And we leave you with this photo of a famous Benin bronze being returned to Nigerian officials - one of our favourite shots taken this week:
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media
Family of warlord president demand payment for his service
Jonathan Paye-Layleh
BBC News, Monrovia
AFPCopyright: AFP
Charles Taylor is serving a 50-year jail sentence for war crimesImage caption: Charles Taylor is serving a 50-year jail sentence for war crimes
Those close to ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor are pressing for his
constitutional benefits which, the family says, have not been paid by the authorities since he stepped down under pressure
and went into exile in Nigeria in 2003.
Taylor,
73, is serving a 50-year jail sentence in the UK for supporting
rebels in the decade-long civil war in neighbouring Sierra
Leone.
His
family has filed a complaint at the court of the West African regional body, Ecowas,
to ensure that the Liberian government is made to pay up what it owes.
The
former chairman of Taylor’s National Patriotic Party, Cyril Allen, said in a
radio interview it was right to turn to the regional court for redress because
successive post-Taylor governments haven’t shown interest in paying the
ex-president’s benefits.
"The
issue of President Taylor demanding his benefit is law - it is not the value of
the money, it is the law. It is an entitlement," Mr Allen, now an ally of
President George Weah, said.
"The
best the government could do in this instance is to negotiate," he said.
"Yes the economic situation in the country is not the best but the person must be
given due respect, there must be some negotiation and discussions relative
to the law," Mr Allen added.
Under Liberian law, top former officials are due certain benefits annually.
A
member of the Taylor defence team told the BBC before the family headed
to the Ecowas court they had "argued the case before the full bench of the
Supreme Court in 2014 and 2018 but there has been no ruling" to date.
An
official of the court said he was going to "check the court docket" to know the
status of the Taylor case.
Pro-junta protesters mass in Mali capital
Lalla Sy
BBC News
Thousands of Malians have taken to the streets of the capital, Bamako, to protest against what they see as foreign interference by Ecowas, West Africa's regional bloc, and France, the former colonial power.
They have both been pressing the military junta to agree a democratic transition.
Demonstrators gathered at Bamoko's Independence Square and chanted anti-French slogans.
The main activist group that called for the rally, along with a group of pro-junta politicians, posted scenes from the demonstration on Facebook:
The country’s transition back to democracy following the overthrow of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in August last year is being closely watched in a region where instability is on the rise.
The international community led by Ecowas is insisting that elections, which are supposed to restore civilian power in Mali, be held by the set deadline of February 2022.
Backlash as Egypt boasts of 'world's largest prison'
Ahmed Rouaba
BBC News
Pictures of a revamped facility which Egyptian authorities are calling the
world's largest prison have angered some online.
Wadi el-Natrun prison is notoriously where political prisoners, including those from the Muslim Brotherhood, are held. Its expensive facelift is being publicised on local media:
Some Egyptians on social media have complained that the publicity is boastful and distasteful, and criticised the government for not providing more funding for schools instead.
This tweet showed schoolchildren sitting on the floor, for contrast:
Egypt's government has also been criticised for violating human rights and mistreating political prisoners. The US decided to partially suspend its aid to the country unless improvements were made in this respect.
UN welcomes retreat of South Sudan fighters from Tambura
Nichola Mandil
Juba
BBCCopyright: BBC
The UN's peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, Unmiss, has welcomed the news of the withdrawal of fighting forces from Tambura in Western Equatoria state.
Almost 80,000 people there have been forced from their homes and are in urgent need of food
and shelter, a humanitarian situation that the UN says "remains alarming".
More than 100 people were reported to have been killed in the
conflict that has lasted almost a year, since a politician from the
Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) was appointed to
govern the south-western state, previously one the most peaceful areas in the
country.
The violence pitted the two neighbouring communities of
Azande and the Balanda who had been living peacefully for centuries in the
Tambura area.
The UN panel of experts on Human Rights in South Sudan
has said in a recent report that political elites are responsible for the
ongoing deadly conflict in Tambura County, allegations they denied.
On Wednesday, the Ceasefire Transitional Security
Arrangements and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM) announced that the forces
that were fighting in Tambura have withdrawn and re-deployed to a training
centre in Maridi County far from Tambura.
President's 'clean-up call' worries Tunisians
Ahmed Rouaba
BBC News
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
President Saïed was accused of a political coup earlier this year, when he sacked the prime minister and suspended parliamentImage caption: President Saïed was accused of a political coup earlier this year, when he sacked the prime minister and suspended parliament
Tunisians
on social media have expressed concern at President Kaïs Saïed's call for "the true Tunisian nationalists to clean up the country" from the
those who "have embezzled the country’s funds".
Speaking
in a ministerial meeting, the president did not specify who were the "true
nationalists" nor did he identify those who had "embezzled the country's
funds".
It is seen by many as a divisive move and a dangerous call for the president's
supporters to harass his opponents.
"This statement means setting up militias from 'the true
nationalist' to clean up the country with violence and abduction. It is a call
for civil war," wrote historian Mohamed Dhifallah on Twitter, in just one example.
Mr Saïed has been under pressure from opposition parties and organisations in the
country as well the international community to restore the democratic
institutions in the country.
