Africa at a glance

• Egypt braces for anti-Sisi protests

Egypt braced Friday for a second weekend of protests, as anger stemming from economic hardship and alleged top-level corruption threatens to eclipse a long-standing ban on street rallies.
Last week's open defiance of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi - triggered by viral videos from exiled Egyptian businessman Mohamed Aly - has surprised observers in a country where opposition of all stripes has been severely curtailed.
Elected president in 2014 after pushing predecessor Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood from power the previous year, Sisi is seen by many as one of the most authoritarian figures in the Middle East.

An intensifying crackdown on dissent since the protests has so far incarcerated more than 2,000 people, according to Human Rights Watch

• Rwanda welcomes first group of African refugees from Libya

A group of 66 African refugees and asylum-seekers have arrived in Kigali from Libya, the UN said, the first of what could be up to 30,000 trelocated from the north African country under a new programme.

The move follows a pledge by President Paul Kagame in 2017 to offer a "home" to Africans after reports emerged of the torture, sexual violence and forced labour they suffer in Libya.

Earlier this month, Rwanda signed a deal with the African Union (AU) and the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR agreeing to take in African refugees and asylum-seekers stranded in Libya, in batches of 500.

• Sudan shuts border with Libya, C.Africa over security concerns

Sudan Thursday ordered the closure of its borders with Libya and Central African Republic over security concerns, the civilian-military sovereign council announced at a meeting in Niyala, the capital of South Darfur state.

It said the border threatened "the security and economy of the country," a reference to reports that rebels from war-torn Darfur had crossed into Libya, with some joining Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar's forces.

During the ongoing trial of deposed President Omar al-Bashir a witness told the court the leader had supplied military equipment to neighbouring countries, allegedly including to rebels in Central Africa Republic.

• Burundi senate chief recorded offering money to kill ex-soldier

Burundi's senate president has come under fire over recorded remarks of him placing a price on the head of a man accused of training militias at the height of the country's 2015 political crisis.

In comments recorded earlier in September, senate chief Reverien Ndikuriyo admitted he offered 2,450 euros ($2,600) for a former soldier he accused of providing military training to be brought to him "dead or alive".

His spokesman Gabby Bugaga defended the action, saying it was in the interest of security in Matana town and that the target - a certain Kabirumbo - was still alive after he fled the country.

• Libya strongman softens stance

Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar has said he is open to dialogue, deviating from a position announced weeks ago that only a military solution would resolve the crisis in the country.

The gesture was welcomed as the UN prepared for a session on Libya where it hoped to reach an agreement on respect of a cease-fire, an arms embargo, sharing of oil resources, and organization of an inter-Libyan conference.

"We need to sit down," General Haftar, whose forces have since April battled to capture Tripoli, the seat of the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), said in a statement on Wednesday night.

• After wrangle, Mugabe to be buried in home village in Zimbabwe
  

A special mausoleum already under construction in Harare's National Heroes Acre will not host the remains of former President Robert Mugabe after all and may have to wait for the next fallen hero.

The government announced on Thursday that it has conceded to the wish of the late leader's family to have him buried at his home village in Zvimba, possibly on Saturday.
Mugabe was accorded a state funeral in Harare on September 14, about a week after he died in Singapore of prostate cancer on September 6, aged 95.

• Fake Zambia opposition leader's interview sparks furore

Zambia's main opposition leader, UNDP's Hakainde Hichilema, has accused President Edgar Lungu's ruling Patriotic Front party of seeking to damage his image through fake news claiming he supported same sex relationships.

The article had falsely been attributed to news agencies AFP and AP and appeared meant to discredit the opposition in the conservative country where homosexual relationships attract up to 14 years in prison.

"We are God fearing. Let's focus on fixing this broken economy," he said in a tweet accusing "AP chaps of feeding the nation on lies over Lesbian and gay rights."

• Zimbabwe doctor who survived suspected kidnap leaves for S. Africa

A Zimbabwe doctor who survived a suspected kidnapping by state authorities last week has finally left the country on Thursday for medical treatment in South Africa.

Peter Magombeyi, a doctor's union leader, had on Tuesday been barred from flying out for treatment as the authorities unsuccessfully contested the court order granting him the leave.

He had been kidnapped on September 14, two weeks after he said his life was in danger, before he was found traumatised after five days in the outskirts of Harare last week.

Human rights groups say more than 50 political opponents of President Emerson Mnangagwa and trade unionists have been arrested in Zimbabwe this year.

• Kenyans rush to swap banknotes as cash ban looms
  

With a September 30 deadline looming before the Central Bank of Kenya bans all old edition 1,000 shilling ($10) notes, Kenyans are in a rush to exchange the notes for news ones.

Leading mobile money service provider Safaricom has already stopped taking the old notes, many Saccos will stop doing so on Friday but commercial banks have a leeway of up to Monday at 4 PM.

The change was informed by constitutional dictates on the face of currencies but was interpreted as an attempt to fight corruption, sparking a political furore on donations to churches and cash purchases of luxury cars and other commodities for months.

The Central Bank said on Tuesday it had received more than half of the 217 million notes in circulation, almost all of it (91 per cent) it in values below $2000.