South Africa goal shooter Lenize Potgieter wants to break the stigma of having depression after taking a six-month break from netball.

Jonathan Paye-Layleh
BBC News, Monrovia

Image source, Getty Images

More than 60,000 school-age boys in Liberia have dropped out of education to work as motorcycle taxi drivers, according to the education ministry.

Analysts say the harsh economic realities of living in a post-conflict country mean these children have little choice but to seek out a livelihood, even if education is available.

But the education ministry says a lack of schools is to blame, and is going to invest in building more schools in the 25 educational districts where those more than 60,000 boys have dropped out.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia's former president, once described the educational system as "a mess", and some say very little has been done to correct the situation.

You may also be interested in:

• How returning $50,000 changed a Liberian taxi driver's life
• A quick guide to Liberia

Dickens Olewe
BBC News

Image source, AFP

President Mwai Kibaki's election in 2002 ushered in one of the country's finest moments - a transition from decades of dictatorship with a promise to push for a new constitution that would strengthen the nation’s democracy.

But his lack of courage, sometimes tact, squandered these opportunities.

His stewardship of the economy unleashed the country’s potential - a new sense of pride and belonging consumed the nation, industrious Kenyans launched businesses across the country as improved infrastructure opened up new markets.

However, Kibaki’s legacy is besmirched by his failure to match the zeal of many Kenyans ready to fundamentally restructure the country for the better.

One of the most famous stories of the time was of citizens arresting traffic police officers asking for bribes, at a time when the government's anti-corruption fight policy was big on words but with little action.

The former president was also unable to curb the impulses of hawkish members of his family and cabinet - some of them were accused of hiring foreign mercenaries to raid a media house because they didn't like stories it published.

The post-election violence that followed the 2007 election, and the related cases at the International Criminal Court, was also an indictment of his leadership, although he was not among the politicians charged.

Many will remember Kibaki’s presidency fondly, but others would equally agree with an assessment by one columnist that Kibaki never missed a fence to sit on – his indecisive nature held him back from making bold decisions that would have served the country better.

Lalla Sy
BBC News

Image source, AFP

Mali's ruling junta has launched a 24-month transition plan it says will lead to elections.

The military seized power in August 2020 and has been under pressure to return the country to democratic rule.

Regional body Ecowas had last month asked the junta to limit the transition period to between 12 and 16 months when elections should be held.

Prime Minister Choguel Maïga cited the global economic outlook, the Covid pandemic and the economic embargo imposed on the country as reasons for the lengthy transitions.

On Thursday, he told the National Council of the Transition, the legislative body, that the coming months would be used to establish a body to manage elections, develop election material, train electoral agents and review the electoral roll.

Related stories:

• Why French troops are leaving Mali
• Mercenary plan triggers alarm
• How to solve Mali’s coup conundrum
• A quick guide to Mali

Some Kenyans online are remembering former President Mwai Kibaki as the best president Kenya has ever had, while others are discussing the post-election that followed his second-term win in 2007.

Kenya has only had four presidents since it gained independence from the British in 1963.

Some are remembering him for fostering unity as well as the high economic growth that Kenya experienced after he took over as president from 2003.

The opposition ODM party tweets, external that he will be "remembered for initiating economic and infrastructural transformation and ensuring the completion of the constitution reforms process".

"Mwai Kibaki was the best president that Kenya ever had. The funniest and a performer. He had his shortcomings but the man gave Kenya the best," one social media user says, external.

"I shall miss the great economist who knew what was best for Kenya. He didn't use billboards, portals, websites and social media to claim credit. His work was and will remain visible for generations to come," another says, external.

While many people are praising Kibaki's legacy, not all are remembering his best moments.

Edwin Omari says, external the former president's lowest moments remain the post-election violence of 2007-2008, "that almost dismembered Kenya as a state".

Saddique Shaban says, external the former president has died with secrets of the post-election violence.

More than 1,000 people were killed and hundreds of others displaced in the aftermath of the violence.

Kenya's former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has remembered former President Mwai Kibaki as patriot who "served with diligence, fortitude, honest and transparency".

"No-one was better than Kibaki in creating team spirit among his ministers," said Mr Odinga.

Kibaki formed a coalition government with Mr Odinga following nationwide violence sparked by claims of irregularities in the 2007 general election.

Opposition leader Kalonzo Musyoka, who served as Mr Kibaki's vice-president from 2007 to 2013, has called him an iconic father figure.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta has said former President Mwai Kibaki was a "gentleman" of Kenyan politics and a brilliant debater.