Since
suspending parliament last July lawyers, MPs, politicians and journalists have
been arrested for taking a stand against the president's decisions. TV channels
and radio stations critical of Mr Saïed have also been shut down.
High voter apathy as SA local elections approach
Nomsa Maseko
BBC Southern Africa correspondent
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Battling the ANC, EFF and DA is the newly formed ActionSA partyImage caption: Battling the ANC, EFF and DA is the newly formed ActionSA party
As South Africans gear up for local elections on Monday, voter apathy remains high.
These are the polls where citizens vote for local-decision makers for their communities, the people and parties who will lead their specific municipalities, mayors as well as their ward councillors.
Yet a third of eligible South Africans still haven't registered to vote and hundreds of identity documents belonging to eligible voters are waiting to be collected from government offices, according to the electoral commission and home affairs department.
But this hasn’t deterred
political parties and independent candidates who’ve been hard at work,
canvassing for votes.
The governing ANC faces its toughest test since the end
of apartheid, promising to reform itself after recent corruption scandals and infighting.
No-one expects the ANC to lose these elections but a reduced majority is seen as likely. This could lead to a drastic change in the balance of forces as possible coalitions take centre stage.
The official opposition Democratic Alliance which
currently runs 24 municipalities is looking to expand its footprint.
However Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters and the newly formed ActionSA
led by Herman Mashaba, a former Johannesburg mayor, are expected to win big.
UN urges Sudan to show restraint towards protesters
Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service
The UN has urged the Sudanese military to "show restraint" towards people protesting against Monday's coup and "not to create any more victims".
Secretary General Antonio Guterres said people "must be allowed to demonstrate peacefully".
Health workers say at least eight people have been killed and nearly 200 injured by the security forces who have fired tear gas and rubber bullets.
Soldiers have been tearing down barricades, and searching and arresting people.
Activists are calling for a million-man march on Saturday.
The US President Joe Biden has called recent events a grave setback and demanded the restoration of the civilian-led transitional government.
Courtesy of the artistCopyright: Courtesy of the artist
Vano Baby has made a successful career out of shocking
mainstream Benin. His musical debut was in a band called Chief Bandit Gang, and
even the name sent shivers down the spines of many Beninese.
"Our society is still very conservative, and people are very
inhibited and have no desire to open up to the outside world," says Vano Baby.
Quote Message: Our group faced many problems… People threatened us, boycotted our shows, radio stations refused to play our music. Even now, some radio stations still refuse to put my music on air."
Our group faced many problems… People threatened us, boycotted our shows, radio stations refused to play our music. Even now, some radio stations still refuse to put my music on air."
As a solo artist, Vano put out songs with sexually explicit lyrics, seemingly glorifying unbridled male lust and objectifying women.
One of them, Man Zewe Do Charge, used the imagery of phones and chargers, but no-one was in any doubt what he was talking about.
His biggest hit, Madame, is a love song from a player to his fiancée – admitting that he’s a shameless ladies’ man, but assuring her that with her it's different.
His next song, Bella, seems to be a sequel to the story: having persuaded 'Madame' to marry him, he then finds himself succumbing to temptation in the form of his wife’s curvaceous younger sister.
Quote Message: People see me as vulgar, slightly comic, yet somehow cool. They loved the fact that I rapped in our national language - Fon. Folks didn't know that music in the Fon language could be made erotic. And my punchlines and choruses drove them crazy!"
People see me as vulgar, slightly comic, yet somehow cool. They loved the fact that I rapped in our national language - Fon. Folks didn't know that music in the Fon language could be made erotic. And my punchlines and choruses drove them crazy!"
Vano takes pride in the artistry of his lyrics:
"When folks listen to my songs, they say: 'Hey! This kid has been to school!', and that’s very important for me. My music should make someone smile and make them say 'WOW! This dude is a genius, damn'.
Quote Message: Some artists came after me and made my style of music, but theirs is excessively vulgar - way too vulgar! You know, when it's that vulgar, it’s not interesting any more. If it's just about singing 'Booty, boobs, this and that' - then it’s just nonsense."
Some artists came after me and made my style of music, but theirs is excessively vulgar - way too vulgar! You know, when it's that vulgar, it’s not interesting any more. If it's just about singing 'Booty, boobs, this and that' - then it’s just nonsense."
Vano is just as contemptuous of his critics:
"Some folks think that listening to a three-minute song can corrupt their children! I don't see it that way. Only big perverts think along those lines. Education must be given first and foremost at home, then reinforced at school. Your parents should be the ones to teach you what is good and what is bad."
Vano is a father himself, and says he has toned down his music somewhat lately, both because he and his audience have matured but also because he is very ambitious:
"I want a stellar and enduring career. So I have 'tamed' my music so that it can be played almost everywhere."
He is also very clear that having reached the point of being arguably Benin’s most popular artist - one who is invited by ambassadors to play at weddings - he is a good role model to the young:
Quote Message: Showing that a street kid from the 'hood, with no means and no clue how to make it in life has managed to enter the music scene and succeed, and go places none thought he could reach... That for me is being a good role model."
Showing that a street kid from the 'hood, with no means and no clue how to make it in life has managed to enter the music scene and succeed, and go places none thought he could reach... That for me is being a good role model."
