BBC Africa Live
Farouk Chothia & Tara John

That's all from the BBC Africa Live page for now. We'll be back on Monday. In the meantime, 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 our wise words:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this photo from our gallery of the week of a priestess attending a festival for the Yoruba fertility goddess Osun in south-western Nigeria.

Image source, AFP

Favour Nunoo
BBC Pidgin, Lagos

Former Ghanaian President John Mahama's decision to make a fresh bid for the presidency does not come as a surprise.

He gave a strong indication of his desire to seek re-election by organising "unity walks" to heal the divisions in his National Democratic Congress (NDC) party following their defeat in the 2016 elections.

On Thursday, Mr Mahama said he would seek the NDC's nomination to run for the presidency in the 2020 election.

“I’ve prayed diligently about the task ahead and I believe I owe a duty to God and my country to take our great party back into government,” he said in a video posted on social media.

His chances of securing the nomination - ahead of Alban Bagbin, the opposition leader in parliament - are very high. He has the youth of the party behind him, he remains its most marketable candidate and has the financial war chest needed to run the NDC's 2020 campaign.

Mr Mahama was president for one four-year term. His bid for a second term failed after he was defeated by then-opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo.

The 2020 elections, according to NDC officials, will be about comparing the four years of Mr Mahama's government to the four years of Mr Akufo-Addo's government.

The NDC says the current government has been a failure - a charge it strongly rejects.

BBC Sport

Arsenal youngster Kelechi Nwakali has been included in an official Nigeria squad for the first time.

The 20-year-old midfielder is on the books of Arsenal but has been loaned to Portuguese side Porto, where he is set to play with their B team.

Image source, Getty Images

Nwakali did play for a Nigeria XI in a friendly against Spanish club Atletico Madrid in May.

The Super Eagles' coach Gernot Rohr has named a 24-man squad for September's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Seychelles and his first since the World Cup.

Nigeria failed to get past the group stage of the World Cup in Russia as they lost 2-0 to Croatia before beating Iceland by the same scoreline and finally losing 2-1 to Argentina.

Read the full story here

Image source, AFP

Zimbabwe's opposition says it "respects" the ruling of the Constitutional Court, which upheld President Emmerson Mnangagwa's victory in disputed elections, but will continue "pursue all constitutionally permissible avenues to ensure that the sovereign will of the people is protected and guaranteed".

In a series of tweets, the MDC Alliance said it believed "the verdict of the people who overwhelmingly voted" for its leader Nelson Chamisa to become the next president of Zimbabwe.

The MDC Alliance called for peace and said "the sombre mood in the country in the wake of today’s court verdict is in itself a telling statement".

Image source, EPA

Liberia's President George Weah has lavishly praised former Arsenal former manager Arsène Wenger, as he gave him with the West African state's highest honour - the Knight Grand Commander of the Humane Order of African Redemption.

“You proved yourself as a teacher when you revolutionised forever the approach of scouting young talents all over the planet, particularly throughout Africa," Mr Weah said of his former coach during the ceremony in Monrovia, Reuters news agency reports.

Thousands of spectators cheered as Wenger received his medal in a hall at the national stadium.

Another coach, Claude Le Roy, who first told Wenger about Weah, also received the award.

Here are some pictures from today's ceremony at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex:

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

See earlier post for more details

Some supporters of Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party have been celebrating in the second city, Bulwayo, following the decision by the country's highest court to dismiss the opposition MDC Alliance's bid to annul President Emmerson Mnangagwa's victory in elections, as this tweet shows:

Twitter users have been calling for unity in Zimbabwe after the country's highest court upheld President Emmerson Mnangagwa's narrow victory in fiercely contested elections on 30 July.

Here are some of the reactions:

Image source, Getty Images

Zimbabwean opposition politician Tendai Biti says "we will continue to fight for truth and justice" after the Constitutional Court threw out a bid by his MDC Alliance to annul the presidential results.

"Legitimacy comes from the people and the people alone," he said in a tweet.

Mr Biti was released on bail earlier in August after appearing in court on charges of inciting violence after he was deported from Zambia.

At least six people were killed two days after the vote in clashes between security forces and MDC Alliance supporters who alleged that their leader, Nelson Chamisa, had been robbed of victory.

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa says the election results were "firmly in line with all pre-election polling" and that his party was "not surprised by the court’s decision", which confirmed his 30 July election win.

In a series of tweets, he called for "peace and unity" after the Constitutional Court unanimously threw out a bid by the opposition MDC Alliance to annul the presidential results.

This comes after an army crackdown following post-election protests left six people dead.

He also reached out to his main challenger in the poll.

"Nelson Chamisa, my door is open and my arms are outstretched, we are one nation, and we must put our nation first," Mr Mnangagwa wrote.

Mr Mnangagwa won the election with 50.7% of the vote, which meant he avoided a run-off with Mr Chamisa, who got 44.3%.

Throwing out the bid by Zimbabwe's opposition presidential candidate Nelson Chamisa to overturn President Emmerson Mnangagwa's election victory, Chief Justice Luke Malaba said: "In the final analysis, the court finds the applicant has failed to place before it clear, direct, sufficient and credible evidence [of rigging]".

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Zimbabwe's Constitutional Court unanimously ruled that President Emmerson Mnangagwa was the winner of the 30 July election, dismissing the bid by his rival, Nelson Chamisa, to annul the result.

It opens the way for Mr Mnangagwa's inauguration as Zimbabwe's second elected leader since independence in 1980.

The inauguration ceremony is expected to take place this weekend.

Read: The 'crocodile' who snapped back

Delivering the verdict of Zimbabwe's highest court, Chief Justice Luke Malaba called allegations of ballot-tampering "bold and unsubstantiated".

