Jenna Abaakouk & Peter Okwoche
BBC Focus on Africa TV

Image source, Getty Images

Nigeria's general election will go ahead on 25 February despite concerns about a postponement because of insecurity in parts of the country, election chief Mahmood Yakubu has said.

This was despite warning a week ago that rising insecurity could force the polls to be cancelled or delayed.

Prof Yakubu was speaking at an event organised by the Chatham House think-tank in London.

Nigerians are set to elect a new president at the end of February, then will elect governors and local councils two weeks after.

These elections come as the country is experiencing a spate mass kidnappings, banditry, religious and ethnic tensions as well as violent agitations for independence in several parts of the country.

According to Prof Yakubu 93.4 million people have registered to vote in the elections, with more than 74 million between the ages of 18 and 49.

BBC World Service

A Somali senior army commander has been killed in an Islamist attack on a military base north of the capital Mogadishu.

Col Abshir Shataqey and a number of other soldiers died when al-Shabab stormed the facility in Hawadley town at dawn.

The base was seized from the militants in October.

The latest fighting comes a day after the government announced it had recaptured the key port of Haradhere in central Somalia, whcih had been under jihadist control for years.

The government has seized significant territory from al-Shabab since it launched a new offensive last year.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News

In a surprise move the head of Ethiopia's Supreme Court, Meaza Ashenafi, and her deputy, Solomon Areda, have resigned.

No reason has so far been given.

Judge Meaza, a former women’s rights activist, was appointed Supreme Court president in 2018, in a move that was seen as a testament to the reformist agenda of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed when he took office.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s she was a judge in Ethiopia’s high court. Later, she founded the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association to help women in need of legal advice.

One of the most famous cases in which she was involved was made into a movie, with Hollywood star Angelina Jolie serving as executive producer.

She has been replaced as Supreme Court president by Tewodros Mihret, a legal academic, whose appointment was approved by the country’s lower house of parliament on Tuesday.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC World Service

Egypt has freed 31 people held in pre-trial detention on charges of spreading false news.

It's the second time since the start of the year that such detainees have been freed by a presidential pardon.

A leading political activist Hassan Mustafa and an artist Amir Abdel-Ghani are among those to have been released after being held for several years in jail.

Human rights groups say that Egypt has intensified its restrictions on freedom of expression under President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News, Nairobi

Authorities in Somalia say 26 people have been killed and scores injured in Tuesday morning's attack at a military base in Hawadley town, in the Middle Shabelle region.

The dead include five government soldiers and 21 fighters from the al-Shabab militant group.

The attack began after a suicide bomber stormed the base. Heavy gunfire and explosions could be heard early on Tuesday as the army clashed with the militants.

The attack comes just days after the army captured the strategic port of Haradhere, which has been held by al-Shabab for 15 years.

Al-Shabab has lost huge swathes of territory since August last year, when government troops backed by clan militia launched an offensive in southern and central Somalia.

But the group has continued to carry out attacks mainly targeting government buildings and African Union troops.

Over the last week, it carried out four deadly bombings in the central region of Hiraan.

Patricia Oyella
BBC News, Kampala

A Ugandan preacher and three police officers have been arrested over the alleged rape of a Latvian woman at a home in the country's capital, Kampala.

Police say the victim was also defrauded of her money and had her passport confiscated.

It's unclear if the suspects have commented on the charges.

The preacher had invited the victim to tour the country and she arrived about a month ago, a police statement said.

The three officers who handled the case when the victim filed a complaint at Jinja Road police station face charges of irregular conduct.

The victim accuses them of locking her up in a cell and forcing her to sign a statement acknowledging receipt of payment of all her money and withdrawal of the case against the preacher.

The police’s Criminal Investigations Department has now taken over the case and asked anyone with similar complaints against the preacher to report to them.

Lalla Sy
BBC News, Abidjan

The UN, the US and France have called for the unconditional release of dozens of women kidnapped in Burkina Faso’s northern Soum province between 12 and 13 January.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said he was “alarmed” by the kidnappings in “the first attack of this type deliberately targeting women” in Burkina Faso.

