Image source, Suzan Nzimande

A woman whose home was partially destroyed in recent flooding in South Africa’s Kwazulu-Natal province has told the BBC’s Newsday programme that she saw “everything collapse” and she was “so scared”.

Heavy rains pounded the region over the weekend, which led to the evacuation of hundreds of residents.

It caused “a trail of destruction in many areas around Durban” according to the Kwazulu-Natal authorities' official Facebook page., external

Suzan Nzimande, who lives just outside Durban, said when her home began shaking she and her family thought of jumping out of it but they were afraid they would not survive because of the heavy rains.

“Luckily the whole of the house didn’t collapse, only the half of it.”

Ms Nzimande said she was still staying in the house because there were so many people staying in the community hall.

The province experienced deadly floods last month.

A level 10 warning - the highest and most severe level - issued by the weather service remains in place in an attempt to prevent any loss of life.

You can listen to her full interview here.

Read more:

• KwaZulu-Natal floods: The South African family who lost nine children

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Police in Nigeria say they are tracking down gunmen who killed at least 12 people, including a pregnant woman and her four children, in the south-eastern state of Anambra.

The police have blamed the increasing violence in the region on Biafra separatists.

A community leader told the BBC that the pregnant woman and her children were returning home on a motorcycle taxi when gunmen ambushed them in the Orumba area.

Several other people were also shot dead in separate incidents on Sunday evening. Police say they are investigating.

The killings have sparked outrage on social media.

They happened a day after mutilated bodies of a local politician and his aide were discovered a week after they were abducted.

The worsening violence in south-eastern Nigeria is being blamed on a banned separatist group - the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) - which is campaigning for a breakaway state in the region.

The group has denied involvement in some of the attacks.

Security forces are also grappling with various armed groups carrying out killings and kidnappings in other parts of Nigeria.

In the north-east of the country, more than 30 people were reported either killed or kidnapped in an attack in Borno state last Sunday.

Militants from Boko Haram and an IS-linked group are active in that region.

The widespread insecurity is a major concern ahead of elections due to take place in February next year.

Image source, AFP

A South African official who approved permanent residence status to a controversial Malawian pastor Shepherd Bushiri has been dismissed.

The sacking came after a disciplinary process that took nearly a year.

Ronney Marhule was found guilty of misconduct and non-compliance with immigration laws for issuing permits to Mr Bushiri’s family that “they did not deserve”, the home affairs department said.

“The outcome of this disciplinary hearing is taking us closer to ensuring that we bring to an end irregular practices and decisions by home affairs officials within the system,” Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi is quoted as saying by local media.

Bushiri, a self-proclaimed "prophet", and his wife Mary face fraud charges in South Africa, but fled the country to Malawi after being granted bail.

A warrant of arrest was issued and an extradition proceedings are ongoing in Malawi.

South Africans are paying their tributes to actor Jamie Bartlett who died on Monday evening aged 55.

His cause of death is still unknown, according to local media outlets.

He was born in England to a South African mother and a British father.

Bartlett was popular for his roles as a villain in the TV series Rhythm City and Isindigo. He was also a judge in the reality show SA's Got Talent.

Tributes have been pouring in from his colleagues and fans.

Alfred Lasteck
BBC News, Dar es Salaam

A Tanzanian MP angered by poor conditions of roads in his constituency has done a handstand in parliament to draw attention to his complaint.

Flatei Massay, the MP for the northern constituency of Mbulu, was commenting on budget estimates on Monday when he called on the government to fulfil its pledge to construct a 100km (62-mile) tarmac road in his constituency.

He said the promise had been ignored in the last three budgets and he hoped his handstand - which some have dubbed a circus trick - would make it take notice.

"I am doing all this to express how my people are disappointed by the government. We need all promises implemented. Why are other constituents getting what they were promised and we people of Mbulu don’t get anything?" he told the BBC.

The local Mwananchi newspaper has tweeted a photo of the lawmaker in action:

Mr Massay is a member of the ruling CCM party and has used his acrobatic skills before.

In September 2018, he somersaulted in front of vehicles handed over by the Ministry of Tourism for the protection of wild animals against poaching.

Proceedings in Tanzania's parliament are broadcast live - and then archived on YouTube. You can catch Mr Massay in action, and the hilarity he caused, if you click on this link and scroll 16 minutes and 50 seconds into the debate, external.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

The UN mission in Sudan has expressed disappointment over Sudan’s refusal to renew the residence visa of one of its senior staff members.

