Image source, Getty Images

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been taken into police custody for questioning over allegations that he received campaign funding from the late Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.

Police are investigating alleged irregularities over the financing of his 2007 presidential campaign.

The allegations came from a French-Lebanese businessman, Ziad Takieddine, and some former Gaddafi regime officials.

Police have questioned him previously. A former aide, Alexandre Djouhri, was arrested in London recently.

In 2013 France opened an investigation into allegations that his campaign had benefited from illicit funds from Gaddafi. Mr Sarkozy has denied wrongdoing.

• Read more on the BBC News website.

Darod Farah
BBC Monitoring

Image source, _

A 16-year-old student in Somalia has rejected a request for him to become a deputy commissioner of the south-eastern state of Hirshabelle.

Feisal Abdullahi Omar was asked by the states's Minister for Internal Affairs Mohamed Ali Adle.

He said that the appointment came after people visited his father and asked them to propose a representative for a clan seminar.

But he rejected the offer saying - saying he was not able to manage the post.

He added that there are serious challenges in his home region.

Gambole is 50km (31 miles) west of Jowhar and is controlled by the al-Qaeda-linked militant group al-Shabab which has recently increased its attacks on government and African Union troops.

Stephanie Hegarty
BBC Africa, Lagos

Campaign group Amnesty International says that the Nigerian army ignored repeated warnings of an attack on Dapchi town, hours before 110 schoolchildren were kidnapped from the government girl's school.

They said they spoke to 23 different local leaders who said they saw the militants in the vicinity on the day of the attack.

The local leaders alerted the Nigerian army to the presence of a convoy of militants in a village called Gumsa, about 30km (18 miles) from Dapchi town.

That was early on Monday 19 February. Later that evening, militants attacked the school on at least nine vehicles, kidnapping 110 children.

Amnesty claim the attack was reported as it happened but still the army failed to respond.

Nigeria's army spokesman said that the government has set up a committee to investigate the security lapse which lead to the kidnapping and urged Amnesty to submit its findings to them.

In a press release a week after the attack, the army admitted it had pulled out of Dapchi town a few days before the kidnapping. They claimed troops were required elsewhere and Dapchi was considered safe.

It has been a month since the kidnapping and parents of the missing girls still have no information on where their daughters might be.

Last week President Muhammadu Buhari said his government was pursuing negotiations with the militants instead of pursuing them by force.

The kidnapping and its aftermath echoes the infamous abduction of the Chibok girls in 2014, 100 of whom are still missing.

• Dapchi kidnappings: Nigeria families' heartbreak and despair

Our African proverb of the day:

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Click here to send us your African proverbs.

Welcome to BBC Africa Live where we will bring you the latest news from around the continent.

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 check 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 from the streets of Liberia's capital, Monrovia:

Habiba Adamu
BBC Africa, Abuja

A murder trial has opened in Nigeria into the death of a prominent politician's son, Bilyaminu Haliru Bello.

The victim's wife, Maryam Sanda, is one of the four people accused of stabbing him to death last October.

The couple have a ten-month-old baby, Nigeria's Daily Post has reported, external.

The case hit the headlines in Nigeria in part because Mr Bello, 35, was the son of veteran politician Mohammed Haliru Bello, the former chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP).

Because a principal witness was not present at the court, the case has been adjourned until 19 April.

BBC World Service

The Canadian government says it will send troops and transport helicopters to join the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali.

A date has not yet been fixed for the deployment which is due to include female soldiers.

Eighteen months ago, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a commitment to increase Canada's contribution to UN peacekeeping missions, but his government has been criticised for being slow to deliver on the pledge.

The deployment to Mali will be Canada's first in Africa since 1994 when a small contingent of Canadian peacekeepers was left traumatised by the horrific events of the Rwanda genocide.

Egyptian striker Mohammed Salah is arguably the best player in the English Premier League this season.

He has scored 30 goals in 43 appearances and has 10 assists.

Only one other African player has scored more in a single campaign.

Guess who is looking over his shoulder.

Image source, BBC Sport

• Read the full story on the BBC website

Authorities in Kenya have been struggling for several days to fix a massive gulf that has split one of the country's main roads in Mahi Mahiu area in the Rift Valley, following heavy rains.

