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Zimbabwe’s Broadcasting Authority today awarded six new TV licenses, but there remain concerns about who the licenses are going to.

Despite Zimbabwe being one of the first countries on the continent to have a TV station, the medium has remained under tight government control.

The free-to-air viewing has been dominated by national broadcaster ZBC, which has long been accused of being biased in favour of the government and ruling party.

Among the six free-to-air commercial TV licensees are the state-owned newspaper group channel ZTN, a military company, and a former state media executive.

A private daily newspaper has also been awarded a license.

The government had committed to wide-ranging reforms including diversifying the media to improve relations with the West after decades of isolation.

The Media Institute for Southern Africa (Misa) Zimbabwe chapter said the move was tantamount to government licensing itself, so as to consolidate the voices of the ruling elite.

“It’s a façade, and shows an unwillingness to reform,” Tabani Moyo of Misa told the BBC.

Busiswa, a queen of South African house music, has just dropped her third studio album.

It’s called My Side of the Story, and earlier this week, to coincide with the release, Busiswa used three lengthy social media posts to reveal that she had been a victim of domestic violence in two relationships:

“I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t want anybody to think that I am weak.

“How could confident, strong, empowered Busiswa be in an abusive relationship?

“I’ve since come to learn that it happens to anyone, it happens to CEOs and doctors, it happens to nurses and teachers, it happens to powerful artists like myself.

“I was going out and performing for thousands at shows sometimes immediately after I had cried, or immediately after I had been slapped.”

Busiwa went public because she wants to encourage any woman who finds herself in an abusive relationship to get help and get out.

The contrast between Busiswa’s confident sound typified by songs such as My Name Is…, Gobisiqolo, and My Power, her collaboration with Beyonce, and the vulnerability she has allowed her fans to see is striking.

But Busiswa is strong. She says her new album is her best work yet:

“It’s still a dance album, we are still bringing joy and happiness into people’s lives because I feel like that is what I was born for.

“I felt challenged, I felt fresh, I felt revived and I felt renewed, and so releasing this album is going to be like a joy ride and I’m so ready.”

She has also set up her own record label because she feels there are far too few owned by women, and is determined to create a safe, supportive and creative place for female artists:

“Because sometimes we just want to work, get the job done, get the gig, get the song mixed and mastered”.

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You can hear more from Busiswa on This is Africa this weekend, on BBC World Service radio and partner stations across Africa, and online.

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Malawi's High Court has ordered former President Peter Mutharika and former Chief Secretary to Government, Lloyd Muhura, to personally pay the entire cost of litigation after they were found to have violated the constitution when they attempted to remove the head of the judiciary from office.

Before he lost in June’s re-run presidential election, Mr Mutharika ordered that Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda and another judge should go on leave pending retirement.

The directive was signed by Mr Muhura.

Several groups including the influential Malawi Law Society and the Association of Magistrates said Mr Mutharika’s decision amounted to interference with judicial independence.

Although Mr Mutharika later withdrew the directive, the matter was taken to court for a judicial review where it was ruled that the former president and Mr Muhura had violated their constitutional mandate.

The Malawi Law Society further asked the court to order that the two of them personally pay all costs of litigation leading to Friday's ruling.

The court found that Mr Mutharika and Mr Muhara had acted "defiantly, were unreasonable, were not prudent and acted outside their constitutional mandate".

The presiding judge ordered the registrar of the High Court to work out the amount the two will have to pay which some commentators say will be in the tens of thousands of US dollars.

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Uganda's Security Minister Elly Tumwine has backed police action after 37 people were killed on Wednesday and Thursday following clashes with supporters of opposition presidential candidate Bobi Wine.

In a media briefing Mr Tumwine said:

Quote Message: Police have a right to shoot you and kill you if you reach a certain level of violence. Can I repeat? Police have a right to shoot you and you die for nothing."

Police have a right to shoot you and kill you if you reach a certain level of violence. Can I repeat? Police have a right to shoot you and you die for nothing."

Bobi Wine appeared in court on Friday and has been released on bail after being charged with spreading coronavirus.

He has been accused of failing to adhere to health measures put in place to curb the spread of the virus while campaigning for next year's election.

Uganda government spokesman Don Wanyama told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that security officers could not "just fold their arms and allow anarchy to happen".

He added that the police were responding to a security breach in the capital, Kampala.

