That's all from the BBC Africa Live  page this week. Keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the  Africa Today podcast  or checking the  BBC News website  . 

A reminder of today's wise words:

Click here to send your African proverbs .    

And we leave you with this picture of a lion, who found a comfortable spot in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.

The swearing-in of South African President Jacob Zuma's new cabinet has been delayed. 

It had been due to take place at 16:00 GMT (18:00 local time) but will now take place later this evening, according to the official news agency.

Mr Zuma's sacking of his finance minister and others has caused huge ructions among South African political figures, including senior figures in the president's own ANC party (see earlier posts).

There has been no word on the reason for the delay of the swearing-in ceremony.

Abdinoor Aden
BBC Africa

The impact of a severe drought in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland is getting worse, as nomads lose hundreds of head of livestock.

Despite traveling for miles in search of pasture and water, pastoralists have been unable to save their livestock because of the worst drought in years, named Siman by the locals. 

Siman means "equal" or "the same", referring to the existence of the drought in all areas.

Humanitarian agencies, including the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), have been providing water and other support in the last few weeks.

Animals have been weakening after going for several days without water and pasture. 

The lucky ones were transported using vehicles which took two days to reach the destinations.  

The herdsmen have left their families with relatives to travel far distances.

One family told me they lost 800 animals including goats and sheep in one month.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

The UN Security Council has voted to cut the size of its largest and most expensive peacekeeping mission, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Under the draft plan, the authorised total of 19,000 peacekeepers will be reduced by 3,000.

The UN force is already undermanned by close to that number. 

Several UN member states have signalled a desire to cut spending on peacekeeping, in particular the new Trump administration in the United States - which is the largest donor.

The situation in DR Congo remains uncertain - under an agreement reached with opposition parties, President Joseph Kabila is due to step down after elections later this year.

What does it take to upset a president? How sick does a corrupt politician need to be to earn a get-out-of-jail card? And what could Brexit really mean for Africa?

This is Africa in 90 seconds through the eyes of satirist Ikenna Azuike:

Nigeria's militant Islamist Boko Haram group is abducting, drugging, and forcing women to marry its members, as part of its attempt to recruit them as suicide bombers. 

The BBC's Clive Myrie travelled to the city of Gwoza, a Boko Haram stronghold for eight months, until it was retaken by the army.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

The Kuwaiti authorities are reportedly investigating a woman who apparently failed to help her Ethiopian maid as she fell from the window of a seventh floor apartment. 

Instead of trying to save the maid, the employer filmed her on a phone. 

The shocking video shows the Ethiopian woman hanging by one hand from the window and begging for help before plunging downwards. 

A piece of roofing appears to have broken her fall six floors down and she survived. 

It's thought she may have been dangling from the window because she was suicidal. But it's not clear why her employer failed to try to save her. 

Read the full BBC News story

BBC Swahili's Salim Kikeke is something of a social media hero in the office, with nearly two million followers on Facebook and 500,000 on Instagram. 

But even he looked taken aback when we told him that 10,000 people (and counting) had liked his post celebrating his son's first birthday.

Forget hard news for a moment and enjoy these two! 

(THIS MEDIA EMBED IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE)

The widow of veteran anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada has accused South African President Jacob Zuma of "greed and corruption", hours after the government indefinitely postponed her late husband's state memorial, which had been due to take place tomorrow. 

The government did not give an explanation for calling off, external the planned service.

Speaking at a news conference, Barbara Hogan said the president had "gone rogue" and that she was angered at the timing of his cabinet reshuffle, which came three days after the death of her husband.

"Could they not have held off for one more week with their dastardly deeds out of respect for Kathy's death?" she asked. 

"If this isn't a defining moment, nothing will be," Ms Hogan said, adding: "I call on everyone here to not remain silent. The country needs to be taken back."

Mr Zuma did not attend the funeral for the celebrated anti-apartheid figure this week at the request of the Kathrada family.

Local eNCA news has been tweeting video highlights from the briefing:

Journalists have been reacting to Ms Hogan's speech on Twitter:

The family will host a separate memorial service tomorrow, details of which have been shared by South Africa's public broadcaster: 

Former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, whose sacking has rocked the country, will be among the guests. 

The opposition Democratic Alliance has failed in a court attempt to stop President Zuma's new cabinet being sworn in. 

The judge reportedly said there were not strong enough grounds for judicial intervention in the president's affairs.

The swearing-in is due to take place from 16:00 GMT (18:00 local time).

The cabinet reshuffle by South Africa's President Jacob Zuma was expected, but its scale has taken people by surprise. 

The BBC's Lerato Mbele takes a look at the implications.  

Image source, AFP

We're catching up now on another bit of news from South Africa earlier. The High Court in the Western Cape has ruled that people may grow and consume dagga, or marijuana, at home if it is for private use.

According to the News24 website, external , the court also ruled that parliament must change sections of the Drug Trafficking Act, as well as the Medicines Control Act, within 24 months to take account of its decision.

The case was brought by Dagga Party leader Jeremy Acton and Rastafarian Garreth Prince.

They had argued that laws prohibiting dagga use were unfair, discriminatory, outdated, and applied disproportionately to black users.

Stephanie Hegarty
BBC Africa, Lagos

For three days #keepthechangebae has been trending in the Nigerian twittersphere.