The road has given way several times despite several attempts to fix it.

A local TV station has shared a birds-eye view of the damage and the ongoing work to patch up the road.

Many people have blamed the ongoing heavy rains for the damage on the road.

Geologist David Adede has however told the NTV station that the massive crack is part of ongoing tectonic shifts that will one day result in the continent splitting in two.

He adds that the gulf has been growing at a "rate of two centimetres per year".

Watch his comments below:

Andrew Harding
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, AFP

The South African health authorities have been ordered to pay the families of psychiatric patients who died after being "tortured" in what amounted to "death traps".

That conclusion came from a retired judge investigating the death of 144 psychiatric patients in 2016.

At the end of a lengthy public hearing, the judge ordered the state to pay each family £70,000 ($98,000) in compensation.

Retired judge Dikgang Motseneke said the health authorities had acted cruelly and irrationally, in moving patients out of their private care centre, and into a network of what he called unregulated “death traps".

The 144 deaths were found to be a direct result.

Many of the deaths were due to pneumonia, dehydration and diarrhoea.

The police are now expected to investigate senior officials for possible fraud, after the judge rejected their explanations as “untrue”.

This has been a revealing, and traumatic process for South Africa.

But today’s groundbreaking judgment has been hailed by some as a defining moment – forcing a government too prone to passing the buck to take responsibility for its actions, and for its most vulnerable citizens.

An encouraging end, then, to a traumatic process. But even now, another 44 patients are still missing.

Image source, Getty Images

Within less than two decades it will be cheaper to operate robots in US factories than hire workers in Africa, a new report warns, external.

Falling automation costs are predicted to cause job losses as manufacturers return to richer economies.

Some analysts say poorer countries could be less impacted by this trend, however the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) suggests otherwise.

But its report adds African nations have time to prepare for the change.

"African countries must not shy away from manufacturing, but instead prepare by increasing access to internet, investing in technical skills and promoting technological innovation," said Karishma Banga a senior research officer at ODI.

ODI's report, Digitalisation and the Future of Manufacturing in Africa, external, found that in furniture manufacturing, the cost of operating robots and 3D printers in the US will be cheaper than Kenyan wages by 2034.

In Ethiopia, ODI predicts robotic automation will be cheaper than Ethiopian workers between 2038 and 2042.

• Read more on the BBC News website

Chris Ewokor
BBC Africa, Abuja

Image source, AFP

Nigeria's secret police says it has arrested a notorious gunrunner who has been on its wanted list for the last ten years.

Jonah Abbey is allegedly involved in the arms and ammunition trade and is believed to supply weapons to militant groups across Nigeria.

Mr Abbey, who was arrested alongside his driver Agyo Saviour, allegedly supplied arms to criminal groups - many of whom are located in the oil-rich Niger Delta, the south-east and parts of central Nigeria.

His arrest could be the first major link to explaining the sources of arms to militant groups as well as kidnappers and armed banditry syndicates in parts of the country.

Many people have been killed following a series of armed conflict in parts of the country.

The police recently linked the suspect to a movement of arms and ammunition from Konduga in Borno state where Islamist militant group Boko Haram is active, to Taraba state – an area prone to clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

According to the secret police, there are indications that Mr Abbey sources arms from Cameroon and parts of the north-east of Nigeria.

He has denied the allegations and is expected to be charged in court after police investigations.

Image source, AFP

The UN Commission for Human Rights has accused the Congolese military and police of killing 47 demonstrators over the past year and attempting to cover up the atrocities by removing the bodies.

A statement said the Congolese authorities were quashing dissent at all costs and there was an urgent need for an independent judicial investigation.

There have been numerous protests following President Joseph Kabila's refusal to step down when his mandate expired over a year ago.

Analysts say the political uncertainty is fuelling conflict in the east of the country.

As a boy, Justice Osei from Ghana discovered he had an unusual talent: imitating the sounds of his sheep, goats and other local wildlife.

Since then he has taught himself many more, and now has more than 50 species in his vocal menagerie. He performed some of them for BBC Pidgin.

