Image source, NTV

A demonstration by elite sniffer dogs in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, on Monday went awry when the animals failed to detect illicit goods.

Kenya Revenue Authority's event at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was meant to showcase the dogs' abilities.

But it has left some questioning whether the animals are worth the reported monthly cost to taxpayers of $595 (£453), external.

Plenty of people on social media have mocked the botched demonstration:

BBC World Service

Image source, Gallo Images

South Africa's constitutional court has ruled to allow the private use of cannabis.

Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo said the law banning marijuana use by adults was unconstitutional.

The unanimous judgment decriminalises adults smoking cannabis at home and growing enough for personal consumption.

Last year, the Western Cape High Court decriminalised the use of marijuana at home.

But several government ministries - the justice, police, health and trade - challenged the ruling. They argued that it was not in line with the constitution, saying cannabis is more harmful to users than tobacco and alcohol.

Image source, Getty Images

Zimbabwe is struggling with its worst outbreak of cholera in a decade, which has killed at least 28 people. An emergency has been declared and public gatherings banned in the capital, Harare.

Most victims die from dehydration caused by vomiting and diarrhoea.

Having access to safe water and sanitation is critical in controlling the transmission of cholera and other waterborne diseases, the World Health Organization says.

For years, refuse collection in the capital, Harare, has been erratic and tap water supplies have been unpredictable. The water infrastructure has been left to decay for decades. Water pipes are cracked, rotting and need to be replaced.

It has forced citizens to dig their own shallow wells and boreholes, and many of these have since tested positive for cholera.

Health Minister Obadiah Moyo blames the opposition-run city council for the crisis. But the opposition Movement for Democratic Change says the government has failed to provide the funds needed to overhaul the infrastructure.

• Read the full story here

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

The UK government has frozen all funding to Zambia citing alleged fraud and corruption.

British High Commissioner to Zambia Fergus Cochrane-Dyet confirmed the announcement in a tweet, adding "UKAid takes zero-tolerance approach to fraud [and] corruption":

The UK is historically Zambia's biggest donor, according to the financial news site Bloomberg, external.

Africa Confidential reports that the British government is seeking a refund of $4m (£3m) for embezzled funds.

The same report also states that Finland, Sweden, Ireland and Unicef have frozen aid to Zambia because of alleged corruption and have privately asked for funds to be returned.

The publication has further revealed that the country has struck a deal with Russia for the supply of civilian planes to resuscitate defunct national carrier Zambia Airways, which is expected to include a presidential jet.

The Zambian government has yet to respond to the reports.

Image source, News Diggers

Our African proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

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

BBC Africa Live
Farouk Chothia

That's all from BBC Africa Live. You can 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 Monday's proverb:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with a photo of a bride dancing with a knife in her mouth at her wedding in Egypt:

Image source, AFP

Kiswahili will be taught as an optional language in South African schools from 2020 as part of efforts "to bring Africans together", Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has said.

It will be the first African language, from outside South Africa, to be offered at schools.

French, German and Mandarin are among foreign languages already offered in South African schools as optional subjects.

Ms Motshekga said Kiswahili was the most spoken language in Africa after English and Arabic, and "has the power to expand to countries that never spoke it and has the power to bring Africans together".

"It is also one of the official languages of the African Union. We are confident that the teaching of Kiswahili is South African schools will help to promote social cohesion with our fellow Africans," Ms Motshekga added.

Last month, South Africa radical opposition leader Julius Malema said Kiswahili should be developed into a "continental language" as parts of efforts to "decolonise" Africa.

“We must have a language which unites Africans... We then do away with speaking to each other in English," he said.

Andrew Harding
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, AFP

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to "expose" those undermining the unity of the governing African National Congress (ANC).

Mr Ramaphosa was speaking to trade unions outside the main city, Johannesburg, following newspaper reports of an alleged plot to unseat him.

Mr Ramaphosa used the language of war to describe the struggles still raging within the ANC.

"What kind of army are we," he asked, "when we take guns and start shooting each other?"

He didn't name names - but in recent days the ANC has been rattled by newspaper reports alleging that senior officials have been meeting in secret with the country's former President Jacob Zuma, looking for ways to weaken, or kick out, Mr Ramaphosa.

