Alfred Lasteck
BBC News, Dar es Salaam

Image source, AFP

Tanzania's main opposition party, Chadema, is planning to hold protests to denounce proposed electoral bills, the high cost of living and delays to constitutional reforms.

Police have allowed the party to hold the march in the commercial city of Dar es Salaam but warned against violence and incitement, local media reported.

Chadema said the permission was granted following an agreement with the police to allow peaceful demonstrations.

The party said it would lead the protests on Wednesday to pressure the government to carry out reforms ahead of next year's general election.

Chadema is opposed to three electoral bills tabled in parliament last November. The party wants them withdrawn on the grounds that the views of many stakeholders were not considered.

Local government elections are scheduled for later this year.

This will be the first mass demonstration in the country since President Samia Suluhu Hassan took power in March 2021 following the death of her predecessor John Magufuli.

Mr Magufuli had been accused of stifling dissent after banning political rallies.

Tanzania enjoys relative stability in a volatile region.

President Hassan has garnered significant local and international goodwill for striking a reformist political tone since coming to power.

Image source, EPA

Kenyan cult leader Paul Mackenzie has been charged with 238 counts of manslaughter, along with his wife and 93 other alleged accomplices.

The additional charges come after Mr Mackenzie and his suspected accomplices were charged with terrorism last week.

He is accused of encouraging members of his Good News International Church to move to Shakahola, a remote forest in coastal Kenya, and starve to death in order to "meet Jesus".

Mr MacKenzie has denied being responsible for the deaths.

The bodies of 429 people, including children, were dug up from grave sites in the forest. Most showed signs of starvation, but some - children among them - may have been assaulted.

The 238 victims were killed on unknown dates between January 2021 and September 2023 in Shakahola, local media reports, citing court documents.

Mr Mackenzie and the other suspects pleaded not guilty during their appearance in a court in the coastal city of Mombasa on Tuesday.

Mr Mackenzie has been in custody since his arrest in April last year.

Read more on Paul Mackenzie:

• Kenya starvation cult leader to undergo mental health checks

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