Equatorial Guinea has appointed Manuela Roka Botey as prime minister, becoming the first woman in the country to hold the position.

President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has ruled the country since 1979, made the announcement on Tuesday in a decree read on state television.

The country’s vice-president, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, who is also the president’s son, congratulated the new prime minister.

"For the first time in Equatorial Guinea, a woman is appointed prime minister," he tweeted., external

“This is further proof of the commitment to gender equality and opportunities in the country. Congratulations, Manuela Roka Botey!"

Ms Rotey was previously the education minister and joined the government in 2020.

She replaces former premier Francisco Pascual Obama Asue, who has been in the position since 2016.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Sales of diamonds from Botswana reached record levels last year due to Western buyers shunning Russian stones and steady global demand for diamond jewellery.

Botswana generates almost a third of its revenue and around 70% of its foreign exchange earnings from diamonds.

Almost a third of the world's diamonds would normally come from Russia.

But because of its war in Ukraine there have been sanctions and some buyers have been looking elsewhere. Botswana has benefited.

The government's joint venture with the mining giant De Beers - known as Debswana - sold a record $4.5bn (£3.6bn) worth of rough or uncut diamonds last year.

For decades Botswana has shown other countries that minerals can be a benefit rather than a curse.

The income from gemstones has helped the country develop.

Increasingly the southern African nation has been adding value at home by setting up diamond-cutting and polishing factories.

Our proverb of the day:

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The tailors relying on generators in Nigeria's oil-rich region - a key electoral battle ground.

Pope Francis gave a speech where he spoke of the centuries of exploitation faced by the continent.

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

Until then you can find the latest updates 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 photo of a manta ray in Mozambican waters:

United Nations experts have called for an independent investigation into possible war crimes committed in Mali by the armed forces and the Russian Wagner group.

In 2021 the military rulers in Bamako hired the group to help tackle the Islamist insurgency.

The UN experts say that since then they have received persistent accounts from the Mopti region of executions, mass graves, torture, rape and enforced disappearances.

They said they were especially concerned about reports that several hundred civilians were executed after being rounded up in the village of Moura last March.

Earlier this month, the US designated Wagner a transnational criminal organisation.

Related stories:

• How Russia has outflanked Ukraine in Africa
• Wagner behind Central African Republic atrocities, says HRW
• The coups that promised - and failed - to bring safety
• Russia and the West fight for Africa's heart

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News

Security chiefs from eastern Africa are meeting in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu to deliberate on joint military operations against the al-Shabab militant Islamist group.

Heads of states from the region will meet on Wednesday to discuss a co-ordinated military offensive against the al-Qaeda affiliated group, which has waged an insurgency against Somalia’s federal government over the past decade and a half.

The meeting of security chiefs comes in the wake of significant gains made by Somali government troops in the fight against al-Shabab.

Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya are all part of the African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia - the continental peacekeeping force in the country.

The highlight of the two-day meeting, will be a summit of regional leaders on Wednesday, who will also focus on the phased withdrawal of African Union troops who have been in Somalia since 2007.

Al-Shabab has lost significant territory since government forces backed by the US, African troops and local militia launched an offensive in August. The militants however continue to carry out attacks in the capital Mogadishu and in towns and cities in central and southern Somalia

Patience Atuhaire
BBC News

Image source, AFP

Pope Francis has met President Felix Tshisekedi in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as he begins a six-day visit to the continent that was delayed by six months due to the 86-year-old's poor health.

Delegations from the government and the Catholic Church greeted the pontiff, who is in a wheelchair, as he arrived at Ndjili international airport.

He will conduct mass on the outskirts of the capital, Kinshasa, on Wednesday. But a planned visit to the eastern city of Goma has been cancelled for security reasons.

He will, however, meet survivors of conflict from the resource-rich eastern region, where dozens of armed groups have operated for decades.

Many Congolese are hoping that a visit from the head of the Catholic Church will bring a message of hope and might boost efforts from the country’s leaders to find lasting solutions for peace.

About 50% the country's population is Catholic - the largest Catholic community in Africa.

Pope Francis will visit South Sudan, another country riven by conflict, later in the week.

Azeezat Olaoluwa
BBC News, Lagos

One of the leading opposition candidates in next month’s presidential elections in Nigeria has dismissed a recent attempt to get him disqualified over corruption allegations.

Atiku Abubakar has told the BBC that there was “nothing new” in an extract of audio leaked to the media in which someone can be heard allegedly discussing ways to divert state funds.

It had been reported that the voice belongs to Mr Abubakar, who is the candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party.

While he did not directly answer the question of whether or not it was him speaking, he said: “That audio has disclosed nothing new.”

Mr Abubakar has faced several allegations of corruption, none of which have been proven and he has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

This time the governing All Progressives Congress has started legal proceedings to get him off the ballot paper for the 25 February vote.

Talking to the BBC about his plans to address insecurity in the West African nation, Mr Abubakar said he would create state police, plus provide more equipment and more training for security officers.

He believes this would have a positive impact on the country’s economy.

“Every investor wants a secure environment. In my five-point programme, security is topmost. First of all, we must make sure we restore security,” he told the BBC.

Read more on this story

• Nigeria elections 2023: The allegations against Atiku, Obi and Tinubu

Shingai Nyoka
BBC News, Harare

Image source, AFP

The leaders of Zimbabwe and Belarus have signed agriculture and defence agreements.

This includes a deal to supply the southern African country with $60m (£49m) worth of tractors.

On a visit to the capital Harare, President Alexander Lukashenko - a key ally of Russia - said relations between the two countries had developed as a result of the western sanctions they are both under.

Mr Lukashenko accused the West of using economic sanctions to suppress both countries.

Zimbabwe has maintained a neutral stance since Russia invaded Ukraine almost a year ago.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Ninety rights groups and civil society organisations from across Africa have called for an independent investigation into the death of the Rwandan investigative journalist, John Williams Ntwali.

Police said he died in a road accident but many rights groups see it as another suspicious death involving a critic of the Rwandan government.

Ntwali had recently reported on allegations of torture and disappearances. He said he had received multiple death threats.

In a letter, the 90 groups said the Kigali government had consistently failed to ensure there were credible investigations into the deaths of its political opponents.

They want international experts involved in the probe into Ntwali's death.

Nichola Mandil
BBC News, Juba

All flights have been banned in South Sudan ahead of Pope Francis' visit on Friday, with the civil aviation authority telling airlines they must cancel or postpone their services until normal timetabling resumes on Monday.

The 86-year-old pontiff has made several visits to Africa since becoming pope in 2013, but this is his first visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.

On Saturday in Juba, the Pope will lead a prayer vigil with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland Rev Iain Greenshields.

The government of South Sudan has also declared Friday a public holiday, so that people can turn out in big numbers to receive the Pope and the other two religious leaders.

Pop Francis has landed in Kinshasa ahead of his two-nation visit to the continent.

The AFP news agency has filed some early pictures:

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

The Pope is due to hold a mass in the city on Wednesday. The Democratic Republic of Congo has Africa's largest Roman Catholic community.

The pontiff is due to travel to South Sudan on Friday.

Thousands of people are expected to greet Pope Francis when he touches down at the airport in Kinshasa shortly.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is home to Africa's biggest Catholic community, and this will be the country's first papal visit in nearly four decades.

Later in the week, he'll be joined by the Church of England's most senior cleric, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and by the Moderator of the Church of Scotland when he travels to South Sudan.

He's expected to urge political leaders to bring an end to years of hostilities. Both Congo and South Sudan have suffered decades of war and instability.

Here are some of the well-wishers gearing up to greet the pontiff in Kinshasa:

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

A court in western Kenya has set free four men who were arrested last month following the killing of LGBTQ activist Edwin Kiprotich Kipruto, popularly known as Edwin Chiloba.

But prosecutors told the court that the main suspect, Jacktone Odhiambo, will be charged with the murder of the activist

Mr Odhiambo was said to be a housemate and partner of Chiloba - who was also a fashion model.

Chiloba's body was found dumped in a metal box by the roadside near the town of Eldoret in January.

Kenya’s chief pathologist Johansen Oduor said he had "died from asphyxia, which is caused by smothering".

Chiloba's death sent shockwaves through the LGBTQ community in Kenya, where homosexuality is taboo and gay sex is punishable by 14 years in prison, although that law is rarely enforced.

More on the story:

• Edwin Chiloba: LGBTQ activist found dead in Kenya

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News

Authorities in Ethiopia’s Somali region have banned 15 media practitioners working for foreign organisations - including the BBC’s and the Voice of America’s (VOA) Somali language services - that they said were operating without the necessary permits.

The move follows a letter written by the federal media regulator Ethiopian Media Authority to regional officials stating it had found out that some international media organisation representatives based in the region were working without the required accreditations.

However, the head of the region’s journalists’ association rejected the claim provided by the authorities for the decision telling a local media outlet that the real reasons were reports by the journalists exposing corruption and impacts of severe drought in Ethiopia’s easternmost region.

Abdulrazak Hassan added that the association has been requesting for licenses to be renewed which should be done every six months.

The BBC’s repeated attempts to reach the region’s communications office have not been successful.

Ethiopia has seen a rapid deterioration of press freedom since a civil war broke out in the country’s northern region in late 2020.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, between November 2020 and August 2022 at least 63 journalists and media workers had been arrested.

Ashley Lime
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

Kenya’s Education Minister Ezekiel Machogu has banned early morning and late evening studies in schools, saying "we don’t want to subject the kids to strain - kids should sleep for nine hours".

Mr Machogu directed that classes in both private and public primary schools be held between 08:00 and 15:45 to ensure learning takes place within the designated times.

"The syllabus should be covered appropriately between the stipulated time. Let us not subject pupils to unnecessary mental torture," he added.

The minister said he had noticed a trend where school buses pick children up as early as 05:00 and drop them off as late as 20:00.

The issue of school reporting times has been contentious in Kenya.

The BBC carried out an investigation in 2021 when there was a spike in arson cases in secondary boarding schools, and revealed that students were in class as early as 04.30 up to 22:00. Students who were interviewed then complained of a tight academic schedule and lack of extra-curricular activities.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

The authorities in Burkina Faso say 28 people have been killed by suspected Islamist militants in two separate attacks.

The governor of Cascades region, near the border with Ivory Coast, said the bodies of 15 people who had been abducted on Sunday were found in a village.

They had been seized whilst travelling in minibuses and were then shot.

The army in Burkina Faso has also confirmed a deadly attack in the country's northern Sahel region. It says the victims included 10 members of the military police - 10 of their colleagues were still missing.

The country has faced increasing attacks by jihadist groups since 2015.

At least two million people have been displaced.

Related stories:

• Mali and Burkina Faso: Did the coups halt jihadist attacks?
• Burkina Faso anger over Russian mercenary link

Nomsa Maseko
BBC News, Johannesburg

Leaders from the southern African bloc of nations, Sadc, are gathering in Namibia for an extraordinary meeting that will focus on the ongoing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Tensions have been running high between Rwanda and the government in Kinshasa, which accuses Kigali of financing a big rebel group in eastern DR Congo. Rwanda denies the accusations.

The summit in Windhoek is also expect to issue a statement over the recent killing of a pro-democracy activist in Eswatini.

It is expected to discuss the state of peace and security in the region, with special focus on developments in the DR Congo and Mozambique.

Angola, one of the member states, has been trying to firm up peace efforts between Rwanda and DR Congo, which escalated last week when the Rwanda military shot and damaged a fighter jet from the Congolese army.

This summit is expected to renew efforts at bringing peace to the region, but also it will look into recent unrest in Lesotho and Eswatini, in particular, after the killing of Eswatini human rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist Thulani Maseko.

Eswatini's King Mswati III won't be at the summit, but Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini will be expected to deliver a report on the political crisis and tension in the small kingdom - the only ruling monarchy in Africa.