"Those dividing us must be exposed," Mr Ramphosa told delegates at a trade union congress.

The ANC's factional battles are becoming increasingly bitter and sometimes violent.

In theory they're about ideology. In practice, they're about power and the control of state budgets.

Mr Zuma was pushed out of office in February and now faces trial for alleged corruption. He denies the charges.

The ANC is looking to retain power in national elections next year.

But the infighting, and a shrinking economy, are testing Africa's oldest liberation party.

Image source, Getty Images

Kenyan runner Joseph Kiprono Kiptum was hit by a car as he was leading a half marathon in Colombia.

Kiprono, 30, was nearing the finish line in Medellin when he was struck by a vehicle which had apparently ignored a street closure.

The athlete was treated at the roadside and taken to hospital with cuts and bruises and has now been discharged in "good health".

Kiprono's compatriot Daniel Muindi Muteti won the elite race in 1:03:45.

Read the full story here

BBC Sport

Fifa says it is monitoring the situation in Sierra Leone where local anti-corruption authorities have asked FA president Isha Johansen to step down by 19 September.

Johansen faces corruption charges, which she strongly denies, with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) saying she must be suspended in line with national rules until her case concludes.

"Fifa is closely monitoring developments and plans to provide the Member Associations Committee with an update on 26 September," a Fifa spokesperson said.

Johansen has acknowledged the ultimatum for her to vacate her post but is remaining tight-lipped on whether she will follow it.

The ACC's latest demand for both her and Sierra Leone FA (SLFA) secretary general Christopher Kamara to step aside comes shortly before a scheduled visit by a Fifa taskforce to investigate potential match-fixing in Sierra Lone.

The four-man Fifa unit is leading a match-fixing inquiry that includes a World Cup qualifier between Sierra Leone and South Africa in 2008.

Since 2014, eleven officials and four players have been suspended by SLFA pending investigation, with all having denied wrongdoing.

• Read the full story here

Ferdinand Omondi
BBC Africa, Nairobi

The governor of Nairobi county, Mike Sonko, has suspended the top management of a hospital in Kenya's capital after discovering the corpses of 12 infants stuffed in boxes during a surprise visit to the facility, his office has said in a statement.

A caretaker board been appointed to oversee urgent reforms at the Pumwani Maternity Hospital so that quality healthcare is restored at the facility, the statement added.

Police are also investigating the mysterious deaths of the infants.

Pumwani is one of the top public maternity centres in Kenya. But it has been dogged by controversy for many years, including allegations about the mistreatment of pregnant women.

Among those suspended is the hospital medical superintendent Dr Catherine Mutinda, administrator Zaddock Angahya and the gynecologist on duty, Dr James Kamau, Mr Sonko's office said in a statement.

They have not yet commented.

In an online live stream of Mr Sonko's visit, hospital staff struggled to explain why the bodies were stuffed in boxes.

• See earlier post for more details

The number of people detained over the deadly violence which broke out near Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, on Saturday has risen to 200, police are quoted by the state-linked Fana Broadcasting Corporate as saying, external.

Extra security officers have been deployed to the violence-hit area and operations are under way to recover looted properties, police added.

At least 23 people were killed in the unrest in and around Burayu, a town north-west of Addis Ababa.

Some residents say the violence was unleashed by members of the Oromo ethnic group, the largest in Ethiopia, who demanded that people from minority communities "leave their land".

Protesters took to the streets of Addis Ababa on Monday to demand an end to the violence, forcing the closure of many businesses.

• See earlier post for more details

The controversial governor of Nairobi county in Kenya has found the corpses of 12 infants packed in boxes at a hospital in the capital city, the local Daily Nation news site has reported.

Mike Sonko said he carried out an impromptu visit of Pumwani Hospital after a tip-off from members of the public alleging that the "management shut down the machines at the Maternity Wing leading to [the] loss of lives of young ones".

Mr Sonko streamed his visit live on Facebook:

Mr Sonko arrived at the hospital in a boda boda, or motorcycle taxi, to avoid alerting hospital authorities of his visit, the Daily Nation reported, external.

