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Kenya’s High Court has ruled that all eight candidates who participated in the 8 August presidential election should be included in the re-run later this month.

This comes a day after the main opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, announced that he was pulling out.

The re-run was ordered by the Supreme Court, which annulled the August vote won by President Uhuru Kenyatta, citing irregularities and illegalities.

But Mr Odinga says that nothing has changed, so the same mistakes would probably be made in the new election.

Meanwhile, parliament has passed a series of changes to the election law, which the opposition has condemned.

Will the re-run still take place?

Yes.

According to the constitution, it must be held by 1 November.

And the latest court order means that even though Mr Odinga has pulled out, President Uhuru Kenyatta should still face some competition, unless they all pull out as well.

From Mr Kenyatta’s point of view, that lends some credibility to the poll, even though the other candidates got less than 1% of the vote between them, so Mr Kenyatta looks set to be re-elected.

Initially, the re-run had been due to only feature President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga, who gained 54% and 45% of the vote respectively.

Why did Mr Odinga pull out?

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His National Super Alliance (Nasa) says its conditions for a credible election have not been met, and it wants to give the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) more time to introduce reforms.

Nasa’s demands include:

• Firing electoral officials it blames for bungling the 8 August poll
• Replacing the companies that printed ballot papers and supplied the voter verification and transmission kits
• Embedding international experts with the IEBC to oversee its IT systems to prevent results being rigged.

Have any changes been made at the IEBC?

After the annulment of the presidential election, IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati promised to make changes to his team, but he is believed to have faced resistance from other commissioners.

Mr Chebukati has, however, appointed a special team to be in charge of the re-run election but it is unclear how it will work with the rest of the commission or what its powers are.

The IEBC has also said that it is contractually bound to stick to the same firms that supplied the electoral material and cannot dismiss them.

After Mr Odinga announced that he was pulling out of the race, the commission said it would seek advice from its legal team on the way forward.

What does Mr Kenyatta’s party say?

The governing Jubilee Party has said it will carry on with the re-run.

It has used its parliamentary majority to push through controversial changes to electoral legislation, raising fears that it wants to water down controls put in place to prevent rigging.

The changes include:

• Requiring anyone challenging a future election result to prove that irregularities had altered the outcome
• Giving the IEBC head the power to declare a winner in the presidential vote if outstanding uncounted votes would not make a difference

The controversial amendments have been widely criticised by the opposition, religious leaders, rights groups, western diplomats including the US and UK, and the electoral commission.

They say the changes come too close to the election date and would not bode well for the preparations that must be done before the election.

The changes have not yet taken effect but President Kenyatta has said that he would sign the changes into law.

The Jubilee Party defended the changes, saying they were intended to “correct the errors” which led to the annulment of the August election.

What is the mood in Kenya?

The often-heard joke is that the election is now a convenient alibi, which can be blamed for everything.

Despite the serial inclination of Kenyans to make light of a situation, there is no running away from the fact that the country is in the midst of a serious crisis.

There are frequent street protests in Nairobi, Mombasa and parts of western Kenya where Mr Odinga is popular.

Businessmen have been complaining that the economy has slowed, as people are unsure about what will happen next.

In a report on Monday, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights report said that 37 people – including a 6-month-old baby girl, a 7-year-old boy, and an 8-year-old girl – were killed in violence after the 8 August election.

It accused the security forces of using excessive force, including live bullets, to quell opposition protests.

With Nasa organising a new round of of protests under the slogan “No reform, no election” and the Jubilee Party pressing ahead with its election campaign, there is concern that violence could erupt again.

Listen to Dickens’ Kenya election watch

Note: This story is auto-generated from ‘BBC News’ syndicated feed and has not been edited by Africa Prime News staff.

South Africa’s tight-knit Zanzibari community is not actually from Zanzibar, instead they are the descendants of freed slaves from Mozambique.

Fifteen years ago, they won back land they lost in Durban under South Africa’s apartheid regime – land which is now prime real estate in the city’s lucrative tourist market. The BBC’s Vumani Mkhize reports.

Note: This story is auto-generated from ‘BBC News’ syndicated feed and has not been edited by Africa Prime News staff.

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The inquest into the 1971 death of anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol has found that he was murdered, shattering a five-decade-long claim by security police that he had committed suicide.

In a packed courtroom, Judge Billy Mothle ruled that he “was pushed” out of the window of the 10th floor building where he had been detained by the apartheid police.

Applause rang out in court at the end of his ruling – vindication for the Timol family at last.

But what is the significant of the ruling for South Africa and other families who have lost loved ones in a similar way?

“After this ruling we are hoping to see large scale investigations,” says Lawson Naidoo, head of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution.

Many of those who were with Mr Timol at the time have since died but the judge found that they were “complicit” in his death and recommended that prosecutions should follow because perjury had been committed by some former state security members who testified at this hearing.

