Kenyan court allows cult leader to meet wife in prison
EPACopyright: EPA
Paul Mackenzie has also requested to be transferred to a different cellImage caption: Paul Mackenzie has also requested to be transferred to a different cell
A court in Kenya's coastal town of Mombasa has allowed cult leader Paul Mackenzie to meet his wife, Rhodah Mumbua, in prison under strict supervision of the authorities.
Mackenzie had pleaded to the court to order the authorities at Shimo La Tewa Prisons to arrange a meeting between him, his wife and also their children to discuss family matters.
Mackenzie had also requested to be transferred to a different cell.
But a magistrate summoned the officer in charge of the prison to guide the court on Mackenzie's plea to be relocated to a different cell.
Mackenzie has been charged with murder after more than 400 bodies were found buried in shallow graves in a remote forest in the coastal Kilifi county.
Survivors and victims' families have said Mackenzie urged followers to fast in order to "go see Jesus".
He and 29 others pleaded not guilty and have been behind bars for more than one year now.
Mackenzie has already been charged with committing acts of terror, child cruelty and torture, which he denied.
Nigeria blames logistics for return of long fuel queues
AFPCopyright: AFP
State-owned oil company says the challenge has been fixed (file photo)Image caption: State-owned oil company says the challenge has been fixed (file photo)
Nigeria's state-owned oil company has warned against panic buying of petrol, saying the prices of fuel were not changing.
It follows the return of long queues at petrol stations that persisted on Thursday in the capital, Abuja, and the neighbouring Nasarawa and Niger states over fuel scarcity.
Consumers are boycotting unaffordable productsImage caption: Consumers are boycotting unaffordable products
Fishmongers in Egypt say they have been forced to slash prices by up to 50% because of a boycott which has swept the country.
A campaign against high prices which began in the major cities of Port Said and Alexandria has spread elsewhere under the slogan "Let it rot".
The online campaign has been going on for weeks as the country continues to experience price hikes of almost all goods.
President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has previously advised consumers to boycott products that become unaffordable as the Egyptian currency has plunged in value.
Seafood is traditionally eaten during the celebrations of the Sham Ennessim national festival, which falls on 6 May.
The festival is coinciding with the Easter Monday celebrations of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church.
Wise words for Friday 26 April 2024
Our African proverb of the day:
Quote Message: Fire and gunpowder do not sleep together." from An Ashanti proverb sent by Frank Osei Kwabena Asamoah in Obuasi, Ghana
Quote Message: The earliest cow to the creek drinks clean water." from A Luyana/Lozi proverb sent by Mulako Sianga in Kitwe, Zambia
The earliest cow to the creek drinks clean water."
And we leave you with this photo from Kenya's capital Nairobi, where residents of the Mathare slum look on from their balconies following heavy rain and floods in the country.
AFPCopyright: AFP
Nigeria lecturer suspended over sexual harassment claims
Mansur Abubakar
BBC News
University of Nigeria NsukkaCopyright: University of Nigeria Nsukka
University of Nigeria Nsukka is one of the country’s biggest and most prestigious universitiesImage caption: University of Nigeria Nsukka is one of the country’s biggest and most prestigious universities
A lecturer at one of Nigeria's leading universities - the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) - has been suspended following allegations that he sexually harassed a female student, a statement by the university has said.
The move comes after a video went viral on social media, showing a man in only his shorts and trying to hide his face as he is confronted by people in what appears to be an office.
In the video, a person says: “We have been following this case from day one, we have tracks, all the voice notes, and everything.”
Another one says. “A married woman for that matter, someone’s wife.”
The university said the lecturer has been suspended, pending the outcome of an investigation by a disciplinary panel.
He has not yet commented.
"For the record, the University of Nigeria has zero tolerance for sexual misconduct involving our staff and students,” the university statement said.
“As a university, we are committed to protecting our students from any form of abuse and exploitation,” it added.
East African trio arrested after migrants die on boat
Two Sudanese nationals and a South Sudanese citizen have been arrested by police in the UK after five migrants died in the English Channel.
The men were detained on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally.
Five people, including a seven-year-old girl, were killed in a crush on board a boat crossing the Channel.
The boat was carrying 112 people at the time of the tragedy.
