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 check the BBC News website.

A reminder of today's wise words:

And we leave you with one of our favorite photos from this week, of Isabel Antonio, a 16-year-old singer and refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, posing at the Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Image source, AFP

There has been an outpouring of grief following the death of Kenyan academic and social media influencer Calestous Juma., external

Just as he did alive, he continues to provoke social media reaction across the board even in death.

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame expressed his condolence as well as his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta.

Both presidents described Mr Juma's passing as a loss.

Other reactions from across the world showed how much impact the late professor had in shaping opinions.

Until his death Mr Juma was teaching at Harvard University and was the only Kenyan to be listed in the inaugural list of “2017 Most Reputable People on Earth”, Kenya's Daily Nation reports. , external

Here's a sample of some of the comments on Twitter:

The national museum of Kenya has started a new program to conserve African artifacts, by creating digital foot prints.

Through mapping out of three dimensional images of the original, they are able to reproduce and store a digital replica as a means of preserving the heritage and in an attempt to bridge the gap between history and technology.

Proponents of the idea told BBC's Jessica Preyser say visitors have no less experience from the original in comparison to the replica but some collectors of authentic African artifacts say a replica is not the same as the original.

Preserving history and sharing cultural heritage has been the main objective for museums across the globe for years.

Watch the report below:

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa's ruling African National Congress is choosing a new leader to succeed Jacob Zuma this weekend.

It starts on Saturday, and is arguably one of the most important conferences in the history of the party and the democratic country.

Whoever wins would be well placed to become president of the country in the next general election in 2019.

Here is all you need to know about the event and what comes next.

It's nearly a decade since Rwanda became the first African country to ban plastic bags.

The ban is taken very seriously, and there are reports of bag smuggling, and even sackings for transgressions.

Prudent Nsengiyumva from BBC Africa Great Lakes visited recently to see how the ban has changed the country.

Passengers are still grounded at the newly opened Dakar's international airport following a strike action by Senegalese air traffic controllers.

Some of the passengers have expressed their frustration particularly over the non availability of information, BBC Alex Duval Smith reports.

"We would like to know when the strike will end, then we can decide what to do next" Sane Op Debeeke, a passenger waiting for a flight to Brussels complained.

The spokesperson for air traffic control told the BBC that informal talks are ongoing and a solution is being sought before midnight.

Image source, Reuters

Zimbabwe's new President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has been endorsed as the presidential candidate for the governing Zanu-PF in next year's elections.

Addressing party supporters in the ongoing conference in the capital, Harare, he announced that he will appoint two Vice-Presidents in the next two days, state-owned newspaper The Herald reports.

Mr Mnangagwa's dismissal in November as the deputy of former President Robert Mugabe precipitated the military coup that later brought him to power.

Kenya's foreign minister has tweeted that Calestous Juma, a renowned African academic at Harvard University in the US, has died.

Mr Juma ran an active Twitter account, always commenting on African development and especially its agricultural potential.

Mr Juma had posted on his Twitter profile that he was working on a book: A New Culture of Innovation: Technology, Entrepreneurship and Prosperity.

Mr Juma's colleague has tweeted that the Kenyan-born academic had just been to his mother's funeral.

Kenya's election season is officially over and President Uhuru Kenyatta's second term in office begins with the task of economic recovery.

The election, first held in August 2017 and repeated two months later - with the process being disputed both times - has prolonged uncertainty over the stability of the country.

That, in turn, has had an impact on the business community and has led to a slowdown in operations, as the BBC’s Tomi Oladipo reports:

The cactus plant, despite its spikes and "negative effects" has been described as gold.

Kenyan food technologist and entrepreneur Dr Evelyn Okoth said the cactus is in fact a cash crop because of its numerous benefits.

Jams, wine, yogurts and delicious fruit juices can be made from its extracts, the fruit can be eaten, while the leaves can be cooked as a form of vegetable meal, she told BBC Africa.

Ms Okoth of Jomo Kenyata University plans to extend her work by creating awareness within the community, starting with a farmers' education programme about the cactus.

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Image source, Getty Images

Lindiwe Sisulu has dropped out of the race for leader of South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) to instead contest the deputy position.

Ms Sisulu will contest the position under Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa who is in a tight leadership race with Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the former African Union commission chief.

A joint statement from the two nominees said:

"The Deputy President of the ANC, Comrade Cyril Ramaphosa and Comrade Lindiwe Sisulu have welcomed with humble appreciation the nominations of the ANC branches, indicating that they would like Comrade Cyril to be the next President of the ANC and Comrade Lindiwe to be the next Deputy President of the ANC."

Ms Sisulu's move is seen as a last-ditch effort to remain at the top of the party.

Her backing of Mr Ramaphosa is seen as a boost to his campaign ahead of an intensely competitive party conference which has split the ANC down the middle.

President Jacob Zuma, who backs his ex-wife Ms Dlamini-Zuma in the race, will step down as party leader over the weekend but will remain head of state until 2019.

BBC World Service

Zimbabwe's new President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has said that, under his leadership, the governing Zanu-PF party will respect the democratic process.

