Patricia Oyella
BBC News, Kampala

A new law in Uganda to regulate social media use is a sign of a further regression of digital rights and freedoms in the country, some activists here say.

President Yoweri Museveni signed into law the Computer Misuse Amendment Act on Thursday.

Edrine Wanyama,a legal officer with Cipesa, a regional organisation that promotes ICT use for development, says the legislation will affect access to information as well as accountability. It could also lead to increased persecution and prosecution, she added.

A number of activists are now looking into challenging the law.

The new measure says that anyone who uses social media to publish, distribute or share information prohibited under the country’s laws could face up five years in jail or have to pay a fine of $3,900 (£3,500).

It also introduces hefty fines and jail terms for people found guilty of sending malicious information, hate speech or sharing information about children without the consent of their parents or guardians.

Persons convicted under the act shall not hold office for a period of 10 years while a leader or holder of a public office will be dismissed.

Supporters of the new law say it will help to stop online abuse and protect the right to privacy.

In the recent past, several government critics - among them university lecturer, Dr Stella Nyanzi and satirical novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija have been charged under a similar law.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Activists and the family of a man who died in police custody in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, a day after his arrest have said he will not be buried until the authorities issue "transparent autopsy findings", the privately owned Sudan Tribune website has reported., external

Mudathir Kamal was arrested on 11 October by security forces only for his dead body to be found at a mortuary in Khartoum the following day, the report said.

A lawyers’ union claimed Mr Kamal was tortured to death in police custody and that his body showed signs of torture, allegations police have denied.

Security forces were heavily deployed to the police station as hundreds of protesters gathered to denounce the act.

Meanwhile, Sudanese security forces on Thursday cracked down on protesters demanding civilian rule following last year's military coup. An unknown number of people were wounded in the protests.

The demonstrators also denounced the alleged interference of the ruling military-led council in judicial affairs.

All-rounder David Wiese is targeting another T20 World Cup shock with Namibia, who reached the Super 12 stage last year.

Alfred Lasteck
BBC News, Dar es Salaam

Image source, Zanzibar Ministry of Blue Economy

The Zanzibar government is investigating the cause of the mass deaths of swimming crabs that have washed up on the beaches of the Tanzanian islands.

Since 28 September, there have been reports of the dead crabs washing ashore at Mtoni, Mizingani and Forodhani public beaches in Unguja island.

Initial reports indicate that climate change leading to an abrupt change in the temperature of the sea and ocean waves might be the main cause of the deaths of the crabs, Zanzibar’s director of development and fisheries told the BBC.

“We are now investigating the cause but some living things like the swimming crabs cannot resist sudden changes in the sea, and they die and wash ashore,” said Dr Salum Soud, who is also a marine scientist.

“Ocean waters have layers of temperatures and so the waves force water underneath to go up thus may cause low oxygen hence the crabs are likely to face death,” he added.

The government has urged locals, fishermen and tourists not to get worried about pollution and that the incident is being investigated to establish the cause.

Samba Cyuzuzo
BBC Great Lakes

Image source, AFP

The Democratic Republic of Congo's representative at the UN, Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, has accused Rwanda, without presenting facts, of taking gorillas from Congolese forests to Rwanda.

Mr Nzongola-Ntajala said this during the 11th emergency UN General Assembly session to debate and vote on a resolution on Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian regions.

He accused Rwanda of occupying Congo "in 1998 to 2003" plundering gold and coltan "and many other resources".

“They even take chimpanzees and gorillas from the Congolese forests taking them to Rwanda, all of this is well known,” Mr Nzongola-Ntajala added.

Rwanda, Uganda, and DR Congo share the massive volcanoes between their borders that are home to rare mountain gorillas.

Rwandan envoy Robert Kayinamura appeared to laugh at Mr Nzongola-Ntajala's statement.

“These allegations... every time there is no flowing water - it is Rwanda, there’s no electricity - it is Rwanda, there’s no roads it is Rwanda…We need to move beyond that kind of mentality,” Mr Kayinamura said.

Videos of the exchange have been shared widely.

In September, during the UN General Assembly, DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda "of direct aggression", before his counterpart Paul Kagame replied that "blame game doesn’t solve the problems".

Rwanda has continuously denied allegations of supporting M23 rebels who now control the border city of Bunagana and areas around it in DR Congo’s North Kivu province.

A selection of the best photos from across Africa and beyond this week.

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Tunisia's coastguard says the bodies of 15 migrants have washed up off the coast of Mahdia.

They said they were badly decomposed, suggesting they had been in the water for a long time.

The authorities said they were trying to identify them, but added they were African.

Many African migrants risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Getty Images

Lecturers in Nigeria’s universities have suspended which began eight months ago.

They were demanding better funding for universities, more facilities and an improved pay system among other issues.

Several rounds of talks with the government had failed to resolve the dispute. Last month a court ordered the lecturers to end the strike but their union appealed against the decision.

However, in the early hours of Friday, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (Asuu) announced the suspension of the strike after a meeting of its leaders overnight.

Union vice-president Chris Piwuna confirmed the suspension of the strike to the BBC.

The conditions for the suspension are not immediately clear.

The union has now asked its members to resume work on Monday next week.

Earlier this week the union gave the clearest indication to end the strike after a meeting with key leaders of Nigeria’s parliament.

The eight-month industrial action was one of the longest strikes by university lecturers in Nigeria. It disrupted academic activities in the country’s public universities, affecting around two million students.

The suspension of the strike comes as a huge relief to the students after months of anxious waiting.

BBC World Service

At least 11 people died in central Mali when a bus hit an explosive device on the road between Bandiagara and Goundaka.

Many others were seriously injured.