Watch it here:

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Image source, AFP

A High Court in Johannesburg ordered that a private jet belonging to the controversial Gupta family be grounded.

The Gupta family have a lease agreement with a Canadian credit agency, Export Development Canada (EDC), for a Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft.

EDC brought the application against the Guptas in a dispute on the lease agreement in a UK court relating to the jet valued at $41m.

The request by EDC was for the court here in South Africa to ground the plane until a final order was made.

The Gupta family have been accused of abusing their close relationship to former president Jacob Zuma in which they allegedly had undue influence over government officials for contracts.

They have always maintained their innocence. Mr Zuma also denies any wrongdoing.

Today’s court order said the plane, registered as ZS-OAK, must be parked at Lanseria airport north of Johannesburg and its tracking system be switched off.

Image source, EPA

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa has released the names of hundreds of companies and individuals who failed to return $827m (£590m) illegally stashed abroad despite an amnesty.

After taking office last year Mr Mnangagwa gave individuals and companies 90 days to give up the funds.

He said on Monday it had resulted in $591m being returned, less than half the funds believed to be held abroad.

He has warned that those who fail to comply are at risk of prosecution.

Mr Mnangagwa, who promised to crackdown on corruption after being sworn into office last year, said he had been left with no choice but to release the 1,800 names, which include manufacturers, miners, small businesses, state-owned entities and even churches.

Read the full story on the BBC website.

Image source, AFP

The UK's National Crime Agency says half a billion dollars that had been frozen as part of a corruption investigation can now be returned to Angola.

UK authorities become suspicious when an attempt was made last year to transfer the money from the Angolan Central Bank into a UK bank account.

Last week, Angolan prosecutors charged the former central bank governor - Valter Filipe da Silva - in connection with the alleged $500m (£355m) fraud, which is reported to have taken place in the last days of José Eduardo dos Santos' presidency.

President Joao Lourenco who took office in September 2017 has promised to crack down on corruption.

The country is under increased scrutiny since it was revealed, in the Paradise Papers leak, that its national sovereign wealth state has paid tens of millions in fees to a businessman who works closely with dos Santos' son, Jose Filomeno.

Angola is Africa's second-biggest oil producer but its economy has been hit by a drop in oil prices.

Correspondents say he wants to weaken the influence of the Dos Santos family.

Months after coming to power, Mr Lourenço fired the daughter of his predecessor as head of the country's state oil company Sonangol.

Wanyama wa Chebusiri
BBC Africa

Image source, Getty Images

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has unexpectedly cancelled his planned visit to Rwanda where leaders are due to sign an Africa-wide free trade deal - known as the African Continental Free Trade Area Treaty.

This comes a day after Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari also opted out of the Kigali conference, saying he wanted further domestic consultation on the continental deal that would remove trade barriers and eventually allow free movement.

It remains unclear why President Museveni decided to cancel the trip.

But commentators say Mr Museveni’s move suggests deteriorating relations between Kigali and Kampala.

Rwanda accuses Uganda of illegally detaining its citizens and helping groups fighting its government, while Kampala accuses some Rwandans of espionage.

At least 13 Kenyan MPs are receiving cancer treatment in India, news site The Star reports, , externalquoting a lawmaker who has been receiving treatment in the country.

MP Francis Munyua Waititu, who is being treated for brain cancer, said he had met several of his colleagues who were secretly receiving cancer treatment in India.

Kenya has 416 lawmakers in both house of parliament ( National Assembly and Senate).

Mr Waititu said the stigma around cancer was the main reason some of his colleagues were being secretive about their treatment:

The Star reports that approximately 10,000 Kenyans travel abroad every year in search of treatment and end up spending at least Kenya shillings 10 billion ($100m; £70m) in the same period, according to data from the ministry of health.

It also says that about 40,000 Kenyans are diagnosed with cancer annually, and the disease kills about 15,000 people every year, quoting the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

Dr David Makumi from Kenyan Network of Cancer Organisations told the news site that 75% of cancer patients seeking treatment in India can be treated in Kenya for less money.

Mr Waititu said some of the patients he met in India complained about the long waiting time at the country's main referral hospital, and it was the reason they sought treatment abroad.