Naziru Mikailu
BBC News

Image source, Boko Haram video

There was no clear message from a video released today by Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau. 

It is his first appearance in more than a year. 

It could be seen as signalling the end of his reign as the leader of the jihadist group that has been fighting to establish an Islamic state in northern Nigeria since 2009. 

His admission that "I have done my part or the end has come for me" could be seen as a giving up to the mounting pressure on the Islamists by regional forces. 

The group has been confined in their Sambisa forest hideout, preventing them for getting fuel for hit-and-run attacks and conventional fighting, although suicide bombings persist. 

In the video, which was poorly produced, the Boko Haram leader referred in the past tense to the town of Gwoza where he declared a caliphate in 2014. It has since been retaken by the military.

There was also none of Mr Shekau's defiant bluster, taunts and denunciation of Nigeria's political elites of previous videos.

It is not clear where and when the video was recorded. But It does show that despite the military's recent triumph over the group, they are still able to produce and release propaganda messages.

Thomas Naadi
BBC Africa, Accra

Three South African ex-policemen have been charged in Ghana with conspiracy to commit crime, unlawful training and false declaration. 

The Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) picked up the three men the country's Central Region for allegedly engaging in acts that threaten Ghana's security.

According to the BNI, the trio were training 15 young men in various military drills, including unarmed combat, weapons handling, VIP protection techniques and rapid response manoeuvres.

The BNI said the training raised security issues given the heightened security awareness in the country following terror attacks in the sub-region.

They were brought into the country by the opposition New Patriotic Party to train bodyguards for its party leaders ahead of November's elections.

Two Kenyan men who were locked up in prison in 2010 after failing to stick to their Tuberculosis treatment are waiting to hear if the move by a magistrates' court was illegal.

They're at the High Court in the capital, Nairobi, which is expected to rule soon.

The two, Daniel Ng'etich and Patrick Kipngetich, were sent to prison for eight months or until the satisfactory completion of their TB treatment.  

Newly elected Fifa President Gianni Infantino is in Ethiopia a day after visiting neighbouring South Sudan.

He met with some young people in the capital, Addis Ababa:

The Ethiopian foreign minister (pictured below on the right), also tweeted about the visit:

Image source, Ethiopian Foreign Ministry

Britain's Prince William has promised to support Kenya's efforts to stem poaching after meeting President Uhuru Kenyatta in the capital, Nairobi, AFP news agency reports.

"If there is anything I can do to raise the profile in your efforts to conserve wildlife, I will do it," he said.

Next month, Kenya is set to burn the vast majority of its ivory and rhino horn stockpile - the world's biggest burning of ivory in history.

"We are determined to conserve our wildlife for posterity and welcome all the support we can get in this endeavour," AFP quoted Mr Kenyatta as saying in a statement. 

Mr Kenyatta tweeted a photo of him with the prince:

#KNEC - short for Kenya National Examinations Council - is trending on Twitter in Kenya as people digest the news that its executive board has been sacked (see 09:18 entry).

The sacking was over alleged irregularities in last year's secondary school exams, which saw 5,000 results cancelled.

Kenyans are full of praise for Education Minister Fred Matiang'i:

After being sworn-in, Zanzibar's re-elected President Ali Mohamed Shein said he would have a "zero tolerance on people who attempt to cause instability", the AFP news agency reports.

He took more than 90% of the vote in Sunday's controversial poll on Tanzania's semi-autonomous islands which was boycotted by the opposition.

The election was a re-run of October's annulled vote, which an opposition candidate said he had won.

The electoral commission said there had been irregularities.

AFP reports President Shein as saying: "As I form a new government, I appeal to everybody to play their role in building Zanzibar". 

Image source, AFP

For the first time in more than a year, the leader of Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko Haram has appeared in a new propaganda video rallying his fighters who have been under heavy pressure from regional forces. 

In the seven-minute video released today, a subdued Abubakar Shekau appears in a military uniform with a rifle resting on his left shoulder and said he wanted to thank his followers for their dedication. 

The group has recently been on the back foot in its violent campaign to establish an Islamic state in northern Nigeria. 

Image source, Boko Haram video

A military operation involving troops from Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad has recaptured all towns and cities once controlled by Boko Haram.