You can hear more from Vano Baby on This is Africa this Saturday, on BBC World Service radio and partner stations across Africa, as well as online here: BBCWorldService.com/ThisIsAfrica
Nurse calls English test for UK job 'totally embarrassing'
Kenya signed a recruitment deal with the UK in July (file photo)Image caption: Kenya signed a recruitment deal with the UK in July (file photo)
A Kenyan nurse has told the BBC of his "total embarrassment" after failing to pass an English language test that would have helped get to work in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
Only 10 out of 300 Kenyan health workers who applied for the jobs with the NHS passed the exams.
Moses Riyanga Onkenke, a nurse from Kisii in western Kenya, said he speaks English fluently but did not pass because of the way the exam was conducted.
Quote Message: I felt so embarrassed, I lost hope... It was totally embarrassing. There were some factors, one was time, another thing is the pronunciations - especially because it's not an African accent [in the recordings] and sometimes you may not pick some words.
I felt so embarrassed, I lost hope... It was totally embarrassing. There were some factors, one was time, another thing is the pronunciations - especially because it's not an African accent [in the recordings] and sometimes you may not pick some words.
Quote Message: We thought since we are an English-speaking country we we will be exempted from the language exams. Those who passed - some have sat for the exams more than once. I met someone who has done it 14 times, another one has done it six times, another one three times."
We thought since we are an English-speaking country we we will be exempted from the language exams. Those who passed - some have sat for the exams more than once. I met someone who has done it 14 times, another one has done it six times, another one three times."
The English language test cost him $290 (£210) and the certificate given to those who pass expires after two years, he said.
Kenya signed a deal with the UK in July that would allow its unemployed nurses and other medics to work in the UK.
The British government has dismissed reports first made by a Kenyan newspaper that the Kenyan government would receive a slice of the nurses' wages under this scheme.
The hard drive has more than 4,000 recordings made since 1954Image caption: The hard drive has more than 4,000 recordings made since 1954
Belgium's ambassador to Rwanda has handed over a digital
copy of traditional songs, music and stories recorded during colonial rule to officials in the capital, Kigali.
It includes more than 4,000 recordings made since 1954, mostly by former Belgian officials which have been kept at the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Belgium's capital, Brussels.
"This is the first step, we expect more materials and
objects of our heritage from Belgium," an official from Rwanda's cultural
heritage academy told BBC Great Lakes.
Belgian forces occupied Rwanda, which had been part of German East Africa, during World War One.
The repatriated recordings will be placed in a museum where members of the public will be able to access them.
These materials will help to "educate and inspire Rwandan
youth in our traditional music and arts", the official said.
Student's non-electric treadmill delights DR Congo
Désiré Kabengele Sebazungu is a keen runnerImage caption: Désiré Kabengele Sebazungu is a keen runner
Congolese engineering student Désiré Kabengele Sebazungu says he couldn't resist creating something that combines his passion for mechanics and running marathons.
"The mechanical treadmill system for sports
use is to help Goma residents stay fit as they cope with permanent insecurity
here," the 24-year-old told the BBC.
He studies in Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is often witness to violence.
It took Mr Kabengele Sebazungu three weeks to complete the treadmill that is tilted at a 15 degree angle and is designed to be
used without electricity.
A video of his fitness machine, where he is seen trying it out to the cheers of onlookers, has delighted people online:
But some critics on Twitter have said that the need to create a non-electric treadmill highlights how far behind the country is.
The treadmill will be on show on Saturday as Mr Kabengele Sebazungu and his university classmates graduate from Goma's Institut Supérieur des techniques appliquées.
Impossible to know Sudan death toll - doctors
BBC World Service
AFPCopyright: AFP
Mass protests continue against the military coupImage caption: Mass protests continue against the military coup
A medical organisation in Sudan has said it is impossible to know the number of people killed and wounded during the public protests against Monday's coup.
The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said at least eight had definitely died, but it accused militias of causing bloody incidents in several cities, using live bullets against unarmed civilians including children and the elderly.
There are unconfirmed accounts of mass arrests.
In a statement, US President Joe Biden called recent events a grave setback and demanded the restoration of the civilian-led transitional government.
The toppled Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, remains under house arrest and a group of his former ministers say they were turned away on Thursday on attempting to visit him.
Pro-democracy protesters are calling for a "march of millions" on Saturday.
'I am African first' - South Africans of Indian descent
Maganthrie Pillay (L) "rejects being called Indian" whereas Nivania Moodley (R) feels it's part of her identityImage caption: Maganthrie Pillay (L) "rejects being called Indian" whereas Nivania Moodley (R) feels it's part of her identity
Questions
of identity have been on the minds of many South Africans of Indian descent for
many years.
But the topic became even more significant recently, as underlying
tensions between communities boiled over during the violence and riots that
gripped South Africa in July.
The BBC's Karnie
Sharp, herself a descendent of indentured labourers who came to the country
over 100 years ago, has been speaking to people from this community about how
they identify - and how much it matters to them - in the latest episode of The Comb.
Those
who lived through the apartheid era were burdened with the racial
classification of non-white, and then labelled in different categories that
aimed to define and separate people who weren’t white.
"I reject being called an Indian, because to
be Indian means I'm from India, and the apartheid classification system very
deliberately separated people into different groups," says Maganthrie Pillay.
