Didier Bikorimana
BBC Great Lakes Service

Image source, Getty Images

Nearly 100 Rwandans who fled to an island in Lake Kivu in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo to avoid getting Covid jabs have been repatriated to their country.

Two people are however said to be missing from the group of 101 Rwandans and a search operation is underway.

An official of Idjwi Island, Roger Ntambuka, told the BBC that the authorities were able to negotiate with the Rwandans to return home.

"There was no reason for these Rwandans to remain here. We were able to persuade them," he said.

He said the Rwandans, who comprised women, men and children, left for home in a boat.

The governor of Rwanda’s western province said he had no knowledge of the fleeing Rwandans and it’s not clear if authorities were involved in their repatriation.

Last week Burundian authorities expelled more than 10 Rwandans who had entered the country to escape mandatory vaccination back home.

Rwandans must be vaccinated to be allowed to use public transport, go to bars and restaurants or to attend public events.

Image source, NANA

A Nigerian woman has introduced girls from a conservative society in Sokoto to the world of mechanics.

Fatima Adamu, who is founder of the non-profit organisation Nana: Girls and Women Empowerment Initiative, has opened a workshop for the girls.

Some 25 young mechanic apprentices aged 18 and over are getting to the end of two years of training.

The girls applied for the rare opportunity and had a hard time convincing their parents to allow them to be trained in the male dominated field.

Ms Adamu told the BBC's Newsday that the girls were willing to learn, and proved wrong those in society who viewed the field as masculine.

"It is so empowering and it is something to be proud of," she said.

"They are making money out of it now and it is encouraging," she continued.

Ms Adamu was planning to end the training programme but a large number of girls have already reached out for the next intake.

She hopes the success of the first cohort has helped the society to accept that women too, can excel in that field.

The European Union has agreed to impose sanctions on Mali in line with measures already taken by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

ECOWAS agreed a raft of restrictions against Mali, including the suspension of financial transactions, over the interim authorities' failure to hold democratic elections next month as agreed following a 2020 military coup.

Paul Ejime is an African Affairs Analyst in Abuja. He says the “honeymoon period” of the military amongst Malians has waned and that “sanctions will hurt badly the common folk…that are already long-suffering”. However he believes while there is “no room for military rule… this is about global politics”.

(Picture: Colonel Assimi Goita speaks to the press at the Malian Ministry of Defence in Bamako, Mali, on August 19, 2020, after confirming his position as the president of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP). Credit: ANNIE RISEMBERG/AFP via Getty Images)

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa has handed power to the vice-president for three weeks.

This is as the president begins his annual leave on Friday.

The information ministry tweeted the statement from the government:

Image source, EFCC

A fake army general has been arrested after allegedly forging the signature of the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to commit fraud.

Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said Bolarinwa Oluwasegun, who was posing as an army general, defrauded Kodef Clearing Resources of over $650,000 (£475,000).

EFCC said the suspect claimed that he had been shortlisted for an appointment by the president but needed the money to pay some bribe to get the appointment.

Mr Oluwasegun has not said anything about the arrest and the EFCC said he would be prosecuted when they conclude investigations.

He was arrested at his home in Lagos on Wednesday where the EFCC said it found six pump action guns, a swagger stick and several forged documents.

The suspect was said to have forged an appointment letter as Nigeria’s chief of army staff signed by the president which he used to defraud the victim.

Image source, AFP

Malawi's health system is facing severe shortages of a local anaesthetic - Lidocaine - which is commonly used in labour wards.

Pregnant women have had to go through some important medical procedures without the drug.

Keith Lipato, the public secretary for the Association of Malawian Midwives, told the BBC's Focus on Africa that the shortage was being reported by practitioners countrywide.

He said the government had blamed challenges in importing the drug because of the coronavirus pandemic but supply was now expected.

The shortage meant home deliveries increased in a country with a high maternal mortality rate, he added.

"Women would be scared to be sutured without anaesthesia," Mr Lipato told Focus on Africa.

The government has not commented about the shortage.

Malawi has in the past reported a shortage of drugs in hospitals.

A 16-year-old South African schoolboy shot dead a classmate after an alleged quarrel before taking his own life, officials said on Thursday.

The two were Grade 10 pupils at Lesiba Secondary School in Daveyton, Gauteng province.

The shooting took place on Wednesday inside the school as classes resumed for a new academic year.

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the deadly incident.

Mental health officials have been sent to the school to counsel those who may have been affected.

Image source, Reuters

UN Secretary General António Guterres says it’s “absolutely essential” for Mali’s military leaders to announce an acceptable timeline for civilian elections.

Mr Guterres said he was working with the West African regional bloc, Ecowas, and the African Union to create conditions that could allow Mali to adopt a reasonable position for a quick transition.

He said he also hoped to speak soon with the Malian government.

Ecowas has imposed tough sanctions on Mali after the military government announced a long delay to the elections originally planned for February.

This includes a range of trade sanctions and land and air border closures.

The European Union on Thursday also said it would impose sanctions on Mali.

Image source, AFP

Rwanda has lifted a ban on concerts under its new coronavirus regulations.

The ban was effected in December after a rise in Covid-19 cases attributed to the Omicron variant.

The cabinet has resolved that concert organisers must seek permission 10 days before the event.

The concert tickets will be sold online and the recommended capacity is 50% for indoor venues and 75% for outdoor.

Those attending concerts must show proof of vaccination.

Theatres and cinema halls have also been allowed to reopen with 50% capacity.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Police in the north-western Nigerian state of Zamfara say they have arrested four people allegedly involved in cannibalism and selling human organs - a rare phenomenon in the region.

The suspects were arrested after detectives found a corpse in an uncompleted building with some body parts missing, Ayuba Elkanah, the state’s commissioner of police told journalists on Thursday.

The discovery happened during an investigation into the disappearance of a nine-year-old boy.

The suspects, two men and two teenage boys, were arrested last week, Mr Elkanah said, adding that other members of the gang were being tracked down.

The police chief said investigations had revealed that the alleged ring leader had on two occasions paid the other suspects 500,000 naira ($1,200; £880) for the human parts.

Zamfara is one of the states worst hit by a wave of killings and kidnappings for ransom, with authorities facing criticism for failing to tackle the violence.

Last week, about 200 people were reportedly killed during a series of raids on several villages in the state.

Our African proverb of the day:

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As the Africa Cup of Nations returns, Newsbeat speaks to fans supporting their home nations.

The BBC has obtained extraordinary recordings believed to be of phone calls made by Tunisian ex president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali as he flew out of the country in 2011.

In exclusive, never heard before recordings believed to be of former Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, BBC News Arabic reveals the anxious telephone calls that helped seal the fate of his 23-year dictatorship.

The Confederation of African Football dismisses a complaint from Tunisia's football federation about their game with Mali ending 13 seconds early.

Burkina Faso muscle their way to an important 1-0 win over Cape Verde on Thursday to keep their knock-out dreams alive.

Phophi Ramathuba is criticised for comments she made attempting to encourage abstinence.

Hosts Cameroon become the first team to qualify for the last 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations with an emphatic 4-1 win over Ethiopia in Group A.

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live team until Friday morning.

There will be an automated news feed until then. You can also get the latest news from our website or listen to the Africa Today podcast.

Here's a reminder of Thursday's wise words:

Click here to send us your Africa proverbs.

And we leave you with this shot of a Cameroon football fan, taken in the capital Yaoundé this afternoon:

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Cameroon have secured their place in the next round of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) with a 4-1 win over Ethiopia in group A.

The Indomitable Lions last won Afcon in 2017, and are hoping for their first title on home soil.

• Read the full match report from BBC Sport