That's all from the  BBC Africa Live  page today. 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 and scroll to the bottom to send us your African proverbs .

And we leave you with this picture of two men playing a game of draughts in Tanzania's city of Iringa:

Image source, Yonatan Tesfaye

Rights body Amnesty international has called the conviction of an Ethiopian opposition politician for his Facebook posts "a shameful affront to people’s right to express themselves". 

Yonatan Tesfaye was found guilty earlier today of “encouraging terrorism” over posts he wrote two years ago, accusing the government of using "force against the people instead of using peaceful discussion" to end protests in the restive Oromia region.  

Amnesty's Michelle Kagari accused Ethiopian authorities of misusing anti-terrorism laws: 

Yonatan, a former spokesman of the opposition Semayawi (Blue) Party, was arrested in December 2015. He will be sentenced on 25 May.

See earlier post for more details

Chris Ewokor
BBC Africa, Abuja

Scores of people have been streaming into camps in Nigeria's north-eastern Taraba state to escape attacks by suspected herdsmen, locals say. 

Police say at least three people were killed in the attacks at the weekend, while eyewitness put the number of dead at 12, including a one-week-old baby.  

The displaced people are taking shelter in church halls in Bali town, and say they are facing shortages of food and water. 

They are calling for the urgent deployment of security in the area as well relief assistance. 

James Copnall
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein has expressed grave concern about what he calls the expanding attacks by armed groups against the civilian population in several parts of the Central African Republic (CAR). 

This weekend, numerous civilians were killed when armed men attacked a UN base and a Muslim neighbourhood in Bangassou in the south of the country. 

The attack was apparently carried out by elements of the anti-Balaka forces - the largely Christian militia groups that sprang up to confront the largely Muslim Seleka forces during the recent civil war. 

Earlier this month, the UN says 56 civilians were killed in clashes between an anti-Balaka group and another force allied to the ex-Seleka forces. That took place in Alindao and in surrounding villages.

Mr Hussein said he was particularly disturbed by an increase in targeted killings of civilianssince the fighting between rival groups began in November 2016. 

The UN says that apart from the two major incidents in Bangassou and Alindao, it has documented the deaths of more than 120 civilians between March and May. 

One of Kenya's top musician, Juliani, has released a song calling for police reforms, and accountability. 

The song's release is intended to mark last year's killing of human rights lawyer Willy Kimani who was brutally murdered along with a client and a driver. 

 Four police officers have pleaded not guilty to charges related to the killings, which caused outrage in Kenya.      

Mr Kimani was a lawyer with the International Justice Mission in Kenya, and was representing a client who had a complaint against the police. 

The three were abducted in June last year and their tortured bodies were found dumped in a river.   

Julian's Swahili song, Machozi ya jana (Tears from yesterday) is a rallying cry for accountability. 

The lyrics include: 

They took you away

We are no-longer together 

Rest in peace 

You are no longer with us 

They took you away from us

But we will meet again 

Tears from yesterday

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

 A ceremony in the Democratic Republic of Congo's parliament to swear in a new cabinet has been disrupted by opposition lawmakers who started blowing whistles. 

They say Prime Minister Bruno Tshibala's government is illegitimate, as it does not respect a power-sharing agreement signed at the end of last year. 

An opposition motion to not swear in the cabinet was rejected by the parliament, which is still under the control of President Joseph Kabila's coalition, the Alliance for the Presidential Majority. 

The opposition accuse Mr Kabila of trying to stay in power by any means necessary. 

His final mandate ended last year, but he has said he will stay in power until elections can be held. 

David Wafula
BBC Africa

The Kenya government has finally succumbed to pressure from the public and opposition leaders by reducing the price of the staple food, corn meal, popularly known as Ugali,  by almost 50%. 

Prices for the maize flour had risen to almost over $2 (£1.5) per two kilograms, forcing many Kenyans to gang up against the government and start what has called the  Unga Revolution, threatening the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta.

On Friday, a cargo ship full of white maize docked in the coastal city of Mombasa, sparking a political furore about where the consignment originated from only three days after the government issued a directive to import maize duty free.

Initially government officials said the maize was imported from Mexico, allegations denied by the Mexican envoy in Nairobi. 

The agriculture minister then said the maize was not imported by the government, but by public and private millers.

Opposition leaders alleged that the government had artificially created a shortage of maize to inflate prices while at the same time getting an opportunity to import maize and enrich themselves.

Government officials denied the allegation. 

Mr Kenyatta said the decision to delay the importation of maize and milk was aimed at protecting local farmers.

With only two months to the general election, the opposition had used the shortage of maize flour as one its main campaign agendas. 

Five writers - including three Nigerians - have been shortlisted for the annual Caine Prize award given to an African writer. 

The stories must be published in English and be between 3,000 and 10,000 words. 

The nominees are: 

• Lesley Nneka Arimah (Nigeria) for Who Will Greet You At Home 

• Chikodili Emelumadu (Nigeria) for Bush Baby 

• Bushra al-Fadil (Sudan) for The Story of the Girl whose Birds Flew Away 

• Arinze Ifeakandu (Nigeria) for God’s Children Are Little Broken Things 

• Magogodi Makhene (South Africa) for The Virus 

Nii Ayikwei Parkes, the chairperson of the judging panel, said:   

The winner will be announced on 3 July and awarded $12,000 (£10,000).  

Does the use of juju, voodoo or witchcraft help teams to win football matches?

It is a question that has been around as long as football has been played on the continent.

Stories abound of charms, amulets, and even animals buried in the vicinity of stadiums in order to bring success on the pitch.

In Zimbabwe, there have been claims and counter-claims but the use of juju has largely remained shrouded in secrecy.

Until now.

One of Zimbabwe's most revered players has lifted the lid on the practice during his time at the country's biggest football club, Dynamos.

Memory Mucherahohwa has revealed a world of bizarre rituals, spells and charms to enhance the team's fortunes on the field.

In his autobiography, Soul of Seven Million Dreams, the 49-year-old former Zimbabwe international said belief in juju was so deep that it got in the way of technical strategy and negatively affected performances.

Read more about what Mucherahohwa has to say

A court in Ethiopia has found a former opposition spokesman guilty of "encouraging terrorism" with a series of anti-government Facebook posts. 

Yonatan Tesfaye of the Blue Party was arrested in December 2015 after writing on the social media platform that the government had used "force against the people instead of using peaceful discussion", AFP news agency reports.

Mr Yonatan maintained his innocence throughout his trial, but Judge Belayhun Awol ruled that his comments "exceeded freedom of expression" and amounted to encouraging terrorism, it adds.   

"I think the government's intent and what it seeks is this: to restrict others from speaking freely," Mr Yonatan's lawyer Shebru Belete Birru told AFP after the verdict.  

He now faces a possible sentence of between 10 and 20 years under Ethiopia's  anti-terrorism laws. 

More than 650 people, including 63 policemen, have died in a wave of anti-government protests that began in Ethiopia in November 2015, accordin to official figures. 

The country, a key ally of Western powers, has been ruled by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition since 1991.   

Read: What is behind the protests? 

Ivory Coast's government has started paying soldiers who took part in a four-day mutiny to demand back pay and bonuses, a spokesman for the mutineers has said, Reuters news agency reports. 

"Some of them are getting messages from their banks. The transfers are being made. It's 5 million CFA francs ($8,400; £6,500) that's arrived," Sergeant Seydou Kone is quoted as saying. 

The mutinous soldiers were ex-rebels who had helped President Alassane Ouattara take office in 2011 after his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat in elections. 

Read: Why are troops up in arms? 

Image source, Reuters

After a spate of kidnappings in the area around Lagos, the governor has introduced the death penalty for the crime.

The motive is almost always ransom, but what's it like for the victims?

We find out from three men who were abducted.

Video journalist: Stephanie Hegarty

Police in South Africa's Gauteng province say the four suspects arrested in connection with the murder of popular DJ and actor Mandla Hlatshwayo have not yet been "positively linked" to the crime, a local radio station has tweeted:  

See earlier post for more details

Image source, Reuters

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has called on the security forces to stop torturing suspected criminals, if they had been doing it.  