It was Zimbabwe's first election since long-time leader Robert Mugabe was ousted from power last year.

Two days after the vote, at least six people were killed in clashes between security forces and MDC Alliance supporters, who alleged that party leader Nelson Chamisa had been robbed of victory.

Image source, EPA

The streets around the Constitutional Court in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, were cordoned off by security officers to prevent a repeat of the violence seen after the fiercely contested election, reports the BBC's Shingai Nyoka from the city.

The roads are empty, our reporter adds.

Zimbabwe's highest court has thrown a bid by the main opposition MDC Alliance to annul President Emmerson Mnangagwa's victory in the heavily disputed 30 July election.

Image source, Reuters

MDC Alliance candidate Nelson Chamisa rejected Mr Mnangagwa's victory, saying the poll had been rigged.

Mr Mnangagwa won 50.7% of the vote and Mr Chamisa 44.3%.

BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Denmark-based Mustapha Bundu is set to be the first graduate from Craig Bellamy's now defunct football academy to play for Sierra Leone.

The 21-year old striker is on coach John Keister's 35-man provisional squad for their away 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ethiopia.

The Group F encounter is scheduled to take place in Hawass on September 9.

"It means the world to me as it's the dream of every player to play for his or her country," Bundu told BBC Sport.

"It also means a lot to my family because my dad never had the chance to play for Leone Stars when he was a footballer."

Read the full story here

Ibrahim Haithar
BBC Monitoring, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance has accused the government of undermining an expected judgment by the Constitutional Court on the validity of the 30 July election.

The statement comes after today's court ruling on the disputed presidential election was delayed for an hour.

“President Nelson Chamisa would like to address some specific, disturbing events that would seem to undermine the court process that is ongoing,” an MDC Alliance official told the media outside the court.

The opposition party also accused Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga of making statements that undermined the court's process.

The MDC Alliance, which put the petition before the court, says the vote was rigged and is seeking a new election or for its leader, Mr Chamisa, to be named the winner.

Image source, Getty Images

A few eyebrows were raised when French football club Toulouse announced that the Brazilian midfielder, Somalia, has joined the Saudi football team, al-Shabab.

The 29-year-old Somalia, whose real name is Wergiton do Rosario Calmon, has been playing with Toulouse for three years before signing a two-year contract with al-Shabab.

For more than a decade, Islamist militant group al-Shabab, which means youth in Arabic, has been battling the UN-backed government in Somalia. It has also been behind a string of attacks across East Africa.

Some Twitter users were amused by that juxtaposition:

Image source, Jonathan Paye-Layleh

Liberia's President George Weah has decorated former Arsenal football club manager Arsène Wenger with the country's highest honour at a ceremony in the capital, Monrovia.

Wenger was Mr Weah's first European football coach and brought him to Monaco in 1988.

Mr Weah went on to become the only African to win Fifa World Player of the Year, and the first international sports star to become president.

Wenger was inducted into Liberia's Order of Distinction and has been given the title of Knight Grand Commander of the Humane Order of African Redemption.

Some Liberians say that the honour should not have been given to an individual for what they had done for the president personally, reports the BBC's Jonathan Paye-Layleh from the capital, Monrovia.

Liberia's Information Minister Eugene Nagbe told the BBC the award was not only about Mr Weah's personal connection with Wenger, but was a way to recognize that the Frenchman had "contributed to sports in Africa and has given many Africans opportunities".

Read more: Arsène Wenger gets hero's welcome in Liberia

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Image source, Reuters

The evidence given by South Africa's former Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas - that controversial businessman Ajay Gupta "threatened to kill” him if he disclosed they met in 2015 - has shocked the nation.

Allegations of corruption have swirled for many years now but the suggestion that it may have morphed into some form of mafia operation during the presidency of Jacob Zuma has left many people bewildered.

Mr Gupta has previously denied meeting Mr Jonas, but the former deputy minister told a judge-led inquiry into state corruption that the meeting did take place and the businessman "threatened to kill” him if he spoke about it.

It is the most explosive allegation that the commission has heard since it began sitting in South Africa’s main city Johannesburg earlier this week.

In fact, the African National Congress (ANC), the party in power since the end of white-minority rule in 1994, is under scrutiny at the inquiry.

When it was fighting for the freedom of black people, no-one could have foreseen the level of corruption that has affected it.

Both the Gupta and Zuma families have denied any wrongdoing.

See earlier post.

Patience Atuhaire
BBC Africa, Kampala

Uganda’s former powerful police chief General Kale Kayihura has been charged before a court martial in the capital, Kampala, with abetting the illegal repatriation of Rwandan refugees and dissidents from Uganda.

The prosecutors allege that Gen Kayihura aided the forceful repatriation of Rwandan exiles, including Lieutenant Joel Mutabazi, a former bodyguard to Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

A group of seven police officers, believed to have been Gen Kayihura’s close associates, face similar charges.

Image source, AFP

The once-powerful general is also charged with the failure to protect arms and ammunition while in office.

The army says that between 2010 and 2018, on many occasions, Gen Kayihura illegally issued guns to members of a vigilante group Boda Boda 2010, named after motorcycle taxis.

The prosecutors added that he also failed to supervise and account for arms and ammunition issued to various police units.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The general ran the Uganda Police Force for 13 years, during which time the force became notorious for brutality towards activists and political opponents.

Rights groups have also called for Gen Kayihura to answer for the alleged torture and abuse of detained Ugandans in the eastern town of Jinja.

He was fired in March and arrested in June. He has been in military detention since then. Many suspect that political motives lie behind his downfall.