The US State Department said it was deeply concerned.

"Those abducted must be returned safely to their loved ones immediately and unconditionally, and those responsible should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement., external

In a statement, France condemned the kidnappings and called for the women's immediate release.

No group has said it was behind the abductions but the kidnappings took place in an area where militants are active

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Heavy gunfire and explosions have been heard on Tuesday morning at a military base in Hawadley town in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region.

Authorities believe the attack is being carried out by suspected members of the al-Shabab jihadist group.

A top military officer is among those killed in the raid but there’s still little information about the exact number of casualties.

It comes just days after the army captured the strategic port of Haradhere which has been held by the jihadist group for 15 years.

Al-Shabab has lost huge swathes of territory since August last year, when government troops backed by clan militia launched an offensive in southern and central Somalia.

But the group has continued to carry out attacks against mainly government buildings and African Union troops.

Over the last week, it has carried out four deadly bombings in the central region of Hiran.

Ferdinand Omondi
BBC News, Eldoret

Kenyan gay rights activist Edwin Kiprotich Kiptoo, who was known as Chiloba, is due to be buried on Tuesday in Sergoit village, in the western part of the country.

His body was found two weeks ago dumped in a metal box by the roadside near the town of Eldoret.

The government's chief pathologist said he died due to suffocation caused by stuffing of pieces of cloth in his mouth and nose.

Friends and family collected his body from a mortuary on Tuesday morning.

A family spokesperson, Gaudencia Tanui, has said everyone is welcome to pay their last respects.

Ms Tanui said she was hopeful that Mr Chiloba's killers would be brought to justice and that the homicide department was in constant touch.

Five suspects, including Chiloba's partner, are in remand as police conclude investigations before formally pressing charges.

Ms Tanui also told the BBC that they were shocked by the social media vitriol directed at the family, which she said had left them deeply hurt.

Equatorial Guinea foreign minister has denied claims that a prominent dissident in the country died while serving a 60-year jail sentence.

Julio Obama Mefuman, 51, "died in Oveng Azem prison", his MLGE3R movement is quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

It accused the country's regime, without elaborating, of "torture".

But in a tweet on Monday, the Foreign Minister Simeon Oyono Esono Angue said the dissident died in a hospital and denied accusations of torture.

He said Obama Mefuman "died in a Mongomo hospital due to an illness he had been suffering from".

The head of Equatorial Guinea's only authorised opposition party, the Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS), condemned "Julio Obama's death in prison."

"The death of Julio Obama in the Oveng Azém prison is confirmed. CPDS condemns this fact. Obama was a Spanish citizen and the GE government must open an international investigation to clarify what happened and allow all the prisoners to be visited by their families," party Secretary General Andres Esono Ondo said in a tweet, external.

Image source, AFP

South African opposition groups, a trade union and business owners have threatened to sue the government over the crippling blackouts in the country.

They have given the government up to Friday to stabilise electricity supply or face legal action for contravening its duty to provide electricity.

They have written a demand letter to the Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and the chief executive of the state utility firm Eskom, Andre de Ruyter, saying the state was in breach of its obligation to provide electricity.

The blackouts have persisted for more than a decade, amid poor management and corruption at state firm Eskom

Recently the country has been having up to 10 hours of power cuts daily.

The problem has prompted the president to cancel a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos to hold meetings at home with business and labour leaders.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, Getty Images

Turkish spy chief Hakan Fidan on Monday discussed intelligence sharing and other issues of common interest with Sudanese military leaders in Khartoum, state-broadcaster Sudan TV reported.

Mr Fidan separately met the head of Sudan's ruling Sovereign Council Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Lt General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemeti).

Both meetings were attended by Sudan's spy chief Lt Gen Ahmed Ibrahim Mufadal, Sudan TV said

Mr Fidan conveyed his country's support for the framework agreement the military leaders signed with some pro-democracy groups on 5 December.

