The anti-colonial leader killed 50 years ago (20th January) was a poet, influenced by Marxism and led the nationalist movement of Guinea-Bissau and the Cape Verde Islands. António Tomás, José Lingna Nafafé and New Generation Thinker Alexandra Reza join Rana Mitter to explore his life, thinking and legacy.

José Lingna Nafafé is Senior Lecturer in Portuguese and Lusophone Studies at the University of Bristol. His work concentrates on the Black Atlantic abolitionist movement in the 17th Century and the Lusophone Atlantic African diaspora.

Alex Reza is a writer and lecturer in comparative literatures and cultures working in French, Portuguese and English at the University of Bristol. She is also a BBC Radio 3/AHRC New Generation Thinker.

António Tomás is the author of several publications in Portuguese and English, namely Amílcar Cabral, the Life of a Reluctant Nationalist (2021) and In the skin of the City: Spatial Transformation in Luanda (2022). He is currently an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Architecture, at the University of Johannesburg.

Producer: Ruth Watts

You might be interested in other Free Thinking discussions exploring Black History gathered into a collection on the programme website and all available to listen on BBC Sounds and to download as Arts and Ideas podcasts https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08t2qbp They include a conversation about the writing of Aimé Césaire and the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000nmxf A discussion of Frantz Fanon https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000tdtn

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live Page team but we'll pick things up again on Friday morning Nairobi time. For now, there will be an automated service here.

You can also check our stories on the BBC News website or listen to our Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of our African proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture of Moxico Province in Angola, taken by Angola-based photographer, Jessé Manuel.

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

The search continues for missing passengers of a boat that capsized on Tuesday in Nigeria's north-western Kebbi state.

Rescuers and divers have been searching the waters where the tragedy occurred. So far 10 bodies have been recovered from the scene, as we reported earlier.

An official of the Nigeria Inland Waterways who declined to be named, told the BBC that the accident occurred in Koko/Besse local government area of the state when a locally made boat carrying more than 100 rice farmers to Samanaji, a riverine community, capsized at night.

The police in Kebbi said 80 passengers were rescued alive, while rescue operations were still ongoing with a view to save those still missing.

Kebbi state has witnessed multiple boat accidents in recent years. In May 2021, more than 80 people died after a boat capsized, external.

A similar accident in March 2022 claimed four members of a family in the same state.

The cause of the recent accident is not yet known. But authorities have said rickety boats and overloading were factors that led to such incidents in the past.

Image source, Getty Images

A well-known Egyptian actress has been given a one-year suspended jail sentence for possession of cannabis.

The drug was found in lollipops and other snacks in her bags, according to the AFP news agency.

Menna Shalabi was travelling from the US to Cairo. Cannabis is legal in some parts of the US, but not in Egypt.

At the time of her arrest in November, Ms Shalabi denied that the drugs belonged to her, Egyptian media report.

Ms Shalabi has previously been nominated for an Emmy Award.

Cannabis is used by many in Egypt despite being illegal, AFP says.

Ahmed Rouaba
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Mauritanian police at the Nouakchott airport have prevented former President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz from travelling abroad, he says.

Mr Abdelaziz was about to board an Air France flight when police officers told him he was not allowed to leave the country. They also seized his passport.

"I am the former president Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz. The political police prevented me from traveling abroad. Although I am not under any judicial supervision. There is no legal reason from them to prevent me from travelling," the former president said in a video recording posted on social media.

He accused the "corrupt regime" of "targeting him and mistreating him". The government has not yet responded.

The former president together with top officials who worked under him from 2008 to 2019 are being investigated over allegations of corruption and mismanagement.

Mr Abdelaziz says he is the victim of political score-settling, and says he should enjoy immunity under the country's constitution, according to the AFP news agency.

Image source, Getty Images

A Zambian chef has told the BBC's Africa Daily podcast that she does not take seriously international lists that rank the best cuisines in the world.

It comes after Taste Atlas, which describes itself as a "world atlas of traditional dishes, local ingredients, and authentic restaurants” published their 2022 list of the best 95 cuisines in the world.

Only three African countries made it to the top 50, including Algeria, South Africa and Tunisia.

Taste Atlas says rankings are based on audience votes for ingredients, dishes and beverages.

Italy, Greece, Spain, Japan and India were the top five countries on the list. But some questioned the order of the list and why so few African countries made it to the top 50.

"Those lists are based on tourists," said Lillian Elidah, a Zambian chef and the owner of Twaala, a restaurant in the capital Lusaka.

The countries at the top of the list are "like top 10 tourists destinations for Europeans" so "obviously they're going to choose them", she said.

Ms Elidah said Zambian chefs need to work on how they present their food and showcase a greater variety of dishes. But it is a tough task to make Zambians embrace their authentic cuisine, she said.

"Most of our ingredients and dishes have really lost its true identity and meaning because most people have associated it with poverty so they have trauma of food poverty, and they don’t really want to eat that."

She added that she does not believe people have to physically visit Zambia to enjoy its cuisine.