And so for the first time in the history of its atrocities, it seemed as though the apartheid system of white minority rule was on trial in South Africa.

Reliving the past

The inquiry offered a rare glimpse into the gruesome workings of the racist regime – and demanded answers.

For those brief few weeks it was as though Mr Timol was speaking for himself – and on behalf of those who died like him.

Officially, police records say he leapt to his death from the infamous John Vorster Square, now called Johannesburg Central police station.

Mr Timol’s family had for years campaigned for a new investigation, saying he was not “one to give up” – that he would have never taken his own life.

Many other families here have for decades struggled to make peace with the deaths of their loved ones – largely due to the secrecy around it.

Activists say that between 1963 and 1990, at least 73 anti-apartheid fighters people died in police detention, in some situation their deaths bore an uncanny resemblance to that of Mr Timol.

Still no-one was ever called to account – the murderers were faceless, protected by the state even after the advent of democracy in 1994.

For the Mabelane family, this case has inspired hope. Matthews, then aged 23, was said to have jumped to his death, like Mr Timol.

His older brother Lasch Mabelane tells me the family has for decades been haunted by not knowing what really happened to Matthews.

“The day before he died, the police came to my parents’ home and told them they need to make an appointment if they want to see him. They said: ‘Do you know you have a naughty child?’ and said they would discipline him,” he says.

“Many people like my brother supposedly jumped from the 10th floor, it’s the same story – the same floor,” he adds.

Other activists who died at John Vorster Square police station:

Wellington Tshazibane: Found hanging in his cell on 11 December 1976

Neil Aggett: Found hanging in his cell on 5 February 1982

Ernest Dipale: Found hanging in his cell three days after his second detention, died 5 August 1982

Stanza Bopape: Died of a heart attack after being subject to repeated electric shocks, on 5 June 1988

Clayton Sithole: Found hanging dead in his cell on 30 January 1990

“We’ve never believed that he killed himself, he loved life and loved his family. The pain of losing him changed all of us, especially my parents.”

His father, Phillip Mabelane is 95 years old and a widower – he believes his wife died of a broken heart.

“Our child died in a painful way. We were left with so many questions and couldn’t even ask them. This trouble my wife until the end,” he says.

“The apartheid police were known to be violent, you didn’t ask questions, you just accepted what you were told. How can you ever find peace in a situation like that?” he asks.

Taking secrets to the grave

Peace and stability in this country were paid for in blood and an unspoken vow by those who worked for the state to take secrets to the grave.

This country’s vast landscape is dotted with the unmarked graves of apartheid activists. Dinner table conversations frequently drift into stories of exiles who disappeared without a trace – leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions.

The Timol inquest could forever change that legacy.

This was the first inquest in democratic South Africa to specifically look into apartheid deaths in police custody.

While an investigation into Mr Timol’s death was conducted at the time, many had believed it was a cover-up for the abuses that were happening at the height of white minority rule.

The long-awaited proceedings took weeks to conclude but had many glued to TV screens as high-ranking security police officers, men who until now had lived in the shadows, testified about the torture of activists at the height of the fight for freedom here.

Their actions included severe beatings, electrocution and at times crushing testicles.

In August fresh eyes began looking at the evidence led in court.

Some of the expert witnesses testified that some of Mr Timol’s injuries, his cracked skull, were not consistent with the conclusion the apartheid police had reached at the initial inquest back in 1971.

Files with evidence of his bludgeoned body told tales of assault, witnesses testified to seeing Mr Timol days before his death being escorted by the police in the corridors of the police station and that he could barely walk.

These records are some of what led to Judge Mothle’s historic findings.

Mr Timol isn’t the only activist to die under suspicious circumstances – Steve Biko also died while in police detention, supposedly because he had been on a hunger strike. No explanation was ever given for the bruises on his body.

In the minds of many, Mr Biko was murdered.

Nkosinathi Biko, through the Steve Biko Foundation, says their research puts the deaths of high-profile detainees, including his father, at 160.

“Many of them have as a cause of death, suicide or slipped on a bar of soap, that sort of thing. So uncovering the truth is important not only for those families but for the country. It should be a national record,” he told the BBC.

There have been attempts at unearthing the truth in democratic South Africa such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

However, in recent years the TRC’s failure to compel apartheid loyalists who testified at the commission to “tell all” has come in for increasing criticism, along with granting perpetrators amnesty for their testimony.

While the hearings were hailed as a necessary process to help move the country into a peaceful democracy, many said it denied justice to victims of apartheid.

In the minds of many, justice will only come if those behind the murders and torture are prosecuted and punished for their crimes.

“You cannot forgive what you do not know, what was never acknowledged. The people who killed our children must be made to tell the truth and face the consequences of their actions,” says Mr Mabelane Snr.