Kenya's third president died on Friday aged 90.

Announcing his death, Mr Kenyatta remembered Kibaki as a "patriot" for the values for which he lived - "his ideals, his dignity, his diligence, candour and concern for the wellbeing of all Kenyans".

President Kenyatta said that as a leading figure in post-independence Kenyan history, Kibaki earned the respect and affection of Kenyan people and other nations around the world.

"President Kibaki will be forever be remembered as a gentleman in Kenyan politics… his eloquence wit and charm won the day, time and time again".

Kenyan leaders are paying tribute to former President Mwai Kibaki whose death was announced on Friday.

Deputy President William Ruto, who also served as a cabinet minister under Mr Kibaki, has called him a great son of the country.

Opposition politician Musalia Mudavadi, who served as a deputy prime minister under Mr Kibaki, paid tribute to "an outstanding Kenyan who participated in the struggle to save country from [the] yoke of colonialism and laid foundation for the economic fruits that Kenya is experiencing today".

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has said the country will be in national mourning until sunset on the day former President Mwai Kibaki will be buried.

Mr Kenyatta said the former president will be accorded a state funeral.

All flags in the country and diplomatic missions have been ordered to fly at half-mast.

Kibaki was president from 2002 to 2012.

Image source, AFP

Former Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has died, according to an announcement made by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Mr Kibaki was Kenya's third president since independence in 1963 from British colonial rule.

He was in office from 2002 to 2013.

Samba Cyuzuzo
BBC Great Lakes

Image source, AFP

Rwandan President Paul Kagame says his country is not “trading human beings”, in his his first comments on Rwanda's deal with the UK on migrants.

Under the deal, asylum seekers arriving in the UK on small boats will be relocated to Rwanda for processing and resettlement.

The controversial £120m ($15m) deal has made global headlines and the authorities in both countries have faced criticism.

Mr Kagame - who was on a visit to Congo-Brazzaville, Jamaica, and Barbados when the deal was signed - said it would be a mistake to think Rwanda was just getting money for migrants.

“We are not trading human beings, please, we are actually helping,” he said during a virtual seminar with US’s Brown University.

Mr Kagame said the UK approached Rwanda because of “what we managed in the Libyan case”.

He said he decided in 2018 when he chaired the African Union that Rwanda would offer shelter to migrants stuck in Libya while trying to cross to Europe.

Nearly 1,000 migrants have since been taken to Rwanda for processing, with two-thirds of them being relocated to European countries and Canada.

Mr Kagame praised this as a successful process for the UK and other European countries "who have problems of migration".

He said Rwanda was helping to deal with migrant smuggling, noting that the UK wanted “an orderly way of sorting out people they'll accept and others they can say no”.

Two opposition parties in Rwanda have called the deal “unrealistic” and called on the government to focus on local problems instead of solving the "burdens of rich countries”.

• Is Rwanda a land of safety or fear?

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

The Mozambican authorities have detained two men found attempting to sell severed male human genitals for 35m kwachas ($42,000; £33,000).

The organs are reported to belong to a man who was murdered in Milange area in Zambézia province that borders Malawi.

The suspected traffickers are said to have contacted a local trader to see if wanted to buy the organs.

The trader, António Chicopa, contacted the local authorities who subsequently laid an ambush.

The two suspects are in police custody waiting to be taken to court.

Mr Chicopa said he was now being shunned by people for his role in the arrests.

“I was the one who alerted the police when those men told me about the deal. I took the head of [police] operations to the scene, along with other police officers. I don't know why today I'm being accused by people,” he is quoted as saying by local media outlet Opais.

Milange district commander Alice Evaristo said police were still investigating the matter.

“I confirm the occurrence and that a person was murdered and his organs removed. This is real and we are working to get details of the case,” he said.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, Getty Images

Somali Foreign Minister Abdisaid Muse Ali says he has survived an assassination attempt involving regional government forces in the north-eastern state of Puntland.

Mr Ali tweeted late on Thursday that he had been on holiday in the town of Galkayo when a regional police commander ordered local security forces to attack him.

He said the attack happened when his family was having iftar, the meal taken after sunset during Ramadan, that was hosted by a local traditional elder.

"I strongly condemn violence as a means to [achieve] political ends and will hold all involved accountable by all means necessary," he said

Puntland deputy leader Ahmed Karash condemned the incident and promised an investigation.