Rosalind Marsden, a former UK ambassador and EU representative to Sudan, left the country after the authorities failed to renew her visa.

“It is disappointing that after considering the application for many weeks, the authorities have chosen not to renew her residency visa,” the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (Unitams) said in a statement., external

“The decision is unfortunate especially given the recent request of the Sudanese authorities for Unitams and its partners to devote more attention to support for peace-building and mobilising resources for many priority activities," it added.

In the past few months, Sudan has been at loggerheads with Unitams over the mission's reporting on human rights violations in the country.

In April, Sudan threatened to expel the head of Unitams, Volker Perthes, over what was described as “interference in the country's internal affairs”.

Mr Perthes is expected to brief the UN Security Council on Tuesday on the situation in Sudan

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum has hailed military co-operation with Germany as a blueprint for other countries, following a meeting in the capital, Niamey, with the visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Mr Bazoum welcomed Germany's decision to extend an operation to train Niger's special forces to combat jihadists.

Mr Scholz met soldiers stationed in the west of the country and said the security situation was serious.

Niger has taken on a bigger role hosting European special forces following the deterioration of relations with the military junta in neighbouring Mali.

The German chancellor is on a three-day visit to Africa which includes Senegal, Niger and South Africa.

Image source, AFP

The United States has warned American companies and individuals that doing business with state-owned and military-controlled firms in Sudan could risk their reputation because of the deteriorating human rights situation in the country.

While some of these risks had been there before last October’s coup, the military takeover and actions since had made the things worse, the US Department of State said.

“These risks arise from, among other things, recent actions undertaken by Sudan’s Sovereign Council and security forces under the military’s command, including and especially serious human rights abuse against protesters,” State Department Spokesman Ned Price said in a statement., external

Mr Price said the US government remained committed to supporting the Sudanese people’s aspiration for a civilian-led transition to an elected government.

There have been frequent protests against the coup which have been put down with force - and it is estimated more than 90 people have died.

The Newsroom
BBC World Service

The Rwandan army says several civilians have been injured in cross-border shelling by troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It said it had asked a regional team of military observers, the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism, to conduct an urgent investigation.

Tensions between the two countries have increased since March, when the M23 rebel group attacked two Congolese army positions.

Rwanda denies accusations that it supports the rebels.

The group seized territory in eastern DR Congo during an insurrection in 2012 and 2013, before its fighters were driven out by Congolese and UN forces.

Many families have left their homes in DR Congo's North-Kivu province, heading for the Ugandan border town of Bunagana.

The head of the UN Refugee agency in Uganda, Joel Boutroue, told the BBC several thousand refugees arrived in Uganda on Monday.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

A court in Egypt has sentenced a media tycoon with close links to the government to three years in jail for his involvement in human trafficking and the indecent assault of underage girls at an orphanage he founded.

Mohamed al-Amin - who owned a number of influential media outlets - was arrested earlier this year after allegations of sexual abuse at the orphanage were made public by a humanitarian organisation called Missing Children.

The public prosecutor said that he had exploited his authority and the girls' vulnerability.

Amin has denied the charges and will be able to appeal against the sentence.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

More than 30 people are reported to be missing in the north-eastern Nigerian state of Borno after being attacked by suspected militants at the weekend.

Witnesses said the victims from the town of Rann were fired on by gunmen on motorbikes when they went into the bush to fetch firewood.

Several escaped with bullet wounds.

It's feared that dozens of others have been abducted or killed.

It's not clear who carried out the attack, but both Boko Haram and another militant group linked to the Islamic State have been waging an insurgency in the region.

Nigerian security forces have not yet commented on the raid.

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for today. There will be an automated news feed until we're back on Tuesday morning Nairobi time.

You can also keep up to date on the BBC News website, or by listening to the Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture of scientists in Tunisia tagging a protected turtle species before releasing into the sea:

Image source, AFP

Randy Jo Sa'ah
BBC News

Image source, Ndá Mankon/Facebook

Cameroon's Mankon community are mourning their paramount ruler, Fon Angwafor III Solomon, who has died aged 97.

Fondly referred to as King Solomon the Wise, he was an influential political figure who was one of the architects of the reunification of English-speaking Southern Cameroons and francophone La République du Cameroun in 1972.

Fon Angwafor III Solomon went on to become an MP, then the first national president of the ruling CPDM party for decades - although he was rarely received in audience by the party leader, President Paul Biya.

