Cyriaque Muhawenayo
BBC News

The remains of a four-year-old boy who had albinism were found in eastern Burundi on Sunday, a day after he was kidnapped.

Igiraneza Abdoul's body was found by a guard in the bush.

Three people have been arrested, including three motorcycle taxi drivers. Another suspect has taken off and is still being sought.

Igiraneza Abdoul was playing with other children in Muramvya district, of Kinama zone, when men in a taxi took him away.

His mother Kwizera Marie Godeberte told BBC Great Lakes: "A taxi came and all the children got in. When they got out, Igiraneza Abdoul stayed in the taxi.

"It was around 7:30pm. We looked everywhere and launched an alert on social networks. [But it was] in vain."

The Albinos Sans Frontières organization, which works for the wellbeing of people living with albinism, says it was shocked by this recent killing, which takes the number of such cases in Burundi since 2008 to 28.

More stories:

• Meet Malawi's first MP with albinism
• 'My neighbour hacked off my hands'
• Cancer: The ‘silent killer’ of Africa’s albinos

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Image source, AFP

A suspected Tanzanian jihadist leader has been killed in Mozambique, two weeks after another militant leader from the East African country was captured by military forces.

Tuahil Muhidim is accused of leading jihadist operations to occupy Mocimboa da Praia on the northern coast of Cabo Delgado province in 2020.

The death was announced on Sunday by police chief Bernardino Rafael during a military parade in Magoma, about 11km (seven miles) from Naquitungue, where Muhidim was killed together with one of his partners on Saturday.

The police chief said the jihadist leader had led an operation to kidnap two Brazilian nuns and had "punished" them before they were rescued.

Mr Rafael also announced the recovery by the joint Mozambique and Rwandan forces of two AKM-type assault weapons and eight magazines.

He said the combined forces operating in Mozambique had shot dead more than seven jihadist leaders in the last 60 days.

Patience Atuhaire
BBC News

Image source, Allan Atulinda/BBC

A woman whose husband was shot for smuggling matchboxes from Uganda into Rwanda has urged both governments to recognise "we are one people".

Rhodah Ahimbisibwe, now 35, spoke to the BBC on Monday as Rwanda and Uganda reopened their border for the first time in three years.

The mother of five vividly remembers the day in 2020 when she learnt of the death of her husband, Sidney Muhereza.

She says she now works on other people's farms to earn a living.

"When I work for a day, I earn about 3,500 Ugandan shilling (about $0.80; £0.60). That is how I feed my children. I have three boys and two girls. Three of the children are in school."

Ms Ahimbisibwe's message is simple:

Nomsa Maseko
BBC Southern Africa correspondent

Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera has visited areas affected by flooding caused by Tropical Storm Ana.

More than 30 people are known to have died and many others are still missing.

The floods flattened maize crops, destroyed buildings and washed away bridges.

Residents of the village of Thabwa - south of the commercial capital, Blantyre - who lost their homes told President Chakwera they'd never experienced such a disaster before.

International aid organisations have put up shelters to accommodate all those in need of help, and President Chakwera has ordered the immediate reconstruction of homes and roads.

The devastation is visible in most affected areas here - with crops, homes and even bridges destroyed.

Storm Ana has killed more than 80 people across the countries of Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar.

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, French Embassy in Mali

Mali's military leaders are expelling the French ambassador over what they describe as "outrageous" comments about the transitional government.

Joel Meyer has been given 72 hours to leave.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Friday said the junta was "illegitimate" and out of control.

France has threatened to pull its troops out of Mali, where they have been fighting an Islamist insurgency.

Western powers are concerned about Mali's alleged use of Russian mercenaries.

Mali's Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop last week said even if the devil offered his hand, Mali would take it.

You may also be interested in:

• Why France faces so much anger in West Africa
• Mali's coup is cheered at home but upsets neighbours
• Russian mercenary plan triggers alarm in West Africa

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

A court in Burkina Faso has suspended the trial of the alleged killers of the revolutionary leader, Thomas Sankara, who was assassinated in 1987.

Mr Sankara's family asked for the suspension following last week's coup.

They said they wanted it to resume once constitutional order had been restored.

The African Union on Monday suspended Burkina Faso, three days after it was suspended by the West African regional bloc, Ecowas.

A joint United Nations-Ecowas delegation is in Ouagadougou for talks with the new military leaders.

More on this topic:

• Who killed Africa's revolutionary president?
• Why France faces so much anger in West Africa
• Thomas Sankara - interviewing an African legend aged 11
• Return of the military strongmen to West Africa

BBC World Service

A rights group has urged the Egyptian authorities to reveal the whereabouts of a man linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, who's been accused of involvement in violent attacks.

Hossam Menoufy Sallam was detained earlier this month after the plane he was on made an unscheduled landing at an airport in Egypt.

He's not been seen since. Human Rights Watch says the authorities should disclose the legal basis for his arrest.

Mr Sallam moved to Sudan in 2016 due to fear of government persecution.

Egyptian state media claims he is a founder of an armed group - allegedly linked to the Muslim Brotherhood - that's carried out bombings and assassinations.

Umaru Fofana
BBC News

Image source, Umaru Fofana/BBC

One of Sierra Leone’s most senior judges, Nicolas Brown-Marke, is holding a session inside the Makeni prison facility in the north of the country.

His is seeking to "right the wrong" of people spending long years in prison before conviction or acquittal, as well as instances of heavy-handed sentences being handed down by magistrates beyond their powers.

The nationwide exercise is looking into more than 1,000 cases.

Image source, Umaru Fofana/BBC

Chris Ewokor
BBC News

Gunmen on motorbikes have killed and abducted dozens of residents from two communities in Niger state, Nigeria, after attacks over the weekend.

Relatives of those affected are currently searching for their loved ones.

The raids come two weeks after authorities in Nigeria launched a major military operation to crack down on bandits in the area.Residents of Galadima Kogo and Galkogo told the BBC that the attackers shot people at close range. They also set houses on fire and ransacked residents' belongings.

Similar deadly attacks have been common in the north-western states of Kaduna, Zamfara and Kebbi and central Niger.

While many residents have fled their villages, others resort to paying money to the bandits to be allowed to live.

Patience Atuhaire
BBC News

A key border between Rwanda and Uganda re-opened on Monday after three years, but there has been little movement of people and goods.

We have only seen about 10 people, in two different groups, who have crossed into Uganda. One group of Ugandans have also crossed to Rwanda.

There haven’t been any cargo lorries or passenger buses crossing the border yet.

In the almost three years that the border was been closed, lives and livelihoods have been affected.

Before the closure, at least 100 cargo trucks would be cleared through customs on either side of the border each day. But then in 2019 passenger buses and other vehicles traveling between the two countries were stopped.

Rwanda accused Uganda of holding dozens of its citizens in security detention centres, who were said to have been rounded up in different parts of the country.

But Ugandan officials have also made similar accusations against Rwandan forces. According to a local leader in the border area of Butanda, in Kabale district, more than a dozen people were allegedly arrested in that area and are still in detention in Rwanda.

Last week, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s son, who is a general in the army, was dispatched to Rwanda supposedly with a message for President Paul Kagame.

Since 2019 several inter-governmental meetings, mediated by the Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo have been held, aimed at warming up relations between Rwanda and Uganda.

Aboubakar Famau
BBC News

A Tanzanian schoolgirl has had to return to the classroom with her baby after a new order reversed a ban on pregnant schoolgirls.

Esnath Gideon told BBC Swahili that she lacked a caregiver and the teachers were gracious enough to allow her into the class with her four-month-old baby.

The 19-year-old had lost hope about completing her education when she got pregnant while in form four.

She is now happy the government has allowed young mothers to resume studies and wants to study hard and become a lawyer.

"With the baby in class, my concentration is affected but I'm mostly able to listen. The challenge is when the baby needs a nappy change as there are no places in school where I can change the baby," she says.

Ms Gideon lives with her grandmother who sells samosas in the market and is happy her granddaughter is able to study.

The grandmother was disappointed when Ms Gideon got pregnant as that meant she would stop studying.

Tanzania's former President John Magufuli had banned pregnant girls and young mothers from attending school but the current President Samia Suluhu reversed the ban.

More than 1,500 pregnant girls were expelled from schools in Mbeya district.

So far, 240 of them have returned and a special system has been put in place to allow them to cover the syllabus in a shorter time.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

The African Union (AU) has suspended Burkina Faso a week after the military seized power in a coup.

It said the country would be blocked from all AU activities until constitutional order was restored.

The West African regional bloc, Ecowas, which suspended Burkina Faso last week, has sent a delegation to the capital Ouagadougou.

It will join a team from the United Nations for talks with the new military leaders.

Read more on this topic:

• Return of the military strongmen to West Africa
• Who is Burkina Faso's coup leader?
• Why Burkina Faso's coup has prompted celebrations

• Russian mercenary plan triggers alarm in West Africa

Nomsa Maseko
BBC Southern Africa correspondent

Flattened maize crops, waterlogged farms and collapsed bridges are what greet us in Chikwawa, an hour's drive south of Blantyre.

Construction vehicles are lining up on the side of the road where the main bridge that connects Blantyre and Chikwawa district was washed away by heavy flooding a few days ago.

There’s an unusual heavy police presence here, because President Lazarus Chakwera is expected to inspect the damage.

Aisha Anubi's maize crops, the size of a football pitch, were all destroyed by flooding.

The 20-year-old tells the BBC that she has lost her only source of income.

This is one of many vehicles that were caught up in the storm and washed away by flooding:

It's unknown if the vehicle occupants managed to escape unharmed.

At least 36 people have died in Malawi while many others are still unaccounted for.

With more rain expected in the next few days, people here are worried about losing their homes.

Tanzania's Mwanaisha Akida, popularly known as DJ Sinyorita, is reflecting on her journey to being named the best DJ in a continental award.

She told the BBC's Swahili service how she started training after seeing that there weren't many female DJs in an industry with many artists and enthusiastic fans.

Her mother was concerned about her performing at gigs at night, but DJ Sinyorita eventually convinced her and says she has since become her number-one fan.

"She was worried that the nightlife would erode my values," she told BBC Swahili.

DJ Sinyorita has experienced bullying both online and in her line of work. But she has chosen to stay focused, laying out goals and aspirations in her career.

Last year, she was crowned the Best African DJ, external at the All Africa Music Awards (Afrima) held in Nigeria.

She says the continental recognition has boosted her morale to work harder and make a name for herself globally.

Ferdinand Omondi
BBC News

Image source, Ahmed Abdi Rashid Haji

At least nine people have died and several more have been injured, local media report, after a bomb attack in northern Kenya on a public commuter van, locally known as matatu.

The matatu was travelling towards Mandera, a town in the border area, which has been regularly targeted by militant attacks.

Pictures from local journalists show mangled wreckage of the minivan that appears to have been blown up after running over an improvised explosive device on the road.

No one has taken responsibility for the attack, but al-Shabab insurgents have attacked police and civilians in and around Mandera with several fatalities in recent years.

The attack comes barely a week after several foreign embassies in Kenya, including the US and France, warned its citizens of possible terror attacks in the country.

Kenyan police then released a statement reassuring the public of their safety.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

France says dozens of militants have been killed in Burkina Faso in operations involving local and French troops.

The assaults were conducted as part of the French-led Operation Barkhane against Islamist groups in the Sahel region of Africa - before the 23 January coup.

The French military said it took part in four operations alongside Burkinabè troops between 16 and 23 January.

It said the objective of these assaults - using fighter jets, attack helicopters and drones - was to locate "terrorist" groups in their zones of refuge, along the northern border with Mali.

The French authorities said up to 60 militants were killed, while about 20 motorbikes and several armed trucks were destroyed.

As many as 2,000 people have died in jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso since 2015, when militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group started conducting raids from Mali.

Ferdinand Omondi
BBC News

Several people are feared to have died in an attack in north-eastern Kenya.

A public van ran over an explosive device on a road towards Mandera, a town close to the Kenyan border with Somalia.

The attack comes at a time the country has heightened security after a terror alert was issued by various embassies.

There is little movement at the Rwanda-Uganda Gatuna border, which has reopened after nearly three years of closure.

The border was closed in 2019 following tensions between the two East African countries.

The BBC's Patience Atuhaire is on the Ugandan side of the border and has shared these photos:

On the Ugandan side, the construction of customs offices - which are part of a one-stop border system being implemented across the East African Community - is ongoing:

The BBC's Gahuza service team has shared photos of how the Rwandan side is looking like, hours after reopening:

The border reopening was announced last week after a meeting between Rwanda's President Paul Kagame and Uganda's Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is President Yoweri Museveni's son.

Rwanda had accused Uganda of detaining and torturing its citizens while Uganda accused Rwanda of infiltrating its military intelligence. Both countries denied the accusations.

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Mali's foreign minister says the main reason why tensions are growing with France is that the French believe his country is not acting in their interests.

Abdoulaye Diop dismissed French concerns about Mali's alleged use of Russian mercenaries to fight Islamist insurgents.

He said Mali and Russia had been strong partners for years.

Mr Diop said France had no right to describe last year's coup as illegitimate as it had good relationships with other countries with military rulers.

Hundreds of French troops are based in Mali, advising and supporting local troops.

Image source, Getty Images

Malawi's president has warned ministers against corruption after swearing in a new cabinet on Sunday.

President Lazarus Chakwera said he would not shield anyone from prosecution if they got involved in corrupt activities.

"Do not accept a gift in exchange for using your office to give someone preferential treatment in the administration of a public service. That is corruption," he said.

The president sacked his entire cabinet last week but most of the ministers were reappointed in a new line-up announced days later.

Anti-government protests have been held since last November to condemn the rising cost of living and allegations of nepotism and corruption.