Image source, Reuters

Kenya's opposition politician Miguna Miguna, who is being held at the country's main airport following a standoff over his citizenship status, has told BBC's Focus on Africa programme in a phone interview that he is being held in a toilet.

He said that he has not eaten today and that he has only been visited by an official from the Canadian embassy and a Kenyan human rights activist.

Mr Miguna added that he has been mistreated by Kenyan officials.

Mr Miguna arrived in Kenya on Monday afternoon and has been held at the airport since then.

Kenyan officials say that he does not have Kenyan citizenship and is instead a national of Canada, where they deported him last month.

A court ordered Mr Miguna to appear before it today, but officials did not let him go.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, Getty Images

Egypt's National Election Authority has warned that eligible voters who do not vote in the ongoing presidential election will be fined 500 Egyptian pounds ($28; £20), the state-run Channel One TV reports.

More than 59 million Egyptians are eligible to vote in the three-day presidential election that began on 26 March.

The country's incumbent president, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, is widely expected to win a second term in the controversial polls.

His sole opponent is little-known head of the liberal Al-Ghad Party, Moussa Mostafa Moussa, who has previously said he supports Mr Sisi.

Two opposition candidates withdrew from the race amid allegations of intimidation while a third, General Sami Anan, was arrested.

Mr Sisi led the military's overthrow of then President Mohammed Morsi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.

Since then, he has overseen what human rights group say is an unprecedented crackdown on dissent that has led to the detention of tens of thousands of people.

He has also faced an insurgency by jihadist militants based in the Sinai Peninsula, who have killed hundreds of security personnel and civilians in attacks.

Results of this year's vote are expected on 2 April.

Read more: Egypt election - voters to elect president

Hundreds of people are protesting in Kenya against the detention of opposition politician Miguna Miguna.

Mr Miguna flew into the country on Monday following his deportation to Canada last month.

Kenyan officials said last month that he had renounced his citizenship in 1988 when he became a Canadian.

Mr Miguna disputes this saying that he has a Kenyan identity card and was allowed to contest the Nairobi governor race in last year's election.

His supporters have blocked the main highway between the Kisumu and Kakamega in western Kenya.

Some are carrying signs reading "no Miguna, no peace" and wearing t-shirts that read "resist".

Mr Miguna was due to appear before a Kenyan court this morning but officials failed to present him.

A judge then ruled that Mr Miguna and three senior government officials must appear this afternoon but the deadline for them to do so has passed.

Image source, Getty Images

The captain of Australia's cricket team, Steve Smith, has left South Africa after revelations he and two of his teammates had tampered with the ball.

The team had been competing in their third test with South Africa when it was discovered the Australian cricketer Cameron Bancroft had rubbed the ball with sandpaper.

Both Mr Smith and his teammate David Warner then claimed the paper was just yellow tape.

They received a one-year ban from Cricket Australia while Mr Bancroft was suspended for nine months.

Australia went on to lose the test match by 322 runs.

Read more: Drying it, cleaning it, even smelling it... five memorable ball-tampering controversies

The human rights organisation Amnesty International has condemned Kenya's refusal to let opposition lawmaker Miguna Miguna appear before court.

The politician, who was deported from Kenya in February, has been held at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport since arriving on Monday.

Kenyan officials had deported him to Canada following his role in the mock swearing-in of opposition leader Raila Odinga.

They said that Mr Miguna did not hold Kenyan citizenship but only Canadian nationality.

A judge asked him to appear before court this morning to determine his status but the state failed to present him.

He is due to come to court now.

Image source, Getty Images

Kenyan politicians have been holding standing meetings to protest against delays in the renovation of their assembly building, The Standard news site reports, external.

The representatives of Kihingo ward in southwestern Kenya are having to work out of a large hall as their chambers get renovated.

They are refusing to sit on the plastic chairs in the hall, where they have been working since their swearing-in seven months ago.

Antony Rotich, a ward representative, told the news site that it was embarrassing for lawmakers to be seen using plastic chairs.

Speaker Philip Wanjohi said that the Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) are finding it difficult to "discharge their duties seated on plastic chairs", The Standard reports.

Image source, Getty Images

Opposition figures in Ethiopia have been reacting to the announcement of Abiy Ahmed as the chairman of the ruling EPRDF coalition.

Mr Abiy is now set to be named as prime minister.

Yeshiwas Assefa, head of the opposition Blue Party, called on Mr Abiy to engage in "comprehensive dialogue... including the release of prisoners of conscience."

He added:

Oromo activist Jawar Mohammed, who is based in the US, congratulated Mr Abiy in a Facebook post, saying that he's earned "a unique opportunity."

He added:

Mohamud Ali
BBC Planning Editor, East Africa

Image source, Getty Images

A court hearing about the status and citizenship of Kenyan politician Miguna Miguna has been adjourned to later this afternoon, after the state failed to produce the opposition supporter.

The presiding judge has also ordered the Inspector General of Police, the Minister of the Interior and a senior immigration official to appear before the court.

Mr Miguna arrived in Kenya on Monday but was detained at the airport for two nights after he was refused to board a flight to Dubai.

He had been deported from Kenya in February after he participated in the mock swearing-in of opposition leader Raila Odinga.

At the time, Kenyan officials said he did not have Kenyan citizenship and sent him to Canada, where he holds citizenship.

The US government has announced that it is ending a programme that protects Liberian citizens who live in the country, Time magazine reports., external

The Deferred Enforcement Departure, which began under former President Bill Clinton, allows Liberians to live and work legally in the US.

It’s similar to another programme called Temporary Protected Status, which the Trump administration also has worked to scale back.

The programme was set up to give refuge to victims of one of the most horrific massacres in the Liberian Civil War.

In a memorandum issued on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said Liberia was “no longer experiencing armed conflict” and has made “significant progress in restoring stability and democratic governance.”

“Liberia has also concluded reconstruction from prior conflicts, which has contributed significantly to an environment that is able to handle adequately the return of its nationals,” he added.

The order gave the affected 839 people a year to return to Liberia.

The protections will expire on 31 March 2019.

Liberia had its first smooth handover of power last year when football star George Weah won the election to replace Africa's first elected female head of state, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

A US senator has tweeted that she will fight the order:

Read: Liberia - the country where citizenship depends on your skin colour, external

Image source, Getty Images

South African officials have apologised to the King of Lesotho following allegations that he was mistreated at the two countries' border, IOL news reports, external.

South Africa's Foreign Affairs Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has offered to travel to Lesotho to apologise in person to King Letsie III.

Ms Sisulu's spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mabaya told the news site TimesLIVE, external that there are problems with how the border operates.

"There are dedicated lines for South African and Lesotho citizens. The Lesotho line is always long and the South African line is always short or sometimes empty," Mr Mabaya said. "The Basotho people feel they are not being fairly treated. There are also issues about how long it takes for them to get passports and permits."

There are reports that some Basotho may block the border crossing, following the treatment of the king.

South Africa's Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba is en route to the border to deal with this issue.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, Getty Images

The Herald, the state-owned Zimbabwean newspaper, has published an opinion piece, external titled "US, opposition collusion: Zim deserves better."

In the article, the paper says that historically Zimbabwe fought hard for its "electoral democracy" while the US "circumvented UN sanctions to buy Rhodesian [the former name for Zimbabwe] chrome."

The paper continues: "We are a proud people with a revered history of stolid, defiant protest to all forms of domination which is why even after close to two decades of an illegal economic sanctions regime, our people have not [caved] in and continue giving Westerners and their surrogates in opposition politics, the cold shoulder at the polls."

The article also attacks the US for not lifting sanctions on Zimbabwe, following France's decision to "advocate the complete removal of the EU economic sanctions regime."

The Herald says that demands made by the US as a precondition for re-engagement mirror those made by Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change - implying that the US is siding with the opposition, which the paper calls a "puppet".

Earlier this month, the US extended sanctions against Zimbabwe as other Western countries indicate a willingness to engage with the new government.

The country is also gearing up for elections which must be held before August 2018.

The Mozambican journalist and political commentator Ericino de Salema is in hospital with serious injuries after he was abducted on Tuesday by unidentified men, local media reports.

He was found unconscious on a road outside the capital, Maputo hours later.

He had been receiving death threats:

Mr Salema is a resident political commentator on one of Mozambique’s leading television shows, STV’s Pontos da Vista, on which he has often criticised government policies.

He is the second commentator on the same TV show to be attacked in this way.

In May 2016, Jose Jaime Macuane, a political analyst, was abducted and shot four times in the legs.

