Image source, Getty Images

More than 40 opposition party supporters have been arrested in Jinja, eastern Uganda ahead of a by-election on Thursday, the Daily Monitor reports, external.

Police in Jinja said they arrested the Forum for Democratic Change supporters on charges of malicious damage and threatening violence.

The group had gathered for a meeting about their candidate, Paul Mwiru, who is contesting the Jinja Municipality East seat.

The country's president, Yoweri Museveni was in Jinja yesterday to campaign for Nathan Igeme Nabeta of his National Resistance Movement party.

Mr Nabeta won the seat in February 2016 but the Court of Appeal subsequently nullified his victory, saying it was based on fraudulent polls.

Image source, NTV

A Ugandan MP, who was quoted by local media last weekend saying it was okay for husbands to slap their wives in order to discipline them, has apologised.

In a statement in parliament, Onesmus Twinamasiko asked fellow MPs and the Ugandan public to accept his "most sincere and unreserved apologies."

He says that his words were never meant to condone violence against women and that he respects women’s dignity and is against all forms of violence.

This, despite the fact that Mr Twinamasiko told the BBC in a interview on Monday that he has slapped his wife at least once.

The legislator said that beating one’s wife was okay, as long as it did not cause injuries.

His comments caused an uproar on social media in Uganda with many denouncing his remarks.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

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One of Somalia's first pilots, Mohamud Abdullahi Barre “Faytaan”, has passed away in the Somali capital Mogadishu aged 90, Radio Dalsan reports, external.

Mr Barre received his piloting licence in 1954 and was one of the first pilots to join the Somali Air Force.

He later became one of the founders of Somali Airlines, which ceased operations in 1991 - along with the country's air force.

Both institutions disintegrated after the start of the country's civil war, led by the dictator Mohamed Siyad Barre.

Turkey is currently training the first batch of Somali Air Force pilots since the 1991 collapse.

BBC World Service

More than 8,000 Ethiopians have fled their homes and crossed the border into Kenya after the Ethiopian military killed at least nine civilians at the weekend.

The Kenyan Red Cross says most of those fleeing are women and children and the number is still increasing.

The Ethiopian authorities admitted that the civilians were killed by mistake during an operation against rebels of the Oromo Liberation Front.

Eyewitnesses have described how people were indiscriminately shot. One said he had seen a soldier approach an old man and shoot him through the neck.

Image source, Getty Images

Artists from the Ivory Coast gathered last night at the Goethe-Institut in Abidjan to mark the second anniversary of the Islamist attack at the Grand Bassam resort which killed 18 people.

Among the dead was Henrike Grohs, the then head of the Goethe-Institut.

Both the institute and the Grohs family established a biennial prize for African artists in Ms Grohs' memory.

The first recipient of the €20.000 ($25.000, £17.800) award was the Cameroonian artist Em'kal Eyongakpa.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

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South Africa's opposition party, the Democratic Alliance says it will seek legal action to compel former president Jacob Zuma to refund more than $1.3 million of public money.

Mr Zuma spent the sum on his legal fees during a corruption investigation relating to a 1999 arms deal.

The president faced more 18 charges but denied the allegations and the charges were dropped.

The opposition argues that the case was a personal issue and it wants a reassurance from President Cyril Ramaphosa that no more public money will be spent on Mr Zuma's legal fees.

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A young woman who has spoken to the BBC about an attempted rape by her university lecturer may be one of thousands of similarly victimised students.

Monica, not her real name, alleges that her lecturer at Makerere University offered to give her extra tuition on a Sunday but ended up leading her to his apartment where he tried to rape her.

In January, a government-mandated report found that over 50% of female and about 40% of male students called sexual harassment a major cause of discontent on campus, the BBC's Patience Atuhaire reports.

The report added that in some colleges, sexual harassment was "rampant" and "had become the norm".

"We have got a policy, and it says Makerere University will have zero tolerance to sexual harassment," Barnabas Nawangwe, the university's vice-chancellor told Patience.

"The only deficiency I see in it, is that it doesn't define sanctions for people of whom a complaint is made and they do not carry that issue further," he said.

"And we are going to deal with this."

Since taking office, Mr Nawangwe says five senior staff implicated for harassing students have been dismissed.