Turkey was among members of the international community that backed the deal, which was meant to pave the way for the return of civilian rule in Sudan.

However, pro-military and Islamist groups have opposed the deal.

Image source, AFP

South Africans will on Tuesday begin seven days of mourning in in honour of Frene Ginwala, who became the founding speaker of South Africa's first democratically elected parliament.

Ms Ginwala died on Thursday night aged 90.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has directed that the national flag be flown at half-mast around the country until the evening of Tuesday 24 January 2023, according to a statement from his office.

More details will be announced later on an official memorial service that will take place in Johannesburg next Tuesday.

During the 1960s and 1970s Ms Ginwala lived in exile in Mozambique from where she helped many prominent members of the banned African National Congress (ANC) escape abroad.

Ms Ginwala also travelled around the world drawing international attention to the abuses of the apartheid era.

Rhoda Odhiambo
BBC Africa health reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Learning in primary and secondary schools resumes on Tuesday in Malawi's two major cities following a cholera outbreak that killed hundreds of people.

Schools in the capital, Lilongwe, and the commercial hub, Blantyre, had remained closed for at least two weeks after the Christmas holidays.

The cholera outbreak began in March last year and has so far killed more than 750 people.

Infections are still high in Lilongwe and Blantyre.

Health Minister Khumbize Chiponda said schools now have access to safe water and improved sanitation facilities, which will go a long way in reducing infections reported in schools.

The minister was optimistic that infections in schools would reduce due to improved sanitation facilities.

Malawi is among 31 countries globally hardest hit by cholera.

Last week, the government asked for international assistance as it was running low on medical supplies.

The widespread cases of cholera in the country are as a result of the aftermath of tropical storm Ana and cyclone Gombe that caused extensive flooding last year and destroyed the country's water and sanitation systems.

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An investigation has begun into a speech made by Zwelivelile Mandela at the CHAN opening ceremony in Algeria, held in a stadium named after his grandfather.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now, but we'll be back on Tuesday morning. In the meantime there'll be an automated service here or you can listen to our Africa Today podcast or check the BBC News website for updates.

A reminder of our African proverb for the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this selection of pictures by documentary and portrait photographer Sarah Waiswa:

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

Twenty-five Zimbabwean opposition activists have appeared in court after being arrested on Saturday.

They were accused of holding an illegal gathering at the home of Costa Machinate - an MP from the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change.

The party says on Saturday a lawyer who was trying to meet the detained opposition activists was badly beaten by the police who broke his arm.

Anti-riot police armed with assault rifles, batons and teargas prevented many journalists from attending the trial.

The opposition and rights groups say the governing Zanu-PF party has launched a campaign of violence ahead of this year's elections.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The military in Somalia has captured a strategic coastal town that al-Shabab jihadists had held for more than a decade.

Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre described the taking of Haradhere, in central Galmudug state, as an historic victory.

He said the enemy of the nation had been destroyed.

Other officials said the Islamist militant group fled without putting up a fight.

The loss of the port and supply route is seen as a set-back for al-Shabab.

In recent months it has lost swathes of territory during a sustained offensive by government forces working with clan militias. But the al-Qaeda-linked insurgents have responded with frequent bomb attacks.

Read more about the Somali force fighting al-Shabab:

• Fighting al-Shabab: Rare access to Somalia's US-funded 'lightning' brigade

BBC Focus on Africa radio

Image source, AFP

The number of people who died during the two-year-long civil war in northern Ethiopia is likely to be in the hundreds of thousands but it is very hard "to tell the exact number", head of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission Daniel Bekele told BBC Focus on Africa.

He was responding to an estimate of 600,000 dead given by Africa Union mediator Olusegun Obasanjo to the UK's Financial Times newspaper.

Mr Daniel said that estimates have varied between 100,000 and up to one million, but it is hard to "agree with any estimate without any specific basis to it".

It is only when there is a truth and reconciliation process that the "truth will come out", he added.

Listen to the interview: