Image source, Getty Images

A Nepalese peacekeeper in South Sudan has been accused of sexually abusing a teenager in the latest allegation against a so-called blue helmet.

The UN said in a statement that on 13 April "four teenagers were caught trying to enter the United Nations base in Aweil through the perimeter fence".

"It was alleged that one of the teenage girls had been touched inappropriately by a member of the Nepalese contingent in exchange for money."

Contrary to media reports, the UN statement denies there is an allegation of rape.

The UN said Nepali authorities will conduct an investigation.

The UN peacekeepers' mission is to protect vulnerable civilians in conflict zones but they have been hit by a raft of child sex abuse scandals across Africa.

Chimamaka Ihenacho
BBC Igbo, Lagos

Image source, Nwabueze Nwonwu

The importance of the kola nut cannot be overemphasised in Igbo culture and tradition in Nigeria.

“He who brings kola, brings life,” is a popular Igbo proverb.

It is used to welcome guests, join people in marriage, broker peace between warring parties, to honour people at burials and at oath takings.

But here are two things you might not know about kola nuts:

1) It is believed the kola nut can’t understand English

This makes it even more important in the preservation of culture – and even more of a unifier, especially so during the struggle against colonial rule.

2) Women aren't allowed to break kola nuts

They can sell them but they are not allowed to climb kola nut trees or pick them. And women are only allowed to be onlookers during kola nut ceremonies and are not permitted to do the special prayer or break the nut. Afterwards, they can only take a piece of kola nut from the shared ceremonial plate after the men have taken theirs or if a man hands them one.

Image source, Nwabueze Nwonwu

Dickens Olewe
BBC Africa

Image source, Getty Images

Bloggers in Tanzania will have to pay $920 (£660) for the privilege of posting content online, according to new government regulations.

All online publishers including bloggers, vloggers and podcasters have up to 5 May to register.

The punishment for not complying is a fine of at least 5m Tanzanian shillings ($2,200; £3,060) or a prison sentence of a minimum 12 months, or both.

One of the country's top bloggers, Krant Mwantepele, says that the new regulations will "affect everyone who publishes online even people who use social media sites like Instagram, Facebook or Twitter".

He told the BBC that if the law is not rescinded or watered down, it will render many young people jobless:

He says that he will pay the requisite fee to obtain a licence for his site Mwanaharakati Mzalendo, but he will stop covering politics and will be cutting staff.

• Read more: Licence to blog: Will 'Swahili WikiLeaks' have to close?

Rescue workers are helping move residents in the Makueni region of eastern Kenya after a landslide hit the area.

The Kenya Red Cross said on Twitter that its staff have been "activated to conduct assessment and help move locals to safer areas".

It also tweeted photos from the scene:

Yesterday local media reported that several families in neighbouring villages were climbing trees and calling for help from there after a nearby river burst its banks, swept through the village and submerged a number of houses.

Five people have so far been confirmed dead in the region since the weekend, following heavy flooding.

The Kenya Meteorological Department has warned of increasingly heavy rains and thunderstorms across the country.

Controversial Nigerian senator Dino Melaye, who represents Kogi West constituency, has tweeted that he is prepared to talk to the police:

Yesterday he was arrested at the international airport in the capital, Abuja, as he tried to fly to Morocco.

Previously the police had accused him of making up that the governor of Kogi had planned to assassinate him.

Mr Melaye is often referred to as the “singing senator” as he likes to take to social media to mock his political opponents in song.

Image source, AFP

The former president of Malawi, Joyce Banda, is expected to return home this week after nearly four years of self-imposed exile in the wake of the biggest financial scandal in the country's history.

Her spokesman Nowa Chimpeni said Mrs Banda planned to rebuild and "reorganise" her People's Party, ahead of elections in 2019. Many members abandoned her party, AFP new agency reports.

Mrs Banda has lived in the US, South Africa and the UK since fleeing Malawi in 2014.

Last year, police issued an arrest warrant for her in connection with the scandal, known as "cashgate", in which senior government officials siphoned off millions of dollars from state coffers.

Mrs Banda has denied claims of abuse of office and money laundering.

A police spokesperson declined say to whether she would be detained on arrival.