He also defended President Yoweri Museveni for adhering to health protocols.

Mr Wanyama said:

Quote Message: President Museveni who is the NRM presidential candidate, I think has stuck by the rules that were issued by the electoral commission and the ministry of health... but unfortunately for the opposition they have chosen to take a path of defiance placing their supporters and the wider public at risk."

President Museveni who is the NRM presidential candidate, I think has stuck by the rules that were issued by the electoral commission and the ministry of health... but unfortunately for the opposition they have chosen to take a path of defiance placing their supporters and the wider public at risk."

Kenyan police have rescued three teenagers among a group of seven girls hours after a video raising alarm about their whereabouts was widely shared on social media.

Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations said efforts are ongoing to trace and rescue the other girls.

They have not however revealed details of where the girls were found and whether there were any suspects arrested.

Kenyans online have been asking for help to trace the girls after a relative of one of them made a teary plea fearing they had been kidnapped or trafficked.

The relative said the girl went missing from the capital, Nairobi, on Saturday after being lured by people who promised them modelling jobs.

“My cousin along with the 16-year-old girls, six of them, have not been seen since,” the woman in the video says.

Cases of young girls disappearing some after being promised jobs, have been reported in the media in Kenya recently.

A Ugandan human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo has urged the country's electoral body to suspend ongoing election campaigns and issue fresh guidelines.

He told the BBC's Newsday programme that the arrest of opposition candidates does not seem to be related to Covid-19 guidelines.

Mr Opiyo said the ruling party had drawn huge crowds during ongoing campaigns and none of its candidates had been arrested.

"We don't think this is about Covid guidelines, we think this is about politics and the election because government candidates have also been shown with large crowds and yet been escorted peacefully by police," he said.

Mr Opiyo said candidates cannot control the crowds that turn out in their rallies and criticised the police for using violence against opposition supporters.

"Police officers who we know, who we have documented shooting and killing innocent civilians, unarmed civilians, must be held to account and be prosecuted if government is to show its commitment to a peaceful and lawful electoral process," he said.

Listen to the full interview:

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Kenya's main electricity supplier KPLC has sparked a huge talking point across the East African nation not because of the perennial power outages, but because, according to a local newspaper report, the company is blaming the increased adoption of alternative sources of energy such as solar for its financial woes.

Many homeowners, industries and regional governments are now switching off KPLC because of two reasons: high power bills and irregular supply.

KPLC has been a trending topic on Twitter with many people questioning how a company that enjoys a monopoly would post a $300m (£225m) loss in the financial year that ended in June.

The firm recently applied to the energy regulator for an increase in tariffs by up to a fifth to enable it to return to profitability, but the state has halted a review.

Kenya embarked on an ambitious energy programme in 2013 that saw it invest significantly in thermal and wind energy to supplement hydropower.

A nationwide electrification initiative seems not to have paid off as uptake remains flat and the Covid-19 pandemic has not made things any better.

The power distributor finds itself in an awkward position - stuck with idle power and unable to sell, according to the latest figures from the energy regulator.

United Nations aid agencies are calling for an immediate temporary ceasefire in Ethiopia following more than two weeks of fighting between the army and regional forces in Tigray.

They have had no access to the conflict zone and want humanitarian corridors to be set up.

The UN fears hundreds, possibly thousands of civilians have been killed.

More than 30,000 refugees have arrived in Sudan - many are hungry and frightened, over half of them are children.

The UN has appealed for funding and is planning for the possible arrival of around 200,000 refugees over the coming months.

There are fears the influx of more refugees could destabilise Sudan.

Read more: Ethiopia’s Tigray crisis: The long, medium, and short story

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A magistrate’s court in eastern Uganda has charged presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, known as Bobi Wine, with the offence of committing an act likely to spread infectious disease.

During his court appearance, he said President Yoweri Museveni should be in court for murdering innocent civilians.

This comes after police said 37 people had died since Wednesday, when security forces responded to protests over the politician's arrest.

Human Rights Watch says it is clear that the Ugandan authorities are using Covid-19 guidelines as an excuse for violent repression of the opposition.

It says the governing party has been allowed to to continue campaigning without disruption despite also attracting large crowds.

It has called on the Ugandan government to ensure the security forces respect the rule of law, are impartial and are held accountable for abuses.

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The lawyer for US President Donald Trump named Tanzania during a press conference on Thursday aimed at backing an unsubstantiated claim that the result from the 3 November election was fraudulent.

