Judge Mogoeng says the Public Protector was created by the constitution when South Africa became a constitutional democracy in 1994.

The Public Protector is one of the most invaluable gifts the constitution has given to South Africa to protect the country from corruption, he says.

He adds, she is the embodiment of the Biblical David who fights the Goliath of impropriety in government.

Judge Mogoeng says that the president has to uphold the constitution, and he underlines his central position to the peace and stability of the country.

The president is "the image of South Africa on any global platform", the judge says. 

The question the Constitutional Court is considering is whether Jacob Zuma was obliged to abide by a 2014 report by the Public Protector to repay some of the millions of dollars spent on upgrading his private rural residence.

Judge Mogoeng says that public office holders ignore the constitution "at their peril".

He says that South Africa's constitution must be respected and that's what marks out the country as democratic.

Image source, SABC

South Africa's Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng is reading the judgement on the Constitutional Court case on whether President Jacob Zuma should pay back some of the money for upgrades to his private rural residence:

In his introduction he says the ruling deals with "monumental issues of importance to our country".

You can watch it here:

Several people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in the north-central Somali town of Galkayo, local news website Dhacdo.com reports.

The suicide attacker detonated the bomb between two hotels in the city, it adds.

A former BBC reporter in Somalia has been tweeting more details:

The BBC's Pumza Fihlani in South Africa says there's a lot of media interest in today's Constitutional Court ruling on whether President Jacob Zuma should pay back some of the money for upgrades to his private rural residence.

The judges are due to start reading their ruling soon and you can follow it live here:

Uganda's high court is packed as people listen to a ruling on the legality of last month's presidential election.

President Yoweri Museveni won a fifth term in power, but Amama Mbabazi, one of the losing candidates, challenged the result because of alleged irregularities in some voting districts.

A BBC reporter is tweeting from the court:

Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Johannesburg

South Africa's Constitutional Court is set to rule on whether President Jacob Zuma should pay back some of the 240 million rand ($20m at the time) spent by the state on renovating his private home in Nkandla in rural KwaZulu Natal province.  

Two opposition parties brought the case to force Mr Zuma to comply with a 2014 finding by the Public Protector, an anti-corruption watchdog, that he was liable for non-security improvements to his residence.  

The scandal has been a thorn in his side since the initial findings were published. 

A government report said the improvements were all for security reasons and therefore Mr Zuma was not liable to pay.

But shortly before the Constitutional Court hearing began last month the president agreed to pay back some of the money spent on the house.

Image source, AFP

Today’s African proverb:

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