But
someone from a younger generation, Nivania Moodley, feels her identity is made
up of both South African and Indian elements.
She
told us: "It's a lot of South African culturally, and my nationality. But then
there's also Indian from my family and ancestors and traditions."
Issa Kaou N'Djim (L) is the fourth vice-president of Mali's interim parliament (archive photo from 2020)Image caption: Issa Kaou N'Djim (L) is the fourth vice-president of Mali's interim parliament (archive photo from 2020)
Several political parties in Mali have condemned the arrest and detention of the fourth vice-president of the National Transitional Council (CNT), the country's interim parliament.
Issa Kaou N'Djim was arrested at his home in the capital, Bamako, on Tuesday and is due to go on trial on Friday.
According to local media, he was accused of "criminal behaviour" after making "subversive remarks" on social media against Prime Minister Choguel Maïga.
Mr N'Djim is a supporter of the interim president, Colonel Assimi Goïta, but critical of Mr Maïga, who he accuses of mismanaging Mali's transition to civilian rule.
AU mission denies involvement in Somalia fighting
BBC Monitoring
The world through its media
AFPCopyright: AFP
Amisom troops have denied taking sides in the Somali conflictImage caption: Amisom troops have denied taking sides in the Somali conflict
The African Union mission in Somalia
(Amisom) has denied it supported government troops in recent clashes with the
Ahlu Sunna wal Jama'a Sufi militia in the central town of Guriel.
In a statement, Amisom
said the allegations were "false, toxic and malicious".
They were "deliberately intended
to cause disaffection between Amisom and Somali communities", the mission
said.
Ahlu Sunna had accused Amisom of siding with the Somali national army in the battle for the control of Guriel, in which at least 120 people were killed.
Former leaders urge West to share unused Covid doses
James Landale
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
More than 160
former world leaders and global figures have called on Britain and other
western powers to mount an immediate military airlift of surplus Covid vaccines
to less developed countries.
They warned that unless action is taken at the G20
summit this weekend hundreds of thousands of lives might be lost as out of date
vaccines are wasted.
The warning
comes in a letter - organised by the former UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown – that
is addressed to the Italian hosts of the G20 summit.
And the signatories
comprise a Who’s Who of recent leaders including 36 former presidents, 30
ex-prime ministers and another 100 influential global figures.
They say while a
handful of rich countries have vaccinated about 70% of their people
against Covid, many poorer countries have managed only 2%.
And they
argue there is now an urgent need to end this vaccine inequality. To do so,
they say Britain, the United States, Canada and the EU should immediately
launch a military airlift to distribute 240 million surplus doses to countries
most in need.
And then another 200 million next month and so on. To let
hundreds of millions of doses expire and go to waste, they say, would be
unethical when tens of thousands of people are still dying of Covid every day.
Uganda leader vows to fight urban terrorism after blasts
Patience Atuhaire
BBC News, Kampala
AFPCopyright: AFP
The Islamic State group said it carried out the Saturday attack in KampalaImage caption: The Islamic State group said it carried out the Saturday attack in Kampala
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni says "neither rural-based insurgency nor urban terrorism" will succeed, following two separate
bomb attacks this month.
In a televised national address, he referred to the
perpetrators as opportunists and parasites attacking unarmed civilians.
The Democratic Republic of Congo-based militant group Allied
Democratic Forces (ADF), which now calls itself the Central African Province of
Islamic State, has been blamed for the two attacks.
The Islamic State-linked group said it carried out the Saturday attack in
the capital, Kampala, which killed a waitress and injured three other people at
an eatery.
Another explosion went off in a bus heading from the capital to
west of the country on Monday. Police said it killed only the suicide
bomber, who was wearing the device.
The ADF have a history of urban attacks, and according to Mr
Museveni, planted at least 30 bombs within Kampala between 1997 and 2001,
killing more than 120 people.
They are also accused of killing several high profile political
and security figures, and at least eight Muslim clerics across the country
since 2012.
President Museveni said six ADF
operatives had been killed and more than 30 others arrested in relation to
these incidents.
Mozambique to open bids for oil and gas exploration
Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo
Mozambique’s National Petroleum Institute (INP) will next month open bids for new oil and gas exploration in the country.
Evaluation of bids is expected to be completed by March 2022.
A total of 16 offshore blocks will be available: five in
the Rovuma Basin near the Tanzanian border, seven in Angoche off the coast of
Nampula province, two in the Zambezi Delta and two in the area of the Save
river, Maputo daily paper "Noticias" reports.
The petroleum institute aims to increase the
availability of hydrocarbons for use as raw materials for electricity
generation, fertilisers and fuels, the paper reports.
French energy giant Total is exploring a major gas field in northern Mozambique. The $20bn (£14.6bn) gas liquification plant is its largest foreign investment in Africa.
The site is near Palma which has been repeatedly attacked by militants linked to the Islamic State (IS) group.
Ecowas regrets Mali's 'extreme' move to expel envoy
Lalla Sy
BBC News, Abidjan
AFPCopyright: AFP
Mali's transitional government is dominated by the militaryImage caption: Mali's transitional government is dominated by the military
The West African regional bloc Ecowas says it regrets the "extreme decision" made by Malian authorities to
expel its representative.
