Image source, AFP

Thousands of primary schoolteachers in Nigeria's Kaduna State have failed the very exams they prepare pupils for.

State governor Nasir El-Rufai said that 21,780 teachers, or two-thirds of them, failed to score 75% or higher on assessments usually given to six-year-olds.

Mr El-Rufai said all 33,000 primary schoolteachers in Kaduna State took the test.

He made the comments at a meeting with World Bank representatives at his offices, adding:

As usual, Twitter users have wasted no time in sharing their thoughts on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's decision to appoint a minister of cyber security and threat - a post that will be held by former finance minister Patrick Chinamasa:

See our earlier post for more details.

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

The Red Cross in Madagascar is training 1,000 people to help deal with an outbreak of pneumonic plague.

The disease - which is transmitted through the air - is spreading rapidly, especially in crowded urban areas.

It is fatal unless treated early with antibiotics.

The World Health Organization recently delivered more than a million doses of the medication to Madagascar.

The island has regular outbreaks of bubonic plague, which is less deadly and spread by flea bites.

Two paramedics have been robbed at gunpoint in Alexandra, a residential area north of South Africa's main city Johannesburg, while helping a patient.

They were attacked by two armed men who forced them to stop the vehicle before stealing their wallets and mobile phones, in an incident that happened in the early hours of this morning, says Johannesburg's emergency services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi.

It follows the decision last month to supply emergency service staff with police escorts when visiting "crime hotspots" in Johannesburg, the eNCA news site reports, external.

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC World Service, Lusaka

Image source, AFP

Police in Zambia have arrested five fans for allegedly attacking the house of national football striker Alex N’gonga.

The fans were unhappy that Ng’onga missed clear scoring chances in a crucial World Cup qualifier against Nigeria. Zambia lost 1-0 in the match played at the weekend in Nigeria.

The fans vented their anger by going to his house in Kitwe town in Zambia’s copperbelt region and pelting it with stones.

Regional Police Commissioner Charity Katanga said:

The loss in Nigeria ended Zambia’s chances of making it to the World Cup finals in Russia as Nigeria booked their ticket.

Image source, Facebook

A senior aide to the speaker of Ivory Coast's parliament has been arrested on suspicion of "possessing and distributing weapons to destabilise the state during an army mutiny earlier this year", Reuters news agency reports.

Souleymane Kamagaté, nicknamed "Soul to Soul", is an adviser to parliamentary speaker and former rebel leader Guillaume Soro.

Analysts point to a deepening rift between President Allasane Ouattara and Mr Soro, with the speaker tipped as a main contender for the presidency as Mr Ouattara will not be eligible to run for another term in 2020.

Soldiers are alleged to have used weapons stashed in Mr Kamagaté's home during a four-day mutiny in May.

State Prosecutor Christophe Adou said the cache included six tonnes of guns and ammunition, following a state-ordered investigation.

A spokesperson for Mr Soro has said in statement that Mr Kamagaté "is a strong man who will remain dignified".

Mr Soro led an uprising in northern Ivory Coast, President Ouattara's stronghold, between 2002 and 2011 which helped Mr Ouattara to power after his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat in the 2010 election.

Image source, AFP

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's decision to appoint a minister of cyber security and threat detection coincides with the growth of social media and internet-based media groups, the BBC's Shingai Nyoka reports from the capital, Harare.

Zimbabwe's media laws are repressive, but the government has been struggling to regulate the new news outlets because some of them are based outside the country, she adds.

Mr Mugabe and his family have accused them of spreading "fake news" while Patrick Chinamasa - who has been given the new post - warned last month that the government would treat social media as a security threat.

Mr Chinamsa, a lawyer, would be responsible for introducing a cyber crimes bill to criminalise the posting of false information on the internet, revenge porn, cyber-bullying and online activity against the government, Reuters news agency reports.

Image source, EPA

The government has been uneasy about social media after pastor Evan Mawararire spearheaded the formation of the #ThisFlag movement last year.

It organized a stay-at-home demonstration, the biggest anti-government protest in a decade, Reuters reports.

See earlier post for more details.

Voting is under way in Liberia's election to choose a new leader.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for helping bring peace after civil war all but destroyed her country, closes the page on two terms in office.

Our colleague Charlotte Attwood has sent these photos of people waiting patiently in line to vote at St Theresa convent near the capital Monrovia's seafront.

She reports that some of the elderly have brought plastic chairs to sit on, including 70-year-old Charles Daniel who says "we want a good leader, not a ruler".

Just over two million people are registered to vote in the election.

Earlier this morning on BBC Newsday, presenter Bola Mosuro spoke to some of those who were first in line at the University of Monrovia:

Read more on the BBC News website.

There are more than 100 photo studios in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, where people can choose their favourite fantasy photo backdrop to transport themselves to almost anywhere they wish.

Rihanna and 50 Cent are popular choices for celebrity-mad youngsters, while older generations tend to pose in front of Western-style houses with all the fittings.

They say the photo booths allow them to cast themselves in the lives they want to live, away from the conflict troubling their country.

More highlights from BBC Newsday.

Gunmen have opened fire at a university in Kenya, killing two female staff members and wounding several others, including students, Reuters news agency has quoted an unnamed police official and witnesses as saying.

A student, who did not want to be named, said she and other students fled their vehicle when the gunmen opened fire at the Technical University of Mombasa's campus in coastal Kwale county, Reuters reports.

She told the agency that she had seen blood-covered students being carried from the building as police descended on the campus.

A driver and two policemen were among the injured, a police official who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said.

The motive for the attack was unclear.

Image source, Reuters

Liberians are going to the polls to choose a successor to Africa's first elected female president and Nobel Peace laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Ex-football star George Weah and Vice-President Joseph Boakai are the main contenders in the race to succeed her.

Liberia, founded by freed US slaves in the 19th Century, has not had a smooth transfer of power in 73 years.

Ms Sirleaf urged people to vote peacefully in a nation still recovering from a 14-year civil war.

Read the full story on the BBC News website here.

Image source, AFP

More than 50 million people in Nigeria, out of a population of about 180 million, have no access to electricity, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has said.

Speaking at the Financial Times Africa Summit in London yesterday, he said the government had embarked on measures to improve electricity access - including providing solar power to 20,000 homes in rural villages.

He added:

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has stripped his powerful deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, of the post of of justice minister, in what is seen as an attempt to weaken him as the battle to succeed the 93-year-old leader intensifies.

The move comes days after First Lady Grace Mugabe warned of a possible coup plot, and the other Vice-President, Phelekezela Mphoko, accused Mr Mnangagwa of lying when he alleged that he had been poisoned at a rally addressed by the president in August.

Mr Mnangagwa and Mrs Mugabe are said to head rival factions jostling to succeed Mr Mugabe when he steps down or dies.

Image source, AFP

The latest reshuffle is likely to increase the influence of the faction allied with Mrs Mugabe, some analysts say.

The justice ministry, key in overseeing general elections next year, has been given to head of intelligence and retired army general Happyton Bonyongwe.

For the first time, Mr Mugabe also appointed a minister of cyber security and threat detection, raising fears of a crackdown on social media.

The post will be held by Patrick Chinamasa, who has been removed as finance minister in favour of Ignatious Chombo, a relative of Mr Mugabe.

In total 10 ministers were moved to other portfolios, at least four lost their posts and eight new appointments were made in a reshuffle that came after Mr Mugabe warned at the weekend that he intended to sack non-performers.

Mr Mugabe is due contest next year's election, with his main challenger being veteran opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mr Mugabe has been in power since independence in 1980.

Our African proverb of the day:

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