West African leaders had tried to broker a deal for Ernest Bai Koroma to go into exile, the BBC understands.

That's all for now from the BBC Africa Live team.

There will be an automated service here until Thursday morning. You can also find the latest updates on the BBC News website, or listen to our Focus on Africa podcast.

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And we leave with a photo of South African children and adults dressed in military-style uniforms at an event held to honour African soldiers who fought in World War One:

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Landlocked Ethiopia has defended the deal with the breakaway state of Somaliland to gain access to the sea.

The agreement has caused a diplomatic storm, with Somalia denouncing it as a violation of its sovereignty and vowing to challenge it "by any legal means".

Somaliland seceded from Somalia in 1991 but is not internationally recognised as an independent state.

Ethiopia said that other countries had done deals with Somaliland in the past, and it had not "transgressed" any laws.

Somaliland said in an earlier statement that in exchange for sea access, Ethiopia would "formally recognise" it.

Ethiopia has not confirmed this, but said that the deal "includes provisions for the Ethiopian government to make an in-depth assessment towards taking a position regarding the efforts of Somaliland to gain recognition".

Meanwhile, hundreds of people have demonstrated in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, to voice their opposition to the deal.

Some of them held placards saying "our sea is not for sale".

Priya Sippy
BBC News

Image source, 5K Records/Sony

Cameroonian-American singer Libianca had one of the most popular songs in the UK in 2023.

Her breakout single People was one of the 10 most listened to songs, based on combined streaming and sales. It had more than 100 million audio and video streams.

Last year, Libianca, who moved to the US from Cameroon aged four, told the BBC that she wrote the song after throwing a Thanksgiving party where she “felt invisible.”

"I felt like I was drowning in it, and nobody could see me, and I just needed some help,” she said.

Libianca was one of seven female acts to account for the top 10 UK singles, joining the likes of Miley Cyrus, SZA, Taylor Swift and Ellie Goulding.

She was not the only Afrobeats artist to reach new heights last year.

Nigerian artist Rema had the eighth most streamed song globally on Spotify with his hit Calm Down, featuring Selena Gomez.

He became the first African artist to reach one billion streams on Spotify.

The platform said that since 2017, Afrobeats has grown by more than 550% in terms of worldwide streams.

Image source, Oscar Pistorius leaves court in 2016

South Africa's former Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius - who was jailed for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp - will be barred from drinking alcohol or giving media interviews when he is released on parole on Friday, the prison department has said.

Pistorius fired four times through a bathroom door at his home in the capital, Pretoria, on Valentine's Day 2013, killing Steenkamp.

Now 37, he was sentenced by an appeal court in 2017 to 13 years and five months in prison for Steenkamp's murder, overturning a previous, more lenient punishment of six years.

Pistorius pleaded not guilty to the charge, saying he mistook her for a burglar.

Under South African law, all offenders are entitled to be considered for parole once they have served half their total sentence.

The department said that "general parole conditions" would apply to Pistorius, and his high public profile would not result in him being treated differently.

“For example, he will be expected to be home at particular hours of the day. He may not consume alcohol or other prohibited substances.”

"Participation in programmes identified by the parole board will also be compulsory for him.

“As [with] other parolees, Pistorius is restricted from conducting media interviews,” the department added.

The treason charges against Sierra Leone's former President Ernest Bai Koroma do not come as a surprise.

Last month, he was declared a suspect in the investigation into the alleged coup attempt and was put under house arrest.

Mr Koroma's former bodyguard was among 12 people who had earlier been charged.

On 26 November, gunmen broke into a military armoury and several prisons in capital city Freetown, freeing around 2,000 inmates.

At least 19 people, including 13 soldiers, died in the violence, which was labelled a failed coup by the government.

In December, the government announced that it had held 80 suspects, including civilians and active and former police and military officers.

Mr Koroma's daughter, Dankay Koroma, was also named among 54 other wanted suspects.

Sierra Leone's former President Ernest Bai Koroma stood in the dock in a courtroom in the capital, Freetown, as the charges of treason were read out to him.

Some of his supporters in the courtroom cried.

Mr Koroma has previously denied involvement in the attack on a military barracks and a prison in Freetown in November.

Sierra Leone's former President Ernest Bai Koroma has been charged with four counts of treason as part of investigations into a failed military attempt to overthrow the government in November.

Image source, Getty Images

The leader of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has held talks with Kenya's President William Ruto to discuss the conflict raging in the East African state.

Gen Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, said on social platform X that he had outlined his "vision regarding stopping the war and starting negotiations" with the Sudanese army.

