Africa

Kenya goalkeeper Patrick Matasi is provisionally suspended for 90 days amid an investigation into match manipulation in the East African country.

Nigerian boxer Gabriel Oluwasegun Olanrewaju has died after collapsing during a light heavyweight bout in Ghana on Saturday.

South Africa white-ball coach Rob Walter, who took over in March 2023, resigns citing “personal reasons”.

Nicknamed the ‘Snowbok’, South African cross-country skier Matt Smith is set to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics despite only taking up the sport two years ago.

Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo says he could have turned to a life of crime in Botswana had it not been for sport.

Zambia withdraw four US-based players for an upcoming tournament in China because of “travel measures” introduced by Donald Trump’s administration.

29 March 2025ShareSaveAnne Soy & Lucy FlemingBBC News, Nairobi & LondonShareSaveCaptain Serhiy Muzyka, who started his career in the Soviet army, never dreamt that his final deployment before heading into retirement after 43 years piloting helicopters would be play out like a Tom Cruise movie.
The 60-year-old Ukrainian ended up in a terrifying and deadly situation in South Sudan, when what seemed like a routine operation for the UN earlier this month turned into the most dramatic of his career.
During his military service – which included 20 years in the Ukrainian army – he served in Afghanistan and other dangerous places. He also encountered other danger zones during his work as a private contractor, including rescuing victims of a plane crash in Somalia in 2015.
But the mission to evacuate wounded soldiers from a military base in Nasir, in South Sudan's northern state of Upper Nile, is his most memorable.
A shoot-out at the base after he arrived ended up claiming the lives of a ..

30 March 2025ShareSaveAdaobi Tricia NwaubaniLetter from Africa series, AbujaShareSaveFor many years, well-off Nigerians have sent their children to prestigious British boarding schools – but now some of those institutions are setting up campuses in Africa's most populous nation.
Last year, Charterhouse launched a primary school in the city of Lagos and will open a secondary school this September.
Rugby School will also begin offering secondary education in September. Other well-known institutions, such as Millfield, Wellington College and Harrow, are also exploring opportunities in Nigeria.
This obviously all comes with a price tag for Nigerian parents – but the country's well-heeled elite have historically sent their children to the UK for secondary education, drawn to the British curriculum's rigour, prestige and global opportunities.
“I'm actually excited about it,” says Karima Oyede, a British-Nigerian management consultant, whose son is currently in year 10 at ..

30 March 2025ShareSaveTamasin FordBBC Global Disinformation Unit and Africa EyeShareSaveRecruitment agents who scam foreign nationals applying to work in the UK care sector have been exposed by BBC secret filming.
One of the rogue agents is a Nigerian doctor who has worked for the NHS in the field of psychiatry.
The Home Office has acknowledged the system is open to abuse, but the BBC World Service's investigation shows the apparent ease with which these agents can scam people, avoid detection, and continue to profit.
Our secret filming reveals agents' tactics, including:
Illegally selling jobs in UK care companiesDevising fake payroll schemes to conceal that some jobs do not existShifting from care to other sectors, like construction, that also face staff shortagesReports of immigration scams have increased since a government visa scheme – originally designed to let foreign medical professionals work in the UK – was broadened in 2022 to include care workers.
To apply for the..

1 April 2025ShareSaveWedaeli ChibelushiBBC NewsShareSaveBooming gunfire, vibrant gowns and blaring trumpets have animated the Nigerian city of Dutse during the durbar.
This is a days-long horse parade held to mark Eid al-Fitr, a celebration for the end of the Ramadan.
Emirs – traditional Islamic leaders – usually parade through their territories with a huge procession of horseback riders.
On Monday, Emir of Dutse Hameem Nuhu Sunusi rode on a white stallion, shielded from the sun by a patterned blue parasol.
The emir told the AFP news agency that the festival showcases Nigeria's rich traditions.
According to the UN's cultural organisation, the durbar is “a dexterous display of horsemanship and brilliant exhibition of a people's… heritage”.
Royal hunters fired guns on Monday to announce the emir's approach.
Dutse is just one area in Nigeria's majority-Muslim north holding a durbar – a centuries-old tradition. The festival takes places twice a year – during th..