Our African proverb of the day:

Image source, AFP

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

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

That's all from the BBC Africa Live page until 08:00 GMT on Tuesday. In the meantime, 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 Instagram video of boys surfing by Andrew Esiebo, who says, "Where there is the will, there will be the way. Without the surf board the boys are enjoying surfing at Kokrobite beach in Ghana."

Image source, Gerald Petersen/Goldman Environmental Prize

Two South African women who successfully challenged a secret, multi-billion dollar nuclear deal have won a major environmental prize.

Makoma Lekalakala and Liz McDaid were awarded the Goldman environmental prize for winning a five-year court battle against the South African government's plan to build nuclear power plants with Russia at an estimated cost of $76bn (£54bn).

Read the full BBC story here

Ferdinand Omondi
BBC Africa, Wajir

Dozens of teachers are seeking to be transferred from the mainly Muslim north-eastern region of Kenya following the killing of three of their colleagues in February.

The attack was blamed on al-Shabab militant Islamists, who are active across the border in Somalia, and the fleeing teachers believe their colleagues were killed because they were not Muslim.

The exodus of teachers first started in 2015 after the deadly al-Shabab attack on Garissa University, but some had started trickling back.

However, since February the Teachers’ Service Commission has granted more than 50 requests for teachers posted here to leave the area.

Despite vocal protests from locals and community leaders the commission has declined to stop the transfers.

Almaro Sylvano, the head teacher at Wajir Girls Secondary School, says seven teachers have recently left her school and she believes the lack of teaching staff could exacerbate an already challenging environment for girls in the region:

At Wajir Boys High School, they are short of 16 teaching staff and the students there haven’t had a computer lesson in nearly three years although there is a fully equipped computer lab.

Mohammed Shukri, who is 18 years old, is worried about his performance in this year’s final exams as he wants to get into university.

He says he has been studying several subjects on his own after some of his teachers fled.

The people of Wajir say every Kenyan is welcome here, regardless of religion or ethnicity.

But unless the threat from al-Shabab diminishes significantly, teachers are unlikely to return.

South Africa's Premier Soccer League (PSL) has charged top lop local club Kaizer Chiefs with bringing the game into disrepute after its fans rioted at a match in the coastal city of Durban on Saturday, a journalist with the public broadcaster has tweeted:

PSL chairman Irvin Khoza - at a hastily called news conference in Johannesburg - promised to beef up security in the future, ensure better trained security personnel and increase their security budget.

"The league is extremely shocked at the violence that took place at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. I want to make it clear that there is no place for violence in our stadiums and society," Mr Khoza said.

Kaizer Chiefs fans ran amok after they lost 2-0 to their unfashionable opponents, Free State Stars.

Apart from injuring 18 people, they broke television cameras, audio equipment and advertising hoardings, pulled up power cables and even set fire to a small section of seats in the stands.

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Special courts in Zimbabwe have been set up around the country to deal with cases of political violence and intimidation ahead of elections which are due in July, the police say.

These are the first polls since Robert Mugabe was forced to step down as president last November.

Mr Mugabe's former ally, Emmerson Mnangagwa - the current president - has pledged to hold a peaceful, fair vote.

Previous elections were marred by violence as the police and military were used to intimidate the opposition and keep Mr Mugabe in power.

Image source, AFP

The political situation in The Gambia is improving after 22 years of authoritarian rule, the country's President Adama Barrow has told the BBC.

President Barrow took office in January 2017 after defeating long-serving President Yahya Jammeh in an election the previous December.

Watch his interview with BBC Hardtalk's Zeinab Badawi:

Read more: Adama Barrow's life story.

Image source, AFP

Thousands of nurses have returned to work in Zimbabwe, despite their demands not being met.

More than 15,000 embarked on a strike last week, complaining of poor pay and a lack of medicines in the state-run health sector.

Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga - the former army chief who was central to ousting long-serving ruler Robert Mugabe last year - retaliated by sacking them "in the interest of patients and of saving lives".

Enoch Dongo, spokesman for the Zimbabwe Nurses Association, told AFP news agency:

• Read more: Zimbabwe nurse: Women give birth on cold floors

Social media users in Egypt have reacted with pride as Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah became the first Egyptian footballer to be named the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year.

He is only the second African footballer to win the award, after Leicester City's Algerian midfielder Riyad Mahrez in 2016.

Salah, 25, has scored 31 Premier League goals this season this season (equalling the 38-game-season record held by Luis Suarez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Alan Shearer) with three league games still remaining.

In Egypt, his triumph was front page news and the hashtag "the legend Mohamed Salah" has been shared more than 25,000 times since the announcement as compatriots paid tribute to the player Liverpool fans christened the 'Egyptian king', external.

Egyptian actress Rasha Mahdi was among many to tweet an image of Salah as a pharaoh.

Read more from the BBC Trending team: Mo Salah - the 'Egyptian king'

A 34-year-old man has appeared in court on charges of malicious damage to property and pitch invasion following riots at a football match on Saturday.

Phelelani Jojisa is the only person who has so far been arrested over the violence which broke out after top local football club Kaizer Chiefs lost 2-0 to Free State Stars in the Nedbank Cup semi-final, South Africa's TimesLive news site says, external, contradicting earlier reports that two people were due to appear in court.

A journalist with the news site has tweeted from court:

He has not yet been asked to plead and the case has been remanded to Wednesday.

A total of 18 people were wounded, including a security guard who is being treated in hospital, and part of the stadium was torched, public broadcaster SABC reported, external.

Kaizer Chiefs fans stormed the pitch at the end of the game‚ and headed for coach Steve Komphela‚ who managed to escape unhurt.

He quit immediately afterwards.

Image source, AFP

Angolan President Joao Lourenco has sacked his army chief and head of the foreign secret service.

This is the president’s latest purge against officials with links to his predecessor or those tainted by corruption allegations.

Jose Eduardo dos Santos stepped down as president last September after 37 years.

Mr Lourenco, nicknamed "JLo", was hand-picked by Mr Dos Santos to succeed him - and at the time analysts expected him to maintain the status quo.

His most high-profile move has been to fire Isabel Dos Santos, the billionaire daughter of his predecessor, as head of the country’s state oil company.

According to Portugal RTP public broadcaster, 22 officials have been fired today.

Army chief Gen Geraldo Sachipengo Nunda was named by prosecutors last month as a suspect in a corruption probe, Reuters news agency reports.

Andre de Oliveira Sango served as foreign spy boss for more than a decade and has been a long-time Dos Santos loyalist, it says.

Charles Mgbolu
BBC Igbo, Lagos

Nigeria’s Senator Dino Melaye, who spent this morning under arrest at Abuja airport, is no stranger to controversy and is known as the “singing senator” as he likes to mock his opponents in song.

He first came to public attention in 2010 when as a House of Representative member he was suspended for taking part in a fist fight in the chamber during a move to impeach the then speaker.

He is at loggerheads with the governor of Kogi, his home state, and last year accused the governor of being behind a plot to assassinate him, handing over photos that allegedly showed his vehicle peppered with bullet holes.

However, police said he had fabricated the entire story – and tried to bring a case to court against him.

Their two witnesses then escaped from custody, prompting Kogi police to issue an arrest warrant last month, saying they had also alerted Interpol.

However, the senator remained at large, his security detail was not removed by the police in the capital, his name does not appear on the Interpol Red Notice site, external – and he even posted a photo of himself on Instagram shaking the hand of a policeman:

Today’s drama – his arrest, release and then his allegation that police have stormed of his home – may seem puzzling to some.

But what it does seem to point to is deep divisions within the ruling APC party ahead of next year's elections.

Rival troops in Somalia's army have been involved in a shoot-out in the capital, Mogadishu, with one group trying to storm a base that had been run by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before it was forced to end its military training programme in the country earlier this month.

"Some Somali military forces attacked us at the base, they wanted to loot it but we repulsed them," UAE-trained soldier Ahmed Nur told the Reuters news agency.

Somalia's military chief has promised to investigate the "mutinous acts", a former BBC reporter in Mogadishu has tweeted.

Somalia's government ordered the UAE to end its programme to train Somalia's army following a diplomatic fall-out.

The government was angered by the UAE's decision to build a military base in the breakaway state of Somaliland.