Louise Dewast
BBC Africa

Togo's parliament has voted to reinstate the two-term limit for presidents, but the change does not apply to the current leader.

President Faure Gnassingbé will be eligible to run in future elections in 2020 and 2025, meaning he could potentially remain in power until 2030.

Opposition politicians wanted the new cap to apply to President Gnassingbé but the ruling party proposal won out.

The announcement was made shortly before midnight after 90 out 91 MPs cast a secret ballot in favour of the constitutional revisions.

Image source, AFP

The matter has stirred controversy in recent years.

Yet the changes are not so surprising given that two-thirds of the representatives are allied to the governing party, following last year's legislative election which the opposition boycotted.

During a debate in parliament, several MPs threatened to boycott the vote over a proposal to also extend the presidential mandate to seven years.

In the end, lawmakers voted to stick with five years.

The Gnassingbé family is the longest-running political dynasty in Africa - Faure Gnassingbé succeeded his father in 2005 after his more than 50 years of autocratic rule.

British-Ghanaian artist Sarah Owusu discovered her artistic skills while overcoming Bell's Palsy, a health condition that causes temporary paralysis of facial muscles, external.

When she woke up one morning with one side of her face paralysed, she reacted by grabbing a brush and painting.

Now healed, she tells BBC Focus on Africa's Hannah Ajala that she devotes her artistic energies to representing African and black beauty:

Listen here:

More than a third of votes have now been counted in South Africa's general election.

Of those the governing ANC has secured a share of almost 56%, putting it well ahead of the Democratic Alliance's 25% and the Economic Freedom Fighters' 9%.

Data coming in from South Africa's electoral commission , externalalso indicated that voter turnout this time around has been the lowest since South Africa became a multi-ethnic democracy in 1994, as the BBC's Pumza Fihlani reports:

"It's been hovering at just over 70% in previous national votes. About 73.41% cast their ballots in 2014. What does this decline tell us, voter apathy?"

Image source, Getty Images

A British man convicted by a Kenyan court of illegally possessing bomb-making materials is set to be sentenced on Thursday.

Jermain Grant was arrested in 2011 after batteries and chemicals were discovered in his apartment in the coastal city of Mombasa.

The privately-owned Daily Nation newspaper, external reported that Grant was convicted last month after the court proved that chemicals found in his possession were intended to be used for make a bomb for a deadly terrorist act.

The newspaper also said the judge who read the verdict cited the literature found in Grant's residence and information retrieved from a flash disk as compelling evidence.

Zimbabwean-born scholar Tererai Trent has been named one of the 10 most inspiring women in the world as part of an initiative called "Sculpted for Equal Rights", the Herald newspaper reports, external.

A life-size bronze statue of the US-based academic will be unveiled alongside those of other honorees at Rockefeller Centre in New York City on August 26. She shared her excitement in a tweet:

The monument is intended to recognise Ms Trent for her role in promoting equality and empowerment for girls and women.

It will stand alongside new statues of other prominent women such as media mogul Oprah Winfrey, actress Nicole Kidman, conservationist Jane Goodall, actress Cate Blanchett, activist Janet Mock, chemist Tracy Dyson, author Cheryl Strayed and Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC Africa, Abuja

Image source, AFP

The government in northern Nigeria’s Kano state has approved a law to split the 200-year-old Kano emirate into five.

The controversial move is seen by many as a strategy to weaken the current emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, who has been critical of the government.

But the authorities say his emirate - the largest in the country - has been broken up with the aim of moving the traditional institution closer to the people.

The emir of Kano - one of the most influential traditional and religious leaders in Nigeria - will now be left with just one-fifth of his domain.

The four new emirates are Rano, Gaya, Karaye and Bichi. The district heads of these areas were answerable to the emir of Kano but they will now have equal status as him.

Emir Sanusi - a former governor of Nigeria’s central bank - has not yet commented on the decision.

Read: The 'modernising approach' of the emir

Some people on Twitter are suggesting that the Uefa Champions League final to be played in the Spanish city of Madrid in June will be a "Kenyan affair".