"They should be able to be intrigued by the food and how we promote it. This starts by having shows, having information and now with the help of social media, this should be so easy."

The tourism boards across the world should also be doing more to promote African cuisine, she said.

"Training our cooks and chefs" will also help to bring African food to a global stage, she said.

You can listen to the full interview with Lillian Elidah here.

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province is on high alert after a warning from the weather services that suggests "large parts of KZN can expect disruptive rainfall, which brings the probability of widespread flooding on Thursday and Friday", according to the local government Facebook page., external

Last year the province was hit by devastating floods which affected around 40,000 people and left at least 400 people dead.

Authorities have since issued flood safety advice, including telling people to avoid crossing low-lying bridges and to take care when driving.

The weather services issued a level-nine warning for KwaZulu-Natal, which means that there could be a threat to life and displacement of people.

Read more about floods in KwaZulu-Natal here.

World Athletics boss Sebastian Coe has said that Kenya faces a "long journey" to combat the doping crisis which many Kenyan athletes have become embroiled in.

In December three Kenyan athletes were banned for a collective period of eight years after breaking anti-doping rules.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) banned marathon runners Alice Jepkemboi Kimutai and Johnstone Kibet Maiyo for three years, and sprinter Mark Otieno for two.

In November 2022, the east African country avoided a sanction by governing body World Athletics despite having 55 athletes serving suspensions - after committing to spend $25m (£20m) over the next five years to combat doping.

Mr Coe said stopping doping was a long-term commitment: "We should not kid ourselves this is going to be achieved overnight."

Last year, Kenya's Sports Minister Ababu Namwamba announced the government intended to criminalise doping in athletics in an attempt to bring an end to a string of cases in the sport.

"I have always said that I would rather have the short-term embarrassment of a positive test than a long term decline and reputational damage of a sport both locally and internationally," Mr Coe added.

President William Ruto's office also tweeted that "Kenya will not spare any efforts in the fight against doping".

It also said it would allocate funding towards combatting doping: "The Government has set aside Sh3.7 billion [$30m; £25m] to help in the fight against doping for the next five years."

She is accused of involvement in the genital mutilation of a four-year-old British girl in Kenya.

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Image source, Getty Images

Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema is disappointed with the 12-hour power blackouts the country is experiencing, according to his spokesperson.

Zambia’s power utility - Zesco Ltd - on Wednesday announced crippling 12-hour electricity blackouts until further notice owing to low water levels in the Kariba dam, which is used for hydropower.

The company said the removal of a 150MW generator at Maamba Collieries power plant for routine annual maintenance from 4-20 January had exacerbated the situation.

But presidential spokesperson Anthony Bwalya says Mr Hichilema is disappointed that Zambians were experiencing power blackouts.

“He is as disappointed, as all of us are, because this issue of load-shedding has the potential to disrupt our economic growth agenda.

"The president and the administration are working hard to make sure that this issue never arises in the future,” Mr Bwalya said during an interview with a local radio station.

He blamed the problem on insufficient investment in the energy sector by previous governments, saying there was need to diversify investments to other sources of energy.

He said the president - who has previously said his government had ended power cuts - was "up to the task" in addressing the situation "but we need to give him time".

But Zambians on social media have been less forgiving, reminding Mr Hichilema about his past claims and promises.

More than 30 Cameroon players have now failed tests enforced by governing body president Samuel Eto'o ahead of U-17 Afcon qualifiers.

Peter Mwai
BBC Reality Check

Image source, Facebook

The Ugandan government has disowned Facebook and Instagram pages operating under its name after controversy arose over why it was using social media platforms it had restricted to its citizens.

Uganda banned Facebook in January 2021, accusing the social media platform of meddling in the country's affairs.

Two weeks ago Mr Museveni said that Facebook would remain blocked in the country.

The Facebook and Instagram pages purporting to be official government sites have a "blue badge", which indicates they have been verified by Facebook as “the authentic presence of the public figure or global brand it represents.”

However, a statement, external by the government on Twitter now says the accounts are not run by the government.

“The only authentic account of Government of Uganda is on Twitter,” it reads.

The Facebook page, external in question was created in 2012 and has over 50,000 followers. On New Year’s day, it published a post celebrating the milestone.

Responding to criticism online, the Facebook page purporting to be that owned by the government said “we’re in talks and we hope this year we shall resolve the matter.”

The Instagram account, external is more obviously problematic. It spells the country ‘Uganga’ instead of Uganda and is registered in Russia.

Launched in 2020 it has around 6,000 followers.

Image source, AFP

Kenya’s President William Ruto has defended the country’s move to import genetically modified (GM) food, assuring Kenyans that it was safe,

The president criticised those who were against the lifting of the ban on such products, saying he was a scientist and was confident the genetically modified food posed no harm.

He said he had himself consumed GM food. “Have I grown breasts?” he posed, adding, “we must tell “the truth, let stop propaganda”.

“The whole of South Africa are 100% GMO... the US and other countries are 100% GMO. Have you heard of anyone growing horns because of consuming GMO?"

