Nigeria's Lagos state passes smoking ban

Smoking is popular in Lagos in beer gardens and nightclubs

MPs in Lagos state, Nigeria's economic hub, have passed a bill banning smoking in public places, including restaurants and on public transport.

Those who ignore the ban could face a $62 (£38) fine or up to three months in jail or both.

The bill also makes it an offence to smoke in front of a child - offenders will be fined $94 or be sentenced to a one-month jail term or both.

Lagos has already banned drivers from smoking to promote road safety.

Lagos is one of Africa's biggest cities, with a predicted population of 12 million in 2015, according to the UN. Lagos state says it has about 21 million inhabitants.

The smoking ban will only come into force once the state's governor, Babatunde Fashola, signs the bill into law.

The BBC's Tomi Oladipo in Lagos says smoking in public places is already prohibited by the federal government but this is loosely implemented.

In Lagos, smoking is popular in bars, beer gardens and nightclubs, he says.

BBC Hausa editor Mansur Liman says Lagos has long had a reputation of being a chaotic and disorderly city.

But he says that under Mr Fashola, a series of measures have been introduced to clean up the city - the latest being this ban.

The new bill stipulates that the owners or overseers of public areas will have to ensure that no-smoking signs are prominently displayed.

Failure to do so will mean a $627 fine or six months in prison.

Anyone who repeatedly contravenes the smoking ban would also be liable to a six-month prison sentence or $313 fine or both.

Tanzania: Widows in Tanzania Struggle With Property Grabbing By Relatives

Elizabeth Paul remembers the suffering she went through when her father-in- law kicked her out of her matrimonial home after her husband's death two years ago.

"I was so helpless, I couldn't resist and the anguish of losing my husband was so overwhelming," she recalled.

The 42-year-old resident of Majengo in the Dodoma region had been married for over a decade and said her father in-law accused her of being responsible for the death of his son.

"He was very angry with me. He did not even talk about the future of my children," she said.

Paul said her brothers-in-law had been embroiled in a family feud as they jostled to grab properties that had belonged to her deceased husband, including a farm, livestock and a house.

Paul, who has since moved to Dar es Salaam, received some hope last year after a friend advised her to take legal action with the help from Women Wake Up, a Tanzania-based nonprofit organisation.

"I am very poor. I cannot meet legal costs. I hope they will help me recover some of my assets," she said.

Among its projects, Women Wake Up strives to help women, particularly widows, understand property ownership rights. "Our aim is to help people find justice. We target women and children because they are most vulnerable," said Burton Mwidowe, a trainer at the organisation.

Paul's story illustrates the plight of many widows in Tanzania whose ability to support themselves and their children are threatened by property and land grabbing.

Women's property rights are stipulated in the Tanzanian constitution which establishes the equality of all persons.

Article 24(1) states that "every person is entitled to own a property." It adds "... any deprivation of a person's property is unlawful unless declared by the law which makes provision for fair and adequate compensation"

Women's land rights are also laid out in the Land Act and the Village Land Act of 1999, which state that," The right of every woman to acquire, hold, use and deal with land, to the same extent and subject to the same restrictions be treated as a right of any man"

Section 159(1) (8) of the Land Act states, "... where the land as a whole is occupied jointly under a right of occupancy, no occupier is entitled to any separate share in land, not even a transfer to an outsider unless there is a consent between the two occupiers"

Despite these laws, their implementation remains elusive for many women.

Nyambona Mawalla, a 33-year-old widow from Mvumi village in Dodoma, recently was denied a share of her late husband's assets because she refused to be inherited by a brother in-law in line with Gogo tribal tradition.

"I reported the matter to a local ward office but I was told to sit with elders to resolve the matter as a family since I was married under customary arrangement," she told Thomson Reuters Foundation.

A 2010 study, "Widowhood and Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and Related Shocks", conducted by Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA), showed that land and property grabbing from widows is still widespread in Tanzania.

According to the study about half of the widows interviewed said in-laws and other relatives barred them from inheriting their husbands' property.

The study concluded that the economic value of the property and cultural norms were the main factors behind land and property grabbing.

Researchers who interviewed 236 widows in the Iringa region found that the tendency of in-laws to grab productive assets, including land and livestock, was high.

"The refusal of widows to accept the levirate system was another major factor for property grabbing and the abandonment of widows and their children," according to the study. Under the levirate system of marriage, the brother and widow of a deceased man are obliged to marry.

The majority of widows in the study believed that their vulnerability to property grabbing was not directly linked with the cause of their husband's death - whether HIV/AIDS related or not - but just the death itself.

According to the study most people interviewed attributed every death to witchcraft. "This widespread belief in witchcraft is fuelling the spread of HIV/AIDS, as clearly evidenced by the cases of remarriages and cohabiting," it said.

The study shows that most cases of widows' harassment were caused by their refusal to be inherited by one of the husband's male relatives, and their appeal for legal action after the in-laws had shown intention to seize the deceased man's property.

"Most women have access to land through their spouses but do not own (it) on their own. In many instances widows and divorced women are being harassed by male relatives," said Yefred Myenzi, a researcher with HAKIARDHI, a Tanzanian land rights research and resource institute.

