Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Johannesburg

President Cyril Ramaphosa's postponement of a prescheduled session with parliamentarians, following a report released late on Wednesday about his conduct regarding a burglary at his farm nearly three years ago, is perhaps the first indication that the South African president is facing pressure to not continue with business as usual.

An independent panel appointed by the speaker of parliament found Mr Ramaphosa may have committed serious breaches of the constitution, violated an anti-corruption law, and acted in a way inconsistent with his office.

The sitting was postponed so that Mr Ramaphosa can study the contents of the report.

It’s a hefty and concerning read – one whose allegations the panel of investigators, described as a serious matter.

It will be presented to parliament next week. If they decide to constitute further investigations through an impeachment committee – and that committee finds him guilty – then Mr Ramaphosa could face impeachment.

Ultimately it will come down to a vote – the motion to impeach needs a two-thirds majority to pass.

While Mr Ramaphosa’s governing African National Congress has the numbers to prevent that from happening – the party is also hugely divided, and those against him may see this as an opportunity to vote with opposition parties to remove him.

The president - whose image was built on fighting corruption and upholding the rule of law – has denied any wrongdoing.

Read more about Mr Ramaphosa's "farmgate" scandal here.

Former Ghana players and supporters will be hoping for a serving of revenge when the Black Stars face Uruguay at the World Cup.

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Image source, AFP

The Military Mission of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), best known as Samim, deployed as part of the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, says it has killed 30 suspected jihadists in an operation launched last Tuesday.

Weapons used by the jihadist suspects have also been recovered.

The SADC military mission also announced that two of its soldiers, one from Botswana and the other from Tanzania, lost their lives in the operation in the woods of Nkonga village, in the district of Nangade, north of Cabo Delgado.

Nangade still has strongholds of jihadists, who have carried out daily attacks against villages, farms and military positions.

Recently, Tanzanian forces integrated in the SADC military mission fell into an ambush and five soldiers were injured. During the ambush, the jihadists seized weapons.

Read more about jihadism in Mozambique here.

Image source, William Ruto / Twitter

More than a million Kenyans have registered to a government loan scheme targeting the youth and informal traders just a day after its launch

The scheme, known as the Hustler Fund, was launched by President William Ruto on Wednesday and has already disbursed over 400m shillings ($3.3m; £2.7m) to borrowers.

Local media quoted the minister for co-operatives as citing an uptake of the loans, with up to 600 transactions per second, hours after the launch – which eased later.

Borrowers are able to access the money by dialling a USSD code or using an application on their mobile phones.

The loans start from between $4 (£3) and $408 for individual borrowers. Loans for groups and small enterprises will be launched at a later date.

Borrowers are expected to repay the loan within 14 days, and an annual interest of 8% calculated per day will be charged.

The fund was a key campaign promise by the president who came to power in September.

He has touted the fund, which targets more than eight million people, as one that will give a lifeline to youth, women and low income groups who cannot access loans from commercial lenders.

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The South African parliament says President Cyril Ramaphosa will no longer answer questions from lawmakers on Thursday because he wants a postponement to consider the contents of an inquiry about his conduct.

Mr Ramaphosa's critics accuse him of having covered up a burglary at his farm nearly three years ago.

He denies wrongdoing but faces the possibility of impeachment.

An independent panel appointed by the speaker of parliament found Mr Ramaphosa may have committed serious breaches of the constitution, violated an anti-corruption law, and acted in a way inconsistent with his office.

The report will be taken up in parliament when it meets next week.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

The Ethiopian ambassador to Kenya has said that the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) will surrender its heavy weapons on Saturday following talks between senior army and TPLF commanders.

Ambassador Bacha Debele made the announcement in a video posted on YouTube, external.

"Regarding the surrender of heavy weapons, they [TPLF] were supposed to surrender them on 17 November, but this was not implemented but it has now been decided for them to surrender them on 3 December," he said.

Mr Bacha said the field commanders are "meeting everyday" to discuss the disarmament process and TPLF combatants are being assembled in designated areas.

"Information I obtained today indicates that activities have begun to assemble [TPLF combatants] in designated areas. They are implementing this [disarmament process]," he added.

The ambassador also said it would be embarrassing to talk about the human cost of the war in public.

