Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Adamu Kiyawa

A Nigerian man allegedly tricked several villages into demolishing their mosques, telling them his "foreign NGO" would build new bigger buildings, authorities in the northern state of Jigawa say.

But he disappeared after collecting the roofs, windows and doors that were removed from the "small" mosques.

The suspect, who police have identified as Abba Haruna, 21, allegedly sold the materials.

A judiciary spokesman in Jigawa state, Abbas Rufa’i Wangara, told the BBC that 14 mosques were affected.

Usaini Wanzam Ilyasu, a traditional ruler in one of the villages who also spoke to the BBC, said the suspect even paid labourers who demolished their community mosque.

He said the man had asked local building block makers to start supplying materials to the supposed building site.

But when the alleged fraudster left, he never came back.

He was arrested after mosque officials in another community he visited became suspicious and raised the alarm.

Although the suspect was first charged last week, the news of the extraordinary incident is just emerging.

He is yet to take a plea and is expected back at a magistrates' court in Kiyawa town on Thursday.

Image source, Adamu Kiyawa

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

The diversity and creativity of African fashion are on show in a retrospective at London's V&A museum.

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live team. We'll be back on Thursday morning Nairobi time.

In the meantime there will be an automated news feed and you can also check the BBC News website or listen to our Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

Click to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you pictures from the recent launch party of an African fashion exhibition at London's Victoria and Albert museum:

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

A young Nigerian woman who raised a false mass kidnapping alarm on Twitter has pleaded guilty to misleading the police, among other charges, at a court appearance in the capital, Abuja.

Amira Sufyan had earlier this month tweeted that she had been kidnapped along with 16 others by people in police uniforms and were being driven away by the alleged kidnappers.

That prompted public outrage and pressure on the authorities to act and rescue them.

It later turned out to be a false alarm after days of investigation by the police, who discovered that she was in Lagos. She was then arrested.

However, she has not been sentenced to a jail term. The court ordered her release on probation for medical reasons.

The case of the false mass abduction alarm came amid a rising wave of kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs across Nigeria - which the authorities have so far failed to tackle.

More on this topic:

• Nigeria's kidnapping crisis: Should ransom payments be banned?

Image source, Reuters

South African police have warned people not to spread what it describes as "fabricated stories" regarding the deaths of 21 teenagers at a drinking place over the weekend.

As there were no visible signs of injury, the police had ruled out a crush or stampede as the cause of death.

In a statement, the police said that forensic teams were still trying to work out exactly what happened.

It urged people "to refrain from making risky assumptions which do not assist our investigations".

The deaths of the young people - who it is believed were all below the legal drinking age of 18 - at the Enyobeni Tavern in East London has shocked the country.

Read more on this story:

• South Africa police try to unravel mystery of tavern deaths

Squads for the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations, which will be held in Morocco from 2 to 23 July.

Favour Nunoo
BBC Pidgin, Accra

Wednesday's protest against the rising cost of living in Ghana has so far been peaceful, unlike on Tuesday when clashes with police erupted and 29 people were arrested.

After a series of meetings with the police, protesters were allowed to use a route that runs in front of the president's office, Jubilee House, on the condition that they conduct themselves peacefully.

The protest organisers advised demonstrators to surrender any weapons to the police and join them in a calm procession.

The police, who had earlier assembled in riot gear, have remained professional and given the protesters the needed security.

The demonstration moved off from the El-Wak sports stadium and went through the plush neighbourhood of Cantonments, which leads to Jubilee House.

A heavy security presence and barricades erected along the sides of the road prevented the protest from spilling over into the president's office.

Protest leader Bernard Monah told the BBC that the march would end at parliament where the organisers would hand their concerns over the MPs.

Emily Banya co-founded a souvenirs business after puzzles helped her mental health

Shingai Nyoka
BBC News, Harare

Zimbabwe’s new China-funded hilltop parliament building is complete and ready to be handed over to the authorities three-and-a-half years after construction began.

It sits 18km (11 miles) north-west of the capital, Harare, and is part of a plan to decongest the city centre.

Journalists were allowed to see the finished complex, which cost an estimated $140m (£115m), during a tour given by the Chinese contractors. Five-hundred Chinese technicians and 1,200 local employees worked on the construction.

The sprawling 3.3-hectare (eight-acre) campus is a gift from Beijing and aimed at “strengthening the solidarity and friendship between the people of Zimbabwe and China”, China-Aid project manager Cai Libo told reporters.

