That's all from BBC Africa Live today - thanks for joining us in our coverage about Benin's former presidents being told to pay their own bills, sub-Saharan Africa's two largest economies - South Africa and Nigeria - emerging from recession and Partey's goal-fest at Ghana's World Cup qualifier against Congo.

We'll be back tomorrow with the latest on these stories and more.

In the meantime, you can 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 African proverb:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this picture of the latest collaboration between Accra creatives, fashion stylist Daniel Quist and DJ Evans Kissi:

The Egyptian military is going to host an exercise with the US army next week for the first time in eight years, AFP is reporting, quoting a military statement, external.

The Bright Star exercise, which took place every two years since 1981, is scheduled to start from September 10 to 20. The last exercise was held in 2009, two years before the revolution that overthrew the former military and political leader Hosni Mubarak.

AFP says that the then-president Barack Obama cancelled the exercise in 2013 after the military toppled the elected president Mohamed Morsi and launched a crack down on his supporters.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

A hat-trick from Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey inspired Ghana to a 5-1 win against Congo in Group E of World Cup qualifiers.

Ghana move up to five points - ahead of Egypt facing Uganda in Alexandria later on Tuesday.

Read more on the BBC Sport website.

Ghana have scored another two goals in their World Cup qualifier match against Congo in Brazzaville, ending the game with a score of 5-1 to Ghana.

Ghana really needed to win this match if they were to have any chance of playing in Russia 2018.

More allegations of corruption have been levelled at Senegalese sports administrator Papa Massata Diack.

France's financial prosecutor is the latest body to accuse Mr Diack who is the son of the former president of athletics world governing body the IAAF Lamine Diack.

The French say:

"There are several consistent indications that payments have been made in return for the votes of IAAF and International Olympic Committee members over the rights to host the biggest global sporting events."

Their investigations included the award of the 2020 games to Tokyo and the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro.

He has not yet commented on these allegations, though he has previously denied allegations of taking money to cover Russian doping failures.

Image source, AFP

Schools in Cameroon’s English-speaking region have failed to open for the second day of the new academic year.

Residents are observing a three-day ghost town protest which includes preventing their children from attending classes.

However, two ministers of education visiting the two affected English-speaking regions have criticised activists for getting children involved in their fight.

Anglophone activists declared the ghost-town protest in a bid to pressure the government to release scores of people arrested over several months and detained in the capital Yaounde.

The Yaounde military court has been trying some of them on charges of terrorism and secession that carry a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment.

Markets, shops and banks have remained closed and troops have been deployed throughout the entire north-west and south-west regions.

The ghost town protests have been observed every Monday for nine straight months.

A total of 55 English speakers were freed from jail last week but activists say talks will only take place when all those in detention are released.

What has become known as the Anglophone crisis was sparked off when English-speaking teachers and lawyers started a strike demanding sweeping reforms that would have removed Francophone teachers and judges from classes and courtrooms.

But talks between trade unionists and the government stalled when the activists demanded a federal form of government.

Separatist groups have been campaigning for an independent state for English-speaking regions as a means of ending what they describe as their second-class status imposed by the majority francophone government.

Image source, AFP

This World Cup qualifier between Ghana and Congo is turning out to be very lively indeed, with Ghana scoring another goal, making it 3-1 to Ghana.

Our sports reporter says this is incredible for Ghanaian footballer Partey:

Nomsa Maseko
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

The shooting dead of Lesotho’s army commander Khoantle Motsomotso and two other senior officials could revive instability.

It’s alleged the two high ranking army officers who died alongside the army commander were behind the attack.

Lesotho has experienced periods of political instability since an attempted coup in 2014.

A new coalition government took office in June under Prime Minister Thomas Thabane, who is expected to address the nation later today.

The situation in the capital Maseru has been described as tense, with the military and police patrolling the streets.

The latest shooting takes place a few days after two opposition party leaders fled into neighbouring South Africa saying they were living in fear.

Image source, Getty images

The World Cup qualifier between Congo and Ghana is turning out to be goal-heavy. With Congo scoring a goal in the 43rd minute, after Ghana's two goals.

Our sports reporter tweets the latest from the World Cup qualifier between Ghana and Congo in Brazzaville:

Realistically, Ghana need to win in Congo to retain any chance of making it to Russia 2018.

Islamist militants Boko Haram have killed four farmers in a drive-by shooting in Borno, northeast Nigeria, local vigilantes have told AFP news agency.

The militants, who are reported to have been on motorbikes, shot at the farmers who were working in fields in a village outside Maiduguri.

A member of the vigilante force fighting the Boko Haram militants said that the incident occurred on Monday. Babakura Kolo told AFP, "Four people were killed while many have gone missing and our assumption is that they ran into the bush to escape the attack." Militia leader Ibrahim Liman corroborated the story, saying that at least one of those who had gone missing had later returned to the village.

AFP also reports that last week a farmer was killed and four others were kidnapped by the militants near the town of Konduga, nearly 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Maiduguri.

For more read: Nigerian vigilantes fight Boko Haram one bullet at a time

Image source, AFP

Twenty women have been killed in four months in a spate of murders in and around the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

Since May, the bodies of victims have been found dumped in two areas, one just north of the capital and the other south of the city.

We reported earlier that Lesotho’s army chief has been killed.

It has emerged that two other senior officers also died in the gun fight in a military barracks.

The country has been through bouts of instability since an attempted coup in 2014.

The commander of the Lesotho defence force has been shot dead this morning.

There are reports, external that there was gunfire at an army barracks between high-ranking officers earlier today.

BBC World Service

The presidency in Benin says it will no longer pay the utility bills of former heads of state.

It said the former presidents living in Benin should pay their own bills using other allowances they receive.

Some people in the commercial capital, Cotonou, criticised the move.

They told the BBC it was undignified for former presidents to have to pay their own water, phone and electricity bills.

Ex-heads of state in many African countries often receive perks including housing, cars and generous pensions.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC World Service

Police in Rwanda say they have released a prominent opposition leader who they are investigating for fraud.

Diane Rwigara, her mother and sister disappeared from their home a week ago.

Relatives say the family has returned home but their phones have been seized and bank accounts frozen.

Ms Rwigara is accused of using fraudulent signatures when she was gathering support for this year's presidential election.

She was disqualified from running. Her family members have been accused of tax evasion. The police say they have not completed their investigations.

Image source, AFP

The indefinite strike of resident doctors in Nigeria is now being felt in a number of hospitals across Nigeria, several newspapers are reporting.

The health minister Isaac Adewole has instructed the directors of federal government hospitals to make sure that other medical doctors are brought in to fill the current vacuum, reports The Premium Times, external.

The resident doctors are usually the first point of contact for patients. They are doctors undergoing post-graduate training, especially at teaching hospitals, the Times reports.

During this training the post-graduate doctors are employed by the federal government.

The post graduate doctors are reported to have gone on an indefinite strike in a bid to get the government to agree to their demands.

One of their demands is to get back-payment for their wages.

While negotiations are still underway with the resident doctors,The Times reports, that the health minister is making arrangements for other health facilities belonging to the armed forces and the police to be used as well.

The medical world is completely baffled following the death of a four-year-old girl from cerebral malaria, the AFP news agency is reporting. They are quoting Claudio Paternoster, head of the infectious diseases department at the Santa Chiara hospital in the city of Trento.

The girl had not traveled to any at-risk nations, but is reported to have been admitted to the paediatric ward of the Santa Chiara hospital due to another illness. There she came into contact with two other children who had contracted malaria during a visit to Burkina Faso.

Dr Paternoster further told AFP that only certain types of mosquito can transmit malaria to another person and that those mosquitoes did not exist in Italy.

"It was a very hot summer and with climate change we cannot rule out the adaptation of some species (of mosquito) or the re-introduction of others" which could transmit the disease," Dr Paternoster told AFP.

Image source, SPL

The Uganda government is appealing to striking judges and magistrates to go back to work, the privately-owned Observer, external newspaper is reporting.

Judges and magistrates abandoned court rooms last week, complaining the government failed to improve their working conditions.

They want the salary of the Chief Justice to be raised 55 million Ugandan Shillings ($15,290; £11,800) from the $5,560 he currently earns.

They want the lowest paid magistrate to earn at least $3,600 per month. They are also demanding medical insurance, housing and fuel allowances.

The minister of justice Gen Kahinda Otafiire is reported to have assured the judges and magistrates that high level consultations were underway between the judiciary and the Judicial Service Commission in a bid to address their concerns.

Image source, Ministry of Justice Uganda

Stephanie Hegarty
BBC Africa, Lagos

Image source, Reuters

We reported earlier that, after a terrible year for Africa’s largest economy, it seems Nigeria is finally limping out of recession.

Falling oil prices decimated an economy almost entirely dependent on one export.

The government was widely accused of mismanaging the crisis, limiting access to foreign currency and plunging the country into its worst economic crisis in 25 years.

While its stiffest economic competition on the continent - South Africa - seems to have rebounded, Nigeria is struggling still.

Even in the oil sector growth has been relatively small.

And the effects of a push to diversify the economy is not being felt yet - non–oil growth actually slowed since last year.

One of the fastest growing countries in the world, Nigeria needs to maintain around 3% growth just to keep up with its booming population. So, while the news for now is good, the country has a way to go before it fully emerges from the economic doldrums.