In a letter to top government officials, including the internal affairs minister, he said that using torture might coerce an innocent person to admit guilt and it was not a foolproof way to obtain evidence that can be used in a court: 

Mr Museveni said that even though torture was acceptable in "traditional societies" it was now "unnecessary". 

He said that Uganda had dealt with far worse security challenges than the threat posed by gunmen on motorcycles, known as boda bodas:

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has issued several decrees, renaming and restructuring the military, the privately owned Radio Tamazuj reports. 

It says the name Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) has been dropped for South Sudan Defense Force (SSDF).

The new structure complies with the resolutions agreed at a conference of the SPLA in June 2016, the report says. 

Tamasin Ford
BBC Africa, Abidjan

Image source, AFP

Soldiers in Ivory Coast have accepted a new government offer to end a mutiny that has gripped the world's biggest cocoa producer for four days.

Since Friday, soldiers have been shooting inside their barracks, spilling onto the streets, setting up road blocks and terrifying residents in major cities around the country. 

The former rebels, now embedded in the army and who fought for years to get President Alassane Ouattara to power, were angry at the scrapping of a deal to give them back pay and bonuses. 

The government tabled a new deal last night, which they rejected. Then today the government finally gave in, giving them exactly what they want - around $8,000 each today (£6,000) and then another $3,000 at the end of June.

Kenya's Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o has shared a picture she took with British actor John Boyega. 

Lupita congratulated Boyega for his role as the main character in the play Woyzeck. 

The play, being shown in London, is based on the true story of a military barber who stabbed to death his mistress in a fit of jealousy and was sentenced to death in 1821.

Read: Our dreams are valid

Robert Kiptoo
BBC Africa

Image source, AFP

Two people, including a local provincial administration officer, have been killed following an attack by suspected al-Shabab militants in Mandera county in northern Kenya. 

Kenyan authorities say two other Kenyans, serving as local police reservists, were abducted by the attackers who fled to Somalia.

Police say more security personnel have been deployed to the area and the attackers are being pursued. 

Media linked to al-Shabab said the group's fighters had carried out the raid.  

It occurred in the border town of Omar Jillo, where a dusk-to-dawn curfew is in force.

The incident happened only a week after two other people were killed in another suspected al-Shabab attack in Elwak, another town on Kenya-Somalia border.

Since the deployment of more security personnel, attacks in the region have fallen sharply.

Read: Who are al-Shabab?

Image source, Reuters

Controversial Ugandan activist Stella Nyanzi, who was released last week on bail after being held for a month on cyber harassment charges, has said she feels like a fugitive in her own country but will not be intimidated into silence.  

In a Facebook post, external Ms Nyanzi said she cannot move freely and does not have access to her home because "security goons still await for me there". 

She says that her children had to be moved from their home for their safety, "What liberty is this if a mother cannot live with her children?" she asks.

Ms Nyanzi was charged with calling President Yoweri Museveni "a pair of buttocks", but this has not stopped her from taking another dig at him and his government:

The court reportedly denied the state prosecutor's request to bar Ms Nyanzi from "engaging in adverse derogatory comments about the first family" as part of the bail conditions.  

Image source, FACEBOOK

Police in South Africa say they have arrested four suspects in connection with the murder of Mandla Hlatshwayo, a popular DJ  and former actor in a local TV series, Generations, TimesLive reports, external quoting police boss Khomotso Phahlane. 

Mr Phahlane said the suspects are also linked to the murder of another man killed in the same incident on Sunday night.

"The suspects were found in possession of one firearm and drugs. They are believed to be linked to the murder of two people at a tavern in Soweto," he was quoted as sayingadded. 

Mandla Hlatshwayo and his friend were shot after confronting a group of men who had robbed women of their mobile phones in a pub in Soweto.

Jozi FM head Mpho Mhlongo, who confirmed the star's death, noted that Mr Hlatshwayo's father was also killed some years ago during a robbery.  

South Africans have been using #RIPMandla to share their condolences after news of his death broke on Monday morning.   

The suspects will appear in court soon, the report says.