Africa Live this week: 10-16 April 2023

Kenya's first earth observation satellite has been launched into orbit by a SpaceX rocket.

Elon Musk's company confirmed the separation of the Taifa-1 satellite about an hour after take off from California.

It was developed by a team of Kenyan researchers with the help of a Bulgarian aerospace company.

The aim is to collect data to help predict crop yields in Kenya and improve food security.

Kenya's satellite was one of a number to be launched from the SpaceX Falcon-9 under the firm's rideshare programme.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

A controversial Kenyan preacher linked to the deaths of four people from starvation after following radical religious teachings has been arrested.

Makenzie Nthenge is alleged to be behind a religious cult in the coastal Kilifi region, in which his followers had reportedly been willing to fast to death after being convinced it was a shortcut to meet Jesus.

Eleven seriously ill people linked to the controversial Good News International Church are recovering in hospital after being rescued from a village hideout.

Some had reportedly gone for as long as 21 days without food.

Mr Nthenge had said he had closed his church premises in 2019, but he is also a televangelist and runs a YouTube channel, which appears to have attracted followers from hundreds of miles away.

Just last month, Mr Nthenge was charged in connection with the deaths of two children whose parents had joined the church, and believed to have subscribed to his teachings.

He pleaded not guilty to that charge and was released on bail.

Uganda’s Deputy Finance Minister Amos Lugoloobi has been arrested in connection with the misappropriation of iron roofing sheets meant for vulnerable people in the north-eastern Karamoja region.

He is now the second Ugandan minister to have been detained over the corruption scandal.

It follows this week's court appearance by the minister for the region, Mary Goretti Kitutu. She pleaded not guilty.

It is reported that several other officials and politicians received consignments of some of the 14,500 iron roofing materials.

Mr Lugoloobi is reported to have received at least 600 iron sheets.

Local media reported in March that he had used some for an animal shed on his farm. They later printed photos indicating that the shed had had its roof removed after the story broke.

The government has been under pressure to arrest and charge more of the officials implicated in the scandal.

President Yoweri Museveni, under pressure from the public to take action, earlier this week ordered the ministers to return roofing sheets or pay back to government a cash equivalent.

Corruption scandals such as these are quite common in Uganda, and high-profile government officials have been previously charged, but convictions or sackings are quite rare.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now, we will be back on Monday morning at bbc.com/africalive. There will be an automated news feed here until then.

You can also get the latest on the BBC News website and listen to the Africa Today podcast.

A reminder of Friday's wise words:

Quote Message: It is not the number of times it is played that makes the trumpet what it is." from A Kikuyu proverb sent by Moses Gichuru Ndiritu in Nakuru, Kenya

It is not the number of times it is played that makes the trumpet what it is."

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with a photo of an Ethiopian enset tree - it's one of our favourites this week:

PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Italy's far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has begun a two-day visit to Ethiopia, where she has announced plans for an African energy cooperation deal starting in October.

She says the "Mattei plan" will transform Italy into a major energy hub, taking gas from the Mediterranean and North Africa to European nations.

Italy has increasingly imported gas from Algeria and other African countries rather than Russia.

The Italian government considers the "stability and integrity" of Ethiopia to be a priority for national interest because of its location on the migratory route from the Horn of Africa to Europe, explains Italy's ANSA newspaper.

You may also be interested in:

• BBC Radio 4's profile of Giorgia Meloni
• A quick guide to Ethiopia

Courtesy of the artistCopyright: Courtesy of the artist

When he dropped Show You Off, the afrobeats-influenced song that put him on the map in Africa, WurlD did a clever thing: he dyed his hair blue.

That has made him stand out in a very crowded scene. But WurlD stands out for musical reasons too.

Born in Nigeria, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia when he was 15, and for many years worked in the US mainly producing and writing songs for other artists in a variety of different genres. As a result his own sound is now quite different from that of artists fully baked in the motherland, he tells me:

Quote Message: I started making music in ATL, and it was very R&B, I was doing hooks for hip hop artists, I was doing top lines for house music DJs, I had the opportunity to create music for country artists. So my versatility comes from that.

I started making music in ATL, and it was very R&B, I was doing hooks for hip hop artists, I was doing top lines for house music DJs, I had the opportunity to create music for country artists. So my versatility comes from that.

Quote Message: When I started doing afrobeats, [I realised] I can’t do anything else but fuse what I’ve learnt and been exposed to. I call it 'electro-fusion' because you never know what song you’re going to get from WurlD next."

When I started doing afrobeats, [I realised] I can’t do anything else but fuse what I’ve learnt and been exposed to. I call it 'electro-fusion' because you never know what song you’re going to get from WurlD next."

It’s true that WurlD’s hits to date - including Mad, Contagious, Trobul and Stamina - are very different.

When I asked WurlD to pick a favourite from his 19-track latest album My WorlD with U, he went for Gucci, a smooth and dreamy number with a vibe all of its own.

Quote Message: For me every song is an experiment. I’ve been a fan of artists that have always been bold to try new things, and I know the feeling of sitting somewhere and you hear a new sound and it’s different from everything else and it’s well-executed. That is what inspires me."

For me every song is an experiment. I’ve been a fan of artists that have always been bold to try new things, and I know the feeling of sitting somewhere and you hear a new sound and it’s different from everything else and it’s well-executed. That is what inspires me."

WurlD’s enthusiasm and excitement about his music is obvious when you meet him, and was proven by his decision to share his new song, Location, with me a month before he officially drops it.

Quote Message: It features Sarz and for me the sound is just [a] love sound. This is me pouring my heart out, and just effortlessly giving. It’s just the freedom of it, and not being afraid to be in myself and to be African, loving myself and the world and giving myself in the most pure way. I think people are going to hear that in this project."

It features Sarz and for me the sound is just [a] love sound. This is me pouring my heart out, and just effortlessly giving. It’s just the freedom of it, and not being afraid to be in myself and to be African, loving myself and the world and giving myself in the most pure way. I think people are going to hear that in this project."

You can hear DJ Edu’s conversation with WurlD and an exclusive preview of Location, his latest track, on This is Africa this Saturday, on BBC World Service radio and partner stations across Africa, as well as online here: BBCworldservice.com/thisisafrica

AFPCopyright: AFP

Town hall-style meetings on how to tackle Gabon's high cost of living have ended with plenty of recommendations but no clear plan of action.

The central African nation imports a lot of its food and one popular suggestion has been to scrap all taxes on food imports.

Other recommendations included scrapping VAT on all basic necessities, raising import taxes on luxuries like champagne and cigarettes, ending police racketeering, as well as boosting local agriculture and quarries.

This national forum was held in all nine of Gabon's provinces and the capital, Libreville, ending on Thursday.

"There are, among the proposals that have been made, some that can be applied immediately and others that will have to be spread out," said Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze.

The head of a notorious and powerful paramilitary group says he is ready to meet Sudan's army chief to de-escalate recent tensions, according to mediators.

Local reports say Western envoys have met the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Gen Mohamed 'Hemeti' Dagalo a day after the Sudanese army accused the RSF of sowing conflict.

The country was supposed to be transitioning to civilian ruler following the 2019 ouster of long-time President Omar al-Bashir.

But a coup two years later halted that process. A second attempt to move to civilian rule has been held up because of tensions between the RSF and the army.

Part of the transition plans involve integrating the RSF into the national army, but when this was discussed last month the RSF soon began redeploying units in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere.