That's all from BBC Africa Live 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 photo from Africa's week in pictures:

Image source, EPA

Image source, AFP

A man accused by rights groups of atrocities in the Central African Republic (CAR) has been voted onto African football's governing body.

Patrice Edouard Ngaissona was elected to be the central zone's representative on the executive committee of the Confederation of African Football on Friday.

However, just four years ago he was the self-declared political coordinator of the mainly Christian Anti-Balaka militias in CAR.

The groups have been blamed for wide-scale massacres against the minority Muslim population.

All the candidates in Friday's elections were passed as eligible to stand by CAF, and Mr Ngaissona was defensive when questioned over his past.

"If the allegations were true, I wouldn't be here today," he told the news agency AFP on Friday, saying he didn't want "to mix politics and sport."

"Everything I've done has been for the good of my country," he added.

Before he joined the Anti-Balaka, Mr Ngaissona had served as the CAR sports minister under former president Francois Bozize.

He is also one of those who called for the Anti-Balaka to lay down their weapons..

Image source, EPA

Smugglers have been blamed following the deaths of five migrants in Calais.

On Thursday, a mass brawl broke out between hundreds of Afghan and Eritrean migrants as they queued for food handouts in the southern part of the French port city.

The fight is believed to have started when an Afghan man began firing a gun, causing the two nationalities to turn on each other.

The five people who died were shot, while four other Eritreans are in a critical condition.

Police now believe the armed man was a 37-year-old people smuggler, who they're currently searching for.

Witnesses say he wasn't the only one with a gun.

Visiting Calais, France's Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said all the smugglers bear some responsibility for what happened because they encourage migrants to hang around the city, in the hope of making it to the UK.

Image source, Reuters

When Sabrina Simader first took to the Austrian slopes, people gave her funny looks.

As one of the only black skiers in the area, she often attracted strangers' attention.

Fifteen years later, she is set to compete for Kenya at the Olympics - the first woman skier to do so.

It hasn't been easy though.

Read her amazing story here.

Image source, Getty Images

Rihanna has arrived at the Global Partnership for Education summit in Senegal.

The star is there in her role as ambassador for the organisation, which is hoping to secure $3.1 billion to help fund education for 870 million children worldwide.

Yesterday, Rihanna began tweeting various world leaders to ask them to pledge hundreds of millions of dollars to the fund.

Her tweets seem to have worked though neither the UK nor Australia have met Rihanna's demands.

The UK has pledged $320m (£225m) while Australia has offered $90m (£65m).

Image source, Getty Images

The US has levied sanctions against people and businesses in Sierra Leone, Ghana and Lebanon over their alleged links to Hezbollah.

The six individuals and seven businesses affected are believed to be employed and owned by Adham Tabaja, one of Hezbollah's most senior financiers.

They are now subject to trade bans and asset freezes as part of the first of a series of US sanctions against the Lebanese Islamist militant group.

The Trump administration feels former President Barack Obama was too soft on Hezbollah, because he didn't want to worsen relations with Iran, which supports the group.

Today will be a "very bad day for" Mr Tabaja, a senior administration official told the news agency AFP, speaking anonymously.

The financier is thought to operate across the Middle East and Africa, raising funds for Hezbollah.

Stanley Kwenda
BBC Africa, Kutama

Image source, PA

West Ham manager David Moyes says he was shocked by comments made against African players by one of the club’s officials.

Moyes said the comments were “wrong” and do not reflect the views of the club.

“The comments are wrong. We were trying to sign two players from Africa on deadline day so I can only say they are wrong,” said Moyes.

He was responding to comments made by now-suspended West Ham director of player recruitment Tony Henry, suggesting the club would not sign any more African players because they "cause mayhem" when they are not in the team.

Moyes said his club’s transfer policy was open.

“We have an open transfer policy and you can see the players we have signed over the years. We sign good quality players, the best players available, it doesn’t matter where they are from,” said the former Everton, Manchester United and Sunderland manager.

West Ham is one of the most African friendly teams in the premier league this season with six players of African descent.

This season African players make up about 8% of the total players in the league.

Asked about the impact the comments have had on his squad ahead of his team’s clash against Brighton on Saturday, Moyes said he had talked to the African players whom he said were coping fine with the situation.

“I spoke with one or two of the African players and they seem fine. They trained well in the last couple of days. Morale in the camp is good,” he said.

In addition he said African players had made a great contribution to the Premier League.

“My first African player was Joseph Yobo. It was only last year when I went to Nigeria to Joseph’s testimonial and it was really good. I have also signed Steve Piennar three times. I don’t think there’s any club in the country that get more African players than West Ham,” said Moyes.

He added: “Over my time we’ve had good African players and bad African players just like we’ve had good Scottish players and bad Scottish players as well, no difference.”

• Read more: West Ham suspends transfer director

Image source, Getty Images

The Burundian government has begun deducting money from people's salaries in order to pay for the country's 2020 general election.

International donors have stopped sending money to the country following its disputed 2015 election in which President Pierre Nkurunziza sought, and won, a third term, despite being limited to two.

At the time, the US State Department, European Union and African Union all criticised the elections as not being free and fair.

In response, the government has begun deducting money amid ongoing talks with trade unions about the payments.

"The talks... will not stop this process," Therence Nthahiraja, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, told the BBC. "[Support] for these contributions came from millions of Burundians. It's not one, two or three [unions] that will stop life in this country."

When the deductions were first suggested earlier this month, a statement from the ministers of home affairs and finances suggested that civil servants earning 50,000 to 500,000 Burundian francs ($28-280; £20-£200) would be expected to pay 5000 francs ($2.80; £2) of their salary each month.

People earning above one million Burundian francs ($560; £400) were told they would lose one month's salary a year.

Image source, EPA

Miguna Miguna - the opposition figure who helped "swear in" Raila Odinga earlier this week - has been released on bail following his arrest in a dawn raid.

Mr Miguna was released on 50,000 shillings ($500; £350) bail by the court on Friday afternoon, according to a report in Kenya's Standard newspaper, external.

His lawyers had argued he feared being tortured at the hands of the police if he remained in custody, the paper said.

Mr Miguna and fellow opposition figure TJ Kajwang, arrested on Wednesday, are expected to be charged with treason and unlawful assembly, according to news agency AFP.

Both played key roles alongside opposition leader Raila Odinga at a mock inauguration on Tuesday.

• Read our earlier posts on the fallout from the ceremony here.

The Global Partnership for Education summit is underway in Senegal with organisers hoping to secure $3.1bn (£2.1bn0 to help educate 870 million vulnerable children.

In sub-Saharan Africa, many children go without education.

Around 27 million young women in the region are illiterate, while there is a real shortage of teachers.

But it's not all bad news.

Primary school pupil enrollment has more than doubled over the last 25 years in sub-Saharan Africa, from 60 million children in 1990 to 157 million in 2015.

For more facts, watch this video:

Image source, Getty Images

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has ordered journalists out of an event he was speaking at, finishing his speech by telling them to pack away their equipment and leave.

Hours earlier, the Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i had ordered journalists out of another event he was speaking at the Radisson Blu hotel in Nairobi.

Police officers then removed journalists from the building, according to local news site Nairobi news, external.

The US, UK and European Union have criticised Mr Kenyatta for what the US described as media intimidation after he shut down three of the country's largest TV stations.

The move came ahead of his rival, Raila Odinga, declaring himself "the people's president" at a mock swearing-in ceremony.

Mr Kenyatta had hoped to prevent the TV stations broadcasting the event.

Instead, they live-streamed it online.

• Read our earlier posts about developments in Kenya by clicking here.

The vice-president of Ghana has returned home from the UK where he was having medical treatment.

Mahamudu Bawumia left Ghana on 22 January amid confusion on social media about what was wrong with him.

The country's information minister later said he went to the UK to avoid distraction by family members.

Five days into his trip, the Ghanian radio station City 97.3 fm posted a video of Mr Bawumia and his wife walking around London's Oxford Street before being greeted by a Ghanian security guard.

That the video was filmed amid rumours that Mr Bawumia was in worsening health, prompted some to ask if it was a stunt.

Mr Bawumia was met by the president and the first lady on his return to Ghana on Thursday. He tweeted today that he's returned to work:

There is still no information about what prompted Mr Bawumia's trip to the UK.

Image source, Getty Images

The US has banned the sale of weapons and defense services to South Sudan in a bid to help end the four-year conflict.

"The United States is appalled by the continuing violence in South Sudan that has created one of Africa’s worst humanitarian crises," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

"The government and armed opposition, despite signing the December 21 Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities and ongoing efforts by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to advance peace – and despite the suffering of their own people – have continued the use of military force to seek political advantage," Ms Nauert added.

The conflict in South Sudan, the world's newest nation, has left 1.5 million close to starvation while 4.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes.

Aid workers have also been caught up in the violence, with 95 being killed since December 2013.

The US has said it will only provide arms and defense services to South Sudan in exceptional cases and has urged its neighbours to follow suit.

In her statement, Ms Nauert added that the African Union should "consider sanctions measures against those who undermine the peace process".

She said that the US will also seek a UN Security Council embargo "on all arms flows into South Sudan".

The US itself doesn't provide weapons to South Sudan but today's move will ensure that no American company or citizen can profit from the fighting there.

Image source, AFP

A former Congolese colonel is to be extradited from Tanzania to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) to face charges of rebellion.

John Tshibangu deserted the army in 2012, but was arrested on Monday at the airport in Dar es Salaam.

The arrest came 10 days after he appeared in a video threatening to "remove" President Joseph Kabila unless he apologized for a "massacre" carried out against protesters.

At least seven people were killed during the anti-Kabila marches in December.

Crispin Atama Thabe, the DR Congo defence minister, confirmed to news agency AFP that Mr Tshibangu would be returned to face charges.

"He will be extradited," Atama Thaba told AFP in a text message. "This is the result of judicial cooperation between our countries."

The minister added that extradition could be lifted if "the Tanzanian government undertakes to try him and have him serve the requisite sentence."

Florent Geel, Africa director of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights, said there was a risk of physical harm coming to Mr Tshibangu should the extradition go ahead.

What do you do when you want a few locally grown, organic leafy greens with your meal, but the climate means they are difficult to grow?

Oluwayimika Angel Adelaja has an answer: she has been farming inside a container outside Abuja, Nigeria.

Hear what she has to say below:

Image source, Reuters

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has criticised Nigeria over its extradition of Cameroonian separatists, saying the move breached international agreements.

On 5 January, Nigerian officials arrested Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, the leader of the Anglophone separatist movement, the Governing Council of Ambazonia, along with 46 other people.

Nigeria returned the 47 to Cameroon, which called the men "terrorists" and said they would "answer for their crimes", on Monday.

The UNHCR said most of the group had submitted asylum claims in Nigeria, and so their return violates the principle of non-refoulement, which says migrants cannot be sent back to a country where they might face persecution.

"The UNHCR reminds Nigeria of its obligations under international and Nigerian law, and urges the Nigerian Government to refrain from forcible returns of Cameroonian asylum-seekers back to their country of origin," the agency said.

Mr Tabe wants the anglophone Southwest and Northwest regions of Cameroon to separate from the Francophone ones, claiming that these areas are subject to economic inequality and social injustice.

On 1 October, the Governing Council of Ambazonia symbolically declared independence.

Image source, AFP

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma is facing another no-confidence vote.

A motion of no confidence - requested by the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party - will come to parliament on 22 February.

This will be the latest in a string of such motions Mr Zuma has faced since he took power in 2009, and whether he survives as president until South Africa's general election in 2019 remains to be seen.

Calls for him to step down have intensified since Cyril Ramaphosa took over as the ruling African National Congress's (ANC) leader.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Mr Ramaphosa and other top ANC officials have been discussing Mr Zuma's future.