Myenzi said that because customary marriages are not registered most women lose everything upon divorce or death of their spouses.

South Africa platinum workers to strike over pay

South Africa's mining sector has a troubled history of industrial relations

The biggest union in South Africa's platinum sector calls a strike over pay, potentially, halting production at the world's top three producers.

Amcu says its 70,000 members will go on an indefinite strike, starting on Thursday.

It is demanding a "living wage" of 12,500 rand ($1,150; £700) - more than double their current pay.

Mining companies have said they cannot afford the increases due to increasing production costs and stagnated demand.

Finance Minister Pravin Ghordan has called on both sides to work together to avert another strike.

"We can least afford another round of strikes that will act as a destabilisation to the platinum sector which has had increasing difficulties over the last 18 months," he said in a radio interview with the state broadcaster's SAFM.

The three platinum companies, Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), Impala Platinum and Lonmin Platinum, have confirmed receiving official notices of the strike action from Amcu.

'Non-resolution'

Anglo American Platinum and Lonmin have scheduled meetings with the union in a bid to reach an agreement before Thursday, local reports say.

"The negotiations are ongoing. They [Amcu] stated they intend to go on strike on Thursday morning, so we shall wait and see what happens," said Lonmin's Sue Vey, reports Sapa news agency.

If the strike goes ahead, this would be the most severe labour turmoil since 44 people died during a strike at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine in 2012, says the BBC's Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg.

The parties have been negotiating a settlement through the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) since late last year, it is understood.

The CCMA last week issue a certificate of "non-resolution" to the union after talks deadlocked, giving the union the go-ahead it needed to call a strike.

Amcu treasurer Jimmy Gama said they met with the three companies after receiving the CCMA certificate but the meetings "did not have a positive outcome".

"We have consulted our members, and unfortunately this is the next step that is to be taken," Sapa news agency quotes him saying.

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) replaced the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) as the biggest union in the platinum sector during the Marikana protests.

Mineworkers criticised NUM, which is affiliated to the governing African National Congress, of being too friendly with business.

As President Jacob Zuma and the ANC prepare for elections due in April, he cannot afford the negative publicity this strike would bring, our correspondent says.

The party was sharply criticised for not doing enough to prevent the "Marikana massacre" .

South Africa holds about 80% of the world's known platinum reserves and is the fourth-biggest gold exporter.

Guinea Bissau: Seeking Post-Poll Stability in Guinea-Bissau

Dakar — Guinea-Bissau will hold elections on 16 March to end yet another post-coup regime, with many hoping the polls will help calm an internecine and drawn-out instability.

Observers believe that a political coalition and deeper commitment by the international community after the polls can shore up the country's recovery.

Multiple coups and assassinations have marred the West African country's political history since the first free polls in 1994. Corruption and misrule have bogged down governance and public services, and over the last decade drug trafficking has worsened power struggles between the military and the political class.

Political power in Guinea-Bissau is largely centralized - a legacy of its colonial past. Until the introduction of multi-party democracy in 1991, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) was the only party, ruling from independence in 1974.

With limited checks, the presidency has become a powerful office that draws intense political competition due to a winner-take-all culture. The country has both a president and a prime minister, but the prime minister is named by the president, who also makes key military and government appointments, dismisses officials and can dissolve the government. As a result, the president's allies have access to opportunities at the expense of opponents.

Polls and coups

Joao Bernardo Vieira came to power in 1980 through a coup; he later won the 1994 elections. Five years later, he was overthrown following his dismissal of army commander Asumane Mané over arms-smuggling allegations. Vieira then fled and parliament speaker Malam Bacai Sanha was installed as interim president.

The country then held elections in 1999. Kumba Yala of the Social Renewal Party (PRS) was elected. In 2000, army chief Mané was killed.

Yala was deposed three years later, following a stint characterized by misrule and antagonism with the military. He was ousted by Mané's successor, Verissimo Correia Seabra, who was himself killed in a 2004 army revolt.

New elections were organized in 2005 and were won narrowly in a run-off by Vieira, who had returned from exile. But in 2009, he was slain by renegade soldiers following the killing of army chief Batista Tagme Na Wai, who had replaced Seabra, in a bomb attack.

Libya: Monarchy Debate in Libya

Benghazi — A debate is under way in Libya about the best form of government for the country.

Some citizens are calling for a monarchy under King Idris' heir Mohammed Hasan al-Rida al-Senussi, others reject the idea outright, and some say the issue should be decided by popular referendum.

"What we're interested in now is the country's development, stability, reconstruction and unity," said lawyer Mansour al-Ramli, 34.

"I approve the prince's return to office because he is the best given his loyalty," he said.

But Sharifa al-Fesi, a Benghazi-based journalist working for Brnieq newspaper, said that Libyans didn't want "to return to the past".

"When the revolution took place, we deleted the name of his uncle, King Idris al-Senussi, from the anthem because there was a group that didn't like monarchy," he told Magharebia.

"We want someone who would secure this country for us and establish security in Libya," al-Fesi said.

Soaad Ali al-Magharabi, 34, an employee at the Electricity Institute, also rejects the idea of a monarchy for Libya.

"I don't approve of the prince's return because he has lived as a prince and doesn't know the tragedy of Libyans. I'm also against the rule of Libya by anyone who lived overseas and doesn't know anything about Libyans' concerns," he said.

"We don't want a hereditary royal regime where the affairs of state are put in the hands of one family or one person," Mohamed Salem Ali Salem agreed. "Why don't we elect a president of the state?" he asked.

Some people raised the prospects of improved security under a king.

Ahmed Beshir said, "The prince has every right to rule. Wasn't the revolution staged to remove injustice and restore rights to their rightful owners? Wasn't it said that Kadhafi's coup was a coup against legitimacy?"

It's only fair to restore power to those who own it, he said.

"After that, change can take place via democratic means through an elected parliament," he added.

Saad al-Dinali, a journalist at the Press Support Authority, said, "Everyone knows that the current stage in Libya is tough and unusual. Therefore, everyone is trying as much as they can to have a share in the Libyan cake."

"There are changes on the ground now and we need the prince to show his position from so we can have an opinion about him returning to rule Libya again," al-Dinali continued. "One of the most prominent issues is the form of government: will it be a constitutional or absolute monarchy?"

"Now the Prince needs to take the initiative and clearly explain these things to us, and after that, the issue can be raised to all Libyans in a referendum about monarchy," he said.

"If the prince's return to office will lead to the country's stability, why not?" asked Mahmoud Ali al-Barghathy, a 43-year-old engineer at the Man-Made River Company.

Westgate siege: Trial of accused starts in Kenya

The men are accused of giving shelter to the Westgate attackers

The trial of four men charged over the Westgate shopping centre siege in Kenya has started in the capital, Nairobi.

The four suspected foreigners deny charges of aiding a "terrorist group" and being in Kenya illegally.

The court heard testimony from security guards who saw what happened when the gunmen launched the attack in September, killing at least 67 people.

Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group said one of its suicide brigades carried out the siege.

The four are the first to be charged over the attack - the worst in Kenya since 224 people were killed in the 1998 bombing of the US embassy.

'Black headscarves'

None of the men - named as Mohammed Ahmed Abdi, Liban Abdullah, Adnan Ibrahim and Hussein Hassan - are accused of being the gunmen who carried out the attack.

The siege began at about midday on a Saturday when the mall was busy with shoppers

Their nationalities have not been disclosed, but they are said to be ethnic Somalis.

Guard Stephen Juma told the court he was directing traffic outside the upmarket shopping centre when a car pulled up and three men jumped out.

One of them immediately shot dead a shopper, he said, the Associated Press news agency reports.

Mr Juma said he could not identify any of the gunmen because their heads and faces were covered with black headscarves.

"I began to hear gunshots, I made a radio call for help while running to the main entrance," he is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.

"I took shelter in a residential compound until when I saw policemen come."

False ID charges

The police say the four accused had sheltered the attackers in their homes in Eastleigh - a Somali neighbourhood in Nairobi - and that they were in contact with the gunmen four days before the siege.

The men have pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include entering Kenya illegally and obtaining false identification documents.

The BBC's Mark Lowen in Nairobi says 40 witnesses are expected to give evidence in the trial, which is likely to last around a week.

A month on from the attack at Nairobi's Westgate mall, the BBC's Will Ross examines what we know about what happened

The Kenyan army has said that all four of the attackers died during the siege.

One of the suspected attackers has been named as 23-year-old Somalia-born Norwegian national, Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow.

Al-Shabab is fighting for an Islamic state in Somalia.

It said it carried out the attack to avenge the presence of Kenyan troops in Somalia to bolster the UN-back central government.

Nigeria: Jonathan Secretly Signs Anti-Gay Bill Into Law

Abuja — President Goodluck Jonathan has secretly signed the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Bill 2011 into law.

Jonathan's spokesman Reuben Abati confirmed to our correspondent last night that his principal had signed the bill since January 7, 2014.

The bill states that persons who enter into a same-sex marriage contract or civil union commit an offence and are each liable on conviction to a term of 14 years in prison.

The western countries particularly the United Kingdom has been openly opposed to criminalizing same sex union by other nations, a position most Africans find irritating.

The Special Adviser to the President on Ethics and Values, Sarah Jubril, last Tuesday hinted that the Presidency backed the National Assembly's resolution outlawing same-sex marriage.

Jubril, who spoke at a round table on Cultural Diplomacy in Nigeria and Africa for Peace and Security, said same-sex marriage is alien to Nigeria and Africa.

"Same sex marriage is alien to the African continent. We have not seen this happen even among animals," she said.

Aljazeera had earlier yesterday quoted Abati as saying: "I can confirm that the president has signed the bill into law. More than 90 percent of Nigerians are opposed to same-sex marriage.

"So, the law is in line with our cultural and religious beliefs as a people. And I think that this law is made for a people and what [the] government has done is consistent with the preference of its environment."