Image source, Getty Images

The United States has called on Tunisia to show greater democratic inclusion amid a low turnout at recent parliamentary elections.

Just 11% of voters took part in a second round of elections that ended on Sunday.

"The low voter turnout reflects the dire need for the government to engage in a more inclusive path going forward to further expand political participation," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

Opposition parties boycotted the poll, accusing the president of staging a coup after he shut down parliament in 2021 and gave himself almost unlimited executive powers.

Mr Saied has defended the low turnout as a sign of discontent with parliament.

Nichola Mandil
BBC News, Juba

Image source, AFP

The Catholic Church in South Sudan is planning to hold special prayers on Thursday for the safe arrival of Pope Francis who is scheduled to be in the country on Friday.

Pope Francis is currently in the Democratic Republic of Congo where he celebrated one of his biggest Masses on Wednesday, with around a million attendees in the capital, Kinshasa.

The prayers for the Pope's arrival in South Sudan will be held at the mausoleum of former president John Garang in Juba, Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Martin said.

“I want to make this announcement to all the Christians, let us come here on Thursday afternoon at 17:00 hours (15:00 GMT) to pray for the health of our Holy Father Pope Francis and for his safe arrival in our country on Friday,” Archbishop Ameyu said.

Vatican’s ambassador to South Sudan, Archbishop Hubertus van Megen, will preside over the Mass.

Meanwhile, the government says it has deployed 5,000 officers from the army and the police service in the capital city to provide security during the Pope's visit

Chris Ewokor
BBC News, Abuja

Nigeria’s electoral body says nearly 800 ballot boxes and over 200 voting cubicles were destroyed during an attack on one of its offices in the south-eastern state of Anambra.

The attack comes less than a month to the country’s general elections.

The police in Anambra state said gunmen invaded the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) in Ojoto in the early hours of Wednesday.

Police spokesman Tochukwu Ikenga told journalists that the group also attacked a police station and a residential building located within the same vicinity.

He said that a teenager was killed and another sustained injury and was taken to hospital.

It is the latest in the series of attacks on the electoral commission’s offices in the region – where the separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra, is active.

The attacks targeting the electoral body's offices have raised questions on the security of election officials and materials in the run-up to the polls.

Two weeks ago, the European Union said the elections may not be held in some parts of the country due to a “hostile security climate".

EU official Rudolf Elbling said such an eventuality would raise “a lot of legal implications for the entire process”.

The electoral commission has previously said there will be no delays to the elections despite insecurity in some parts of the country.

More on Nigeria elections:

• Nigeria elections 2023: What you need to know
• Rivers state: The oil land with no electricity - BBC News

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, Getty Images

The top leadership, or synod, of Ethiopia’s Orthodox church, the largest religious denomination in the country, has threatened to call nationwide rallies to be led by its patriarch, Abuna Mathias.

The church has criticised Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s recent statements regarding rogue clergy involved in the appointment of bishops without its knowledge.

Mr Abiy’s lengthy remarks, broadcast on national television on Tuesday, came after the church’s synod excommunicated the breakaway clergy, who are from the country’s Oromia region.

He warned his cabinet members against getting involved in the church’s affairs. However, he said both sides “have truths.”

The synod said the PM's remarks disregarded its decisions, challenged its authority and gave recognition to an “illegitimate power-hungry” group.

Some of Mr Abiy’s statements were "misleading", it added.

The breakaway clergy accuse the church of maintaining a system of linguistic and cultural hegemony in which congregations in Oromia are not served in their native languages. The church denies the accusation.

The breakaway clergy said they had “overwhelming” public support after touring some areas in the conflict-prone western Oromia.

The synod’s statement comes amid accusations among the faithful that authorities are supporting the breakaway clergy.

It accuses the government of harassing and detaining its senior figures. It vows to continue to speak out even if they [senior religious leaders] have to “sacrifice their lives.”

Relationships between Mr Abiy’s administration and the church - which boasts nearly half of Ethiopia’s 110 million population as its adherents - were positive in the early days of his tenure.

However, in recent years members of the faith group have reported being targeted.

Relations became particularly strained during the heights of the Tigray war after Abuna Mathias spoke against what he called genocide in the region.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

The United States says it is deeply concerned over the release this week of a Sudanese man facing the death penalty in connection with the killing of a US diplomat 15 years ago.

The Sudanese authorities on Monday freed Abdel-Raouf Abu Zaid, who was convicted over the killing of John Granville and his Sudanese driver Abdel Rahman Abbas.

They were shot dead by Islamist gunmen on New Year's Day 2008.

The State Department denied that the release was part of an agreement by both countries.

It said it was troubled by the lack of transparency in the legal process.

Image source, Getty Images

Kenyan police have arrested six teachers from a primary school in the western part of the country over a widely shared video showing pupils simulating sex acts as the teachers watch.

Local media report that the teachers in Nyamache, in Kisii county, were arrested after education ministry officials watched the clip and raised a complaint.

In the video, adults can be heard talking and laughing out loud as someone records the four boys who are in school uniforms.

A police report noted that the clip “exposing the pupils in an indecent act” appeared to have originated from the school.

It said the six arrested were assisting in investigations and appropriate charges would follow.

The video has sparked an uproar on social media, with many calling for action.

“What they did can only be termed as barbarous, bestial, and insane. It has no justification whatsoever! Let them face the full force of the law,” a one person on Twitter said, external.

“I support the arrest of the six teachers... There is no justification [for] what they did,” another said., external

Peter Jegwa
Lilongwe, Malawi

Image source, AFP

The head of Malawi's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Martha Chizuma, has been suspended over a leaked piece of audio in which she can allegedly be heard discussing official matters with a person not employed by her office.

The comments that she allegedly made could prejudice the trial of people charged with corruption.

The audio was leaked a year ago and at the time President Lazarus Chakwera said that it was recorded and circulated in a bid to force him to sack her.

Ms Chizuma remained in the job with the president’s backing and went ahead to indict several high profile officials, including Vice-President Saulos Chilima and a cabinet minister, on various corruption-related charges. They have denied wrongdoing.

On Wednesday, her suspension was announced by the secretary to cabinet, Colen Zamba, but some legal experts have questioned the protocol used.

President Chakwera's office has not commented on the suspension.

Our proverb of the day:

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How democracy is faring as President Samia dismantles some of her predecessor's dictatorial policies.

Two people have been killed in separate incidents involving Arsenal fans arguing with their rivals.

Southampton and Bournemouth punt on African talent for the second half of the Premier League season while Leicester City eye one for the future.

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live team, but we'll be back on Thursday morning.

Until then you can find the latest updates on the BBC News website, or listen to our Africa Today podcast.

Today's wise words:

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And we leave you with this picture from DR Congo's capital Kinshasa, where an estimated one million people attended a mass officiated by Pope Francis.

Image source, Reuters

Guy Bandolo
BBC News, Yaoundé

A court in Cameroon has sentenced a former defence minister to 30 years in prison for embezzling nearly $40m (£32m).

Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo'o was accused of inflating contracts to buy military equipment from Brazil.

His wife, Bernadette, was also found guilty of embezzlement and was handed a 10-year sentence.

The court decided to seize many of the defendants' assets, including luxury cars, houses and land titles.

The pair denied wrongdoing and their lawyer said they would appeal against the verdicts at the Supreme Court.

Cameroonian journalist Jules Koum Koum, who later died in a road accident, had exposed the corruption allegations in 2010.

Regional leaders meeting in Somalia have agreed on a joint offensive operation against Islamist militant group al-Shabab.

The "search and destroy" operation will boost the momentum built up by government forces who have made huge gains over the past few months, including recovering territory controlled by the al Qaeda-affiliated group.

"The time sensitive campaign will prevent any future infiltrating elements in the region," said the communique signed by the leaders of Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya

It did not provide any details about the operation.

Al-Shabab, which launched mortar shells in Mogadishu ahead of the leaders' meeting, has not responded to a request for comment, news agency Reuters reports.

The militant group has been fighting since 2006 to topple Somalia's central government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

It occasionally attacks hotels, military bases and government establishments in Somalia and in the region.

Read more:

• Somalia’s men in sarongs taking on al-Shabab militants

Alfred Lasteck
BBC News, Dar es Salaam

Image source, Getty Images

Tanzania has formed a commission to investigate claims that most of the money collected for plea-bargain agreements by the public prosecutor are missing, with some allegedly banked outside the country.

“Most of the money is missing. If you ask questions, you will be told that they are in an account in China," President Samia Suluhu said on Tuesday at an event launching the investigative commission.

In 2019, Ms Samia’s predecessor John Magufuli amended the criminal laws to introduce, among other changes, a plea-bargaining arrangement, where detained suspects and convicts bought their freedom or got lesser sentences.

According to the government's audit office, the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had collected at least $21m (£17m) by April 2021.

Ms Samia did not however give the exact figures of how much was missing and the owners of the said offshore account.

During Magufuli's administration, millions of dollars were squeezed from businessmen, who were accused of serious economic crimes, in plea-bargain deals.

A high-profile economic crimes case settled under the arrangement involved the owner of Independent Power Tanzania Limited, Harbinder Seth Singh, who was freed after paying $11m, four years after his arrest in 2017.

Among many others, investigative journalist Eric Kabendera in February 2020 paid over $70,000 to be free, according to the courts.

Mr Kabendera was arrested on charges related to money laundering, tax evasion and leading a gang of organised crime. His arrest was criticised by human rights groups who said Magufuli was punishing critics and the media.

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Image source, Getty Images

The authorities in Zambia have passed a law that prohibits pedestrians from crossing the road while wearing headsets or talking on a mobile phone.

A person who contravenes this regulation commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding 1,000 kwacha ($16; £12), according to a clause in the new law.

A pedestrian must wait for the traffic lights to turn red for motor vehicles to stop, before crossing a road at a junction that is controlled by traffic lights, it says.

Frederick Mubanga, the spokesperson for the body that deals with road safety, says the law is aimed at curbing road traffic accidents.

“According to our analysis, over 50% of people that die from road traffic accidents are pedestrians. And in most cases, the pedestrians may not have used the roads correctly,” he told the BBC.

“As a way of regulating the conduct of pedestrians on the road, we needed to put up these measures so that those pedestrians using the road in an incorrect way are punished.”

He said in the past, emphasis was on the motorists but going forward, this won’t be the case.

Mr Mubanga said the police will seek arrest warrants against offenders who don't pay the fine.

He said the Zambia police and the road traffic agency have been empowered to enforce the law.

Russell Cook, known as "Hardest Geezer", will run 63km every day for eight months with no rest days.

Patricia Oyella
BBC News, Kampala

Image source, EU International Partnerships

A court in the US state of Utah has awarded the family of a Ugandan activist killed in an accident in 2020 at Arches National Park more than $10m (£8m) in damages, US media report., external

The amount is substantially less than the $140m that Esther Nakajjigo’s family sought but it is the largest federal wrongful death verdict in Utah, according to their lawyer.

Her husband was awarded $9.5m, her mother $700,000 while her father got $350,000

Newlyweds Nakajjigo, 25, and her husband Ludovic were visiting eastern Utah’s national parks when she was killed.

A gust of wind swung round a metal gate that was left unsecured as the couple drove out of Arches National Park. It sliced through the passenger side door, decapitating Nakajjigo.

The horrific nature of Nakajjigo’s death and the fact that she was an ambassador for Women and Girls in Uganda raised the profile of her case.

Peter Mwai
BBC Reality Check

A video is being widely shared in Kenya, showing a young woman being publicly beaten, with online users incorrectly claiming it had taken place in the country.

Some posts claim the girl had earlier escaped from a forced marriage and had gone back to collect her belongings to resume school when she was subjected to the beating.

Others claim she had run away from home to avoid female genital mutilation.

Among those who have shared the clip is former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko who says he has “instructed a group of female lawyers to pursue the case and ensure the girl gets justice”.

Image source, .

The video, however, appears to have been taken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

It is one of a series of such posts circulating online, apparently originating from the eastern Maniema province, showing young women and girls being beaten in public by groups of men, using sticks and other weapons.

The men are believed to be members of a vigilante group operating in the area, imposing their interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, publicly flogging women for, among other things, dressing in short skirts and trousers.

Albert-Fabrice Puela, Minister of Human Rights in DR Congo, recently issued a statement condemning the incidents and called on police to ensure the perpetrators are held to account.

This is said to be the second largest Mass Pope Francis has held, after one in the Philippines in 2015.