State TV reported that one soldier was killed and three people were wounded in the attack on the minister.

The incident comes amid heightened political tensions in Somalia and a prolonged electoral process marred by alleged corruption and irregularities.

You may be interested in:

• Somalia's elections - where the people don't vote

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Nigerian military

The Nigerian military says it has seized more than 500 illegal guns over the last two years in the central state of Plateau.

The 517 weapons, including AK-47s, pistols and locally made guns, were handed over by a military commander at a ceremony in Jos, the state capital, on Thursday.

They had been seized from criminals, including armed robbers and gangs kidnapping people for ransom, a military spokesman told the BBC.

Some were seized in parts of neighbouring Bauchi and Kaduna state. A number of people were also arrested.

Some estimates indicate there were around 6.5 million small arms and light weapons in circulation in Nigeria last year - only 10% of those in the hands of the security forces.

This makes armed conflicts more difficult to tackle in the country, analysts say.

But the authorities say they are now trying to clampdown on their proliferation.

Nigeria is struggling to tackle various forms of armed violence, including a deadly jihadist insurgency in the north-east and the sophisticated criminal kidnapping networks who operate across large swathes of the country.

Plateau state in particular has experienced frequent communal conflicts in the past two decades as well as gang violence resulting in thousands of deaths and the massive displacement of people.

Patience Atuhaire
BBC News, Kampala

Image source, State House Kenya

East African heads of state have agreed to deploy a joint military force to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to deal with the armed groups operating in that region.

At a summit in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Thursday, the regional leaders resolved that such a force should be mobilised with immediate effect.

There are no details yet on the size of the proposed force.

All armed groups operating in eastern DR Congo should unconditionally participate in a political process to resolve their grievances, a statement from the summit says.

Those that do not will be dealt with militarily, it adds.

Dozens of rebel groups operate in the mineral-rich region, some of which originate from neighbouring countries or are associated with DR Congo's neighbours.

The last few weeks have seen a resurgence of one of the biggest fighting groups, the M23 rebels.

The group has attacked government army positions, captured villages in Rutshuru territory forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes.

The Ugandan army has been operating in Ituri province since November last year.

It has been chasing the Allied Democratic Forces - a rebel group that originated in Uganda and which it accuses of staging a series of bombings in the country last year.

DR Congo joined the seven-member East African Community regional bloc last month, in what some analysts see as a move towards seeking joint solutions to its security challenges in the east.

You may be interested in:

• DR Congo joins East Africa trade bloc: Who gains?

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

The French military says it has filmed Russian mercenaries burying bodies outside a military base, corpses it says are being used as part of a campaign of lies against departing French troops.

The images, taken by a drone after the French had left the Gossi base in northern Mali, show what appear to be Caucasian soldiers covering bodies with sand.

A Twitter account, which the French military says was probably a fake created by the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group, has already posted images of pixelated corpses buried in sand and held the French responsible for their deaths, external.

Russia has not commented on the French accusations.

More on this topic:

• Mali's plan for Russia mercenaries to replace French troops unsettles Sahel

Our proverb of the day:

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Click here to send us your African proverbs.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now. We'll be back on Friday morning with the latest news and views from around the continent.

Until then you can find updates on the BBC News website, or listen to our Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with a photo of a young boy at a livestock market in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa:

Image source, Getty Images

Michelle Guda
BBC Sport Africa, Eldoret

Image source, Christine Kambua

Kenyan-born athlete Damaris Muthee Mutua, who was found dead on Tuesday, was strangled.

This is according to an autopsy report, and it has been confirmed by Kenya's Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

Damaris' family also confirmed that she had married and had left behind a six-year-old boy.

The body of the 28-year-old athlete, who competes for Bahrain, is being transported to her home town in Machakos.

She was found dead in the town of Iten, famous for its centre for long-distance runners.

• Read: Murdered runner's career 'was picking up'

The rival government in Libya has held its first meeting in the latest challenge to the UN-backed administration based in the capital, Tripoli.

Since February, Libya has again been spilt between two opposing cabinets after parliament in the east elected Fathi Bashaga as the new prime minister, while the incumbent Abdulhamid Dbeibah refused to step down.

At the first session of his cabinet in the southern town of Sebha, Mr Bashagha declared that a new era was beginning in Libya after chaos and tyranny.

But there is widespread concern that the country could face new unrest after the UN-sponsored political roadmap was cast into doubt by the failure to hold planned elections in December.

Image source, Getty Images