"I have done my part. This message is just to reassure you that I'm alive and actually the one speaking to you," he said in both Hausa and Arabic. 

The Islamist insurgency has killed 20,000 people since 2009.

A group of top Kenyan officials have been denied entry into the Tanzanian port of Tonga amid a row over a proposed Uganda-Kenya oil pipeline deal, the Daily Nation newspaper, external reports.

The passports of Kenya's Energy Minister Charles Keter and other officials were confiscated on their arrival at the port, it adds. 

However, a delegation from Uganda was allowed to tour the port. 

The officials were scheduled to inspect the port as part of a negotiation between Kenya and Uganda over whether a proposed oil pipeline to export Uganda’s oil would pass through Kenya or Tanzania.

The man who heads the group that's monitoring the implementation of the South Sudan peace plan has said his patience is being tested by the slow pace of change in the country, the AFP news agency is reporting.

It quotes Festus Mogae as telling officials in South Sudan:

Image source, AFP

The deal to end South Sudan's civil war, which began in December 2013, was agreed last August, but some key parts of the plan have not yet been fully implemented.

This includes the ceasefire and the formation of a unity government.

Rebel leader Riek Machar was named as a vice-president but has not yet gone to the capital, Juba, to take up his post.

Mr Mogae heads the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, external appointed by the regional group Igad.

He said time is running out:

Image source, Nigerian Army

Nigeria's Army says it has rescued 180 people held captive by militant Islamist group Boko Haram in the north-eastern state of Borno. 

Five militants were also killed during the operation in villages around the Mafa area, it added in a statement. 

It's not clear whether the army rescued the people or they were abandoned by fleeing Boko Haram fighters. 

The Islamist group is still holding more than 200 schoolgirls it abducted from Chibok two years ago.

Read: Who are Boko Haram Islamists

Abdullahi Abdi
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Kenyans have been reacting on social media to the news of the sacking of a local official who was filmed drunk last week as President Uhuru Kenyatta was on a visit to his area. 

The government says he had betrayed the trust of the people and had to be fired.

The video has been widely shared and appears to show the man rolling on the ground, saying he was born to drink:

Some Kenyans have argued that the sacking will serve as a lesson to rowdy officers, but others say the man was unwell and needs help.

The campaign group Human Rights Watch, external says Sudan's security forces have used sexual violence, intimidation and other forms of abuse to silence female human rights activists. 

The organisation says it documented at least a dozen cases in which security officials raped or threatened to rape women activists. 

Female campaigners also said that the security forces had tried to ruin their reputations. 

Human Rights Watch says that although repression is widespread in Sudan, women face a particular burden. 

The Sudanese authorities have always denied carrying out abuses. 

Kenya's schools exam board has been dissolved over what have been described as irregularities in last year's secondary school exams.

The chief executive and eight other officials have been told to make police statements.

The BBC's Ruth Nesoba in the capital, Nairobi, says that exam papers were widely shared on social media sites ahead of students sitting the exams.

She adds that many Kenyans are now questioning the credibility of the results.

Image source, AFP

Congo-Brazzaville incumbent President Denis Sassou Nguesso has been declared the winner of the presidential election, which the opposition denounced as rigged. 

Speaking on national television, Interior Minister Raymond Zephyrin Mboulou said that Mr Sassou Nguesso - who has been in power for more than 30 years - had secured more than 60%. 

The official count put the president's main rivals way behind.

The opposition has said there had been "massive fraud" and called for a recount of the vote.

Mr Sassou Nguesso won approval for changes to the constitution last year to allow him to stand for a further term in office.

Image source, AFP

Image source, Reuters

The transport ministers of Australia and Malaysia say two plane parts found in Mozambique almost certainly came from missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

The two pieces of debris were found separately by members of the public and were flown to Australia for analysis.

Australian's Darren Chester said the finds were "consistent with drift modelling" of ocean currents.

MH370 vanished in March 2014 with 239 people on board.

Read the full story here

Today’s African proverb:

To contribute your proverb click here and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Welcome to the BBC Africa Live page where we'll be keeping you up-to-date with the latest news stories.