China has been a long-standing ally of Zimbabwe. It financially and militarily backed the liberation struggle against white-minority rule, when the country was known as Rhodesia.

But China has itself now been accused of neo-colonialism and for unfairly exploiting the country's mineral resources.

Outside the parliament building, two long stone staircases flank a water feature that is supposed to represent Victoria Falls.

The building's circular chevron-laced edifice echoes Zimbabwe’s landmark of Great Zimbabwe.

And inside, the national assembly, with seats for 350 MPs, is built in a circular style - a break from the current arrangement which copies the Westminster format where government and opposition sit on opposite benches.

On the ceiling is a painting copying pre-historic rock art that has been found in Zimbabwe.

There is also the upper house of parliament with room for 100 senators.

No date for when parliament will actually move has been given.

Mildred Wanyonyi
BBC News, Nairobi

The Kenyan government is planning to build safe houses in Saudi Arabia for migrant workers who are victims of abuse.

Reports of Kenyan domestic workers being subjected to serious maltreatment by their Saudi employers are frequent - some cases resulting in death.

"We shall open safe places to protect those being abused as we plan for their return, as a swift solution to help people suffering overseas and more so in Saudi Arabia,’’ Labour Minister Simon Chelugui told reporters on Tuesday.

Nearly 100 Kenyans had died while working abroad in the last two years and "we want to put an end to it”, he said.

The government had allocated 70m Kenyan shillings ($594,000; £490,000) for the purpose and attempts were being made to actively look for Kenyans who were suffering in the Middle East, Mr Chelugui said.

Kenyans working and living in Saudi Arabia rose from 55,000 in 2019 to 97,000 this year - and most of them are domestic workers, according to data from Kenya’s parliamentary Labour and Social Welfare Committee.

The government was going to strictly enforce the requirement that all recruiting agencies register with the country's National Employment Authority before sending Kenyans to work abroad, the minister added.

He also warned rogue agencies that had abused policy loopholes to exploit Kenyans in the past that they would be shut down if they did not conform.

WATCH: In 2018 Africa Eye heard testimonies about the abuse many women face when they go to work in the Middle East:

Hosts Morocco, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Uganda make up Group A at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off on 2 July.

Alan Kasujja
BBC Africa Daily podcast

Image source, Reuters

I wasn’t sure how to address her. Her name had somewhat changed since divorcing her husband of 27 years, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

She went from Melinda Gates to Melinda French Gates - adding in her maiden name - when the couple announced they’d be parting ways.

However when we first connected for our interview, she introduced herself as Melinda Gates. And that was that.

If it was up to me, I would have concentrated on her personal life. Life after marriage. What was the dating scene like for a billionaire divorced woman? Who’d have the guts to ask her out? The stuff you and I are most curious about.

But she wanted to discuss her work.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is probably the biggest philanthropic effort in the world. A lot of the money has ended up in fighting some of the biggest killer diseases in Africa - including malaria.

She told me that she was frustrated that a lot of the progress made in the fight against malaria before the Covid-19 pandemic had been undone as malaria cases are going up.

But Ms Gates said she was optimistic about the development of vaccines.

We also talked about the impact of Covid and she hoped that richer countries would do more to support the recovery of African economies.

Towards the end of our chat, I ask her how she is holding up. It can’t have been an easy year. She thanks me for asking and says that she’s grateful that she’s got a good circle of friends and family around her.

“I thought you were going to tell me that you are going on a date,” I jokingly said to her. She laughed and replied: “Maybe in the future.”

Still, I wanted to know what she thought of marriage.

She said she was happy for anyone who’s lucky enough to find the right match.

“I still believe in marriage.”

Listen to more of my interview in this episode of Africa Daily.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

Mali’s military authorities have announced that a presidential election to usher in civilian rule will be held in February 2024.

The announcement was made after a detailed timetable for reforms and legislative and presidential polls was adopted following consultations between the interim government and political stakeholders on Tuesday.

The first and second rounds of the presidential election are scheduled to take place in two years time.

The first and second rounds of the legislative elections will be held in October and November 2023, respectively.

A constitutional referendum will also be held in March 2023, ahead of local elections scheduled for June 2023.

On 6 June, the junta unilaterally announced that the transitional period had been set for 24 months.

The poll timetable was released ahead of a summit of the Economic Community of West African States, which is expected to make a decision on whether to lift or extend sanctions it imposed on Mali in January.

Image source, National Police Service

A Kenyan woman, who is reportedly an aspiring politician, has been arrested after allegedly pretending to be policewoman while appearing as a panellist on a television show.

The suspect, identified by police as Monica Wamaitha Gitau, was in full police uniform during the talk show on Wednesday morning on a vernacular station.

Police rushed to the TV station, after "doubting the credibility" of Ms Wamaithai, who was a panellist on the breakfast show

Neither the suspect nor the station, Inooro TV, have commented on the allegations.

"She is currently assisting with investigations for the offence of impersonating a police officer," police said in a tweet, external.

Police say she is a candidate for a parliamentary seat - woman representative for Nairobi county - in the elections scheduled for August.

During questioning she said she had been a serving officer until her retirement in 2011, the AFP news agency reports

A website for an organisation Women in Security Kenya, external says she had worked "as an Administration Police Officer".

The police force urged media houses to conduct due diligence on officers before inviting them for interviews "to avoid similar incidences in the future".

In 2013, Joshua Waiganjo was charged after allegedly pretending to be an assistant commissioner of police for five years.

He was said to have sacked and recruited police officers in Rift Valley province during this time.

Mr Waiganjo was acquitted in May 2020 by the High Court. The prosecution has appealed against the verdict.

Favour Nunoo
BBC Pidgin, Accra

Police in riot gear in Ghana's capital, Accra, are gathering at the El-Wak sports stadium ahead of a second day of planned protests over the rising cost of living.

The stadium is about 1.5km (0.9 miles) from the president's office, Jubilee House.

The protesters from the Arise Ghana group may try to march from the stadium to the office - but that route has been banned by the authorities.

If the demonstrators defy the ban then there may be a second day of clashes.

On Tuesday, 29 people were arrested after a largely peaceful protest descended into chaos when police and protesters clashed.

South Africa's white-ball captain Temba Bavuma is ruled out of the multi-format tour of England with an elbow injury.

UN Secretary General António Guterres has joined in the chorus of condemnation after at least 23 migrants died as Moroccan security forces tried to stop them crossing into the Spanish enclave of Melilla last week.

In a statement issued on Twitter, he said he was "shocked by the violence".

"The use of excessive force is unacceptable, and the human rights and dignity of people on the move must be prioritized by countries," he added.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 migrants who had been camping in the Moroccan mountains surrounding Melilla descended on the city's border last Friday, a number of them carrying sticks, hoping to scale the border fences and therefore reach Spanish territory.

In the chaos that followed, many of them were crushed between the six-metre-high fences and Moroccan border guards, who used tear gas and batons on the migrants.

On Sunday, the head of the AU commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, expressed his "shock and concern at the violent and degrading treatment of African migrants", external.

Read more:

• Melilla migrant deaths spark anger in Spain

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, Reuters

Angola’s immediate former president, José Eduardo dos Santos, is in an induced coma in a hospital in Barcelona, a Portuguese news agency is reporting.

“José Eduardo dos Santos is hospitalised in a clinic in Barcelona and is in a coma following a [relapse], after recovering from Covid-19,” said Portugal’s state-owned Lusa News Agency, which extensively covers developments in Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa.

There has been increased speculation about Mr Dos Santos’ health, with Portuguese Expresso Newspaper describing his medical condition as “irreversible”.

Meanwhile, the former president’s daughter, Tchizé dos Santos, has criticised “those preparing his funeral”.

She also accused Angola’s President João Lourenço of politicising his father’s situation.

José Eduardo dos Santos served as the president of Angola from 1979 to 2017.

The head of the AU commission has called for "restraint, calm and dialogue" as the border dispute between Ethiopia and Sudan threatens to escalate.

In a statement, Moussa Faki Mahamat said "the two brotherly countries" should settle any disagreement peacefully.

Ethiopian and Sudanese forces have clashed at the disputed al-Fashaga border area following the alleged capture, execution and public display of the bodies of seven Sudanese soldiers and a civilian killed over the weekend.

Al-Fashaga is where the north-west of Ethiopia's Amhara region meets Sudan's breadbasket, Gedaref state.

It has been contested for decades but tensions have increased over the last year with regular skirmishes reported between the two countries.