Jose Tembe
BBC Africa, Maputo

Image source, O Pais

Mozambique's consulate staff have moved three coffins, containing the bodies of Mozambican nationals, to a nearly morgue after they were left on the road on the South African side of the Ressano Garcia border crossing.

The coffins, containing the bodies of two men and one woman, were abandoned after South African border authorities said the transporters did not produce the right documents, daily newspaper, O Pais reports.

Some of the deceased's relatives returned to get the required documentation while others were offered accommodation by a nun on the Mozambique side of the border.

Two of the bodies are destined for the southern Maputo province and the third for neighbouring Gaza province.

Habtom Weldeyowhannes
BBC Tigrinya

Eritrean riders dominated this year's edition of Tour Du Rwanda cycling competition which ended on Sunday.

They topped the team classification, won the King of the Mountains (KoM), the best young rider jersey, and secured the first three positions in the best African rider category.

Astana Pro Team’s Merhawi Kudus was the overall winner of the yellow jersey.

This makes him the second Eritrean winner of the competition, after Daniel Teklehaymanot who won the 2010 race.

The Tour du Rwanda 2019 had eight stages and began on 24 February.

Image source, AFP

Our colleague Lawrence Pollard spoke to celebrated Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o in this month's special edition of BBC World Book Club recorded in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

They discuss Thiong'o's landmark novel A Grain of Wheat set in the wake of the Mau Mau rebellion and on the cusp of Kenya's independence from Britain.

In it the tangled narratives of a group of Kenyan villagers interweave to tell an epic story of love tested, friendships betrayed and myths forged, confirming Thiong'o's status as a giant of African writing.

Listen to the full interview here.

Kennedy Gondwe
BBC News, Lusaka

Image source, Prime Television

The authorities in Zambia have suspended the operating licence of a privately owned television station, which the ruling party says is unfair in its coverage.

Prime Television has been switched off by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) for 30 days for “exhibiting unprofessional elements in its broadcasting”.

IBA board secretary Josephine Mapoma says the station has been “broadcasting through unbalanced coverage, opinionated news, material likely to incite violence and use of derogatory language”.

She says the station is also expected to conduct in-house training on basic journalism ethics and news script writing during the suspension period.

The governing party’s general secretary Davies Mwila recently chased a crew away from his press briefing and accused them of being bias.

The BBC could not reach the station's owner Gerald Shawa for comment, as calls went unanswered.

Aboubakar Famau
BBC Africa, Dar es Salaam

Image source, Getty Images

Police in Tanzania have arrested 65 witchdoctors doctors suspected of involvement in the barbaric ritualistic killings of children in the south-west and northern part of the country.

This follows the murder of at least 10 children in Njombe region and other similar incidents in the northern Simiyu region in late January.

Forty-five witchdoctors from Simiyu, and 20 others from Njombe are being held for interrogation over the spate of heinous killings, Inspector General of Police Simon Sirro told reporters.

The police boss further said the crackdown on traditional doctors, who are the prime suspects in the ritualistic killings, was ongoing.

Superstition is deep-rooted among some communities in Tanzania, who believe human body parts can bring wealth.

Albinos are among those targeted by assailants who kill them or chop off their limbs and private parts.

Image source, Getty Images

South African comedian Trevor Noah has said he is sorry for making jokes about the sharp rise in tensions between India and Pakistan over disputed Kashmir.

He said a war between the two would be "the most entertaining", adding "it would also be the longest war of all time - another dance number!"

The gag, in an episode of The Daily Show, caused most anger in India where thousands poured fury onto Twitter.

India and Pakistan have fought two wars and a limited conflict over Kashmir.

Both countries claim all of Kashmir, but each controls only part of it. The events of the past two weeks has seen an almost unprecedented escalation, which culminated in Pakistan shooting down an Indian fighter jet and capturing an Indian pilot - they later released him.

Read the full story on the BBC website

Image source, AFP

The award-winning Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abou Zeid, who is widely known as Shawkan, has been released after five years in prison.

Shawkan was arrested in 2013 while covering a deadly crackdown by security forces on a sit-in by supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.

Last September he was convicted in a mass trialand handed a five-year jail sentence, which he had already served.

Amnesty International said he was detained solely for doing his job.

"Mahmoud Abou Zeid's long overdue release brings to an end a painful ordeal for him and his family," Najia Bounaim, the human rights group's Middle East and North Africa director, said on Monday.

"As a prisoner of conscience, he should never have been forced to spend a single minute behind bars - let alone five-and-a-half years."

Ms Bounaim added that he still faced "outrageous" probation measures that would require him to spend 12 hours of each day at a police station - from 18:00 to 06:00 - for the next five years.

Read the full story on the BBC website

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Image source, Babes Wodumo

South Africans are outraged over a video showing top music star Babes Wodumo allegedly being assaulted by her boyfriend Mandla Maphumulo, also known as Mampintsha.

The short video filmed on Instagram Live shows the 24-year-old gqom singer, whose real name is Bongekile Simelane, in front of the camera before man who appears to be Mr Maphumulo, who is also her manager, walks up to her and slaps her.

Many people commenting on the incident on social media have expressed support for the artist, who comes from the coastal city of Durban.

Mr Maphumulo has not commented on the latest allegations.

But he has previously said that is not an "abuser" after Wodumo was asked in a radio interview last year if he was assaulting her.