Gen Dagalo has been on a charm offensive, visiting several regional leaders - including Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed - in a bid to gain the political upper-hand over his rival army chief, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

He has also held talks with Sudan's former Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, promising to free hundreds of prisoners and opening humanitarian corridors so that aid could get into areas affected by the conflict.

Gen Dagalo and Gen Burhan jointly seized power in a coup in 2021, derailing Sudan's transition to democracy under Mr Hamdok.

The two men fell out last year, plunging the country into a civil war has left thousands of people dead and millions displaced.

The RSF controls much of the capital Khartoum, the city of Wad Madani, and most of the western Darfur region.

Image source, Coloured Voice - Truth to LGBTQ/X

A prominent LGBTQ rights activist in Uganda, Steven Kabuye, has been stabbed and seriously wounded by unknown assailants while he was on his way to work on Wednesday morning, his organisation has said.

"He is in dire condition and we ask you all to keep him in your prayers," said Coloured Voice -Truth to LGBTQ on social platform X, external.

A video posted on Mr Kabuye's account showed him writhing in pain, with a knife in his stomach and an apparent wound on his arm.

Rights activist Frank Mugisha said that "hate crimes have no place in Uganda".

"We urge the police to conduct a thorough investigation," he added on X.

Police have not yet commented.

Uganda passed one of the world's harshest anti-homosexuality laws last year.

The law caused global outrage, with the World Bank halting new loans to Uganda and the US imposing visa restrictions on key officials.

Anyone convicted of being involved in homosexual acts faces life imprisonment under the law.

Rights groups have asked the Constitutional Court to annul the law, arguing that it violates the right to equality and dignity.

The government is defending the case, saying the law protects traditional family values.

A report by rights groups said that more than 300 human rights abuses were recorded against LGBTQ people in Uganda in the first eight months of last year - including beatings, torture, arrests and evictions from homes.

Read more: Gay Ugandan asks 'Where will I go?' as secret shelters under threat

Richard Hamilton
BBC World Service newsroom

Pastor Aloysius Bugingo is an influential cleric in Uganda and an outspoken supporter of President Yoweri Museveni.

He was coming home from his church in a suburb of the capital, Kampala, on Tuesday night when unknown gunmen on a motorbike sprayed his car with bullets. They quickly rode off after the attack.

The pastor is being treated in hospital for a shoulder injury but his bodyguard Richard Muhumuza, who was driving the car, died from gunshot wounds.

Pastor Bugingo is a controversial figure in Uganda, where he is the head of one of the country's influential Pentecostal churches - the House of Prayer Ministries. His story is one of rags to riches, but in recent years he has been sued for - among other things - burning bibles, which, he alleged, had been changed.

He owns his own radio and television network on which he broadcasts his commitment to President Museveni, who has been in power in Uganda since 1986.

See earlier post for more details

Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi is ruled out of Nigeria's 2023 Africa Cup of Nations campaign because of injury.

BBC Monitoring

A Ugandan military helicopter gunship has crashed into a house in the western Ntoroko district, killing the entire crew and a person at the house, army spokesman Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye has said.

The cause of the accident is unclear.

The helicopter crashed on Tuesday, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Ugandan army has been conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State-linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militants, who have carried out several attacks in Ntoroko.

President Yoweri Museveni has called for the activation of paramilitary local defence units to support the army in fighting the militants.

Image source, Nadia Mohamed/X

The city council of St. Louis Park in the US state of Minnesota has sworn in 27-year-old Nadia Mohamed as mayor, two months after she made history as America's first Somali-American elected mayor by voters.

Ms Mohamed secured 58% of the vote to win last November's mayoral poll.

She is also the youngest and the first Muslim and black elected mayor in the city, but has said that she wants to be known for more than her identity.

"Well, my identity is one part of my story, right? I am proud of everything that I am, but I don't want that to be the only story. I don't want that to [be] where people stop their conversation," Ms Mohamed told Minneapolis-based KARE TV station after her election.

She has listed public safety and affordable housing as some of the key issues she intends to tackle as mayor.

Ms Mohamed was elected to the city's council in 2019 at 23.

Her family moved to Minnesota from Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp when she was 10, after fleeing war in Somalia.

In 2021, Deqa Dhalac was appointed the first Somali-American mayor by the councillors of the city of South Portland in the state of Maine.

Ms Mohamed, however, is the first Somali-American mayor to be elected by the public.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

The Democratic Republic of the Congo's main opposition candidates say they will not challenge the re-election of incumbent President Félix Tshisekedi.

The electoral commission on 31 December declared Mr Tshisekedi winner of the poll with 73% of the vote, with billionaire businessman Moïse Katumbi coming second with 18%.

Mr Katumbi, third-placed Martin Fayulu and Nobel laureate Denis Mukwege are among the candidates whose teams say they will not contest the results at the Constitutional Court.