Read more: Uganda's Makerere University: 'My lecturer tried to rape me'

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

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Australia is looking into fast-tracking visas for white South African farmers who want to relocate to the country, its Home Affairs Minister Peter Minister Dutton has said, the UK Guardian reports., external

He said white South African farmers "deserve special attention" because of the "horrific circumstances" of land seizures and violence in the country.

Mr Dutton said he had asked his department to look at the options “because from what I have seen they do need help from a civilised country like ours”.

White farmers own 73% of agricultural ground as of December 2016, news site City Press reported last year., external

They make up less than 10% of the population, however.

Calls for land expropriation without compensation has been gaining momentum since President Cyril Ramaphosa came to power in the last few months.

The policy is supported by the majority black population, who see it as a way of addressing inequality.

A motion of land expropriation without pay was supported by the majority of MPs, including from the ruling ANC and many other smaller parties.

It was however rejected by the main opposition the Democratic Alliance and some other opposition parties.

Alana Bailey, the Deputy CEO of AfriForum, a South African group that champions the rights of Afrikaner community, welcomed the Australian minister's comments.

She added the South African government should take heed from the words and stop using the white-minority as "scapegoats for problems in the country and treat them as second class citizens".

She added:

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Guinea's teachers' union has called off its month-long strike after reaching an agreement with the country's government, the news agency AFP reports.

Lawmakers have said they will guarantee a 40% pay rise which was agreed in 2017 but never fully implemented.

The two sides will also negotiate further about a base salary of $880 (£630) for the teachers whose strike paralysed Guinea's education system.

"Each of us put the interests of Guinea first, through the children who should be back at school," said Mohamed Said Fofana, a mediator for the government.

The teachers held protests last year in which several people died.

BBC World Service

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A former bodyguard for the Rwandan president Paul Kagame says he has been warned by the British police that his life is in danger from the Rwandan government.

Noble Marara has refugee status in Britain and is an outspoken critic of President Paul Kagame.

He recently published a book in which he accused Mr Kagame's rebel group of shooting down the plane carrying the former president - an event seen as a trigger to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Mr Marara also accused Mr Kagamae of committing atrocities during the genocide.

The president has repeatedly denied this accusation and his government has denied previous reports of plots to kill dissidents.

It's a question that has been debated a lot over the years - both on the continent and within the diaspora.

South African YouTubers Pap Culture, external have been exploring this by having difficult conversations about xenophobia in the country, as well as celebrating traditional culture.

The BBC's Lebo Diseko went to meet them in Cape Town.

Image source, Getty Images

Bad news for Burundi which has come last in the UN's annual World Happiness Report.

The index ranked 156 countries based on factors including life expectancy, social freedom and absence of corruption.

Top of the chart was Finland, which rose from fifth place to push out Norway.

In 2016, Burundi came bottom of the list, but rose to 154th place in 2017, when the Central African Republic was found to be the least happiest country.

Burundi plunged into crisis when President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for re-election to a third term in 2015 sparked protests by opposition supporters who said the move was unconstitutional.

Burundi country profile

A South African journalist has shared videos of people protesting on the streets of Johannesburg against what they call "false prophets".

The protesters are carrying placards with messages condemning the church leaders.

In another video one of the protesters says that the popular and controversial pastor Shepherd Bushiri had tried to stop the march.

There have been several cases in South Africa of religious leaders claiming to be 'miracle workers'.

Shepherd Bushiri is one of the most prominent preachers, he claims that he can walk on air.

Image source, AFP/Getty

Ugandan soldiers have detained a street preacher over allegations he was recruiting young people into a South Sudanese rebel group, the Ugandan Monitor reports, external.

The Ugandan People's Defence Forces arrested Pastor Jorom Opio in the northern city of Lira after he had been heard talking about his role as a recruiter.

According to an unnamed security official, there are "credible clues and evidence" that Mr Opio was recruiting young people into the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition.

The rebel group is trying to overthrow the government of South Sudan President Salva Kiir.

Last year, Mr Opio represented the rebels at peace talks with the South Sudanese government.

Image source, AFP/Getty

South Africa's former President Jacob Zuma acted as a de-facto editor at the Gupta family's news channel ANN7, a new book alleges.

Rajesh Sundaram, the broadcaster's first editor when the channel launched in 2013, says that Mr Zuma picked presenters, helped arrange government advertising and determined the channel's editorial leaning, Huffington Post South Africa reports, external.

The Guptas have since sold ANN7 while South African police have issued warrants for their arrests over allegations of state capture.