Note: This story is auto-generated from ‘BBC News’ syndicated feed and has not been edited by Africa Prime News staff.

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Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger has seemingly been duped by false reports that former football star George Weah had won Liberia’s presidential election, even though the final results have not yet been announced.

Mr Wenger said: “I would like to congratulate one of my former players, who became president of Liberia.”

He coached Mr Weah at French club Monaco in the 1990s.

Mr Weah was among 20 presidential candidates in Tuesday’s election.

The former Fifa World Footballer of the Year failed in his two previous attempts but is one of the front-runners to replace President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

However, most analysts expect it to go to a second round, as a candidate needs more than 50% of the votes for outright victory.

False reports of Mr Weah’s victory about have been circulating on social media but it is not clear why Wenger thought he had won.

“It is not often that you have a former player who becomes a president of a country,” Wenger said.

“Well done George and I would say just for him to keep his enthusiasm and his desire to learn and to win,” he added.

Official results have still not been announced even though the head of the National Elections Commission (NEC), Jerome Kokoya, had told the BBC that he expected the first results to be announced by 23:00 GMT on election night.

One of Liberia’s leading political parties, the Liberty Party, has called for a halt in announcing results, citing alleged irregularities.

‘I thought he had received a call from Weah’

Stanley Kwenda, BBC Africa

At Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s press conference, I asked him whether he was surprised that his former player, Kolo Toure, had made the transition to assistant coach for Scottish side Celtic and the Ivory Coast national team.

In his response Mr Wenger chose to first congratulate another of his former players, George Weah on “becoming the new president of Liberia”.

For a moment I thought he had received a call from Weah confirming the result of Tuesday’s presidential election.

I knew the official results were not yet out but I thought Wenger may have better intelligence than me. His eyes were glinting, and he spoke with much excitement and a genuine congratulatory feel.

Wenger and Weah share a very special relationship and I would not be surprised if the Arsenal manager goes to Liberia for Weah’s inauguration – if he wins.

Note: This story is auto-generated from ‘BBC News’ syndicated feed and has not been edited by Africa Prime News staff.

Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar has extended his contract with Portuguese side Porto until 2021.

The 25-year-old is Porto’s top scorer this season with eight goals, two of which have come in the Champions League.

The Cameroonian joined the club in 2014 from French side Lorient, signing a four-year deal, and spent last season on loan with Turkish side Besiktas.

Porto announced they have also acquired all of Aboubakar’s economic rights.

The 2004 European champions previously held 40% of these rights but have now paid Lorient US$8.5m to acquire full ownership.

“The president (Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa) led this negotiation with the players’ agents and with Lorient,” said Porto financial administrator Fernando Gomes in a statement. “It was not easy at all.”

There has been no change in his release clause, which is still valued at 50m Euros ($59m).

Earlier this year, Aboubakar scored the match-winning goal in the dying minutes of the Africa Cup of Nations final as Cameroon beat Egypt 2-1 in the Gabonese capital Libreville.

He followed that up by winning the Turkish title with Besiktas.

Note: This story is auto-generated from ‘BBC News’ syndicated feed and has not been edited by Africa Prime News staff.

Both Mali and Ghana booked their place in the Round of 16 at the Fifa Under-17 World Cup on Thursday.

The Malians beat New Zealand 3-1 in New Delhi to finish second in Group B behind Paraguay, who beat Turkey 3-1 in Mumbai to maintain their 100% record.

Ghana, meanwhile, knocked out India with a 4-0 victory over the hosts, also in New Delhi.

Mali – runners-up at the 2015 finals in Chile – next play on Tuesday, while Ghana are next in action on Wednesday.

Mali 3-1 New Zealand

The Eaglets took the lead through a fine strike from Salam Jiddou after 18 minutes, with Djemoussa Traore doubling the lead five minutes after half-time.

New Zealand pulled a goal back after 72 minutes but a nervy finish was allayed as Lassana N’Diaye scored Mali’s third, and his third of the tournament.

Mali, who lost their opening game 3-2 to Paraguay before bouncing back with a 3-0 win over Turkey, will meet the team finishing second in Group F on Tuesday in Goa.

Ghana 4-0 India

Later in New Delhi, Ghana leapt from third in Group A to finish top after knocking out hosts India with a 4-0 win.

The Black Starlets joined Colombia and the United States in finishing on six points but ended top because of a superior goal difference, with the South Americans taking second spot.

Captain Eric Ayiah scored twice, once in each half, before Richard Danso and Emmanuel Toku added goals in the 86th and 87th minutes respectively.

The two-time winners will meet one of the best third-placed teams in Mumbai next week.

Note: This story is auto-generated from ‘BBC News’ syndicated feed and has not been edited by Africa Prime News staff.