Alex Duval Smith
BBC Africa, Dakar

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the deputy governor of Equateur province has been arrested after being accused of rape.

Tathy Bikamba is due to be transferred to the capital, Kinshasa, to be tried.

Mr Bikamba was arrested on Sunday. He is accused of raping a 20-year-old woman the previous day after giving her drugs.

His lawyer, Imbambo Engulu, rejects the accusations:

"The circumstances in which he was arrested were irregular," he said. "We even tried to ask for him to be placed under house arrest in recognition of his status. As for the accusation, he denies it. He will plead not guilty.''

Image source, AFP

It was all smiles in Beijing today when Zimbabwe's Emmerson Mnangagwa met his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, for his first official visit to the country in his new role as president.

Mr Mnangagwa used the occasion to thank the Chinese leader for sending an envoy to visit as soon as he was inaugurated, while Mr Xi congratulated him on a "peaceful" transition of power.

China has been a long-time friend of Zimbabwe - and therefore, of former president Robert Mugabe - but Mr Xi indicated the change of leadership did not worry them:

Image source, AFP

After Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's death at the age of 81, the whole word is rushing to give their take on her life.

But Mrs Madikizela-Mandela was never one to shy away from sharing her own views, beliefs and experiences - controversial as some may have been.

BBC Africa has collected a few here to give you an idea of the woman, in her own words.

Due to a slump in construction and high production costs, the timber industry in Zimbabwe has been struggling to survive.

To make things worse, illegal miners in some of the country's forests have been chopping down trees to make space for their own operations.

Watch our report below:

Image source, Getty Images

Authorities in Kuwait have announced they will recruit domestic workers from Ethiopia to cover for a "deficit" - after the Philippines banned its citizens from working in the Gulf nation.

Gen Talal Al-Maarifi, head of the Residency Affairs, told news agency AFP the country aims "to open the door to the recruitment of Ethiopian workers to fill the deficit of domestic servants and reduce prices".

The Philippines banned their citizens taking up the roles in the country following the murder of 29-year-old Joanna Demafelis, who went missing in September 2016.

Her body was found in a freezer earlier this year, bearing signs of torture.

Her employers, a Lebanese man and Syrian woman, were sentenced to death this week.

Despite this, Ethiopia last week ended a similar five-year ban for its citizens, which was brought in following reports of abuse and complaints that employment agencies lured its citizens to work illegally and under appalling conditions.

Last year, Kuwaiti police detained a woman for filming her Ethiopian maid falling from the seventh floor without rescuing her.

Rights groups have criticised Kuwait and other Arab countries, where migrant labour is regulated under a system known as "kafala".

The kafala, or sponsorship, system ties migrant workers' visas to their employers, prohibiting workers from leaving the country or changing jobs without prior consent.

Mr Maarifi said there were more than 15,000 Ethiopians currently living and working in Kuwait.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela - who has died at the age of 81 - became an icon of the struggle against apartheid after her then-husband Nelson Mandela was jailed for life in 1964.

But there was a high cost for her bravery and determination.

Not only was she separated from her husband, but also from her two young daughters during long periods of her own imprisonment.

She spoke to the BBC about the cost of the struggle back in 1986 - four years before Mr Mandela was finally released:

Dirar Abohoy has been walking on his hands since he was a child.

The 32-year old, who lives in Tigray in northern Ethiopia, likes to perform on his hands, but not everyone is a fan of his work.

Watch:

A video of a female lawmaker in Kenya calling for men to consider marrying more wives to tackle "problems in the society" is being shared on Twitter.

Gathoni Wa Muchomba,who is one of 47 lawmakers holding a special seat reserved for women in parliament, said that polygamy will solve some of the problems people were facing.

She said bringing up children, in the absence of their fathers, has led to serious social problems among the youth, The Daily Nation reports. , external

In 2014, Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta approved a law allowing men to marry more than one wife.

Many female legislators were against it.

It brought civil law, where a man was only allowed one wife, into line with customary law, where some cultures allow multiple partners.

Image source, Reuters

Zimbabwe's new leader, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has met with President Xi Jinping on the second day of his state visit to China.

Mr Mnangagwa - who took power in November after Robert Mugabe was made to step down - wants more Chinese investment in Zimbabwe in return for access to the country's natural resources.

It is not the new president's first trip to the country, however.

Mr Mnangagwa received military training in China when he was a young revolutionary fighter.

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

The Zambian government has issued a seven day ultimatum to Cuban ambassador Nelson Pages Vilas to leave the country.

Mr Vilas angered the government after attending the launch of opposition Socialist Party, headed by Fred M’membe, a journalist-turned-politician.

Mr Vilas was photographed at the launch event, something the government argues is against diplomatic etiquette.

President Edgar Lungu on Sunday ordered the ambassador be recalled for engaging in political activities in Zambia.

Foreign Affairs Minister Joe Malanji confirmed Mr Vilas was summoned to a meeting with ministry where he expressed remorse.

But while remaining optimistic that Zambia’s relations with Cuba will remain strong, Mr Malanji said the ambassador had been given seven days to leave the country.

Tuesday's newspapers have led with the story:

Image source, Daily Nation

Image source, Daily Mail

Ahmed Janka Nabay - one of Sierra Leone's best-known musicians - has died aged 54, the music website Pitchfork reports, external.

Luaka Bop Records representatives confirmed his death to the website.

Nabay became known as the king of bubu music after taking traditional music of the Temne people in Sierra Leone and modernising it into an electronic dance subgenre.

He first rose to fame in Sierra Leone in the 1990s after competing in a talent contest, and later found fame in the US, where he fled after the civil war.

The cause of death was not clear.

