Africa Live 8-15 April 2024

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for this week.

There'll be an automated service until our team is back on Monday. Until then, you can get the latest news on our website or listen to our podcasts Africa Daily and Focus on Africa.

A reminder of Friday's wise words:

Quote Message: If you carry a hyena on your back, dogs will bark at you." from A Wolof proverb sent by Pa Sallah Drammeh in Banjul, The Gambia

If you carry a hyena on your back, dogs will bark at you."

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this shot of girls dressed in their best for Eid, in the town of Cap Skirring in Senegal. It's one of our favourite photos this week:

AFPCopyright: AFP

Eliud Kipchoge has appeared on stage in the French capital, Paris, modelling various outfits ahead of the Olympics in July.

"Yesterday I shared the stage with so many great Nike athletes," said the 39-year-old runner who is hoping to win a record third Olympic Gold medal.

"We all dressed different but are united with a same goal - to be the best we can be."

Here's the selection of looks he posted to his Instagram page:

FBCCopyright: FBC

Authorities in Ethiopia have started returning migrants stranded in the oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia by flying 842 of them on Friday.

The goal of this programme's third phase is to return 70,000 people in four months by operating 12 flights per week.

The government says they were in "difficult conditions" as most are undocumented and have been languishing in prisons and detention centres in the country.

However, the risk of them returning to Saudi is also high as thousands travel each year seeking better living conditions. Earlier this week, 38 Ethiopian migrants including children, died in a shipwreck off the Djibouti coast, Ethiopian officials said.

It is thought they could have been on their way to Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom hosts about 750,000 Ethiopian migrants, more than half of whom are believed to have entered the territory illegally, according to reports.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Coronavirus vaccine-maker Moderna is pausing plans to build a manufacturing facility in Kenya.

It had planned to start filling doses of its Covid-19 vaccine on the continent as early as 2023, but Moderna says it has not received any vaccine orders for Africa since 2022.

The firm says there has been a decline in demand for Covid-19 vaccines, and that it is resizing its manufacturing network to cut costs.

Moderna is spending about $4.5bn (£3.6bn) this year in research and development of other, new vaccines including for HIV, malaria and cancer.

Profits are higher for cancer treatments, which require more doses per patient than coronavirus vaccines.

AFPCopyright: AFP

An aid agency working in Sudan has warned levels of hunger and malnutrition after a year of civil war are much worse than previously thought.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and other organisations say the breakdown of governance and infrastructure mean a famine is now almost inevitable.

The United Nations, meanwhile, has said Sudan could become "the world's worst hunger crisis".

Aid to the troubled Darfur region has been largely blocked by the war.

In addition, the country is not in a position to begin planting crops for the new growing season in May.

MSF said one child was dying every two hours at a camp in North Darfur where it screened tens of thousands of displaced people. It says conditions could be much worse in remoter areas.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Survivors of the ferry disaster that killed dozens of people in northern Mozambique, told Transport Minister Mateus Magala that the victims panicked after seven people living in Quivulane died from diarrhoea and vomiting.

One such survivor is 22-year-old Rabia Abacar. She says that her aunt died after being admitted to the nearby Lunga Health Centre. She said that the medication administered did not help to stop the diarrhoea and vomiting.

This, she explained, panicked them and made them flee in search of a hideout in Mozambique Island.

The government's initial explanation for Monday's tragedy was that panicked people were fleeing the mainland in large numbers, after false information was maliciously spread telling them they must go to Mozambique Island to escape an ongoing cholera outbreak.

During his visit to Lunga this week, President Felipe Nyusi discouraged people from heeding misinformation, saying: "One can’t run away from death."

• Read more on this story: 'I survived the ferry disaster - but lost 17 of my family'

AWLO MediaCopyright: AWLO Media

Thirteen suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder of prominent Ethiopian opposition politician Bate Urgessa, police in the troubled Oromia region say.

They haven’t provided details about the identities of the suspects but they said a criminal investigation had been launched.

Mr Bate, a senior figure within the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) opposition party, was shot dead earlier this week.

His body was found on Wednesday morning by the side of the road near a skip in his hometown of Meki.

Family members told local media that he had been taken from his hotel room by "people who looked like government security forces" on Tuesday night.

Oromia’s regional government denied that its security forces were involved in the killing.

Hospital sources told the BBC that Mr Bate's body exhibited multiple gunshot wounds.

He was buried on Thursday but questions are being raised about whether proper forensic investigations were carried out.

The US and the UK government called for an independent investigation into the killing.

IECCopyright: IEC

South Africa's opposition uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, which is backed by former President Jacob Zuma, has called for the "immediate resignation" of a top official at South Africa's electoral commission (IEC).