Joe Biden is the president-elect but Mr Trump has not yet conceded alleging voter fraud that favoured Mr Biden.

"Every state, almost every civilised country, even Tanzania, and places you wouldn’t think of, have rules about inspectors particularly for mail-in ballots," Rudy Guliani told journalists on Thursday.

Tanzania's President John Magufuli won a second term last month in an election that was marred with violence and claims of fraud.

Mr Giuliani used conspiracy theories and railed against the reporting of his team's legal challenges, saying the media had shown an "irrational pathological hatred for the president".

Read more: US election 2020: The BBC's Reality Check has been looking into some of the allegations made.

Hopewell Chin’ono/ FacebookCopyright: Hopewell Chin’ono/ Facebook

The Zimbabwe High Court has granted bail to freelance journalist Hopewell Chin’ono following his arrest over a fortnight ago over a tweet.

It’s the second time the prominent government critic has been arrested this year.

His arrests have sparked an outcry from Western embassies and human rights groups.

Amnesty International described his arrest as the latest tactic to target and harass critical voices through the misuse of the criminal justice system.

Mr Chin’ono, who has spent just over two weeks in jail at the maximum security prison Chikurubi, was arrested over a social media post in which he suggested that he had been tipped off that a prominent woman charged with gold smuggling would be released on bail.

He has been charged with obstructing justice.

In July, Mr Chin’ono spent more than a month in jail for supporting anti-corruption protests. That trial for inciting violence begins early next month.

Rights groups say he should never have been arrested in the first place and that he is being targeted for his criticism of government and exposing corruption.

Mr Chin’ono’s social media posts have attracted a huge following. His bail conditions bar him from using social media to obstruct justice.

Read more: 'I was jailed for a month after exposing corruption'

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Uganda's military has increased deployment of troops in the capital, Kampala, and in major towns to counter protests that broke out following the arrest of presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine.

The East African country will hold elections in January 2021, but the early weeks of campaigning have been marked by an alarming amount of violence.

At least 28 people have died across the country during the protests, and more than 500 people have been arrested, according to the police.

Deputy army spokesperson, Colonel Deo Akiiki, has told the media that soldiers will be deployed at all major roads leading into the capital.

There will also be an increased security presence at sensitive areas such as fuel reservoirs and petrol stations.

A 21:00 local time curfew will be strictly enforced with immediate effect.

The curfew was already in place as a coronavirus safety measure, but the public were not strictly adhering to it.

Since Wednesday, groups of young people have set up barricades, burnt tyres and piles of rubbish in the streets of Kampala and other towns.

They were met with a violent police response and dispersed with tear gas.

Bobi Wine was arrested at an election rally in the east of the country, accused of violating coronavirus prevention guidelines. After two days in police custody, the politician has been arraigned in court.

Several opposition presidential candidates suspended their campaigns, calling for Bobi Wine to be released.

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Fugitive Malawian pastor, Shepherd Bushiri, has said he doesn't mind losing his palatial home in South Africa after a magistrate ordered it to be seized.

"My right to life is more important than any asset in this world," the self-declared prophet said in a Facebook post.

A magistrate had ordered Bushiri and his wife, Mary, to hand over the title deed of the South African property when they were granted bail on charges of money laundering and fraud.

The couple deny the charges.

It emerged last week that they had fled to their home country of Malawi. The pastor said he had made a "tactical withdrawal" because they feared for their lives.

The home, which is near the capital, Pretoria, is valued at 5.5m South African rand ($350,000: £260,000), according to local media.

South Africa has issued an arrest warrant for the couple, and wants Malawi to extradite them.

Forces loyal to Ethiopia's Tigray state have fired rockets into the city of Bahir Dar in the neighbouring Amhara region.

The Amhara government said there were no casualties and no damage caused.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) is fighting federal troops.

Amhara, which has a long-running border dispute with Tigray, has sent regional forces in support of the federal troops.

Hundreds have died in the conflict in Tigray since the beginning of November and more than 30,000 people have crossed the border from Ethiopia into Sudan.

Read more: Tigray crisis: Why there are fears of civil war in Ethiopia

Ibrahim Omer fled Eritrea as a refugee making his way to New Zealand and becoming the country's first ever African MP.

He told the BBC's Peter Okwoche that his win was historic.