The late paramount ruler had also studied agriculture in neighbouring Nigeria, and together with his children cultivated a variety of crops and exotic fruits.

Fon Angwafor has been through the thick and thin of Cameroonian politics. His palatial residence in the heart of Bamenda was burnt during the tense period when multi-party democracy was reintroduced in Cameroon.

While several traditional rulers escaped from the current bloody conflict the English-speaking regions, he stayed put until his disappearance - which is how his death is being referred as.

According to the tradition of the Mankon people, their king has simply disappeared. They believe Fon Angwafor III has spirited himself away to meet his ancestors.

On the lighter side, many will remember him as a giant man with an extremely big shoe size that tickled many.

Meanwhile, a new king has been chosen. He is Fru Asah Angwafor, an educationist.

Jose Tembe
BBC News

A man is being held in police custody in Chimoio, central Mozambique, after admitting attempting to sever a taxi driver's genitals.

The suspect told officers he posed as a customer to lure the taxi driver to a forest, where together with an accomplice, they assaulted the victim using blunt objects.

The unnamed suspect says he is remorseful and intends to help police to track down his partner who is on the run.

It's not known why the taxi driver was targeted, but bald men have in the past been targeted by people seeking to use their body parts for ritual purposes.

Image source, AFP

Beers outsell soft drinks in South Africa, according to consumer data analysts at NielsenIQ SA.

"We track sales in over 150,000 outlets... whether that's formal grocery stores, taverns, spaza stores [kiosks]," a spokesman told eNCA news, external.

His company said beer sales in South Africa had risen by 8% over the last 12 months.

Asked to explain the rise, Jon-Jon Emary of NielsenIQ SA said "strong growth" had come "off the back of the successive bans we saw during and after the hard lockdowns we had in 2020".

You may also be interested in:

• South African company apologises for sexist beer campaign
• Did South Africa's alcohol ban work?

Mercy Juma
BBC News

Image source, Kenneth Mungai/BBC

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the newly elected president of Somalia, has assumed office a week after he was voted in by members of parliament.

Outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmajo" handed over power to Mr Mohamud at Villa Somalia, the presidential palace in the capital Mogadishu, in a ceremony that was broadcast live on state television.

Also in attendance were the senate and lower house Speakers, as well as the armed forces.

The official inauguration however is yet to come - and is expected in June.

Mr Farmajo urged Somalis to work with the new president, and Mr Mohamud has promised to focus on security, national reconciliation and debt relief during his first 100 days in office.

It marks a comeback for Mr Mohamud, who served as Somalia's president between 2012 and 2017 before being defeated by Mr Farmajo.

More about Somalia:

• Hassan Sheikh Mohamud: Who is Somalia's new leader?
• What beauty parlours reveal about Somali women
• A quick guide to Somalia

The 2022 African Nations Championship finals will feature 18 teams resulting in an unusual split of groups with four teams and others just three.

Vera Kwakofi
BBC News, Accra

Image source, Vera Kwakofi

Ghanaian investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas has launched "Wajsic" - the Whistleblowers and Journalists' Safety International Centre.

It’s a self-funded organisation designed to provide protection, safe houses, legal services and advocacy for journalists and whistleblowers in Africa.

Anas himself is not new to the danger and death threats that come with the work of investigative journalism.

One of his closest collaborators Ahmed Hussein-Suale - who had worked with Anas on a BBC investigation - was shot dead near his family home in Accra in 2019.

His murder remains unsolved.

The newly launched centre is already hosting seven whistle-blowers and journalists from the continent - one for the past year.

The safety of journalists and whistle-blowers across Africa has come under scrutiny amid concerns from international human rights organisations concerned about the narrowing space for democratic expression and freedom across Africa.

Related stories:

• African referees filmed taking cash
• 'We get daily death threats'
• How do African countries rank for press freedom?

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The main labour union in Tunisia has said that it will hold a national strike calling for wage increases as the cost of living rises.

It comes a day after the UGTT refused to participate in a limited dialogue proposed by President Kaïs Saïed to study ideas for political and economic reform.

The union has more than a million members and remains a powerful political force in Tunisia.

President Saïed has ruled by decree for almost a year, saying that it's necessary for save Tunisia from political crisis.

His opponents accuse him of staging a coup.

More about Tunisia:

• Judges locked out of their offices after president's decree
• Democrats, despots and the fight for power
• A quick guide to Tunisia