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 image from our pictures of the week of two wrestlers at the Francophone Games in Ivory Coast:

Image source, EPA

Polls suggest that the outcome of next week's presidential election in Kenya is too close to call.

So who are the two men most likely to take the top job?

Read our profiles of challenger Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta, on the BBC Africa website.

Image source, AFP

We've been following the twists and turns of the political campaigns over the past couple of months, and you can find all our coverage of Kenya's general elections here.

But for a round-up of the key issues, look no further than these eight things you need to know about the Kenyan elections.

Image source, AFP

African athletes have been posting on Instagram in the build-up to the World Athletics Championships, which start in London tonight.

Ghana sprinter Gemma Acheampong shared this picture from inside the stadium:

Botswana's Nijel Amos - one of the contenders for the 800m title - posted this image of his preparations:

And fans outside the stadium are also sharing in the excitement:

Read more: African athletes to look out for.

The polls have shut for Rwanda's presidential election and votes are now being counted.

It is widely expected that President Paul Kagame - in power since 2000 - will win a third term.

"Generally the process went well. The process was peaceful and calm," Reuters news agency quotes the executive secretary of the electoral commission Charles Munyaneza as saying.

Provisional results are expected at 21:00 GMT.

Image source, Reuters

With four days to go before the Kenyan elections, many people still have a lot questions.

Who will win the presidential race? Are the opinion polls to be believed? Is the the electoral commission ready? And what effect is fake news having on it all?

Dickens Olewe discusses these topics with five political analysts in the final episode of BBC Africa's special weekly podcast, Kenya Election Watch.

Listen here:

Witnesses have told the Reuters news agency that there has been a "huge explosion" in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. Gunfire has also been heard.

People have also been tweeting the details:

Image source, Getty Images

The biennial World Athletics Championships are due to start in London tonight and Kenyans will be hoping for a repeat of the country's performance two years' ago in Beijing when they topped the medal table.

But two South Africans, Wayde van Niekerk and Caster Semenya, could deliver the outstanding performances of the ten days of competition.

Here are some of the stars to look out for:

Men

• Wayde van Niekerk (South Africa) is favourite to win both the 200m and 400m
• Emmanuel Korir (Kenya) and Nijel Amos (Botswana) are set to vie for the 800m title
• Daniel Wanjiru (Kenya) and Tamirat Tola (Ethiopia) are both favourites in the marathon
• Julius Yego (Kenya) will be defending his world title in the javelin

Women

• Caster Semenya (South Africa) is likely to dominate the 800m
• Genzebe Dibaba (Ethiopia) is defending her 1500m title and hoping to win 5000m gold as well
• Almaz Ayana (Ethiopia) who smashed the world record at last year's Olympics is the favourite for the 10,000m
• Edna Kiplagat (Kenya) is hoping to retake the marathon title she won in Moscow four years ago

Van Niekerk has been talking to the BBC about his chances in London and his future:

Image source, Getty Images

South African radio host and TV presenter Bonang Matheba has fallen foul of eagle-eyed social media users apparently taking instruction from the title of her new book, Bonang From A to B.

Some people even broke out the red pen to pinpoint the multiple spelling and grammar errors in Ms Matheba's autobiography:

Ms Matheba's publishing house, BlackBird Books, has told South Africa's Times Live new site, external that it is wholly responsible for the errors - including incorrectly listing the author's birthday as 24 June when it is in fact 25 June.

"I take full responsibility for what happened. The last thing I want is for black people to be accused of mediocrity and I should do better. It's on me as the publisher.

"I ought to have done better," BlackBird Books Publisher Thabiso Mahlape said.

The chief whip of South Africa's governing ANC has issued a warning to any of his party's MPs contemplating voting in favour of next week's no-confidence motion against President Jacob Zuma.

In a statement, Jackson Mthembu said that "voting in favour of this motion will be tantamount to throwing a nuclear bomb".

"The removal of the president will have disastrous consequences that can only have a negative impact on the people of South Africa," he added.

It is not yet clear if MPs will be allowed to vote in secret after Tuesday's no-confidence debate.

All of the main opposition parties went to the Constitutional Court to ask for a secret vote, but the judges ruled that it is up to the speaker to decide.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, -

Political newcomer Suzanne Silantoi Lengewa, 23, is running for a seat representing Nairobi in the Senate in next week’s election.

She’s one of several young people hoping to be elected and says she chose to run as an independent candidate because “the main parties have divided us”.

Ms Silantoi says that she was inspired to pursue a political career after an internship spent working with people who live in the slums exposed her to real-life challenges.

She says campaigning has been a mostly positive experience: “I think because I come from a minority ethnic community people have been willing to hear me out.”

She has however had some challenging times on the trail:

Ms Silantoi says if she is elected she will focus on improving services for Nairobi’s residents. Her campaign message calls for “restoring Nairobi to its former glory”.

Her chances may appear slim, with a recent opinion poll placing her third in the race behind the Jubilee party's Johnstone Sakaja and Edwin Sifuna of the Nasa-affiliated ODM party, but Ms Silantoi says she will continue campaigning right up until Saturday’s official campaign deadline.

Alex Duval Smith
BBC News, Senegal

Image source, AFP

Voters in Senegal are still waiting to be told the final results of last Sunday's parliamentary election.

The electoral commission and the interior ministry, who jointly organised the poll, claim there are several reasons for the delay.

These include difficulties in transporting ballot boxes and officials, caused by the rainy season, and the fact that the election featured an unprecedented number of lists of candidates - 47 - which complicates the count.

But opposition politicians, such as former president Abdoulaye Wade and the coalition supporting jailed Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall, claim foul play.

