For the latest updates, go to bbc.com/africalive

Cloete Murray was the liquidator for Bosasa, a company implicated in government contract scandals.

Violence has marred polling in several states including the commercial city of Lagos.

Malawi has declared 14 days of mourning following the devastating impact of Cyclone Freddy.

Rising food prices mean Egyptians are struggling to put food on the table for their families.

The deputy president has suggested a radical step to reduce alcohol abuse - closing nearly all pubs.

Rescue teams continue to look for victims after Cyclone Freddy's destructive path through Malawi.

Nigeria's Kamaru Usman aims to regain his UFC welterweight title when he fights Leon Edwards for the third time.

Mourners pay their last respects to Ghana midfielder Christian Atsu, seen by many as a national hero

The first elective Fifa congress held on African soil has drawn to a close - but are the main takeaways for the continent?

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for this week. There'll be an automated news feed until we're back on Monday morning Nairobi time at bbc.com/africalive.

You can listen to our Africa Today podcast here and read the latest African news and features here.

A reminder of Friday's wise words:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture of Nigerian singer Tems making her debut appearance at the Oscars on Sunday. It's one of our favourite photos of recent days.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Mali interim president Col Assimi Goïta has asked members of the National Transitional Council (CNT) to take ownership of the new draft constitution and popularise it to the public ahead of a referendum on its adoption, reports the privately owned news site Maliweb.

The junta leader is planning to present the draft to political groups and civil society organisations on 20 March, the report said.

On 10 March, the military government announced the indefinite postponement of a referendum on constitutional changes that had been set for 19 March.

Political groups have read mischief in the postponement, accusing the junta of planning to extend their stay in power beyond the February 2024 deadline.

But the government spokesman and minister of territorial administration, Col Abdoulaye Maïga, said that the decision to put off the plebiscite was necessitated by the need to address concerns raised by various political and religious leaders.

Mourners pay their last respects to Christian Atsu, seen by many in Ghana as a national hero.

A plan to re-open schools in Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray has begun three years after they were forced to close after conflict broke out between Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the central government.

During the civil war, many schools were looted and destroyed.

In 2021 Human Rights Watch reported that a quarter of all schools in Tigray had been damaged during the war. Teachers have also not been paid for two years.

“They are looking for a mid-April start date but that is yet to be endorsed," Unicef’s Chief of Education, Chance Briggs, told BBC Focus on Africa radio about the plans to re-open the schools.

“The whole of the education system in Tigray has collapsed. Since July of last year we have 2.3 million children out of school,” he added.

One parent, Mengist Gebremedhin, who lives with his wife and four children in Tigray’s capital, Mekelle, told the BBC that two of his children were in primary school when the civil war broke out.

“I tried to mentor them but there were distractions - the sound of bombings and drones. The children would see soldiers carrying guns and then imitate them.”

Mr Mengist, who is an assistant professor at Mekelle University, had also not received his salary for months.

“We were not getting our salaries so we were worrying about what to feed them. It was not easy to focus on educating them. But yesterday I got my salary - so now I can buy my children clothes and food.”

Twala women in Laikipia, Kenya have turned a thorny issue into a source of profit and empowerment.

Nichola Mandil
BBC News, Juba

At least 1,600 civilians were killed in conflict-related violence in different parts of the country last year alone, the UN peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan (Unmiss), has revealed in its latest report.

More civilian victims were recorded in 2022 compared to 2021, it said.

Unmiss said its Human Rights Division investigations identified three major categories of perpetrators involved in conflict-related violence affecting civilians in South Sudan. They are:

1. Conventional parties to the conflict
2. Community-based militias and/or civil defence groups
3. Unidentified, but related, armed elements

It said conventional parties to the conflict were responsible for killing 48% of the victims.

This category of perpetrators includes government security forces, as well as organised opposition armed groups and their allied proxy armed elements who wilfully perpetrated the violations under the control and direction of the former, Unmiss said.

The mission's head Nicholas Haysom called on South Sudan’s government to “demonstrate political will” and “step up efforts against impunity, investigate human rights violations and abuses and hold perpetrators accountable”.

The government has not commented on the report.

Image source, IAN KHAMA/FACEBOOK

Botswana’s Foreign Minister Lamagang Kwape has denied that an arrest warrant was issued for former President Ian Khama, who is living in exile in South Africa.

After being pressed on the issue by Sophie Ikenye from the BBC's Focus on Africa prgramme, he said: "We will have to engage the ministry of justice to find out the status of any arrest warrant, if any."