The deadline to file a presidential petition in court lapses on Wednesday.

The Constitutional Court will have seven days to consider an appeal and make a ruling. If no petition is filed, Mr Tshisekedi will be sworn in on 20 January.

The election was marred by widespread logistical and technical problems.

Read more on the DR Congo elections:

• DR Congo elections: How Félix Tshisekedi won chaotic poll

Image source, Uganda Police Force/X

Prominent Ugandan religious leader and businessman Aloysius Bugingo has survived an attack by unknown gunmen who killed his bodyguard in the capital, Kampala.

The gunmen opened fire on Pastor Bugingo's vehicle while he was going home on Tuesday night along Namungoona area. The attackers later escaped the scene on a motorcycle.

Despite sustaining injuries during the attack, Pastor Bugingo managed to drive the vehicle to a nearby hospital, police said.

His bodyguard, Richard Muhumuza, succumbed to bullet wounds, according to police.

"We are thoroughly reviewing CCTV footage to identify the assailants," police said, adding that they discovered the scene had been tampered with.

Police have described the incident as an attempted murder.

Pastor Bugingo, founder of House of Prayer Ministries International, is a strong supporter of the ruling party in Uganda.

The motive of the attack is not yet known but Uganda has recently recorded a surge in gun violence that saw several prominent people shot dead in Kampala.

Twelve people have been charged in Sierra Leone for their alleged role in November's failed coup attempt.

They include former police and correctional officers as well as the former bodyguard of ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma.

Mr Koroma is also a suspect in the coup attempt and has been under house arrest since he was questioned by police last month.

The suspects are facing several charges, including treason, concealing treason and "harbouring, aiding and abetting the enemy", Information Minister Chernor Bah said in a statement, external.

Other suspects "are expected to be charged in the coming days", he added.

On 26 November, gunmen broke into a military armoury and several prisons in capital city Freetown, freeing almost 2,000 inmates.

At least 19 people, including 13 soldiers, died in the violence, which was labelled as a failed coup attempt by the army.

In December, the government announced that it had held 80 suspects over the coup attempt, including civilians and active and former police and military officers.

Mr Koroma's daughter, Dankay Koroma, was also named among 54 other wanted suspects.

Image source, Getty Images

Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has pledged support for Somalia amid a row with Ethiopia over a sea access deal with Somaliland.

Ethiopia on Monday signed a deal to utilise one of the seaports of Somaliland, drawing criticism from Somalia.

Somalia, which considers Somaliland part of its territory, has condemned the deal,terming it an act of “aggression” and a violation of its sovereignty.

Somaliland seceded from Somalia in 1991 but is not internationally recognised as an independent state.

In a phone call with Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Mr Sisi pledged "Egypt’s firm position to stand by Somalia and support its security and stability", Mr Sisi’s spokesman Ahmed Famy said on Tuesday, adding that the two leaders also discussed “regional developments” and bilateral relations.

President Mohamud also spoke by phone with the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad on bilateral and regional relations of mutual interest, the Somalia presidency said.

The European Union bloc has criticised the deal, urging for respect for Somalia's "unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity".

“This is key for the peace and stability of the entire Horn of Africa region,” the EU said in a statement.

Image source, Morocco General Directorate for National Security (DGSN)/X

Police in Morocco have seized 1.488 tonnes (3,280lb) of cocaine in a joint operation with Spanish security forces.

The cocaine was found concealed in banana boxes inside a shipping container that was aboard a vessel originating from South America and headed to Turkey.

The seizure was made on Tuesday at the Tanger Med port in northern Morocco.

Moroccan authorities say they suspect the cocaine was being smuggled as part of an international drug smuggling operation but are still conducting investigations.

The bust comes just a day after authorities seized nearly 363kg of cocaine from a truck attempting to enter Morocco through the border with Mauritania.

The northern African country has been identified as a key route for smuggling drugs from South America to Europe.

Image source, EPA

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has distanced itself from threats by a former commander, who called for the removal of President Cyril Ramaphosa from office.

This comes after a video of the former officer identified as Sylvester Mangolele went viral on social media on Tuesday.

In the video, the former officer can be heard calling for Mr Ramaphosa to step down within 48 hours or risk being forced out of office, citing violations of the constitution as a major reason.

But in a statement on Tuesday, the army distanced itself from Mr Mangolele's comments, saying that he does not speak on behalf of SANDF.

“The SANDF condemns Sylvester Mangolele’s utterances with (the) contempt it deserves,” said SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini.

Mr Mangolele was dismissed from the defence force in 2018, the army said, without clarifying why he was sacked.