The backers of Mr Sall, who is in jail awaiting trial on alleged charges of misspending city funds, claim the delay is evidence of ‘’a regression in democracy’’ in Senegal.

Partial results are being issued day by day and yesterday it was announced that President Macky Sall’s ruling coalition, Benno Bokk Yaakaar (BBY), had won all seven of Dakar's parliamentary seats, scoring 53% of the vote.

The mayor's party, Manko Taxawu Senegal, came second, just 2,700 votes behind.

Image source, AFP

South African athlete Oscar Pistorius, who was imprisoned for murdering his girlfriend, is now back in jail after spending a night in hospital.

He was taken to hospital on Thursday for an undisclosed reason, but local media reported that he had been suffering from chest pains.

"Oscar has been discharged and is back in prison," Reuters quotes a prison official as saying.

The former athlete quickly rose to fame in the Paralympics, and made headlines when he became the first track and field athlete to compete in both the Paralympic and Olympic Games.

But in February 2013, he shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp at his home, alleging that he had mistaken her for an intruder.

His trial became the subject of widespread international attention, as he was initially cleared of murder in favour of a manslaughter charge, then convicted of murder on appeal in 2016 and given a six-year sentence.

Image source, AFP

Patience Atuhaire
BBC Africa, Kampala

The diverse cultures of the 1.3 million refugees living in Uganda have been celebrated in the capital, Kampala, today with a food festival.

Local NGOs that work with refugees got people to showcase their countries' dishes.

The South Sudanese made steamed maize and cassava flour which is eaten with stew:

Ethiopians made a beef stew:

And the Somalis made their traditional bread:

And everyone was invited to tuck in:

Including your correspondent:

According to the UN's refugee agency, external, UNHCR, out of the 1.3 million refugees in Uganda:

• 970,000 are from South Sudan
• 220,000 are from DR Congo
• 38,000 are from Burundi
• 35,000 are from Somalia
• 35,000 are from elsewhere

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC World Service, Lusaka

The leader of a Zambian opposition party, who was arrested yesterday, has been charged with defaming the president.

Saviour Chishimba, president of the United People’s Party, was picked up at a privately-owned television station in the capital, Lusaka, where he had gone to record an interview.

He was charged in connection with comments he made about the president during a press conference last month.

Mr Chishimba has made no comment about the charges.

He is now the second opposition leader in Zambia to currently be in detention.

Hakainde Hichilema, who heads the country's largest opposition party, was arrested in April and is facing treason charges.

Image source, News Diggers

The head of New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has been slapped down on Twitter by Rwanda's foreign minister for his criticism of the country.

Rwandans are voting today in a presidential election which is widely expected to be won by long-time incumbent Paul Kagame.

HRW's boss suggested there was no real contest in the election:

The country's foreign minister chose some undiplomatic language in response:

Ndera is the name of a Rwandan psychiatric hospital.

Others have weighed into the debate with many supporting Ms Mushikiwabo:

But some have been critical of the way the minister responded:

Meanwhile, people are continuing to vote in Rwanda:

Image source, EPA

Police in Durban are looking for the body of an unidentified man whose severed head was found in a backpack, news site IOL reports, external.

It says that "two men have been arrested in connection with the discovery" and alleges that one man was attempting to sell the head to another for ritual use.

IOL adds that "it is not clear who tipped off the police, but both [men] were arrested before the sale could take place".

It reports that Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane of Durban police says officers are still trying to establish a full picture of what happened.

We reported earlier today that Gilbert Deya, the controversial leader of a London evangelical church, has been extradicted to Kenya where he appeared in court today on child trafficking charges.

Mr Deya is charged with five counts of child abduction between 2002 and 2004.

A Kenyan court ordered today that Mr Deya be remanded at Kamiti maximum security prison until 10 August, when a ruling will be made on whether or not he will be granted bail.

Mr Deya has claimed over the years that he can deliver "miracle babies" to post-menopausal or infertile women.

In 2004 his wife, Mary Deya, was arrested and charged in Kenya with stealing babies who were found at her house in an upmarket estate in Nairobi.

Dickens Olewe
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Image source, -

"Mommy, do you hate Raila or Uhuru?"

Naomi Wangui and Malaki Samson were shocked by their young daughter's question about the two main candidates in Kenya's election, President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga.

The question stunned Naomi and, even though she tried to explain to her daughter how political competition works, she was taken aback by her characterisation.

"Hate is a strong word, even for a six-year old," Naomi said.

"I think it's the perception she has picked from the TV stations who project political competition as a zero sum game, them versus us."

Malaki is a Luhya, a community that chiefly supports the opposition, while Naomi is from the Kikuyu community of President Kenyatta, who is seeking a second term. .

Mr Kenyatta and Mr Odinga, who is a Luo, have harnessed support from several ethnic communities and it has become part of Kenyan political culture to presume that people from allied ethnic groups automatically back them.

These perceptions complicate the lives of mixed ethnicity couples.

Image source, -

Read the full story on BBC Africa.

While Kenya will be hoping to repeat its 2015 performance of topping the medal table at the World Athletics Championships, Senegal already knows that it will not feature at all.

That's because the country is not sending a single athlete to the games - thought to be the only African country to be in this position.

Senegal is home to one of just three high-performance centres, backed by the athletics' world governing body IAAF, in the whole of Africa.

It's located in Dakar, from where the BBC's Arwa Barkallah sent this report:

BBC World Service

Somali militant Islamist group al-Shabab has taken control of the strategic town of Leego, on the main road between the capital, Mogadishu, and the town of Baidoa.

They were able to move in after Somali troops and African Union forces left Leego.

It was not immediately clear why they pulled out.

In previous years, troops from the AU force, Amisom, had fought to defend the town.