Speaking after the arrest, National Crime Agency (NCA) Director of Investigations Craig Turner said: "This tragic incident once again demonstrates the threat to life posed by these crossings and brings into focus why it is so important to target the criminal gangs involved in organising them."
Officers have already conducted initial interviews with the men, who are aged 19 and 22.
Further interrogations will follow in the coming days.
Portugal must pay for some colonial wrongs - president
BBC World Service
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, 75, has been president since 2016Image caption: Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, 75, has been president since 2016
Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has said that his country must take full responsibility for colonial-era abuses and that there are circumstances in which reparations should be paid.
President de Sousa has several times expressed regret for Portugal's role in enslaving and colonising Africans.
Now, he's said that in some cases it should "pay the costs" for wrongs done - such as when massacres took place under colonial rule, or where significant items were looted and never returned.
Live Reporting
Wycliffe Muia and Gloria Aradi
All times stated are UK
Get involved
EPACopyright: EPA Paul Mackenzie has also requested to be transferred to a different cellImage caption: Paul Mackenzie has also requested to be transferred to a different cell 
AFPCopyright: AFP State-owned oil company says the challenge has been fixed (file photo)Image caption: State-owned oil company says the challenge has been fixed (file photo) 
ReutersCopyright: Reuters Consumers are boycotting unaffordable productsImage caption: Consumers are boycotting unaffordable products 
Video caption: Question Time: MP's DR Congo and Rwanda question raises eyebrowsQuestion Time: MP's DR Congo and Rwanda question raises eyebrows 
Video caption: Floods wreak havoc in Kenya, Tanzania and BurundiFloods wreak havoc in Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi 
AFPCopyright: AFP 
University of Nigeria NsukkaCopyright: University of Nigeria Nsukka University of Nigeria Nsukka is one of the country’s biggest and most prestigious universitiesImage caption: University of Nigeria Nsukka is one of the country’s biggest and most prestigious universities 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, 75, has been president since 2016Image caption: Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, 75, has been president since 2016
Latest PostKenyan court allows cult leader to meet wife in prison
A court in Kenya's coastal town of Mombasa has allowed cult leader Paul Mackenzie to meet his wife, Rhodah Mumbua, in prison under strict supervision of the authorities.
Mackenzie had pleaded to the court to order the authorities at Shimo La Tewa Prisons to arrange a meeting between him, his wife and also their children to discuss family matters.
Mackenzie had also requested to be transferred to a different cell.
But a magistrate summoned the officer in charge of the prison to guide the court on Mackenzie's plea to be relocated to a different cell.
Mackenzie has been charged with murder after more than 400 bodies were found buried in shallow graves in a remote forest in the coastal Kilifi county.
Survivors and victims' families have said Mackenzie urged followers to fast in order to "go see Jesus".
He and 29 others pleaded not guilty and have been behind bars for more than one year now.
Mackenzie has already been charged with committing acts of terror, child cruelty and torture, which he denied.
Nigeria blames logistics for return of long fuel queues
Nigeria's state-owned oil company has warned against panic buying of petrol, saying the prices of fuel were not changing.
It follows the return of long queues at petrol stations that persisted on Thursday in the capital, Abuja, and the neighbouring Nasarawa and Niger states over fuel scarcity.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) in a statement said the limited availability of petrol was a result of logistical problems.
However, the company said the challenge had been fixed.
It urged Nigerians to avoid panic buying as "there is a sufficiency of [fuel] products in the country”.
Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy and oil producer, had subsidised fuel for decades to keep pump prices affordable.
But President Bola Tinubu removed the subsidies as part of wider reforms to stabilise the economy, pushing prices to triple.
'Let it rot' campaign plunges fish prices in Egypt
The Newsroom
BBC World Service
Fishmongers in Egypt say they have been forced to slash prices by up to 50% because of a boycott which has swept the country.
A campaign against high prices which began in the major cities of Port Said and Alexandria has spread elsewhere under the slogan "Let it rot".
The online campaign has been going on for weeks as the country continues to experience price hikes of almost all goods.
President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has previously advised consumers to boycott products that become unaffordable as the Egyptian currency has plunged in value.
Seafood is traditionally eaten during the celebrations of the Sham Ennessim national festival, which falls on 6 May.
The festival is coinciding with the Easter Monday celebrations of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church.
Wise words for Friday 26 April 2024
Our African proverb of the day:
Click here to send us your African proverbs.
Ballet dancers and yawning lions: Africa's top shots
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The audience were surprised when Chris Philp answered an audience member's question about DR Congo.
More than 150 killed as heavy rains pound Tanzania
By Alfred Lasteck
BBC News, Dar es Salaam
The prime minister warns that El Niño-triggered heavy rains are likely to continue into May.
Read moreHardest Geezer joins prime minister on run
The pair met inside No 10 Downing Street before jogging through Horse Guards Parade.
Read moreMoroccan club given 3-0 win despite refusing to play
A Moroccan club is awarded a 3-0 win despite refusing to play after their kit was confiscated by Algerian customs officials.
Read moreHundreds of thousands grapple with East Africa floods
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East Africa is being pounded by unusually heavy rains linked to a combination of global weather events.
Prisoners escape after rain damages Nigeria prison
By Mansur Abubakar
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A manhunt is launched after more than 100 inmates escape the colonial-era facility near Abuja.
Read moreNamibia condemns tourists posing naked in dune safari
By Wycliffe Muia
BBC News
Photos of the three naked tourists have gone viral in Namibia, angering the authorities.
Read moreArmy runner trains at university for Sahara marathon
Paul Carney ran a 250km race in the Sahara Desert after training at the University of Chichester.
Read moreOne more arrest over Channel small boat deaths
By Ido Vock
BBC News
The UK's National Crime Agency says it has arrested an 18-year-old Sudanese citizen on Wednesday.
Read moreTwo hundred killed by Burkina Faso army - report
By Gloria Aradi
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Soldiers accused residents of aiding Islamist fighters before shooting at them, an investigation shows.
Read moreFormer lifeboat becomes glamping 'yellow submarine'
Found adrift in the Atlantic after a pirate attack, it cost £10k to convert into accommodation.
Read moreScroll down for Wednesday's stories
We're back on Friday morning
That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now. To keep up with news from the continent, visit the BBC Africa webpage.
And if audio is your thing, have a listen to the BBC's Focus on Africa and Africa Daily podcasts.
A reminder of Wednesday's wise words:
And we leave you with this photo from Kenya's capital Nairobi, where residents of the Mathare slum look on from their balconies following heavy rain and floods in the country.
Nigeria lecturer suspended over sexual harassment claims
Mansur Abubakar
BBC News
A lecturer at one of Nigeria's leading universities - the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) - has been suspended following allegations that he sexually harassed a female student, a statement by the university has said.
The move comes after a video went viral on social media, showing a man in only his shorts and trying to hide his face as he is confronted by people in what appears to be an office.
In the video, a person says: “We have been following this case from day one, we have tracks, all the voice notes, and everything.”
Another one says. “A married woman for that matter, someone’s wife.”
The university said the lecturer has been suspended, pending the outcome of an investigation by a disciplinary panel.
He has not yet commented.
"For the record, the University of Nigeria has zero tolerance for sexual misconduct involving our staff and students,” the university statement said.
“As a university, we are committed to protecting our students from any form of abuse and exploitation,” it added.
East African trio arrested after migrants die on boat
Two Sudanese nationals and a South Sudanese citizen have been arrested by police in the UK after five migrants died in the English Channel.
The men were detained on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally.
Five people, including a seven-year-old girl, were killed in a crush on board a boat crossing the Channel.
The boat was carrying 112 people at the time of the tragedy.
Speaking after the arrest, National Crime Agency (NCA) Director of Investigations Craig Turner said: "This tragic incident once again demonstrates the threat to life posed by these crossings and brings into focus why it is so important to target the criminal gangs involved in organising them."
Officers have already conducted initial interviews with the men, who are aged 19 and 22.
Further interrogations will follow in the coming days.
Read the full report here.
Portugal must pay for some colonial wrongs - president
BBC World Service
Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has said that his country must take full responsibility for colonial-era abuses and that there are circumstances in which reparations should be paid.
President de Sousa has several times expressed regret for Portugal's role in enslaving and colonising Africans.
Now, he's said that in some cases it should "pay the costs" for wrongs done - such as when massacres took place under colonial rule, or where significant items were looted and never returned.