The Ethiopian government and the TPLF signed a peace agreement in South Africa early this month to peacefully end the two-year devastating war.

Abdullahi Abdi Guji
BBC Monitoring

Image source, AFP

The speaker of Somalia’s lower house has vowed to “cancel any bill that violates Islamic values” ahead of the tabling of a controversial bill on sexual offences.

The bill is sponsored by Deputy Speaker Sadiya Yasin Haji Samatar, who has been campaigning against gender-based violence.

She claimed there had been threats against her over the bill and said she would leave the country if it was not passed.

It's still unclear if she plans to introduce a new bill or re-table one rejected by the previous parliament in 2020 over clauses that were allegedly opposed to Islam.

The previous bill created controversy over sections dealing with sexual offences between married couples, and the minimum age of marriage - which is 15 years in Islam but 18 years in the country’s draft constitution.

"Article 2 of the constitution, as you know, states that no religion other than Islam shall be propagated in Somalia. It also states that all laws in Somalia must be based on the Quran,” said Speaker Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur, also known as Aden Madobe.

"[Parliamentary] bylaw 75 states that no bill can be tabled at parliament if it violates the Islamic Sharia, the constitution, parliamentary bylaws and other laws of the country. The Speaker will therefore cancel debate on any such a bill,” he added.

His comments are believed to foreshadow a likely rejection of the bill.

Samba Cyuzuzo
BBC Great Lakes

Image source, Getty Images

The Rwandan president has accused his Democratic Republic of Congo counterpart of “trying to find a way to have the next elections postponed” by implicating Rwanda in the country’s crisis.

President Paul Kagame accused the Congolese leader Félix Tshisekedi of creating “grounds for an emergency so that [next year’s] elections don’t take place”.

Kinshasa hasn’t immediately responded to President Kagame’s remarks, who without presenting any evidence said the Congolese president didn’t win “the first elections”.

In a lengthy rare speech, external on Wednesday in parliament, Mr Kagame said it was a “shame” many parties and countries "claim to want to resolve the problem” that has remained for decades.

He cautioned powerful countries, mentioning the US, UK, France, and the UN, against accusing or believing that Rwanda was to blame for the instabilities in eastern Congo. He accused UN forces of failing to eradicate the Rwandan rebel group - FDLR - and others operating in DR Congo.

He also denied claims that Rwanda was stealing minerals from DR Congo.

“One thing we are not, we are not thieves,” he said.

“They are accusing us of stealing Congo’s minerals how about the destination?” he questioned.

Mr Kagame said the M23 rebels were not Rwandans but Congolese, blaming their insurgency on the Kinshasa government for not respecting previous agreements with the group.

He said Rwanda could help to address the problem of the M23 and other rebel groups “because we are interested in a stable neighbourhood”.

Image source, Sistah Space/PA Wire

The late Queen Elizabeth's lady-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey has apologised and resigned after she repeatedly asked a black British charity boss where she was "really" from.

Ngozi Fulani, a charity founder, was questioned about her background at the charity event at Buckingham palace on Tuesday.

Ms Fulani, said she was "totally stunned" by Prince William's godmother's comments.

The palace described the remarks as "unacceptable and deeply regrettable".

Here is part of the conversation, as recounted by Ms Fulani:

SH: No, where do you come from?

Me: We're based in Hackney.

SH: No, what part of Africa are you from?

Me: I don't know, they didn't leave any records.

Read the full story here:

• Lady Susan Hussey quits over remarks to charity boss Ngozi Fulani

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Getty Images

The Nigerian government has announced a policy aimed at promoting the teaching of primary school pupils in local languages rather than in English.

Education Minister Adamu Adamu told journalists on Wednesday that the new framework known as the National Language Policy had been approved for implementation.

It stipulates that instruction for the first six years in primary schools will be in the mother tongue.

English is Nigeria's official language and all learning institutions use it as the common language of teaching and learning.

But local languages will now take the centre stage, with the education minister saying “pupils learn much better” when they are taught in their own mother tongue.

He acknowledged that implementing the new policy would be challenging because it would “require a lot of work to develop materials to teach and get the teachers”.

Another challenge is the number of languages spoken in Nigeria - more than 600.

