Emmanuel Igunza
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Activists from Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, the Oromo, have called for more anti-government protests this weekend, days after thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in the northern city of Gondar. 

Image source, AFP

They say they will hold countrywide protests against what they describe as continued killings and other abuses by the authorities.

In the latest incident earlier this week, at least six people were allegedly shot dead by police in the eastern town of Awaday.

Prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn warned on Tuesday that Ethiopia was sliding towards ethnic conflict similar to that in neighbouring countries. 

Ethiopia's second largest ethnic group, the Amhara, held a large demonstration last Sunday in Gondar.  

The ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front has been in power since 1991 and won all seats in parliament in last year's elections. 

Read: Ethiopia protests: What's behind the trouble in Gondar?

Burundi's government has rejected a decision to deploy a UN police force to the country in an effort to end more than a year of political violence.

The UN Security Council agreed on Friday to send 288 officers, despite Burundi saying it would accept no more than 50 unarmed personnel.

But a government spokesman said even 50 was now unacceptable and the move violated Burundi's sovereignty.

More than 400 people have been killed in unrest since April 2015.

Read the full BBC story here

Image source, AFP

The hashtag #HowMuhangaGot10bn, external is trending in Uganda after an MP said that she sold her cows and goats to raise money to pay for land she's accused of obtaining fraudulently.   

The BBC's Patience Atuhaire reports from the capital , Kampala, that Margaret Muhanga told a parliamentary committee investigating the alleged fraud that she raised $3m (£2.2m) to pay for the 23-acre piece of land belonging to Uganda's national broadcaster, UBC.

Ms Muhanga also told the committee that she paid for the land transaction in cash.

Our reporter says that records at the land transaction's office show that the land changed ownership three times in the space of about four minutes, ending up with the MP's name. 

People have been reacting to the story:

Tomi Oladipo
BBC Africa security correspondent

The so-called Islamic State (IS) jihadist group has announced a new leader for its West African branch, popularly known as Boko Haram. 

The latest issue of an IS magazine featured what it called its first interview with Abu Musab al-Barnawi, who replaces the eccentric Abubakar Shekau. 

In a video clip released in January 2015, Mr al-Barnawi described himself as the spokesman for Boko Haram. This was before the Nigeria-based jihadist group pledged allegiance to IS. 

Now IS says he has replaced Mr Shekau, who has not made a verified appearance in propaganda production since August 2015.

Image source, AFP

Popular Nigerian pastor Enoch Adeboye has sparked conversation on Twitter after he said in a sermon that men should not marry women who cannot cook. 

In a video shared online the pastor also says that a woman "who cannot pray non-stop for one hour" is not marriage material. 

Here's a sample of the comments: 

Some of South Africa's big names have cast their ballots in key local government elections, including Nobel Peace prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, as this tweet shows:  

President Jacob Zuma is still waiting to vote in Nkandla - a rural area which has been thrust into the political limelight following his controversial decision to use government money to upgrade his home there. 

Our reporter tweets:  

Read: Could ANC lose capital?

Image source, AFP

South Africans are voting in local elections, which are being seen as a test of the popularity of the governing African National Congress (ANC) and President Jacob Zuma. 

Opinion polls suggest the ANC is facing a strong challenge for the first time since the end of apartheid, in the key urban centres of Pretoria, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth. 

High unemployment and corruption scandals have dented the ANC's popularity, helping to raise the prospects of the opposition Democratic Alliance and Economic Freedom Fighters parties.

Read the full BBC story here

Parents have been ordered to pay for the rebuilding of schools torched by arsonists in Kenya, The Standard reports, external. 

More than 100 schools have been affected since the beginning of this year. 

In one school, Itierio Boys High School, where students burnt their dormitory after being denied a chance to watch a football match, parents have been told to pay $98 (£74) each to meet the total cost of the repairs which has been put at around $79,000. 

Other schools have set the payments at between $40 and $100, which some parents have complained that they cannot afford. 

The school fires seem to have stopped after the government refused to relent to calls to close schools countrywide. 

Read: Why are Kenyan schools being torched?

Image source, AFP

Efforts to build a new parliament in Zimbabwe have received a major boost with China signing a $46m (£34m) deal to construct it, Zimbabwe's state-owned Herald newspaper reports, external. 

The agreement was signed during a visit by a Zimbabwean government delegation to China to follow up on Chinese plans to invest in the southern African state, which has been hit by a deep economic and financial crisis. 

 The $46m would be the first tranche towards the building of the parliament in Mount Hampden, about 17km from the capital Harare, the Herald reports. 

In June, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation said China would build the new parliament as the current colonial-era building was  too small to accommodate lawmakers.      

Macro Economic Planning Minister Obert Mpofu told the newspaper that plans had been submitted to secure Chinese investments in sectors which were the key to Zimbabwe's "economic revival", including agriculture and housing. 

Our African proverb of the day:

Click here to send BBC Africa Live your African proverb 

Welcome to the BBC Africa Live for the latest news from around the continent.