A jihadist insurgency in the West African country has claimed thousands of lives and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.

A report by the UN mission in Mali (Minusma) found that mines and improvised explosive devices had caused more than 70 deaths by the end of August this year.

It said most of the victims were soldiers - but a quarter are civilians.

Read more on the background to this story:

• Mali and Burkina Faso: Did the coups halt jihadist attacks?

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Getty Images

The Nigerian government says it will press ahead with the case against the separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu.

An appeals court on Thursday dropped terrorism and treason charges against Mr Kanu whose group, the Indigenous People of Biafra, is agitating for a breakaway state in the south-east of the country.

The court in the capital, Abuja, ruled that a lower court where the trial started had no jurisdiction to try him.

Mr Kanu, who holds a UK passport, was initially released on bail in 2017 but later fled Nigeria before he was re-arrested and brought back last year.

The court on Thursday said his extradition was illegal because the proper procedure had not been followed.

Mr Kanu had said he had been detained in Kenya but the Nigerian and Kenyan governments denied it.

The ruling by a panel of three judges is seen as a major blow to the Nigerian authorities.

But the government has suggested it will pursue the case further against Mr Kanu – saying he was only discharged but not acquitted. This means the separatist leader might not be released immediately.

Mr Kanu denies all the charges against him.

Image source, AFP

Ugandan General Muhoozi Kainerugaba has apologised to Kenya's President William Ruto over tweeted threats about invading the neighbouring country and capturing its capital in two weeks.

Gen Kainerugaba's tweets drew angry reactions from Kenyans and prompted his father, President Yoweri Museveni, to apologise to Kenya.

In his Thursday evening apology, the general said he had never had any problem with President Ruto.

He added: "If I made a mistake anywhere, I ask him to forgive me as his young brother."

Mr Museveni - who has been in power since 1986 - has long been suspected of grooming his 48-year-old son to succeed him when he eventually steps down, an allegation he has always denied.

More on this topic:

• Uganda's leader overcomes people's power - for now

• A quick guide to Uganda

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That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now. There'll be an automated service until we're back on Thursday morning.

In the meantime you can get updates from the BBC News website and listen to our Africa Today podcast.

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And we leave you with this photo of a man in Atar, Mauritania taken by photographer Daouda Corera:

Patience Atuhaire
BBC News, Kampala

I have been speaking to residents in Uganda's capital, Kampala, about the deadly Ebola outbreak.

A trader said some people were "downplaying" the deadly disease because they felt the coronavirus pandemic was "exaggerated".

"Some say: 'I never saw anyone who died or was buried because of Covid' so they might not think that Ebola is real and very dangerous,” the trader added.

Another resident said he was scared.

"My friends and I fear going into the city centre. We are scared of boarding boda bodas [motorcycle taxis],” he added.

However, some were confident that the health services would contain the epidemic.

“Ebola has been here before. It is a disease that can easily be stopped through isolation and tracking down contacts," a resident said.

Uganda has recorded 54 cases of Ebola during the latest outbreak, with 19 deaths - including one in Kampala.

BBC Pidgin

Image source, Getty Images

The Appeal Court in Nigeria has dropped all charges against separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu after ruling that he had been illegally arrested outside Nigeria, and his extradition had also been illegal.

The ruling by a panel of three judges is seen as a major blow to the government which had detained Mr Kanu on treason and terrorism-related charges.

He is the leader of the banned indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) group, which is campaigning for the creation of an independent state in south-eastern Nigeria.

Mr Kanu - who holds a UK passport - fled Nigeria in 2017 before he was seized and brought back in 2021.

He said he had been detained in Kenya, but the Nigerian and Kenyan governments did not admit to this.

Nigeria's Alex Iwobi has become "one of the best midfielders" in the Premier League, according to Everton boss Frank Lampard.

BBC Focus on Africa radio

Image source, Getty Images

Chad's veteran opposition politician Saleh Kebzabo has defended his decision to serve as prime minister in military ruler Gen Mahamat Idriss Déby's new government.

"I trust him. He's a young man who believes in democracy," Mr Kebzabo said, in an interview with Focus on Africa, the BBC's flagship radio programme for the continent.

The 75-year-old Mr Kebzabo's appointment came after Gen Déby was declared interim president for the next two years.

"I didn't decide. He asked me to take it. In a position like this, you can't say no because you are called to be in the service of your country at a very high level," Mr Kebzabo told Focus on Africa's Hassan Arouni.

Mr Kebzabo added that the military was no longer in power, and he would quit the government if Gen Déby reneged on his commitment to lead Chad to democratic elections.

Gen Déby assumed power in April last year after his father was killed in battle against rebel forces.

Richard Kagoe
BBC News, Nairobi

Kenyan lawyer Paul Mwangi has lodged a petition at the High Court to challenge a cabinet decision to reverse a 10-year ban on genetically modified (GM) crops.

In the suit, he argues that the lifting of the ban removes regulatory barriers that subjected all foods introduced into the market to safety checks and these could expose Kenyans and the environment to a wide range of risks.

Mr Mwangi says the decision was rushed and could disadvantage small-scale farmers, while benefiting multinational seed corporations.

The government has defended the decision saying it is meant to address food insecurity and perennial droughts.

Food scientists says GM crops are resistant to drought, pests and give higher yields.

In 2019, the Kenya government approved genetically enhanced cotton hybrids which are resistant to the African bollworm pests.

The move was aimed at revamping the production of textiles and apparels which benefits the manufacturing and agricultural sectors.

Asylum seekers could be sent to Rwanda three weeks after their arrival in the UK, High Court hears.

Libyan football fans reflect on the lifting of a ban prohibiting them from attending continental club and international matches in the country.