Addressing the party's annual conference, Mr Mnangagwa said Zanu-PF should always compete in elections which are credible, free and fair.

It's the first party congress since Robert Mugabe stepped down after 37 years in power, and delegates are expected to endorse Mr Mnangagwa as their leader and candidate for next year's presidential poll.

They are also likely to confirm a lifetime ban from Zanu-PF on the former president's wife, Grace Mugabe.

Jacob Zuma is due to stand down as ANC leader, however he will remain the president of South Africa until elections in 2019.

But what are the key events that have shaped his time in office?

South Africa's governing African Nation Congress (ANC) starts a conference tomorrow, at which it will elect a successor to Jacob Zuma as party leader.

Mr Zuma is stepping down after serving two terms.

His deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa, and his ex-wife and former African Union commission chief, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, are involved in an intense campaign to succeed him as party leader, and become favourite to be the next national president after elections in 2019.

The winner is expected to be announced on Sunday.

The BBC's Damian Zane has been sampling South African newspapers ahead of the conference.

They seem to be expecting a showdown, he reports:

Image source, bb

Read more:

Cyril Ramaphosa - the man who wants to make South Africa great

Can Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma succeed her ex-husband as South Africa's president?

Image source, GEBEL AL-SILSILA PROJECT

Four intact child burials made more than 3,000 years ago are among a series of recent discoveries near the Egyptian city of Aswan, officials say.

One of the burials found by a Swedish-Egyptian team still had the linen used to mummify it, antiquities ministry head Dr Ayman Ashmawy said.

The burials date from Egypt's 18th dynasty (1549/1550-1292 BC).

Meanwhile an Egyptian-Austrian team discovered part of a cemetery and a Swiss team found a statue of a woman.

The burials were found by archaeologists at the Gebel al-Silsila site. One was a tomb carved into rock for a child aged between two and three. In addition to the mummy linen, organic material from the remains of a wooden coffin was also found.

Read full story

A Nigerian lawyer has been denied the call to the bar for wearing a hijab which was deemed as going against the dress code set by the Nigerian law school.

Amasa Firdaus was refused entry into the hall where the ceremony took place, the Director General of the Nigerian law school Dr Olanrewaju Onadeko told the BBC.

She refused to remove her hijab, insisting on wearing the wig on top of her head scarf, Nigerianlawyer.com, external reports.

Ms Firdaus described the actions of the Nigerian law school as a violation of her rights, the report says.

A woman had taken to Instagram to complain about how a "sister" was treated indiscriminately by the Nigerian legal establishment using the hashtag #justiceforFirdaus.

The case has sparked mixed reactions on Twitter:

On tweeter has shared pictures showing women in other countries wearing hijabs under their professional uniforms:

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta has told the country's chief justice that he should "grow a thick skin" during a speech launching a judiciary report.

Mr Kenyatta and David Maraga had a public spat after the Supreme Court annulled his original election win.

After the decision the president called Mr Maraga and his colleagues "crooks", Mr Maraga responded with a strong statement condemning the perceived intimidation, saying the judges were ready to pay the "ultimate price".

Mr Kenyatta told the chief justice at today's event that he should accept criticism:

“I speak from my experience as a politician; you ought to accept that criticism comes with the office. Whether in the media, in journals, in public barazas [public meetings], social media, and indeed even from me,” he added.

Mr Kenyatta was elected in a repeat election in October which was boycotted by the opposition.

BBC World Service

Judges at the International Criminal Court have awarded damages worth $10m (£7m) to children recruited by the Congolese warlord, Thomas Lubanga.

In 2012 Mr Lubanga was found guilty of abducting boys and girls, some as young as 11.

Boys were forced to fight in the Ituri region of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Girls were used as sex slaves.

Mr Lubanga - who was sentenced to 14 years in jail - was held personally liable for compensation.

However the court said that he was "indigent" and so it is not clear where the money will come from.

Charities working with the children say many of them have been rejected by their home communities.

Profile: DR Congo militia leader Thomas Lubanga

Image source, Getty Images

A court in Nigeria's north-western state of Kaduna has put a stay order on the planned sacking of thousands of teachers after they failed a competency test.

The teachers' union had gone to court on behalf of its members.

State governor Nasir El-Rufai said in October that 21,780 teachers, two-thirds of the total, had failed to score 75% or higher on assessments set for pupils.

The government has not yet commented on the court order.

President Muhammadu Buhari has backed the sacking of the teachers, saying last month that it was a "serious situation" if teachers could not pass the exam they are supposed to teach children.

Letter from Africa: Why Nigeria is failing teachers and pupils

Rwanda's ban on the water-pipe tobacco known as shisha has predictably sparked reaction from across the region.

Some are sceptical about government's decision to ban it, saying it is a plot to protect cigarette sales which unlike shisha bring tax revenue:

A recent World Health Organisation advisory to regulators said that the smoke inhaled in a typical one hour shisha smoking session is equivalent to inhaling smoke from 100 cigarettes.

Rwanda is the latest to ban shisha, after Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan and neighboring Tanzania.

Here's a sample of other reactions to the Rwanda ban:

News-sites in Uganda and Kenya have been covering the story: