BBC Africa Live
Flora Drury & Alexandra Fouché

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:

And we leave you with this picture of Hakim, a diver and tour guide along Kenyan coast pictured by Bryan Jaybee:

Ishaq Khalid
BBC Africa, Abuja

Image source, Getty Images

The Nigerian authorities say the country's economic growth has slightly slowed down in the first quarter of 2018.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the economy grew by 1.95% compared to 2.11% in the last quarter of 2017.

This is the first time Nigeria's economic growth slowed since January 2017, when the country climbed out of its worst recession in 25 years.

The National Bureau of Statistics says Nigeria's oil output has increased but the non-oil sector shrank in the first quarter of 2018.

Despite the slight decline, the Nigerian authorities say growth is still strong for the economy.

Last week the Parliament passed a record budget of $29bn for 2018 aimed at boosting growth in one of Africa's largest economies barely nine months before the country's next presidential election.

Nigeria's economy is largely dependent on oil exports and the government is struggling to diversify it.

Princess Igho Williams
BBC Pidgin

Image source, Edo State Government

Teachers at a school in southern Nigeria have revealed at least 100 students have disappeared in the last four months - apparently taken out of the country by human traffickers.

The teachers told Solomon Okoduwa, a senior special assistant to the governor on human trafficking and illegal migration, when he visited the secondary school in Benin City, Edo State.

Mr Okoduwa told BBC News Pidgin the teacher initially thought the missing students were just unwell.

But later, they found out from other students that they had been trafficked to Libya - from where they were likely to attempt the dangerous crossing to Europe.

It is not known exactly why they went, or if anyone encouraged them.

“When we asked the teachers how they got the information, we were told they got it from other students who were talking about their fellow students that had travelled,” he said.

Mr Okoduwa also said that the advocacy exercise is still ongoing and will be done across all secondary schools in Edo State.

Three South African journalists have lodged a claim with AIG Europe, the insurer of Bell Pottinger.

The journalists accuse Bell Pottinger of waging a social media campaign which portrayed them as purveyors of fake news, South African news website eNCA reports.

The three journalists are South Africa's Huffington Post editor Ferial Haffajee, Business Day columnist Peter Bruce, News 24's editor-in-chief Adriaan Basson.

They are seeking damages in England for defamation and breach of privacy.

The British PR company went into administration last year after running a racially charged campaign in the country.

The work was criticised for presenting opponents of former South African President Jacob Zuma and the wealthy Gupta family as agents of "white monopoly capital".

• Bell Pottinger collapses after South African scandal

Image source, AFP

In provisional, but almost complete results, Burundi's electoral commission has said people have voted to extend presidential terms - potentially extending current leader Pierre Nkurunziza's rule to 2034.

According to the provisional results, 73.6% voted in favour, 19.3% voted against, 4.1% of the votes were void, and 3.2% abstained.

More than 96% of the voting population cast a ballot in the referendum on Thursday.

Burundians had to decide whether to extend presidential terms from five years to a seven-year mandate.

There is currently a two-term limit in place for presidents. The changes could also allow Mr Nkurunziza to contest the 2020 elections, and potentially enjoy another two terms, as under a new constitution, he would start from scratch.

He is a former rebel leader who came to power at the end of Burundi's ethnically charged civil war in 2005.

His run for a controversial third term in 2015, despite being constitutionally limited to two terms, set off a wave of violence and an attempted coup, which was foiled by government forces.

The political crisis led to hundreds of deaths, and more than 400,000 people fled the country, according to the United Nations.

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Maize production in Malawi has fallen by nearly 20% this year.

Agriculture Minister Joseph Mwanavekha blamed decline on drought and an invasion of the fall armyworm, which devours crops.

Maize is Malawi's staple food.

Yields of other major crops are also expected to fall.

Much of southern Africa has been badly affected by drought, including the South African city of Cape Town which came close to running out of water.

• Cape Town drought declared a 'national disaster'

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Burkino Faso's security forces of carrying out extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and other abuses in their campaign against terrorism.

The watchdog's 60-page report, external says Sahel villagers are caught between security forces, expecting information about the militants, and jihadists, who threaten to execute those who collaborate with the government.

HRW says it documented the execution-style killings of 19 men from 12 villages by armed extremist groups.

Witnesses speaking to the US-based group allege security forces have carried out 14 summary executions and that four other men died in custody from mistreatment.

Burkino Faso's north has been gripped by a jihadist insurgency since 2016, which has killed dozens of people and driven more than 12,000 from their homes.

Defence Minister Jean-Claude Bouda told news agency AFP that he was "aware of certain allegations of abuses".

"The government undertakes to carry out inquiries into all the cases of abuse referred to (in the report) which had not already been brought to its attention," he told AFP.

• Burkina Faso's war against militant Islamists

Image source, AFP

In South Africa, a man accused of killing his wealthy parents and brother in a frenzied axe attack in their Stellenbosch home has been found guilty of murder.

Henri van Breda, 23, was found guilty on three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

His sister was left with severe head injuries as a result of the attack he carried out.

"After considering all the evidence, the result is inescapable," judge Siraj Desai said.

Van Breda initially said the murders had been perpetrated by an axe-wielding intruder.

No arrests were made in this horrific case for 18 months until the accused handed himself over in June 2016.

Image source, Reuters

Zimbabwe has applied to rejoin the Commonwealth - 15 years after they left the group.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said she was delighted to receive a letter from Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa, dated 15 May.

However, she added they would only return "when the conditions are right".

President Mnangagwa, who came to power in November after long-time leader Robert Mugabe was ousted, has said repeatedly he wants to rebuild international ties.

In a statement released on the Commonwealth's website,, external Baroness Scotland said:

Zimbabwe withdrew from the 53 country-strong Commonwealth in 2003, having initially joined in 1980, after its membership was suspended amid reports of election rigging.

President Mugabe rejected previous attempts to bring the country back into the group.

The Commonwealth statement said the country would have to comply with "the fundamental values set out in the Commonwealth Charter, including democracy and rule of law plus protection of human rights such as freedom of expression" before being allowed to rejoin.

Commonwealth observers have been invited to attend this year's elections in Zimbabwe - a process which will now form part of the informal assessment which will be carried out as part of the application.

The other member countries will also be consulted, the statement added.

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo say 10 people have been killed in an insurgent attack in the east.

They said the assault in the Beni region was carried out by a Ugandan rebel group, the Allied Democratic Forces.

The ADF was founded by Muslim extremists and pledges allegiance to al-Qaeda.

It has carried out numerous attacks in Uganda and Congo, including one in Beni last year in which 15 UN peacekeepers were killed.

Many other rebel groups are active in eastern Congo.

Kenyan authorities are working to clear highly-flammable fuel and damaged wagons after a cargo train, which was carrying 250,000 litres of petrol, derailed at Mombasa.

According to news agency Reuters, it spilled part of its cargo on a highway and into the Indian ocean on 20 May.

The police cordoned off the area to mitigate the risk of fire, leaving thousands of passengers stranded until the highway re-opened that evening.

A team of engineers are working to recover five train wagons that plunged into the ocean.

Police are now investigating what caused the incident. It is unclear how much petrol spilled into the ocean.

The train was travelling on a decades-old line that carries goods from ships that arrive at Mombasa to the capital, Nairobi.

Ghana is the world’s second biggest producer of cocoa, but some plantations are being turned into illegal gold mines.

Now there are fears of a cocoa shortage, pushing chocolate prices up. But worse, these mines are slowly destroying the natural environment.

Find out more by watching the video below:

The BBC's Somali service is once again seeking out the country's best female poets.

Now in its second year, the award aims to encourage Somali women to showcase their talent.

In Somali nomadic culture, women played a key role in traditional dances, which included a lot of creative language; by launching this award, BBC Somali is trying to revive that art.

The first of its kind among Somalis, the award generated a lot of interest when it was first launched last year, with more than 100 women taking part in the competition.

Deeqa Nouh Yonis was the winner of last year’s award.

“The award gave me a lot of courage. It also allowed me to try to achieve in my poetry goals...

"I am happy for the continuation of the award so that many more female poets can achieve it. If 100 female poets showcased their talents in the last contest, now another hundred can do the same.”

For more information, click here (in Somali).

Image source, Getty Images

Kenyan parents may have to be a little more careful about what kind of pictures of their children they publish online.

According to a new cyber-crimes act passed last week, anyone found guilty of sharing child pornography via the internet will face a maximum fine of 20 million shillings ($200,000, £150,000) or a maximum jail term of 25 years.

The law applies to parents who share photos of their children’s genitals or their naked bodies on social media, Kenya's Daily Nation reports, external.

So posting a photo of a child’s nappy rash or a child during bath time on social media could land you in hot water.

Child pornography is defined in the constitution as any visual depiction involving the use of a minor, or one appearing to be a minor, engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Enricah Dulo, an advocate specialising in children’s law, says it is about protecting a child’s privacy.

“It may not fall under child pornography, but the children’s act is clear. Depicting the images of a naked child is an obvious violation of their rights, particularly the right to protection against abuse,” Ms Dulo said.

• East Africa cracks down on 'fake news'

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Expectant mothers at a health centre in central Zambia are refusing to have their babies delivered by a male nurse - leading to fears they may start taking matters into their own hands.

The privately owned Daily Nation newspaper reports the mothers at Kalwa Health Centre, in the farming-rich town of Mkushi town, feel uncomfortable with their babies being delivered by a person of the opposite sex.

Some mothers said they considered it a taboo and against traditional practice for their babies to be delivered by a male nurse and not a female one.

A health official has urged the government to immediately address the issue before mothers resort to delivering their babies from home.

“The situation is not good,” Happison Kapengwehe, Kalwa Health Centre neighbourhood health committee chairperson, warned.

Zambia's health facilities and personnel are often inadequate, with a rise in a population in areas far from the capital, Lusaka, being the most affected.

The BBC tried to contact the country’s health minister, Dr Chitalu Chilufya, but he could not be reached as he is currently in Geneva, Switzerland, attending a conference.

Image source, Reuters

Zimbabwe's former leader Robert Mugabe has been summoned to attend a parliamentary committee hearing on Wednesday, news agency Reuters reports.

Mr Mugabe, who was ousted in November after 28 years as president, is being asked to expand on comments he made back in 2016, when he alleged the country had lost $15bn in revenue from diamond mining.

At the time he said it was due to corruption and foreign exploitation.

A parliamentary notice released on Monday said his appearance was "subject to confirmation".

Mr Mugabe, 94, has not been seen in public since November, although a few pictures have been released.

An earlier scheduled hearing was postponed.

Image source, AFP

The Kenyan restaurant at the centre of a row over breastfeeding has hit back at claims its staff told a mother to nurse her baby in a toilet.

The Olive Hotel says CCTV it has of the incident disprove the mother's allegations, according to the Star Newspaper, external.

According to the woman - known only as Betty - she was twice asked to stop breastfeeding after ordering her food at the Nairobi eatery. The second time, it was suggested she nurse the child in a toilet.

The experience, she later told the BBC, left her feeling humiliated.

But the restaurant says CCTV of "Betty" tells a different story.

According to the Star, it shows her laughing and smiling after chatting to one member of staff.

The newspaper says it is hard to tell exactly what happened, because the waiter's back is to the camera.

However, she did not leave the restaurant until she had finished her meal and had a cup of hot water.

Restaurant management have asked for the woman to come forward and talk to them directly so they can get to the bottom of what happened.

It said the post - which led to dozens of women staging a protest outside the restaurant - has damaged business.

Image source, Reuters

More than 20 people are believed to have died and thousands have been affected after tropical cyclone Sagar landed in the Horn of Africa over the weekend.

Heavy rains have caused flooding across the region, with pictures showing people wading through the streets of the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

The privately owned Radio Dalsan said six people had died in the city as a result of the storm.

Meanwhile, Abdirahman Ahmed Ali, governor of the Awdal area in the self-declared republic of Somaliland, said 15 people had died in his region over the weekend.

Djibouti has also been struck, with the UN saying Djibouti City and the suburb of Balbala among the hardest hit.

The UN says tens of thousands of people have been affected by the flooding, displacement and the destruction of infrastructure in Sagar's wake. It estimates that between 20,000 to 30,000 people have been impacted in Djibouti alone.

The region has been affected by years of drought, which means rainwater does not absorb easily into the sun-baked earth, increasing the risk of flash floods.

Quite a lot, by the looks of these pictures shared by the South African Police Service over the weekend.

Despite the Toyota Tazz not being one of life's larger vehicles, these determined suspects managed to fit six sheep into the back seat and boot.

You can only imagine the surprise of the officers who spotted the vehicle and its unusual load driving past in South Africa's Eastern Cape province on Saturday.

The suspects are due to appear in court.

Three people have been arrested in France after a Burkina Faso-born man was beaten to death by a group of teenagers in Pau, in the south-west of the country.

The 32-year-old Frenchman was murdered outside a park early on Friday evening.

The victim, who had moved from the French capital, Paris, to Pau recently, had been known to the police in Paris, but "had not been talked about since early 2018", Pau prosecutor Cécile Gensac said on Monday.

He had previously been convicted of aggravated robbery and drug trafficking between 2010 and 2015, according to regional daily Sud Ouest.

But "no link has been established between his past and the events that occurred on Friday night in Pau", the prosecutor added.

An investigation is under way, and an autopsy is due to be performed on the body.