In the news

Parliament in Senegal has rejected a bill introduced by 11 MPs to toughen existing laws against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Same-sex relationships in Senegal are already punishable by up to five years, and the new bill aimed to extend it to ten years. The Office of the …

At least two prisonners were shot dead and two others are being treated after an attempted jailbreak in Kosere prison in Nigeria’ s south-western Osun State, local media reported. A spokesperson for the prisons, now known as Nigeria correctional centre, told the BBC that some inmates had injured a warder …

Eleven people have died and four others hospitalized in the Rwandan district of Bugesera since Christmas Day after drinking a local banana-based brew, the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) confirmed. According to the Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority, high levels of methanol, found in the stomachs of victims who drank the …

A South African corruption inquiry pointed to systemic graft during former President Jacob Zuma’s tenure in the first part of its report published on Tuesday, after more than three years of investigations involving more than 300 witnesses. The inquiry chaired by senior judge Raymond Zondo was established in 2018 to …

The US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, is expected in Ethiopia this week to hold talks with the authorities about the ongoing civil war. The US State Department said that Mr Feltman was “to engage with senior officials regarding the prospects for a broader peace”. Read …

Ugandan opposition leader and musician Robert Nyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has just released a song entitled Ogenda, a Luganda word that loosely translates as “You will fall”, the BBC reports. According to the musician, the song is made directly for President Yoweri Museveni’s ears because he has turned …

At least nine people have died and dozens more are missing in Tanzania after a boat accident as they were on their way to a funeral in Panza. The boat was heading to Panza island from Pemba when the accident happened, local media report. Pemba regional police commander Richard Thadei …

A mother and baby were killed by an elephant in the Chipinge district of south-eastern Zimbabwe, local media report. The woman, who had been visiting relatives in rural Chipinge district on New Year’s Day, was on her back home when an elephant charged at them. Zimbabwe Parks Authority spokesman Tinashe …

Sudanese security forces have fired tear gas in an effort to break up pro-democracy protests in the capital, Khartoum, and in Port Sudan, BBC News reports. People in several cities have been chanting slogans against the military and calling for the downfall of Sudan’s ruling council. It is headed by …

A Ugandan court has ordered the police to release Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, a prominent writer arrested last week for criticizing President Yoweri Museveni and his son Lt-Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba on social media. Mr Rukirabashaija’s lawyer said he had not yet been released but he expected the authorities to comply with the …