It says it "remains committed and will continue to
deploy its efforts to support a successful and peaceful transition in
Mali," according to a statement issued on Thursday.
Hamidou Boly, the Ecowas representative, was declared "persona non grata" on Monday, and was given 72 hours to leave the country.
The
diplomat of Burkina Faso nationality was accused of "actions incompatible with his status". He left on Wednesday afternoon.
His expulsion came amid diplomatic pressure by the international community against the Malian transitional authorities - dominated by the military who led two coups in August 2020 and May 2021 - not to postpone the scheduled 27 February elections.
The Collective for the Refoundation of the State, the legislative body of the transitional council, and a civil society group known as the Yerewolo Movement have called for a march on Friday to denounce external interference in the Malian public affairs.
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AFPCopyright: AFP Charles Taylor is serving a 50-year jail sentence for war crimesImage caption: Charles Taylor is serving a 50-year jail sentence for war crimes 
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Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images President Saïed was accused of a political coup earlier this year, when he sacked the prime minister and suspended parliamentImage caption: President Saïed was accused of a political coup earlier this year, when he sacked the prime minister and suspended parliament 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images Battling the ANC, EFF and DA is the newly formed ActionSA partyImage caption: Battling the ANC, EFF and DA is the newly formed ActionSA party 
Courtesy of the artistCopyright: Courtesy of the artist 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images Kenya signed a recruitment deal with the UK in July (file photo)Image caption: Kenya signed a recruitment deal with the UK in July (file photo) 
RCHACopyright: RCHA The hard drive has more than 4,000 recordings made since 1954Image caption: The hard drive has more than 4,000 recordings made since 1954 
Désiré Kabengele SebazunguCopyright: Désiré Kabengele Sebazungu Désiré Kabengele Sebazungu is a keen runnerImage caption: Désiré Kabengele Sebazungu is a keen runner View more on twitterView more on twitter 
AFPCopyright: AFP Mass protests continue against the military coupImage caption: Mass protests continue against the military coup 
Maganthrie Pillay/Nivania MoodleyCopyright: Maganthrie Pillay/Nivania Moodley Maganthrie Pillay (L) "rejects being called Indian" whereas Nivania Moodley (R) feels it's part of her identityImage caption: Maganthrie Pillay (L) "rejects being called Indian" whereas Nivania Moodley (R) feels it's part of her identity 
AFPCopyright: AFP Issa Kaou N'Djim (L) is the fourth vice-president of Mali's interim parliament (archive photo from 2020)Image caption: Issa Kaou N'Djim (L) is the fourth vice-president of Mali's interim parliament (archive photo from 2020) 
AFPCopyright: AFP Amisom troops have denied taking sides in the Somali conflictImage caption: Amisom troops have denied taking sides in the Somali conflict 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images 
AFPCopyright: AFP The Islamic State group said it carried out the Saturday attack in KampalaImage caption: The Islamic State group said it carried out the Saturday attack in Kampala 
AFPCopyright: AFP Mali's transitional government is dominated by the militaryImage caption: Mali's transitional government is dominated by the military
Latest PostScroll down for Friday's stories
We'll be back on Monday
That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for this week. There'll be an automated feed until Monday morning.
In the meantime you can read the latest updates on BBC News Online, or listen to the BBC's Africa Today podcast.
A reminder of our wise words of the day:
Click here to send us your African proverbs.
And we leave you with this photo of a famous Benin bronze being returned to Nigerian officials - one of our favourite shots taken this week:
Family of warlord president demand payment for his service
Jonathan Paye-Layleh
BBC News, Monrovia
Those close to ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor are pressing for his constitutional benefits which, the family says, have not been paid by the authorities since he stepped down under pressure and went into exile in Nigeria in 2003.
Taylor, 73, is serving a 50-year jail sentence in the UK for supporting rebels in the decade-long civil war in neighbouring Sierra Leone.
His family has filed a complaint at the court of the West African regional body, Ecowas, to ensure that the Liberian government is made to pay up what it owes.
The former chairman of Taylor’s National Patriotic Party, Cyril Allen, said in a radio interview it was right to turn to the regional court for redress because successive post-Taylor governments haven’t shown interest in paying the ex-president’s benefits.
"The issue of President Taylor demanding his benefit is law - it is not the value of the money, it is the law. It is an entitlement," Mr Allen, now an ally of President George Weah, said.
"The best the government could do in this instance is to negotiate," he said.
"Yes the economic situation in the country is not the best but the person must be given due respect, there must be some negotiation and discussions relative to the law," Mr Allen added.
Under Liberian law, top former officials are due certain benefits annually.
A member of the Taylor defence team told the BBC before the family headed to the Ecowas court they had "argued the case before the full bench of the Supreme Court in 2014 and 2018 but there has been no ruling" to date.
An official of the court said he was going to "check the court docket" to know the status of the Taylor case.
Pro-junta protesters mass in Mali capital
Lalla Sy
BBC News
Thousands of Malians have taken to the streets of the capital, Bamako, to protest against what they see as foreign interference by Ecowas, West Africa's regional bloc, and France, the former colonial power.
They have both been pressing the military junta to agree a democratic transition.
Demonstrators gathered at Bamoko's Independence Square and chanted anti-French slogans.
The main activist group that called for the rally, along with a group of pro-junta politicians, posted scenes from the demonstration on Facebook:
The country’s transition back to democracy following the overthrow of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in August last year is being closely watched in a region where instability is on the rise.
The international community led by Ecowas is insisting that elections, which are supposed to restore civilian power in Mali, be held by the set deadline of February 2022.
Backlash as Egypt boasts of 'world's largest prison'
Ahmed Rouaba
BBC News
Pictures of a revamped facility which Egyptian authorities are calling the world's largest prison have angered some online.
Wadi el-Natrun prison is notoriously where political prisoners, including those from the Muslim Brotherhood, are held. Its expensive facelift is being publicised on local media:
Some Egyptians on social media have complained that the publicity is boastful and distasteful, and criticised the government for not providing more funding for schools instead.
This tweet showed schoolchildren sitting on the floor, for contrast:
Egypt's government has also been criticised for violating human rights and mistreating political prisoners. The US decided to partially suspend its aid to the country unless improvements were made in this respect.
UN welcomes retreat of South Sudan fighters from Tambura
Nichola Mandil
Juba
The UN's peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, Unmiss, has welcomed the news of the withdrawal of fighting forces from Tambura in Western Equatoria state.
Almost 80,000 people there have been forced from their homes and are in urgent need of food and shelter, a humanitarian situation that the UN says "remains alarming".
More than 100 people were reported to have been killed in the conflict that has lasted almost a year, since a politician from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) was appointed to govern the south-western state, previously one the most peaceful areas in the country.
The violence pitted the two neighbouring communities of Azande and the Balanda who had been living peacefully for centuries in the Tambura area.
The UN panel of experts on Human Rights in South Sudan has said in a recent report that political elites are responsible for the ongoing deadly conflict in Tambura County, allegations they denied.
On Wednesday, the Ceasefire Transitional Security Arrangements and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM) announced that the forces that were fighting in Tambura have withdrawn and re-deployed to a training centre in Maridi County far from Tambura.
President's 'clean-up call' worries Tunisians
Ahmed Rouaba
BBC News
Tunisians on social media have expressed concern at President Kaïs Saïed's call for "the true Tunisian nationalists to clean up the country" from the those who "have embezzled the country’s funds".
Speaking in a ministerial meeting, the president did not specify who were the "true nationalists" nor did he identify those who had "embezzled the country's funds".
It is seen by many as a divisive move and a dangerous call for the president's supporters to harass his opponents.
"This statement means setting up militias from 'the true nationalist' to clean up the country with violence and abduction. It is a call for civil war," wrote historian Mohamed Dhifallah on Twitter, in just one example.
Mr Saïed has been under pressure from opposition parties and organisations in the country as well the international community to restore the democratic institutions in the country.
Since suspending parliament last July lawyers, MPs, politicians and journalists have been arrested for taking a stand against the president's decisions. TV channels and radio stations critical of Mr Saïed have also been shut down.
High voter apathy as SA local elections approach
Nomsa Maseko
BBC Southern Africa correspondent
As South Africans gear up for local elections on Monday, voter apathy remains high.
These are the polls where citizens vote for local-decision makers for their communities, the people and parties who will lead their specific municipalities, mayors as well as their ward councillors.
Yet a third of eligible South Africans still haven't registered to vote and hundreds of identity documents belonging to eligible voters are waiting to be collected from government offices, according to the electoral commission and home affairs department.
But this hasn’t deterred political parties and independent candidates who’ve been hard at work, canvassing for votes.
The governing ANC faces its toughest test since the end of apartheid, promising to reform itself after recent corruption scandals and infighting.
No-one expects the ANC to lose these elections but a reduced majority is seen as likely. This could lead to a drastic change in the balance of forces as possible coalitions take centre stage.
The official opposition Democratic Alliance which currently runs 24 municipalities is looking to expand its footprint.
However Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters and the newly formed ActionSA led by Herman Mashaba, a former Johannesburg mayor, are expected to win big.
UN urges Sudan to show restraint towards protesters
Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service
The UN has urged the Sudanese military to "show restraint" towards people protesting against Monday's coup and "not to create any more victims".
Secretary General Antonio Guterres said people "must be allowed to demonstrate peacefully".
Health workers say at least eight people have been killed and nearly 200 injured by the security forces who have fired tear gas and rubber bullets.
Soldiers have been tearing down barricades, and searching and arresting people.
Activists are calling for a million-man march on Saturday.
The US President Joe Biden has called recent events a grave setback and demanded the restoration of the civilian-led transitional government.
Why Benin's bad boy Vano Baby 'tamed' his music
DJ Edu
Presenter of This Is Africa on BBC World Service
Vano Baby has made a successful career out of shocking mainstream Benin. His musical debut was in a band called Chief Bandit Gang, and even the name sent shivers down the spines of many Beninese.
"Our society is still very conservative, and people are very inhibited and have no desire to open up to the outside world," says Vano Baby.
As a solo artist, Vano put out songs with sexually explicit lyrics, seemingly glorifying unbridled male lust and objectifying women.
One of them, Man Zewe Do Charge, used the imagery of phones and chargers, but no-one was in any doubt what he was talking about.
His biggest hit, Madame, is a love song from a player to his fiancée – admitting that he’s a shameless ladies’ man, but assuring her that with her it's different.
His next song, Bella, seems to be a sequel to the story: having persuaded 'Madame' to marry him, he then finds himself succumbing to temptation in the form of his wife’s curvaceous younger sister.
Vano takes pride in the artistry of his lyrics:
"When folks listen to my songs, they say: 'Hey! This kid has been to school!', and that’s very important for me. My music should make someone smile and make them say 'WOW! This dude is a genius, damn'.
Vano is just as contemptuous of his critics:
"Some folks think that listening to a three-minute song can corrupt their children! I don't see it that way. Only big perverts think along those lines. Education must be given first and foremost at home, then reinforced at school. Your parents should be the ones to teach you what is good and what is bad."
Vano is a father himself, and says he has toned down his music somewhat lately, both because he and his audience have matured but also because he is very ambitious:
"I want a stellar and enduring career. So I have 'tamed' my music so that it can be played almost everywhere."
He is also very clear that having reached the point of being arguably Benin’s most popular artist - one who is invited by ambassadors to play at weddings - he is a good role model to the young:
You can hear more from Vano Baby on This is Africa this Saturday, on BBC World Service radio and partner stations across Africa, as well as online here: BBCWorldService.com/ThisIsAfrica
Nurse calls English test for UK job 'totally embarrassing'
BBC Focus on Africa radio
A Kenyan nurse has told the BBC of his "total embarrassment" after failing to pass an English language test that would have helped get to work in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
Only 10 out of 300 Kenyan health workers who applied for the jobs with the NHS passed the exams.
Moses Riyanga Onkenke, a nurse from Kisii in western Kenya, said he speaks English fluently but did not pass because of the way the exam was conducted.
The English language test cost him $290 (£210) and the certificate given to those who pass expires after two years, he said.
Kenya signed a deal with the UK in July that would allow its unemployed nurses and other medics to work in the UK.
The British government has dismissed reports first made by a Kenyan newspaper that the Kenyan government would receive a slice of the nurses' wages under this scheme.
"Under the agreement between the UK and Kenya, nurses will be employed by NHS trusts under individual contracts and their salaries will be paid directly to them," a government spokesperson told Nursing Times.
Belgium hands over Rwanda's colonial-era songs
Samba Cyuzuzo
BBC Great Lakes
Belgium's ambassador to Rwanda has handed over a digital copy of traditional songs, music and stories recorded during colonial rule to officials in the capital, Kigali.
It includes more than 4,000 recordings made since 1954, mostly by former Belgian officials which have been kept at the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Belgium's capital, Brussels.
"This is the first step, we expect more materials and objects of our heritage from Belgium," an official from Rwanda's cultural heritage academy told BBC Great Lakes.
Belgian forces occupied Rwanda, which had been part of German East Africa, during World War One.
The repatriated recordings will be placed in a museum where members of the public will be able to access them.
These materials will help to "educate and inspire Rwandan youth in our traditional music and arts", the official said.
Student's non-electric treadmill delights DR Congo
Emery Makumeno
BBC News, Kinshasa
Congolese engineering student Désiré Kabengele Sebazungu says he couldn't resist creating something that combines his passion for mechanics and running marathons.
"The mechanical treadmill system for sports use is to help Goma residents stay fit as they cope with permanent insecurity here," the 24-year-old told the BBC.
He studies in Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is often witness to violence.
It took Mr Kabengele Sebazungu three weeks to complete the treadmill that is tilted at a 15 degree angle and is designed to be used without electricity.
A video of his fitness machine, where he is seen trying it out to the cheers of onlookers, has delighted people online:
But some critics on Twitter have said that the need to create a non-electric treadmill highlights how far behind the country is.
The treadmill will be on show on Saturday as Mr Kabengele Sebazungu and his university classmates graduate from Goma's Institut Supérieur des techniques appliquées.
Impossible to know Sudan death toll - doctors
BBC World Service
A medical organisation in Sudan has said it is impossible to know the number of people killed and wounded during the public protests against Monday's coup.
The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said at least eight had definitely died, but it accused militias of causing bloody incidents in several cities, using live bullets against unarmed civilians including children and the elderly.
There are unconfirmed accounts of mass arrests.
In a statement, US President Joe Biden called recent events a grave setback and demanded the restoration of the civilian-led transitional government.
The toppled Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, remains under house arrest and a group of his former ministers say they were turned away on Thursday on attempting to visit him.
Pro-democracy protesters are calling for a "march of millions" on Saturday.
'I am African first' - South Africans of Indian descent
The Comb podcast
Questions of identity have been on the minds of many South Africans of Indian descent for many years.
But the topic became even more significant recently, as underlying tensions between communities boiled over during the violence and riots that gripped South Africa in July.
The BBC's Karnie Sharp, herself a descendent of indentured labourers who came to the country over 100 years ago, has been speaking to people from this community about how they identify - and how much it matters to them - in the latest episode of The Comb.
Those who lived through the apartheid era were burdened with the racial classification of non-white, and then labelled in different categories that aimed to define and separate people who weren’t white.
"I reject being called an Indian, because to be Indian means I'm from India, and the apartheid classification system very deliberately separated people into different groups," says Maganthrie Pillay.