It’s not immediately clear when the government will start implementing the new system.

The Nigerian authorities suggest they will first provide teaching materials and teachers for the local languages before the implementation in earnest.

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The West African nation has strict rules for MPs but not for the Black Stars footballers.

The 23-year-old's lawyer says he has denied a charge of criminal defamation.

Kenya will not face a ban from competition but has a "long journey" to rebuild trust after a string of doping violations, World Athletics president Lord Coe says.

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

In the meantime, you can get the latest news from our website and the Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture taken in Makola market in Ghana's capital Accra

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

A plan by the prosecutor's office in Mozambique's western province of Manica to charge a journalist with slander and defamation over a video of children play-acting a typical traffic stop has been criticised by the journalism union, SNJ.

Raquel Paulo Jorge shared online the short video of the three minors; one sitting in a stationary car, the others acting like no-nonsense traffic policemen.

In it the policemen accuse the driver of made up offences, including the "vehicle smelling like soap", and then demand a $730 (£612) bribe. The driver then pleads his case saying he can't afford to pay.

"Is there no other way of sorting this out?," the driver asks.

After a brief pause, one of the officers points to two packets of yoghurt inside the car.

“Is this the way you work, bosses?” the exasperated driver asks.

SNJ said the video which features Ms Jorge's grandson was "educational" and " aimed at discouraging acts of corruption."

Many people have also criticised the authorities in Manica and have urged them not to proceed with the plan to charge the journalist.

Grace Nyenyezi Khombe
BBC News

A campaign group in Malawi has launched a series of events to encourage men to be involved in ending violence against women and children.

Men for Gender Equality Now (Megen), which has 50,000 members, has been holding marches in eight districts across the country as part of the UN's 16 Days of Activism.

The group's national coordinator Marcel Chisi told the BBC that the aim is to challenge cultural stereotypes of men's role in society.

“The idea is to challenge culturally constructed men privileges where men are considered superiors," he said.

Some 20,000 men have been trained as peer educators, each urged to reach between 15 to 20 men in their homes.

“Evidence is enormous that our young men are not properly groomed when entering into marriage as the case with young ladies who have several platforms such bridal showers, kitchen top-ups and wardrobe top-ups where they share family practice," Mr Chisi said.

Nichola Mandil
BBC News, Juba

A comment by South Sudan's higher education minister that most graduates from the country's universities had poor command of English, the nation's official language, has sparked a debate.

“If we cannot produce qualified students from our primary and secondary schools, then we have a problem. If you go to any of our universities, the standard is –very alarming – the English they speak is terrible because the foundation is not there," Gabriel Changson Chang was quoted as saying by news site Voice of Juba.

Adelino Iyya Paterno, who heads the languages department at Starford International University of South Sudan, agreed with the minister, but suggested that he should call for a meeting with language lecturers from various universities in order "to find a remedy to this problem."

While others commenting online agreed with the minister's assessment they blamed poor regulation of the education sector which, they say, has failed to enforce higher and consistent standards.

The country's civil wars has also played a huge part in disrupting learning.

Charles Gitonga
BBC News, Nairobi

Kenya’s President William Ruto has has unveiled a government loan scheme targeted at the youth and small businesses in the country.

Dubbed Hustler Fund it aims to provide cheaper loans to informal business owners.

It will give personal loans of between $4 (£3) and $400m (£330m) through phones, with a repayment period of 14 days.

Borrowers will access the money by dialling a USSD code or using an application on their mobile phones.

An annual interest of 8% calculated per day will be charged, and borrowers will not need to provide any assets as security.

“It is 500 times cheaper than the average lender in the market,” President Ruto said during the launch.

According to the government plan, 5% of the loan amount will be directed to a savings scheme, as it seeks to boost the level of savings in the country.

In the recent past, President Ruto has decried high interest rates charged by banks and mobile phone lending companies calling them exploitive.

The fund was a key campaign promise by the president who came to power in September.

He has touted the fund, which targets more than eight million people, as one that will give a lifeline to youth, women and low income groups who cannot access loans from commercial lenders.

At the launch event Mr Ruto, government ministers and corporate leaders from banks and telecom companies interacted with small business owners such as visual artists, fishmongers, and fashion designers who sold their wares to them.