Mr Zuma is said to be meeting with them over the course of the weekend.

Stanley Kwenda
BBC Africa, Kutama

Image source, Getty Images

The manager of Arsenal football team has revealed that new signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has fallen sick ahead of his expected premier league debut.

Arsene Wenger said the Gabonese player - who signed for Arsenal this week from German team Borrussia Dortmund - will have to be assessed ahead of Arsenal’s match against Everton tomorrow.

"I have to assess how well he is physically. He had a fever, so he could not practice a lot. He started yesterday, but was still not completely well. I have to assess with the medical department how fit he can be," said Mr Wenger at his pre-match press conference.

Speaking about Mr Aubameyang, Mr Wenger added: "He is a typical striker with great pace and a good ratio between games played and goals scored. He is a team player."

Mr Wenger also revealed that former Arsenal player, Alex Song, has been training at the club’s London Colney training facility to build up his fitness while he looks for a new club following his release from Russian club Rubin Kazan.

“He is looking for a new club. I allowed him to come in to work on his fitness. Nothing more than that,” said Mr Wenger, ruling out any possibility that he might return to Arsenal.

Image source, Getty Images

Zimbabwe's former president Robert Mugabe has apologised for firing his one-time deputy, laying the blame at his successor's door, according to her spokesman.

Joice Mujuru and Mr Mugabe met at his Blue Roof mansion on Tuesday, Gift Nyandoro told Zimbabwean newspaper Newsday, external.

The former allies were understood to have been on bad terms since Mr Mugabe fired Ms Mujuru as vice-president and deputy leader of the ruling Zanu PF party in 2014.

It is widely believed that Grace Mugabe, Mr Mugabe's wife, was actually behind Ms Mujuru's departure.

She previously claimed the vice-president was "corrupt, an extortionist, incompetent, a gossiper, a liar and ungrateful".

But Mr Nyandoro said the former leader claimed President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputy, Constantino Chiwenga, were behind Ms Mujuru's firing.

According to Mr Nyandoro, Mr Mugabe said:

Mr Nyandoro's statement comes a day after Ms Mujuru, now president of the opposition National People's Party, was attacked with rocks while holding a political rally.

In an interview with Voice of America Zimbabwe, Ms Mujuru said she felt "vindicated" following her meeting with Mr Mugabe.

“He was telling me what happened was wrong, he was misinformed,” she added, hinting that President Mnangagwa was behind the misinformation.

Ms Mujuru told the station she forgave Mr and Mrs Mugabe a long time ago and that the former president seemed happy and well.

Image source, AFP

The body of Etienne Tshisekedi - long-time leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo's opposition - is still in a Belgian morgue, a year after his death.

Supporters of Tshisekedi, who died in Brussels on 1 February last year, say he should be brought home so they can give him a fitting funeral.

But wrangling over bringing the body back to DR Congo have kept him in the morgue.

On the surface, the delay appears to be down to an argument over money. However, the opposition claims that, even dead, Tshisekedi is a threat to President Joseph Kabila.

Ange Pabolangi, a leading figure in a splinter group of the opposition UDPS party, told news agency AFP: "Contrary to what is being said, the UDPS is not posing any political conditions to the repatriation. But the government is afraid of street protests if the body returns."

A spokesman for the group told the BBC the government had been blocking the paperwork needed due to the ruling party's "bad faith".

Large numbers attended a mass in Tshisekedi's honour on Thursday, including his son Felix, who is heading up the Rally of the Opposition (Rassop), which is leading demands for President Kabila step down.

Image source, AFP

At a separate mass, Prime Minister Bruno Tshibala vowed to "do everything to repatriate the body and give him a grand funeral befitting his status".

The memorial services came shortly after Mr Kabila, who has been in power since 2001, came under increased pressure to step aside.

His mandate expired in 2016.

In a rare press conference in late January, he promised to stick to the election timetable - which means a vote should go ahead this year.