But someone from a younger generation, Nivania Moodley, feels her identity is made up of both South African and Indian elements.
She told us: "It's a lot of South African culturally, and my nationality. But then there's also Indian from my family and ancestors and traditions."
Listen to the full episode here.
Mali parties condemn arrest of parliament VP
BBC Monitoring
The world through its media
Several political parties in Mali have condemned the arrest and detention of the fourth vice-president of the National Transitional Council (CNT), the country's interim parliament.
Issa Kaou N'Djim was arrested at his home in the capital, Bamako, on Tuesday and is due to go on trial on Friday.
According to local media, he was accused of "criminal behaviour" after making "subversive remarks" on social media against Prime Minister Choguel Maïga.
Mr N'Djim is a supporter of the interim president, Colonel Assimi Goïta, but critical of Mr Maïga, who he accuses of mismanaging Mali's transition to civilian rule.
AU mission denies involvement in Somalia fighting
BBC Monitoring
The world through its media
The African Union mission in Somalia (Amisom) has denied it supported government troops in recent clashes with the Ahlu Sunna wal Jama'a Sufi militia in the central town of Guriel.
In a statement, Amisom said the allegations were "false, toxic and malicious".
They were "deliberately intended to cause disaffection between Amisom and Somali communities", the mission said.
Ahlu Sunna had accused Amisom of siding with the Somali national army in the battle for the control of Guriel, in which at least 120 people were killed.
Former leaders urge West to share unused Covid doses
James Landale
More than 160 former world leaders and global figures have called on Britain and other western powers to mount an immediate military airlift of surplus Covid vaccines to less developed countries.
They warned that unless action is taken at the G20 summit this weekend hundreds of thousands of lives might be lost as out of date vaccines are wasted.
The warning comes in a letter - organised by the former UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown – that is addressed to the Italian hosts of the G20 summit.
And the signatories comprise a Who’s Who of recent leaders including 36 former presidents, 30 ex-prime ministers and another 100 influential global figures.
They say while a handful of rich countries have vaccinated about 70% of their people against Covid, many poorer countries have managed only 2%.
And they argue there is now an urgent need to end this vaccine inequality. To do so, they say Britain, the United States, Canada and the EU should immediately launch a military airlift to distribute 240 million surplus doses to countries most in need.
And then another 200 million next month and so on. To let hundreds of millions of doses expire and go to waste, they say, would be unethical when tens of thousands of people are still dying of Covid every day.
Uganda leader vows to fight urban terrorism after blasts
Patience Atuhaire
BBC News, Kampala
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni says "neither rural-based insurgency nor urban terrorism" will succeed, following two separate bomb attacks this month.
In a televised national address, he referred to the perpetrators as opportunists and parasites attacking unarmed civilians.
The Democratic Republic of Congo-based militant group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which now calls itself the Central African Province of Islamic State, has been blamed for the two attacks.
The Islamic State-linked group said it carried out the Saturday attack in the capital, Kampala, which killed a waitress and injured three other people at an eatery.
Another explosion went off in a bus heading from the capital to west of the country on Monday. Police said it killed only the suicide bomber, who was wearing the device.
The ADF have a history of urban attacks, and according to Mr Museveni, planted at least 30 bombs within Kampala between 1997 and 2001, killing more than 120 people.
They are also accused of killing several high profile political and security figures, and at least eight Muslim clerics across the country since 2012.
President Museveni said six ADF operatives had been killed and more than 30 others arrested in relation to these incidents.
Mozambique to open bids for oil and gas exploration
Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo
Mozambique’s National Petroleum Institute (INP) will next month open bids for new oil and gas exploration in the country.
Evaluation of bids is expected to be completed by March 2022.
A total of 16 offshore blocks will be available: five in the Rovuma Basin near the Tanzanian border, seven in Angoche off the coast of Nampula province, two in the Zambezi Delta and two in the area of the Save river, Maputo daily paper "Noticias" reports.
The petroleum institute aims to increase the availability of hydrocarbons for use as raw materials for electricity generation, fertilisers and fuels, the paper reports.
French energy giant Total is exploring a major gas field in northern Mozambique. The $20bn (£14.6bn) gas liquification plant is its largest foreign investment in Africa.
The site is near Palma which has been repeatedly attacked by militants linked to the Islamic State (IS) group.
Ecowas regrets Mali's 'extreme' move to expel envoy
Lalla Sy
BBC News, Abidjan
The West African regional bloc Ecowas says it regrets the "extreme decision" made by Malian authorities to expel its representative.
It says it "remains committed and will continue to deploy its efforts to support a successful and peaceful transition in Mali," according to a statement issued on Thursday.
Hamidou Boly, the Ecowas representative, was declared "persona non grata" on Monday, and was given 72 hours to leave the country.
The diplomat of Burkina Faso nationality was accused of "actions incompatible with his status". He left on Wednesday afternoon.
His expulsion came amid diplomatic pressure by the international community against the Malian transitional authorities - dominated by the military who led two coups in August 2020 and May 2021 - not to postpone the scheduled 27 February elections.
The Collective for the Refoundation of the State, the legislative body of the transitional council, and a civil society group known as the Yerewolo Movement have called for a march on Friday to denounce external interference in the Malian public affairs.