Dewa Mavhinga, southern Africa director at Human Rights Watch, called on the authorities to investigate Mr Salema's kidnapping, adding: "Human Rights Watch has documented at least 10 other cases that are still unresolved. Failure to address these crimes only serve[s] to entrench an environment of impunity and fear."

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC Africa, Nairobi

After days of intense debate and negotiations, the leaders of Ethiopia's governing coalition have chosen Abiy Ahmed to be their new leader.

Six other candidates were gunning for the position.

He is from the Oromo ethnic group, which has been at the centre of anti-government protests since 2015.

Mr Abiy will now be put forward for the position of prime minister after the council approved the resignation of the outgoing premier, Hailemariam Desalegn.

Mr Abiy is seen as an astute politician with impressive academic and military credentials.

He holds a doctorate from Addis Ababa University and has Masters degrees from the US and UK.

He previously served as a cabinet minister and was instrumental in setting up the country’s intelligence agency.

His critics, however, have cast doubt on whether he will be allowed enough room and power to institute reforms demanded by the demonstrators.

Hundreds of people have died and many more have been detained since protests began in the country nearly three years ago.

For more on Mr Abiy listen to this short audio profile:

A court in South Africa has sentenced a woman to three years in for using racist language.

Vicki Momberg was caught on video using a racially offensive word 48 times against police officers who were helping her after a robbery.

The Johannesburg court also gave her a one year suspended sentence.

Ms Momberg, an estate agent, was caught on video in 2016 hurling insults and complaining about the “calibre of blacks in Johannesburg compared to black people in Durban" – where she was based.

The court had already found her guilty of four counts of "crimen injuria" or injury to someone's dignity - one for each of the officers who was verbally assaulted.

Ms Momberg's lawyer has argued that her client was traumatised by the smash-and-grab incident and that she did not have full control of her faculties when she began abusing the police officers, IOL news site reports., external

Ms Momberg had said she would lodge an appeal against any sentencing.

Image source, Getty Images

The Uganda Communications Commission has suspended 23 radio stations for advertising and promoting witchcraft, news site the East African reports, external.

Describing the stations as lacking "minimum broadcasting standards," the commission said they had ignored a public notice from 2014 warning broadcasters against promoting witchcraft.

It further added that the stations had enabled fraudulent behaviour by hosting alleged healers on the show.

Pamela Ankunda, a spokesperson for the commission, told the East African that the stations will be allowed back on air if they agree to comply with broadcasting standards.

According to the news site, Uganda has around 270 radio stations and competition for advertising is fierce.

Some Ugandan stations have accepted adverts from herbalists and people who sell charms, prompting the witchcraft allegations.

Our African proverb of the day:

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Welcome back to BBC Africa Live,where we will bring you the latest news and views from around the continent.

And keep scrolling down if you want to catch up on the news from around the continent on Monday and Tuesday.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live page today. Keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast or checking the BBC News website.

A reminder of Tuesday's wise words:

Click here and scroll to the bottom to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this photo of Bob Marley's son Rohan having fun in Cape Town. He is currently on a cultural tour of South Africa:

Security is tight at Egyptian polling stations as residents arrived to cast their vote on the second day of the presidential election:

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

But the heavily armed guards do not appear to be worrying to many voters - with some even grabbing the opportunity to grab a selfie with a soldier:

Image source, Getty Images

Chimezie Ucheagbo
BBC Igbo, Lagos

Image source, AFP

News of the death Sergei Mavrodi, the Russian founder of the MMM Ponzi scheme, has reopened wounds for some of the three million Nigerians who lost their fortune in 2017.

A man in his thirties from south-eastern Nigeria has told BBC Igbo how his 3.7m naira ($10,290; £7,270) investment vanished:

The investor, who asked to remain anonymous, says he was introduced to the pyramid scheme by his friends.

It proved popular because of such introductions - a member would get commission after recruiting more investors.

A member’s first investment would get paid directly to another member - the idea being that after 30 days every member would reap profits of at least 30% on their investment.

The Nigerian government and senate warned against the scheme, but MMM advertised aggressively and used community forums and church meetings to recruit members.

In December 2016 MMM froze its accounts in Nigeria as there wasn’t enough money to pay out.

The victim who revealed his story to BBC Igbo said it was inevitable that it would fail at some stage as it relies on new members to keep going.