In Indentured: Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV, Mr Sundaram writes that: "The news channel that I was heading would be a pro-ANC, pro-Zuma channel that was promoted and run by not only people close to President Zuma, but by President Zuma himself."

Mr Zuma's son, Duduzane, who has been subpoenaed by South Africa's parliament to testify in the state capture inquiry, owned a 30% stake in ANN7.

In his book, Mr Sundaram calls this a "clear conflict of interest" since Mr Zuma was helping the channel get government advertising, which his son would benefit from as a stakeholder.

Mr Sundaram also alleges that the Guptas flew in dozens of Indian workers to help staff the company, many of whom worked on tourist visas and earned less than their South African counterparts.

Mr Sundaram left ANN7 after just three months.

A Ghanaian computer teacher whose unusual teaching methods went viral last month has arrived at a Microsoft summit in Singapore.

Photos of Owura Kwadwo using a blackboard to draw a diagram of the Microsoft Word program were shared widely online as it was revealed he doesn't have a computer to teach students about the software.

"Teaching of ICT in Ghana's school is very funny," Owura said in a Facebook post alongside the photos (below).

Image source, INNOCENT FRIMPONG

Microsoft, which has offered Mr Kwadwo a computer, said he was attending its education summit in Singapore.

Read more on this story on the BBC website.

Image source, AFP

The president of Mauritius, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim has said she won't resign amid an ongoing financial scandal.

"Her Excellency Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, having nothing to feel guilty about and able to provide corroborating evidence, rejects any idea of resigning," she said in a statement.

Less than a week ago, Ms Gurib-Fakim offered to step down over allegations she'd used a charity's credit card to purchase personal items.

Ms Gurib-Fakim had received the card from the Planet Earth Institute where she worked as an unpaid director.

The card was intended to cover her travel expenses though she allegedly used it to buy thousands of dollars worth of clothes, jewellery and other items.

The president, Africa's only female head of state, refunded the money but said she would step down after Mauritius' 50th independence anniversary next week.

Read more: Mauritius President Gurib-Fakim to resign over financial scandal

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Sierra Leone is gearing up for a second election after failing to conclusively elect a new president.

On 27 March, Julius Maada Bio will face off against Samura Kamara, outgoing President Ernest Bai Koroma's successor.

In the first round of elections, Mr Bio, of the opposition Sierra Leone People's Party, won 43.3% of the vote, while Mr Samura took 42.7%.

The pair emerged from more than 16 presidential candidates in an election where neither the ruling party nor the main opposition party were certain to win all the seats.

Lawmakers in Kenya have asked police to rein in increasing incidents of cyber bullying.

In a discussion in parliament on Tuesday, they said that social media accounts had been set up with their names and that they had been receiving unsolicited messages including nude pictures.

Opposition MP Junet Mohamed, said "we have been bullied, seduced and the careers of some politicians have ended due to cyber-bullying,” the Daily Nation reports. , external

Lawmaker Kaptuya Cheboiwo added that, “male MPs think they are the only ones being seduced. We are also being seduced left, right and centre."

The leader of the majority Adan Duale said that he has also been a victim, saying that a blogger has been using his identity to solicit money from job seekers.

The MPs say they will summon the police chief and officials from mobile phone providers to query them on the issue.

Watch part of the session below:

Image source, The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa

South Africa's elite police unit, The Hawks, says it knows the whereabouts of the missing Gupta brothers, SABC News reports, external.

“We continue to monitor their movement[s]… we are doing the best that we can, in terms of making sure that we follow their movement[s] everywhere," Hangwani Mulaudzi, a spokesman for the Hawks told SABC.

"At the same time there is a lot of behind the scenes issues that we are dealing with, with Interpol."

Yesterday, the country's parliament announced it was subpoenaing the three Gupta brothers - Ajay, Atul and Rajesh - to appear before its inquiry into state capture.

They are alleged to have had undue influence of former President Jacob Zuma government, a claim that both parties deny.

The trio's whereabouts are currently unknown, though South African police have warrants out for their arrests.

Parliament also said it was subpoenaing the former chairwoman of South African Airways, Duduzane Myeni, and former President Zuma's son, Duduzane Zuma.

In response, the Guptas' lawyers sent a letter describing the inquiry as "an exercise in political show-boating," the news website Times LIVE reports, external.

Calling the proceedings "manifestly unfair and improper," the letter added that the three brothers were out of the country "for business reasons".