The bodies,wrapped in polythene bags, were found in three boxes.

"I want to categorically state that human life must be respected no matter the case," Mr Sonko said on Facebook.

"Stern action will be taken against anyone found to be sabotaging the good services offered to our mothers and sisters who come to deliver in this facility," he added.

Image source, AFP

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has fined the former vice-president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jean-Pierre Bemba, $350,000 (£266,000) for witness tampering.

He has also been sentenced to 12 months in prison, but has been told he won't need to serve the sentence because of time already spent in jail.

The ICC overturned the conviction of the one-time rebel leader three months ago on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, after he had spent a decade in detention.

But he was found guilty of bribery, corruption and of coaching 14 defence witnesses.

Bemba wants to stand in DR Congo's presidency in elections due later this year, but the country's courts have barred him from contesting the poll because of his conviction.

BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

The Referees' Association of Ghana (RAG) has handed life-time bans to six more referees in the wake of an investigation into bribery.

It also banned 47 match officials for 10 years each, while another 14 were exonerated.

RAG also confirmed the sanctions handed down by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) last month - two for life and six others for 10 years.

It brings the total with life bans to eight and those with 10-year bans to 53.

Those on the list released by RAG have until 1 October to appeal against the rulings.

The investigation was launched after the officials were secretly filmed accepting money by investigative journalist Anas Armeyaw Anas.

In a statement RAG said those facing lifetime bans "were found culpable for seriously breaching various portions of Disciplinary Code, Code of the Ethics and Regulations of the football controlling bodies by their actions and inactions."

Read the full BBC story here

Through a tradition called "money marriage", some young girls are being used as currency in a type of modern slavery among southern Nigeria's Becheve community.

Children are sold to men as old as 90 to settle debts or as a form of payment.

Video producers: Franklin Adegbie, Stephanie Hegarty and Mayeni Jones

Image source, Reuters

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered the statue of a sphinx while draining water from the pharaonic Temple of Kom Ombo in the southern city of Aswan.

The antiquities ministry said the statue of the mythical beast with the head of a human and the body of a lion was made of sandstone.

It probably dates back to the Ptolemaic dynasty, which ruled Egypt from 305BC until the Roman conquest in 30BC.

Two sandstone reliefs of King Ptolemy V were also recently found at the temple.

Read the full BBC story here

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC Amharic Service, Addis Ababa

Shops are shut in the business district of Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, as crowds protest against the killing of 23 people in violence which hit the outskirts of the city at the weekend.

The protesters are condemning the violence and demanding that the government do more to protect citizens, especially ethnic minorities who say they have been targeted in the violence.

Thousands of people are taking shelter in schools following the violence in the Oromiya region's Burayu district, north-west of Addis Ababa.

The violence followed a mass rally in Addis Ababa on Saturday to welcome the leadership of the exiled Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).

The OLF had waged a rebellion for the self-determination of the Oromo people, Ethiopia's largest ethnic group. Its leadership returned after President Abiy Ahmed lifted a ban on the group.

"Mobs of ethnic Oromo youth then marched here in Ashwa Meda and attacked our homes and looted businesses chanting 'leave our land'," Hassan Ibrahim, a trader in an ethnically diverse part of the district, told Reuters news agency.

Alemayehu Ejigu, the head of Oromiya region's police commission, confirmed that 23 people had been killed.

More than 70 people had been arrested in connection with the violence, he added, Reuters reports.

"They [the attackers] do not represent anyone - they had no reason other than theft. Anyone has the constitutional right to reside in Oromiya or anywhere," he was quoted as saying.

BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Angola's sports ministry has said it regrets the death of five football fans at an African Champions League tie on Saturday evening.

The incident happened in Luanda as Primeiro de Agosto drew 0-0 with DR Congo's TP Mazembe in the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final.

The ministry said in a statement it regretted the deaths and that the seven injured people had already been discharged from hospital.

It added that a commission of inquiry will be set up to investigate the causes of the incident.

Witnesses said the stampede happened after fans found the gates to the Estádio 11 de Novembro stadium shut after the match.

When police opened the gates, fans rushed out and some were trampled under police horses.

• Read the full story here