Two Kenyan footballers are part of two different teams that qualified for the champions league.

Divock Origi, a Belgium-born Kenyan footballer, helped Liverpool defeat Barcelona by scoring two goals on Tuesday.

Tottenham Hotspur defeated Ajax on Wednesday, giving its Kenyan midfielder Victor Wanyama the ticket to play against Liverpool at the Champions League final.

Wanyama's brother, McDonald Mariga, won the Champions League with Inter Milan in 2010 and was the first Kenyan to play top level football in Italy and Spain.

Origi and Wanyama will meet in Madrid in June.

Nairobi city governor Mike Sonko is among those who tweeted:

Other people tweeted how history would be made if Wanyama's team won the Champions League:

Image source, EPA

Opposition parties in South Africa have raised concerns about possible voter fraud in Wednesday's general election, local media reports say.

Local daily TimesLive, external says the centrist Democratic Alliance (DA) raised 600 concerns with the electoral agency, claiming double voting was the most pressing issue.

The newspaper says the Economic Freedom Fighters also submitted a letter to the electoral commission, raising their concerns.

However, the governing African National Congress (ANC) dismissed the claims as "hullabaloo", saying voter fraud could be easily detected if it took place.

Mike Moriarty of the DA said the ink used to mark voters' thumbs was removable and this could allow people to vote twice.

“We have raised concerns about possible fraud,” he said, adding that many machines to scan voters' IDs at polling stations were not working.

The small Congress of the People (Cope) party raised similar concerns.

One of its MPs, Deidre Carter, said she could have voted at five polling stations if she wanted to.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said it was investigating two cases of people being able to cast more their one vote at different polling stations.

The IEC said it viewed the allegations in a serious light, and had launched an investigation.

"Fortunately, the election process contains a number of checks and safeguards which together serve to protect the integrity of the process," it added.

Sudanese protest leaders have called for a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience to pressure the military to transfer power to a civilian government.

However, the military has suggested it may call elections within six months if talks with opposition activists fail to reach an agreement on the structure of an interim government.

Hajooj Kooka of Girifna, a non-violent resistance movement in Sudan, told BBC Newsday's Bola Masuro about the potential dangers of the military delaying the transfer of power:

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

A senior member of Burundi's electoral commission has called for the independent media to be barred from covering next year's presidential poll.

Jean Anastase Hicuburundi said the independent media had tried to bring the country to its knees and had a mission to create chaos.

He said it was responsible for the violence that engulfed Burundi after the presidential election in 2015, when President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a third term in office.

Burundi recently banned BBC and Voice of America journalists from working in the country.

Find out more about Burundi

Image source, Reuters

Votes are being counted in South Africa following Wednesday's tightly contested parliamentary and provincial election.

Leading political analyst Dawie Scholtz says the mainly Afrikaner Freedom Front Plus is making "huge inroads", the initial turnout data appears to strongly favour the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), while the governing African National Congress (ANC) is "up and down in different places".

Of course, it is still early days - and we will just have to wait for the final result to see whether Mr Scholtz is right.

Andrew Harding
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Getty Images

In poor townships and wealthy suburbs, people voted on Wednesday in large numbers in a general election many believe could be the most closely contested in the country’s democratic history.

Many voters said they’d been persuaded to give the governing ANC another chance, hoping that it’s new leader, President Cyril Ramaphosa, can put an end to a decade of misrule and economic stagnation.

Casting his vote, Mr Ramaphosa apologised for what he described as sleaze and rampant corruption.

The leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), Mmusi Maimane urged people not to fear change and to back his multi-racial party.

Although the ANC is likely to win the national parliamentary election, it faces a tight contest for control of several key provinces.

The populist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) could well emerge as an influential force.

Read: Can Ramaphosa call time on corruption?

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

Swedish fashion giant H&M says it’s committed to ensuring that workers who produce some of its items from Ethiopian factories receive fair wages.

This follows the release of a report, external which revealed that Ethiopian labourers at garment workshops are the worst-paid in the world.

