost 250 bales of clothing, worth an estimated 23,000 (£17,600).
They have snapped photos at the market, not far from Nairobi central business district, of firefighters and traders working to recover some of their properties:

Cartoonist takes on Rwandan politics

East Africa's best-known cartoonist, Gado, turns his satirical pen on Rwanda.
This morning politician Diane Rwigara is due in court on charges of inciting insurrection.
A renowned women's activist in Rwanda, she was disqualified to run in the recent presidential race, won by incumbent President Paul Kagame, who Gado pictures below:

Ivory trade to be banned in UK 'to protect elephants'

Matt McGrath

Environment correspondent, BBC News

Getty Images

Tiny elephants carved from ivory are the type of product that would be banned

The UK government wants to ban the sale and export of almost all ivory items.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove has announced a consultation to end the trade in ivory of all ages - previous attempts at a ban would have excluded antique ivory produced before 1947.
The government says there will be some exemptions, for musical instruments and items of cultural importance.
Conservation groups have given a guarded welcome to the plan.
A 12-week consultation on Mr Gove's proposals is due to start immediately, and draft legislation covering a ban on sales and exports is likely in the new year.
Britain will host a major illegal wildlife conference in 2018 and it would be embarrassing if the UK was continuing to allow a domestic market in ivory while countries like China were moving to close theirs as they have promised to do by the end of this year.
Click here to read more of Matt's story

Fire guts Kenyan second-hand clothes market

Firefighters in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, are battling a fire that broke out at the popular Gikomba market near the city centre.
Local media report that the fire started early on Friday morning.
The Daily Nation reports that the firefighters are struggling to access the area because of congestion and bad roads in the market.
The Star is reporting that city authorities have appealed to private operators of fire engines to assist in putting out the fire.
Gikomba is a popular second-hand clothes market but is also renowned as the centre of the capital's informal economy, attracting a diverse number of traders.
The market's name is trending on Twitter with people sharing pictures, videos and reports from the scene.
Here's a sample of some of the posts from mainstream media and the public:

Nigeria warns against eating monkeys

Health authorities in Nigeria have warned the public against eating monkeys and bushmeat after 10 people contracted suspected monkeypox in the southern Bayelsa State, Nigeria newspapers are reporting.
Health Minister Isaac Adewole said in a statement that investigations into the outbreak was still ongoing.
He added that despite no known cure for the disease there was no cause for alarm because the virus was mild.
However, he advised the public to take preventative measures:

The virus was mild and there was no known treatment and no preventive vaccines hence the public should be at alert and avoid crowded places as much as possible."

Mr Adewole said that medical samples had been sent to the World Health Organization centre in Senegal's capital, Dakar, for further tests.
He said the disease was a viral illness by a group of viruses that included chickenpox and smallpox.
Monkeypox is a rare but usually not fatal to humans.
Yesterday a health official in Bayelsa was quoted as saying that the virus could be found in monkeys and all bush animals such as rats, squirrels and antelopes.

Grace Mugabe scornful of 'ice cream poison plot'

Zimbabwe’s First Lady Grace Mugabe has dressed down Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, once seen as President Robert Mugabe’s heir apparent - calling him nothing but an “employee”.
It is the latest in a row over allegations that he was poisoned by ice cream from Mrs Mugabe’s farm. It is not clear where the ice cream allegations came from as he never made the claim.
Mr Mnangagwa fell ill in August at a political rally led by President Mugabe and had to be airlifted to South Africa.
The governing Zanu-PF has been battling to contain tensions within the party between rival groups wanting to succeed the 93-year-old president.
The first lady, also seen as a possible successor to her husband, denied claims that she would be involved in such dirty politics.
"I can’t prepare one cup of an ice cream to kill Mnangagwa. Who is he? I am the wife of a president,” she is quoted as saying.
Her comments came as Mr Mnangagwa fought back against allegations that he lied about being poisoned.
"I never said I was poisoned in Gwanda but that I fell ill," the AFP news agency quotes him as saying on Thursday.
He accused the country’s other Vice-President, Phelekezela Mphoko, of "subjective falsehoods and mischievous perceptions".
"I have an impeccable history of unflinching loyalty to the party, and his excellency the president, comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe and have never acted in a manner that undermines his authority or the stability of Zimbabwe."

Originally published on http://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-40829893