That's after an 18-year-old in Ibadan, going by the handle  @Pabloayodeji, external , went on a Twitter rant after a girl he took on a date told him she wasn’t ready for a relationship. 

Using a series of profanities, he accused the girl of being hungry and broke and using him to get a free meal. 

But the twittersphere erupted when the girl,  @missmoshiku replied, external , showing that she had transferred funds to his account, paying for both of them with extra.

(If you’re wondering how she got his bank details, Twitter has answered that one already. He gave them to her in a whatsapp conversation where he joked about needing money to buy himself some chicken.)

In a stroke of marketing brilliance, the Twitter account of the relatively small Wema bank that handles Pablo’s account started the hashtag #keepthechangebae.

First the jokes rolled in. Many people said Pablo had orchestrated the best Ponzi scheme in history – with a 5,000 naira ($12.50) return on a 3,800 naira ($9.50) investment in just one day. 

But the overwhelming majority celebrated @missmoshiku's bold and clever display of girl power.

Hundreds of businesses have approached @missmoshiku via her Twitter feed asking her to endorse their brands. It’s become an opportunity for brands to ride a celebratory wave of female empowerment.

And some Twitter users are seeing this of a sign of something deeper. 

The good news is Pablo has publicly apologised and hopes the pair can move on as friends. Miss Moshiku has yet to reply.   

The Johannesburg correspondent of the LA Times draws our attention to a piece published on the Intellidex finance website two days ago. 

It raises the intriguing possibility that someone may have profited by trading in foreign exchange futures very shortly before former South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was recalled from London to be sacked, triggering a fall in the rand.

Of course, there'd be nothing illegal or improper in that per se, unless perhaps the person knew what was about to happen. For a more detailed explanation, follow the link below. 

An amnesty has begun in Saudi Arabia during which huge numbers of illegal workers will be permitted to leave the country without facing heavy fines or other punishments. 

It's thought hundreds-of-thousands of undocumented foreign residents might take advantage of the three-month grace period. 

The oil-rich kingdom draws in workers from poorer states across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. When a similar amnesty was offered a few years ago there were thought to be 2.5 million illegal residents in the country. 

Correspondents say the number may be significantly higher now.  

Image source, AFP

South Africa's former President Thabo Mbeki has urged President Zuma to explain the reasons behind his controversial cabinet reshuffle, warning of "serious social instability" if he fails to do so. 

A statement from the former leader's Foundation on Facebook said:

Alastair Leithead
BBC Africa correspondent

If you're just catching up with the political storm in South Africa, here's a brief recap from our Africa correspondent:

South Africa’s highly respected finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, has been credited with keeping South Africa’s fragile economy afloat. His departure set the currency falling. 

It was after midnight when President Jacob Zuma announced a wide-ranging cull of his critics, and the promotion of his supporters. 

The new finance minister has little economic experience. 

Mr Gordhan rejected allegations he was trying to undermine the economy as "absolute nonsense," saying "the country is not for sale" – amid allegations of corruption against the president, and of so-called "state capture" by an influential business family. 

Even the vice-president called the reason for Mr Gordhan’s sacking "totally, totally unacceptable" and the ANC’s secretary general was also critical saying he was "informed, not consulted" over the reshuffle. 

The opposition is seeking an urgent court order to prevent the new ministers being sworn in.     

Julius Malema, leader of South Africa's radical opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, is briefing the media following President Zuma's controversial cabinet reshuffle.

He's been discussing the party's plan to impeach Mr Zuma and to trigger an emergency session in parliament to hold a vote of no confidence in the president.

Follow the presser live below:

The party's official account is tweeting updates from the press conference:

Lerato Mbele
BBC African Business Report

Image source, Reuters

Midweek, as the markets got wind of the fact that something was amiss and a cabinet reshuffle was imminent, the South African rand started losing its value. 

Once the news broke that Pravin Gordhan and his deputy had been fired, it lost about 3.7% of its value overnight. 

In terms of the week’s trade, it's about 7% worth of a decline in the currency that had started to recover from the political uncertainty and international volatility that has plagued it in the past year. 

The bond markets have also reacted negatively - this is where government debt is sold and the values are directly linked to the prospects of the economy – growth, currency and inflation. 

Bonds yields have gone up by nearly 40 basis points, meaning the yields are higher and governments debt obligations on paying out these "coupons" will shoot up. 

For foreign investors that’s a boon, but for South African taxpayers subsidising the state it doesn’t represent value for money.  

Costs are ballooning and local markets have little to show for it. Ultimately ordinary people will feel the pressure of these political moves - a weaker currency means the cost of basic imports such as fuel and some foods will go up. 

Pensioners due to retire soon will lose value on their savings because pension funds invest in many local assets. 

A government with more debts will have less money to pursue pro-poor programmes. 

A country whose reputation is dented may ultimately lose face with international ratings agencies and finally be downgraded to "junk status" when the economic assessments are done again in June.  

Image source, Sa gov

The chief whip of the main opposition Democratic Alliance has described President Zuma's reshuffle as a "midnight massacre", AFP news agency reports.

John Steenhuisen accused newly appointed Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba of having links with the influential Gupta family, who have extensive business interests, which he has strenuously denied, external in the past:

Gupta family members have repeatedly denied accusations by opposition parties that they wield undue influence over Mr Zuma and members of his administration.

Read more: The Guptas and their links to South Africa's Jacob Zuma