In December, it was widely reported that a court in Botswana had issued an arrest warrant against Mr Khama on the charge of possessing illegal firearms.

The 69-year-old former leader has denied the charges and said they were part of a political conspiracy after he fell out with his successor President Mokgweetsi Masisi.

Mr Khama left office in 2018 after two five-year terms.

Foreign Minister Kwape spoke to the BBC on the sidelines of a just-concluded meeting of Commonwealth foreign affairs ministers in London.

He also told the BBC that the country was renegotiating contracts and licences in the diamond industry.

He added that Botswana needed to be more involved in the value chain in order to benefit from the diamonds, especially in the manufacturing sector.

The country has more skilled power that can be used to get more from the raw material, he said.

DJ Edu
Presenter of This Is Africa on BBC World Service

Image source, Ritaa

Ritaa is a pioneering singer-songwriter from Malawi.

In 2016, she became the first female artist to reach the top spot in the Malawi charts - with her breakthrough hit Chapatali, featuring Dan Lu, one of the country’s major music stars.

“Chapatali was a big song - and it gave me the confidence to say that I have found my sound.”

Ritaa’s sound is what she describes as "Afro-music - with a bit of an urban touch". There are elements of R&B, dancehall and gospel in her songs - and she has collaborated with Malawian rap artists such as Gwamba and Piksy.

Ritaa is the first musician in her family - and, although she wasn’t following in anyone’s footsteps, her musical journey was influenced by her home life.

“I grew up listening to lots of music because my mum used to play music all the time, especially country music - including Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.”

“I also listened to lots of Whitney Houston - and I think that she is one of the greatest voices that I have ever heard.”

These musical icons planted the seed of becoming a musician in young Ritaa’s mind. And she took the first step into music when she was about nine years old when she joined a church choir.

Ritaa released her first single - Meant to Be - when she was still at school and she was keen to do more. But she listened when her mum advised her to be patient and wait until she had finished her education - and then ‘do music however you want to.’

Ritaa is also leading the way in Malawi - by collaborating with other female artists. She has teamed up with Leslie - a composer, guitarist, singer-songwriter - on Wa Ine. The song tackles the subject of betrayal through a phone conversation between a wife and her husband’s girlfriend.

“In Malawi, it’s not very common to see two female artists working together. But I am a big supporter of women empowerment and I think I am just trying to do my part by creating opportunities through my art for women to work together, to stick together and to stand up for each other.”

“Leslie did the song justice, and working with her was easy and a very good experience for me.”

Ritaa has also collaborated with Tuno, another female Malawian musician, on one of the songs for her debut album, which she hopes to release by the end of the year.

She mostly writes her own songs. She is inspired by things that she sees in society - such as absent fathers which she highlights in Mubwere, her favourite Ritaa song.

The most common thread running through Ritaa’s work is love - in families, friendships and relationships.

“My message to the world would be one of love - and we should all strive to show and share it.”

To hear the full interview with Ritaa, listen to This is Africa on BBC World Service radio and partner stations across Africa, and online here: bbcworldservice.com/thisisafrica.

Eunice Gatonye
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

A group of artists has painted murals in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, in solidarity with Ukraine amid the ongoing invasion by Russia.

Dubbed “The grains of culture”, it is the fifth and last mural in a series that has been painted in Vienna, Berlin, Marseille, and Brussels.

“The policy of destruction and elimination of Ukrainian identity is one of Russia's key elements in the war against Ukraine," said Emine Dzhaparova, Ukraine's deputy minister for foreign affairs.

"In our temporarily occupied territories, Russian invaders closed Ukrainian schools and imposed their language and history," the minister added.

Kenyan artists Moha and Eliamin Ink and their Ukrainian counterparts Alina Konyk, Nikita Kravtsov, and Andrii Kovtun created the mural that stands on the wall of Phoenix House at the heart of Nairobi city.

"I am sure that our artistic collaboration is a perfect opportunity to start our diplomatical relationships in a place of culture," said Nikita Kravtsov, a Ukrainian concept-artist.

The mural uses coffee and wheat grains to symbolise the political, economic, and diplomatic ties between Kenya and Ukraine.

Ameyu Etana
BBC Afaan Oromoo

Ethiopia's Public Health Institute (EPHI) says a cholera outbreak has killed 37 people over the past six months in regions worst hit by an ongoing prolonged drought.

The outbreak began in August 2022 mainly in Oromia and Somale regions, which the UN says are experiencing the worst drought in 40 years.

Treatment centres have been established to contain the situation, authorities say.

In its report, EPHI also says that a measles outbreak has claimed 148 lives in the past 18 months.