"I'm very overwhelmed, very excited at the same time because this is for us as a country New Zealand and for me as a person and for the community that I represent here in New Zealand," he said.

Mr Ibrahim spent years working as an interpreter in a Sudanese camp and later the UNHCR resettled him in New Zealand.

He says his presence in parliament will be benefiting the community.

"I suppose to me the reason why I was doing it was a way of also giving back to the society, to the community, to the country that gave me so much. At the end of the day, the tax payers funded me coming to New Zealand so I needed to do, I needed to say thank you by doing something, something nice for the communities and the country," he said.

Watch Mr Ibrahim's interview below:

Two African authors who were finalists for the Booker Prize 2020 have expressed optimism after missing out on the prize.

Scottish-American Douglas Stuart won the Prize for his debut novel, Shuggie Bain.

The Booker Prize, the UK's most prestigious literary award, is open to any novel written in English by an author of any nationality.

Award-winning Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga has promised to "keep on writing and telling our stories".

She was shortlisted for her latest book, This Mournable Body.

Ethiopia's Maaza Mengiste, who was shortlisted for her novel, The Shadow King, said her nomination had "shifted the conversation around prizes".

"This work continues," she tweeted:

The #Endsars protests in Nigeria may have been halted by the strong action taken by army and police, but many activists are not relenting.

The widespread anger has prompted many prominent cultural icons to take action.

This includes the music star Seun Kuti, whose late father Fela Anikulapo Kuti was a leading voice calling out politicians in Nigeria from the 1970s to the 90s when he died.

Seun has taken up the #EndSars cause and this week announced the revival of his dad’s political party, the Movement of the People, as part of his drive to call for better governance in the country, as well as an end to police brutality.

He told the BBC's Focus of Africa that the movement will capture the energy of the Nigerian people politically.

He said the coalition will articulate issues politically beyond the #EndSARS protests.

"We have plans on how to engage people. This was just our first meeting with the people. We have other plans because the main agenda of MOP is to erase the elitist way in which politics have been done here where the rich people gather somewhere and expect the people to go to them. The MOP is going to go to the people," he said.

Here is his full interview:

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Mozambique’s Finance Minister, Adriano Maleiane, has dismissed fears that China might seize the country's assets in case of a payment default for loans.

The minister told lawmakers on Thursday that the fears were groundless

“There are no indications of this”, he said.

He said that Mozambique’s debt to China had so far respected parameters agreed between the two countries.

Mr Maleiane put Mozambique’s total debt to China at $2bn (£1.5bn).

The vast majority of the debt – about $1.97bn – is owed to the Chinese Exim Bank, which financed major infrastructure projects, including the Maputo Ring Road and the suspension bridge over the Bay of Maputo.

The minister said the projects would eventually pay for themselves through toll gates.

But opposition MP, Venancio Mondlane, challenged the minister's optimism, suggesting that it would take 75 years to pay off the debt for building the suspension bridge at the current rate of toll collection.

The minister did not respond to a question on whether any infrastructure project financed by China had ever made a profit.

Read:

• Is China burdening Africa with debt?

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Somali Prime Minister, Mohamed Hussein Roble, has sacked Foreign Affairs Minister, Ahmed Isse Awad, hours after a row over the country’s position on the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.

"In a decree issued by the office of the Somali prime minister, Mohamed Abdirizak Mohamud Abubakar has been appointed minister of foreign affairs to replace the former holder of the position," the website of the state radio said.

The sacked minister was named as an ambassador, the report added, but he tweeted that he was "not currently ready for any position as an ambassador or any other".

The verified Twitter account of the office of the prime minister, @SomaliPM, announced the appointment but did not explain why Mr Awad was sacked.

On Thursday, Mr Awad posted a tweet on his account denying that Somalia had issued an official statement on the Ethiopia crisis.

A few hours earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had issued a statement expressing “support for the unity of Ethiopia".

“Somalia reaffirms its solidarity with the government of Ethiopia under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in keeping the constitutional order and respecting the territorial integrity of Ethiopia," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had said in the statement that was later withdrawn.

Ethiopia launched military operations on 4 November to oust the government of the northern Tigray region after accusing its fighters of attacking federal forces.

Ethiopia has many troops in Somalia who are part of the African Union peacekeeping force (Amisom).

Last week, Somalia's Radio Dalsan reported that Ethiopia will withdraw 3,000 troops from Amisom.