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Cameroonian conjoined twins Pheinbom and Shevoboh were seen as a bad omen when born, but their successful separation by Saudi surgeons has changed their lives - and the faith of some in their village.

They were joined at the chest, abdomen and pelvis when born and some of the delivery nurses in Babanki Tungo, a village in north-west Cameroon, were so shocked by the "strange birth" that they ran out of the small clinic.

The basic medical services in Babanki Tungo were ill-equipped to care for the girls and, following an internet appeal, the Saudi king agreed to pay for them to be flown to Saudi Arabia for surgery in 2007. The 16-hour operation succeeded in separating the twins and now they each have their own stomach.

Ngong James Akumbu (r), aka "Abdallah", has fathered 13 children

However, nearly three years on from the surgery, serious physical challenges remain.

After the separation, the girls were left with one leg each, and they are now waiting to return to Saudi Arabia to be fitted with artificial limbs and begin the arduous task of learning how to walk.

At the moment, they can only crawl. Even so, the twins are playful, talkative and mischievous - typical four-year-old girls, in fact.

But when they were born, they were anything but typical.

Islamic conversions

Some people in Babanki Tungo - a farming village known for producing many of Cameroon's vegetables - thought they were "satanic gifts" sent to punish their father, who already had 13 other children by two different wives.

Before the school was opened, I was unemployed, had many girlfriends and drank a lot   Koranic school teacher Kum Edwin

Others believed that Pheinbom and Shevoboh were sent to punish the whole village, after a traditional leader in the region was burnt alive by his angry subjects.

"It was very difficult when the babies were still joined together," the girls' mother Emerencia Nyumale remembers.

"People used to see me carrying them and run away and I felt so guilty and alone," she says."Thank God all that has ended now since their separation."The girls' story has had another importance consequence for the people of Babanki Tungo.

Babanki Tungo has seen several conversions to Islam following the twins' separatio

The Saudi government is funding an Islamic centre in the village consisting of a mosque, nursery, primary school and health centre.

This has led some village elders to predict that the largely Christian Babanki Tungo will be slowly Islamised. The twins' parents have taken the lead. As a mark of appreciation to their daughters' Saudi benefactors, they have converted to Islam.

The girl's father, Ngong James Akumbu, now calls himself "Abdallah", Emerencia goes by "Aisha", and five or their children attend the Islamic primary school.

Blessing or curse?

Kum Edwin, a teacher at the school, has also converted. "Before the school was opened, I was unemployed, had many girlfriends and drank a lot," says Mr Edwin, who has changed his name to "Abdallah Wagf".

CONJOINED TWINS Conjoined twins are extremely rare, occurring in as few as one in every 200,000 live births They are created just a few days after conception - most likely by the incomplete splitting of the fertilised egg Most are stillborn, and a proportion of those who are born alive do not survive long afterwards

"When I heard an Islamic school will be opened here, I did a three-month Islamic studies [course]… I no longer drink a lot and I am now searching for a wife because having lots of girlfriends is not good."

Many people in Babanki Tungo now see the birth of Pheinbom and Shevoboh as a blessing rather than a curse.

The sight of the twins crawling around the village no longer attracts mistrustful looks, as once it did. "I always tell every parent to be patient because God always tempts people by showing them bad things which are good things in the future," muses the girls' father.

Indeed, the twins have seen a remarkable change in their fortunes. From outcasts at birth, they now have their own, separate lives and have played an important part in changing the lives of the people around them. After all that, learning to walk may prove to be easy.

Source: BBC News Africa

South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) has told its members to refrain from singing the anti-apartheid struggle song "Shoot the Boer".

It comes amid rising racial tensions following the weekend murder of white supremacist leader Eugene Terreblanche.

His supporters have blamed ANC youth leader Julius Malema for inflaming the situation by singing the song. The ANC's Gwede Mantashe said the death had no political motive but the song had contributed to racial polarisation. Boer is an Afrikaans word for farmer, which has become a derogatory term for all white people.

Scuffles

"The restraint will remove excuses... to whip up racial hatred," the South African Press Association quotes Mr Mantashe, the ANC's secretary-general, as saying.

On Tuesday, black and white South Africans scuffled outside court when two farm workers were charged with Terreblanche's murder on his farm last Saturday.

Mr Mantashe said the ANC had not banned the song, which the party has said is part of the country's history and the fight against white minority rule.

But the BBC's Jonah Fisher in Johannesburg says asking ANC supporters not to sing it is the closest thing to it.

All parts of the ANC have been informed of the decision, but it is aimed at just one man - Mr Malema, he says. The controversial ANC Youth League leader has insisted on exercising what he says is his right to sing "Shoot the Boer" at rallies.

Opposition politicians have complained that the song incites racial hatred and have gone to court to try to get Mr Malema to stop singing it. Police have said two farm workers admitted beating Terreblanche to death in a dispute over unpaid wages.

Terreblanche, 69, was fiercely opposed to the end of apartheid in South Africa, which led to the ANC winning the country's first democratic elections in 1994 and Nelson Mandela becoming the country's first black president.

Source: BBC News Africa

Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade says his country is taking back control of all military bases held by the former colonial power France. He made the announcement in a televised address as Senegal marked 50 years of independence.

France and Senegal had reached agreement in February on the future of the bases. Earlier, Senegal had inaugurated its controversial Monument of African Renaissance.

In his address, Mr Wade solemnly declared that Senegal was formally assuming sovereignty over military bases that since decolonisation in 1960 have continued to house French army and air force personnel.

The announcement appeared designed to boost national pride in a country that sees itself as shaking off the last vestiges of colonialism.

In fact, France and Senegal reached an amicable agreement last February under which most of the 1,200 French military personnel based in Senegal would leave this year. For some years, France has been steadily reducing its presence in Africa, both militarily and economically.

Earlier, Senegal unveiled the African Renaissance monument - a bronze monument bigger than the Statue of Liberty. Some of the 19 African leaders who attended the ceremony praised its scope, but thousands of protesters complained at its cost of $27m.

Source: BBC News Africa