He said the GM technology would help address the problem of food shortages, saying that it was a "big indictment on us as leaders" that people were sleeping hungry decades after independence.

The president was speaking to journalists at State House in his first major televised media briefing.

Read more: Why Kenya is turning to genetically modified crops to help with drought

Nigerian authorities say they recovered 10 bodies on Wednesday after a boat carrying dozens of passengers capsized in a river in the north,

A local official is quoted as saying that the boat had been overloaded with passengers "beyond its capacity”.

The boat had been carrying passengers returning from a farm on the River Niger and broke in half as it approached Samanaji village in Koko-Besse district.

Over 80 passengers were rescued.

Boat accidents are relatively common in Nigeria with many being blamed on overloading or poor safety measures.

Image source, Getty Images

Zambian footballer Lameck Banda and his Lecce teammate Samuel Umtiti suffered racist abuse from visiting Lazio fans in Italy's Serie A on Wednesday.

The referee stopped the game in the second half because of the racist taunts, the AFP news agency reports.

France international Umtiti was the primary target of the abuse.

Lecce, who won 2-1, afterwards praised their fans for responding to the abuse by chanting Umtiti's name.

"The racist chants were submerged by those of encouragement," the club said in a tweet.

BBC Focus on Africa radio

South Africa is making steps to commercialise medicinal plants, while scientists are working to profile and test their efficacy.

Prof Nox Makunga of Stellenbosh University says that 85% of flora and fauna found in Africa is endemic to the continent and has potential to treat a variety of diseases.

“Our reliance on plant-based remedies is really part of longstanding historical tradition. Even nowadays we are still looking for plants, for example, that might be effective against antimicrobial resistance which is a huge global problem,” she says.

However, she adds that due to stigma, Western branded medicines are often preferred over African plant medicine.

“These are remedies that have not necessarily been written down but passed on as an oral tradition. People are nervous to take something without scientific validation.”

Prof Makunga is part of a team working to provide the scientific validation of such herbal extracts.

She says there needs to be more investment to commercialise these plants and market them globally.

The interview was part of a special edition of Focus on Africa, guest-edited by Professor Thuli Madonsela.

Listen to the full interview here:

Emery Makumeno
BBC News, Kinshasa

Image source, AFP

The rebel group M23 has announced its withdrawal from a strategic military base that it captured in October 2022 in the Rumangabo area in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

In a statement, the group said it would hand over the camp on Thursday to the East African regional force.

It follows their announcement last month of plans to withdraw from captured territories as a goodwill gesture in line with the agreements of a regional leaders’ summit in the Angolan capital, Luanda, in November.

Residents in the Rutshuru region have been complaining of the group's slow withdrawal from at least 100 villages it captured since its offensive began last June.

The handover of the Rumangabo military camp comes 12 days after the rebels withdrew from Kibumba town.

A UN report leaked last month said that the Rwandan government had provided support to the M23 rebels. Rwanda has in the past denied these accusations.

Grace Kuria
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, CHARLENE RUTO/TWITTER

Kenya's President William Ruto has defended his daughter Charlene Ruto over claims of the existence of the "Office of the First Daughter".

Since her father's inauguration in September, Charlene Ruto has held several high-profile events and meetings under the title.

In Kenyan law, no such office exists.

On Wednesday, the president denied the existence of such an office.

“Leave my daughter Charlene alone, you know these are kids, they’re just being children, you know very well that there is no such office…. she is just being the daughter of William Ruto and sometimes she doesn’t know the divide between the president and the father,” Mr Ruto told journalists at State House, Nairobi.

The activities of the president's daughter had prompted questions over whether she was using taxpayers' money.

But last month she denied that public money was being used to fund what she called the "Office of the First Daughter".

She said: "The Office of the First Daughter is a private entity. It is neither a constitutional office nor is it being funded by the Kenyan taxpayer."

Read more on this:

• Charlene Ruto: Kenya's 'first daughter' denies using public money

Image source, AFP

Kenyan President William Ruto has disclosed that he fired the former head of criminal investigations over cases of forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

President Ruto had previously said the former director of criminal investigations George Kinoti had resigned from service.

Mr Ruto told journalists on Wednesday night that he was keen on ensuring there were no extrajudicial killings by the police.

"There was a container at the Nairobi area where people were being slaughtered - in a police station - I mean how did we end up there? What kind of rogue an institution was that? That is why I fired that Kinoti man,” he said.

Mr Ruto said he had tasked the police oversight authority to investigate the cases.

He insisted that the police must operate within the law, which he said included defending themselves from criminals.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

The Kenyan president says the country will not default on its debt in the face of severe economic challenges.

William Ruto told journalists Kenya had "applied the brakes" on any more borrowing.

He made the remarks at State House, Nairobi, during his first major televised media conference with local journalists.

When it took over in September last year, his government said it would cut expensive commercial borrowing in favour of cheaper sources such as the World Bank.

Like several other African countries, Kenya's credit rating has been at risk of being downgraded because of rising debt and surging global interest rates.