H&M is among fashion brands that source items from Ethiopia. Others include Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.

The report, by researchers for the New York University Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, found that on average employees received $26 (£20) a month, making it difficult for them to “afford decent housing, food or transportation.”

In a statement to the BBC, H&M, which works with nine suppliers in Ethiopia, said that it had already put in place strategies to ensure fair living wages and was pushing for the empowerment of workers and making fair negotiations possible.

“Since we began sourcing from Ethiopia in 2013, around 18,000 jobs have been created. However, as a company we need to ensure that the growth created is sustainable and contributes to a positive development,” H&M spokeswoman Ulrika Isaksson said.

“This is why we have our own production office in Addis Ababa; enabling us to have a direct dialogue with the government, as well as making collaborations possible.” Ms Isaksson added.

Image source, Reuters

Meanwhile, US retailer Gap has told the BBC that the fashion house was erroneously included in the report as “it currently doesn’t source any items from Ethiopia”.

The firm said the authors of the report would be issuing a correction later on Thursday.

Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing economies in the world but unemployment rates are high while workers on average receive much lower salaries and wages compared to neighboring countries like Kenya and Sudan.

Abdalla Dzungu
BBC Swahili

Image source, Mdude Nyagali/Facebook

Tanzanian opposition activist Mdude Nyagali, who was abducted on Saturday by masked gunmen, has been found dumped in a bush near a village in the south-western Mbeya region, local media reports say.

He appeared to have been tortured, looked weak, and had difficulty speaking, residents from Makwenje village are quoted as saying.

He was taken to hospital for treatment.

Mr Nyagali is a member of the main opposition Chadema party, and a strong critic of President John Magufuli on social media.

The party accused police of abducting him from his office on Saturday. Police denied the allegation.

Read: Five things Magufuli has banned

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

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Clare Spencer & Ashley Lime

That's all from BBC Africa Live for now. 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 today's wise words:

The French fashion house Christian Dior has sparked debate after it released its new range which uses wax print made in Ivory Coast:

Image source, Getty Images

For the past week commentators have been debating whether Dior has crossed the line from cultural appreciation into cultural appropriation.

This debate about whether international fashion houses exploit African culture may feel familiar.

The BBC’s Mayeni Jones reported in 2017 that blankets from Lesotho had found themselves at the centre of controversy after Louis Vuitton used the blankets in a menswear range.

An organisation promoting African luxury businesses is clear that on this occasion it sees Dior as crossing the line:

Africa Luxury Connect says, external thousands of people got in touch after it called out Dior.

In particular it flagged up, external one comment from indigo dyer Aboubakar Fofana. The Frenchman of Malian heritage said that he can "never agree with the use of wax print to symbolise African-ness".

And that's where the debate, on this occasion, gets more complicated.

That's because the wax print company that Dior worked with, Uniwax, is part of the fabric company Vlisco - which is from Holland. Vlisco had been designing and making wax print in Holland and then selling it in West Africa for more than 100 years.

But this is all something that Dior’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri confirmed she was well-aware of in an interview with Vogue, external:

Politicians from Sudanese parties allied to former President Omar al-Bashir have been filmed fighting each other with chairs:

The BBC's Mohanad Hashim has tweeted, external that the brawling men were from parties which had been invited to meet Sudan's military leaders - but instead they started to fight each other.

The transitional military council has rejected a list of proposals for an interim government given to them by protest leaders and insisted that Sharia remain the basis of the country's new laws.

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

It is a special day for millions South Africans who voted in the sixth democratic election since the end of apartheid.

But for me it has been particularly special because I voted with my 18-year-old son Kgosietsile.

The exercise brought back so many memories.

I thought about the year I turned 18 - when black people were not allowed to vote because of white-minority rule.

I also thought about the day I voted for the first time back in 1994 – when we voted Nelson Mandela into power.

I asked Kgosi how it felt to be part of the democratic revolution.

He said: ”You know Dad, it’s very exciting, as a first-time voter, there’s this euphoria around you that makes you feel like you’re making a difference.”