MK says IEC commissioner Janet Love is "highly vested in the outcomes of the upcoming elections and cannot be trusted to oversee nor be involved" in the polls due to her previous membership of the governing ANC party and alleged close ties with President Cyril Ramaphosa.

It accuses her of "blatant acts of bias", including failing to recuse herself from the electoral committee that decided on Mr Zuma’s eligibility, "despite the clear conflict of interest".

"Should Janet Love fail to resign in the next seven days, the MK party reserves the right to pursue all available avenues to address this issue, including approaching our courts," the party said in a statement on Friday.

The party's call for Ms Love's resignation comes just hours after the IEC moved to the Constitutional Court to challenge this week's ruling which overturned a ban on Mr Zuma's candidacy, allowing him to contest the forthcoming election.

Ms Love was a member of the ANC from the 1970s, when she was part of the anti-apartheid movement, and went on to become an MP representing the party. She has previously denied accusations of bias.

President Ramaphosa appointed her as one of the IEC's five commissioners last October.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Police in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa have said three individuals have been killed after a shoot-out with members of the armed group Fano.

One of those killed was a civilian while the other two were members of the group, according a statement released by police. Two police officers were injured.

The incident took place on Friday morning in an affluent neighbourhood near the city’s airport.

The armed group Fano largely operates in the country’s restive Amhara region where it has been battling the army since August last year.

This is the first violent incident reported in Addis Ababa in connection with the Fano rebellion.

AFPCopyright: AFP

One of Nigeria's most popular celebrities, a transgender woman known as Bobrisky, has been sentenced to six months in jail for "spraying" naira banknotes at a film premiere.

The judge said Bobrisky must serve her sentence in a male prison. She has not been given the option of paying a fine instead, local media report.

Throwing money in the air is a sign of appreciation commonly done at Nigerian weddings and celebrations. This is technically an offence as the notes then fall to the ground where they can be trodden on.

Rights groups say LGBTQ people often face harassment and discrimination in Nigeria.

In February a cis-gender, heterosexual actress Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin received a similar sentence for the same offence.

During the trial, Bobrisky said she hadn't been aware of the ban. Until now it has been rare for people to be prosecuted for it.

More Nigeria stories from the BBC:

• Filmmakers face jail over violence in northern Nigeria
• Could cross-dressing be banned in Nigeria?
• Nollywood star sentenced for stepping on naira notes
• Mr Ibu - the man who made Africa laugh

AFPCopyright: AFP

Several political parties and civil society groups in Mali have rejected the ruling junta's order to suspend political activities, vowing to stage demonstrations over the move.

“By taking the illegal decision to suspend the activities of political parties and associations, the junta is violating Mali's constitution,” the president of the party African Social Democratic Party (PSDA), Ismael Sacko, said, vowing to organise protests against the decision.

The coordinator of the 20 February Appeal to Save Mali coalition also condemned the decision and called for civil resistance against it.

Meanwhile, the House of the Press of Mali press watchdog expressed concern over the decision by the country's media regulator to bar media outlets from reporting on the activities of political parties.

It called on media outlets to defy the order.

The High Authority of Communication (HAC) on Thursday asked media outlets in the country to stop reporting on the activities of political parties and associations, a day after authorities issued a decree suspending until further notice all activities by political parties and groups on the grounds of maintaining public order.

The junta has incrementally repressed critical reporting on the stalled political transition and security situation in the country since taking power in 2020.

More than 80 political parties and civil groups recently called for presidential elections "as soon as possible" and an end to military rule, after the expiry of the extended transition period last month.

EPACopyright: EPA

Liberia's House of Representatives is investigating how former President George Weah's asset declaration documents were leaked to the public.

All senior government officials in the country, including presidents, are mandated to declare their wealth upon taking office before the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (Lacc).

It is meant to ensure public officials avoid conflicts of interest and illicit wealth accumulation. But it is not mandatory for such declarations to be made public.

The former president's asset declaration documents are said to have been leaked to the public without his consent.

"Weah's asset declaration form is now all in the public space and on various platforms," Frank Saah Foko, a local legislator, said.

He said publishing the former president’s declared assets without his consent was illegal.

It is not clear who leaked them but legislators have summoned senior Lacc officials over the leak. They are expected to appear before the lawmakers on Tuesday.

In February, President Joseph Boakai, who won the November presidential run-off election defeating Mr Weah, declared his assets vowing to fight corruption in the country.

Mr Weah's presidency was plagued with accusations of corruption and faced criticism for the excesses of senior officials.

After Mr Boakai's inauguration in January he asked former officials to turnover government assets they had in their possession “without delay and hesitation”.