Listen to some of his music below:

One of South Africa's opposition parties, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), have marched to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's home in Soweto.

Hundreds of mourners - all wearing the shade of red the group has become known for - made the journey this morning:

Leader Julius Malema - who used to be a member of the African National Congress (ANC), the party Mrs Madikizela-Mandela remained loyal to all her life - is expected to give condolences on behalf of the entire EFF.

Yesterday, he told SABC she had been "like a mother" to him, saying she had always been there to "guide and discipline us".

"More than President Mandela, most people could relate with her because she was with us when the leaders were underground, the leaders were in exile, the leaders were in prison, she kept the fires burning," he added.

Kenya's Interior Minister Fred Matiang'i has told a parliamentary committee that deported opposition politician Miguna Miguna will have to apply to regain his Kenyan citizenship.

Mr Miguna reportedly took Canadian citizenship in 1988.

Mr Matiang'i said the Kenyan passport and national identification card the opposition figure held had been obtained fraudulently.

He added: "Anyone who took up citizenship of another country before the 2010 constitution and thinks they can get it back without following the process is lying to himself.

"There is no doubt Miguna was born in Kenya. But in line with the 2010 constitution, anyone who took up citizenship of another country lost his or her Kenyan citizenship. Parliament enacted a law on how one regains that citizenship."

The minister also defended himself against accusations he has not complied with court orders directing Mr Miguna, who had been detained at the airport, to be released:

See our earlier post here.

Image source, gett

Supermodel Naomi Campbell has said she wants to see an African edition of the fashion bible Vogue to help highlight the continent's contribution to the industry.

Ms Campbell, who is in Lagos, Nigeria, for Arise Fashion Week, cited the recent launch of Vogue Arabia as a precedent for the high-end magazine moving into new markets.

Speaking to news agency Reuters, she said:

It is unclear if Conde Nast - the publishers of Vogue's 23 global editions - share Ms Campbell's enthusiasm.

However, people on Twitter were more than happy to share their own views on the possibility - and now all were thrilled by the suggestion.

Others were more excited:

And then some - notably the Guardian's West Africa correspondent - saw a few other hurdles to be overcome before such an edition could even consider getting off the ground:

Image source, AFP

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has suspended a deal with the UN to give residency to thousands of African migrants in exchange for Western nations resettling the same number.

Hours after announcing the deal, he put it on hold, saying he would speak with residents of south Tel Aviv, where many of the migrants live.

The arrangement had drawn opposition from within his governing coalition.

It replaced a plan for mass deportations to Africa.

The nations were reported to be Uganda and Rwanda and Israel's Supreme Court had blocked deportations meant to begin on Sunday.

Under the five-year agreement with the UN refugee agency, some 16,250 African migrants who entered the country illegally, many of them seeking asylum, would be resettled in Western nations, which Mr Netanyahu had said included Germany, Italy and Canada.

Read the full story on the BBC website.

South Africa's former president Thabo Mbeki is believed to have arrived to pay his respects to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's family in Soweto.

Mr Mbeki, whose father Govan was jailed alongside Mrs Madikizela-Mandela's former husband, Nelson Mandela, was expected to visit this morning.

South African news outlet EWN captured what they believed was the politician arriving:

Six members of South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers ( NUM) were killed and several injured when a bus they were travelling in was firebombed on Monday night, news agency Reuters reports.

The bus was heading to the north-eastern Modikwa area.

A statement from Phillip Mankge, the NUM's North East Regional Secretary, said: "Six workers were burned beyond recognition and the other workers had to escape through windows. We also do not know what is the motive of the attack."

Image source, AFP

Anti-apartheid campaigner Winnie Madikizela-Mandela - known to millions as "the mother of South Africa" - will be given a state funeral, with events around the country to remember her life, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said.

Mrs Madikizela-Mandela, who, along with her husband Nelson Mandela, became a symbol of the struggle against white minority rule, died on Monday at the age of 81.

Her funeral will be held at Orlando Stadium, near her home in Soweto, on Saturday, 14 April, with an official memorial three days before, President Cyril Ramaphosa told media on Monday evening.

Mr Ramaphosa - who said last night that the nation was "ill-prepared for her early departure" - also paid tribute to her determination and strength in the face of a regime which did everything it could to break her spirit, including torture and imprisonment.

Image source, EPA

People were still gathering outside her home this morning to pay their respects.

South Africa's Mail & Guardian shared these pictures:

The Africa Live page will be keeping up-to-date with the latest developments from South Africa throughout the day, so keep checking back.

But to read all about Mrs Madikizela-Mandela's life, click here, or to see pictures, click here.

Top Kenyan government officials are currently appearing before a parliamentary committee to answer questions about their handling of opposition politician Miguna Miguna, who was deported from the country last week.

A court has fined the three officials - Interior Minister Fred Matiang'i, Police Inspector Joseph Boinnet and Immigration Principal Secretary Gordon Kihalangwa - for not obeying an order to release Mr Miguna.

The lawyer was held at the main airport for three days following a row over his citizenship before being sent back to Dubai.

A government official has shared a picture of the three officials at the parliamentary hearing:

Mr Miguna was deported last week for the second time.

He said he was beaten and drugged before being forcibly removed from the country to Dubai.

Kenyan authorities say he renounced his citizenship in the 1988 when he took Canadian citizenship.

They say that he should apply for the Kenyan citizenship if he wants to regain his status.

Mr Miguna says that he was born in Kenya and did not lose that status. His supporters also point out that he was a candidate for the Nairobi governor race in last year's election, a privilege held only for citizens.

He tweeted yesterday that he had arrived in Canada for treatment and that his plans remain to return to Kenya.

Our African proverb of the day:

Click here and scroll to the bottom to send us your African proverbs.