"I am no saint, nor do I plead absolute innocence in the claims made in that interview. I may have overreacted in a couple of incidents during our relationship with her over certain things I will not be comfortable to discuss in the public domain.," Mr Maphumulo said at the time, TimesLive reports., external

The Minister of Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa said he was "horrified" after watching the video and urged the singer to report the alleged assault to the police.

Well known DJ Zinhle posted her reaction on Twitter.

The singer's sister Nonduh Simelane told a local entertainment news site, The Juice, that Ms Simelane was "traumatised but doing okay and is resting".

She also dismissed accounts doing the rounds on social media claiming it was a stunt to highlight the plight of domestic violence.

She was quoted as saying the video is “very, very real”.

Well wishers across France have rallied to support a 60-year-old black woman of Cameroonian origin who has been targeted with racist abuse in the French capital of Paris where she runs a bakery.

Known affectionately as "Madame Pauline" she now has dozens of people at the door of her bakery in one of the capital's suburbs, and has been given thousands of euros in donations since news of the racist insults she's been receiving were publicised.

The Black African Defense League in France has highlighted her story and the intimidation she's faced.

Pauline told her story to the BBC's Newsday programme.

The story of the northern white rhino grabbed global attention when the world’s last male, named Sudan, died in March 2018 - leaving just two females on the planet.

Sudan’s death dimmed the hope of survival for the sub-species that has been at the brink of extinction.

Any future for the northern white rhino now lies in the hands of pioneering scientists.

Video journalist: Anthony Irungu

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The National Army Museum in the UK, has agreed to return to Ethiopia a lock of hair belonging to Emperor Tewodros II, after more than 150 years.

Emperor Tewodros committed suicide rather than surrender to British forces at the battle of Maqdala in 1868.

The British ransacked the emperor's fortress, deploying dozens of mules and camels to carry off treasure.

Ethiopia has been campaigning to have the artefacts returned.

They also want the remains of Emperor Tewodros's son, Alemayehu, returned from Windsor castle to Ethiopia.

Read more:V&A's Ethiopian treasures: A crown, a wedding dress and other loot

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The Burundian opposition leader, Agathon Rwasa, has criticised the authorities for preventing him from launching his new political party in the capital, Bujumbura.

He said it showed that some of those in power had not moved on from the days of civil war.

The ban was issued on Saturday by the mayor of Bujumbura, citing security concerns.

The authorities initially refused to allow Mr Rwasa to set up a new party, insisting he change its name.

Mr Rwasa - who says he will run for president in next year's elections - was a rebel leader during Burundi's long civil war.

If you're in Ethiopia, keep an eye out for our BBC Horn of Africa colleagues as they travel to different regions over the next 11 days to cover issues closest to the heart of communities - and to reflect debates and discussions in a nation that has seen far-reaching changes since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office almost a year ago.

"We hope the roadshow will be able to capture the momentous transformation the country has undergone over the last year, and also examine some of the challenges it still faces. It’s an opportunity for our audiences to hear the full story of Ethiopia,” said BBC East Africa head Rachael Akidi.

Currently, our BBC Amharic colleagues are in Bahir Dar city in Ethiopia's northern Amhara region, where they've set up a tent at the local university's Peda campus:

And just outside the capital, Addis Ababa, our colleagues from BBC Afaan Oromoo are preparing to leave for Adama in the Oromia region.

Meanwhile, the BBC Tigrinya team is in Mekelle city in northern Ethiopia, hosting a debate on Mr Abiy's performance in government so far.

So, pop in to meet our colleagues from BBC Afaan Oromoo, BBC Amharic and BBC Tigrinya - or follow them on their Facebook pages via the following hashtags:

• #BBCHOAOnTheRoad,
• #BBCNewsAfaanOromoo
• #BBCNewsTigrinya and
• #BBCNewsAmharic.

Mercy Juma
BBC Africa, Nairobi

A pilot of Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto and four Americans have died in a helicopter crash on an island in north-western Kenya, police say.

The helicopter, flown by Captain Mario Magonga, came down at around 17:00 GMT on Sunday in the Central Island National Park in Lake Turkana, a popular tourist area which is on the Unesco list of endangered World Heritage Sites.

The cause of the crash is still unclear, and the US nationals have not yet been named.

Security teams have been dispatched to the scene to assist with the recovery of the wreckage and bodies.

This crash comes barely three weeks after a light fixed-wing aircraft came down in a forest in Kericho in the Rift Valley, killing all five people on board.

A local newspaper has shared pictures of Captain Magonga on duty.

He was a commercial pilot, who also flew Mr Ruto.

Abdinasir Ahmed Bashir
BBC Somali, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

Five young men have been sentenced to death by firing squad for the gang-rape of an unnamed woman in Galkayo, one of the main cities in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland.

Their trial, in a civilian court, lasted for only a day after the accused - four of whom are aged 18 and one of whom is aged 19 - pleaded guilty to raping the woman on 22 February, the prosecutor said.

The ruling is extremely significant - rape cases in Puntland are usually settled out of court, following the intervention of traditional elders who force the perpetrator and survivor to marry.

This trial is likely to have been prompted by the outrage over the rape and killing of a 13-year-old-girl in Galkayo last week.

According to reliable sources, the girl had been strangled with a rope, her teeth broken and one of her ears cut off before her mutilated body was thrown in front of her family’s home.

The motive for the attack is still unclear.

Monday's African proverb:

Welcome to the BBC Africa Live page where we'll be keeping you up to date with news and developments on the continent.