Emmanuel Igunza
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Memorial services are due to be held in Ethiopia for the 157 people killed when an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed exactly a month ago.

Kenyan John Quindos Karanja lost five members of his family in the crash, shortly after take-off from Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa.

I visited Mr Karanja at his home in Kabatini village in north-western Kenya.

"Let me show you the memorial stone… We had a memorial service and its not a tomb because no one is buried there," he told me.

Mr Karanja said he found it difficult to come to terms with the deaths - especially as it was the second Boeing to crash in less than five months.

"They didn’t consider the value of human life. So I blame them… I blame them," he said.

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg issued a statement earlier this month, saying: "We at Boeing are sorry for the lives lost in the recent 737 accidents and are relentlessly focused on safety to ensure tragedies like this never happen again."

Read: What went wrong with the Boeing Max 737?

Supporters of powerful South African politician Ace Magshule have disrupted the launch of a book, Gangster State, which accuses him of widespread corruption.

The singing and dancing protesters stormed the launch in an upmarket suburb in the main city, Johannesburg, and ripped pages of Gangster State, publisher Penguin Books said.

Mr Magashule is the secretary-general of the governing African National Congress (ANC), and is responsible for the day-to-day running of the party.

The ANC has dismissed the book as a "culmination of lies" against Mr Magashule, while he has threatened to sue its author, investigative journalist Pieter-Louis Myburg, and Penguin Books.

The publisher has given a blow-by-blow account of the disruption on Twitter:

A fire has swept through Kenya's largest open-air market, razing shoe and apparel stalls.

Witnesses said the fire broke out at Gikomba market at about 01:00 GMT on Wednesday, privately-owned newspaper Daily Nation reports, external.

Emergency teams, including fire trucks from the Nairobi city administration, arrived about two hours later says the newspaper.

The market has been frequently hit by fires - most recently in February when several stalls were gutted.

Kenyans on Twitter have been reacting to the news of the blaze:

A member of parliament says he had previously asked that the government probes the cause of the fires:

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, and his rival, the former rebel leader, Riek Machar, are expected at the Vatican for a two-day spiritual retreat later on Wednesday.

News of the retreat has caused considerable surprise, especially given the history between the two men.

Their fall out in 2013 triggered a civil war that left hundreds of thousands dead.

A peace deal was signed last year and Mr Machar is due to take up a position as vice president next month.

Given how they're accused of playing a key role in tearing the country apart, it's hard to argue with the idea that South Sudan's political leaders could do with a hefty dose of spiritual nourishment.

That's exactly what's on offer at the Vatican for this retreat which is to be led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby and Pope Francis.

The aim is to get President Salva Kiir and other senior politicians to put their differences aside and work together in a unity government.

It is hoped that the former rebel leader Riek Machar will be there.

If the Pope can't help them to bury the hatchet once and for all it doesn't bode well for South Sudan's fragile peace process.

Barbara Plett Usher
BBC News, Washington

Image source, Getty Images

US President Donald Trump has praised Egypt's leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for doing a "great job" despite criticism of Mr al-Sisi's human rights record.

The Egyptian president was welcomed to the White House just weeks before a referendum on constitutional changes that could extend his power for another 15 years.

Human rights groups had urged Mr Trump to withhold endorsement of Mr Sisi's bid to extend his rule beyond his second term.

But Mr Trump warmly received the Egyptian leader, calling him "my friend" and saying relations between the two countries had never been better.

The constitutional changes that Mr Sisi is preparing would also enhance military control over the country.

Key senators have expressed their concern about this issue, and also about Egypt's recent $2bn (£1.5bn) contract to purchase fighter jets from Russia, which could trigger US sanctions.

Mr Trump said the two had very very important military things to talk about, but he also praised Egypt for making progress on counter-terrorism.

Image source, Getty Images

The body of a Saudi tourist who fell and drowned in the River Nile in Uganda while apparently trying to take a selfie has been recovered, police have said.

Alsubaie Mathkar was with friends at the popular Kalagala Falls in central Uganda when he slipped and fell into the river on Saturday.

"The tourist slipped because the surface is wet and he had leaned backwards to take a selfie of fast-running water in the background," police spokeswoman Hellen Butoto told AFP news agency.

His body was recovered some 10km (six miles) away on Tuesday, following a search by the police marine unit and local fishermen.

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

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

BBC Africa Live
Dickens Olewe & Naima Mohamud

That's all from BBC Africa Live for now. 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:

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

And we leave you with this picture of a man from Chamba tribe in Nigeria, taken byObáyomí Anthony Ayòdélé:

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

At least 20 people have been killed when two villages were attacked in Kaduna state in north-west Nigeria.

A local official in Kajuru Local Government area told the BBC that following Monday's attacks people were still searching for other victims in the bushes outside the villages.

Eyewitnesses suspect Fulani herdsmen were behind the violence - the latest in a series of revenge attacks between cattle herders and farmers.

Insecurity has grown in other parts of Kaduna state and in neighbouring Zamfara state, where the police suspect a link between armed bandits and small gold mines.

They have now banned all mining activity.

The military and police say they have now launched Operation Puff Adder to stop the attacks and arrest the culprits.

Jose Tembe
BBC Africa, Maputo

Image source, Getty Images

Mozambique, which was badly hit by cyclone Idai and flooding late last month, has provided anti-cholera vaccines for close to a million people.

Mozambique’s national director of medical care told the BBC that the vaccination campaign has succeeded in covering 84% of the target.

"Over 680,000 people had received the anti-cholera vaccine. April the 9th is the last day of the campaign, we urge those, who have not yet gone for the vaccine, to do so in the vaccination posts to be immunised," Dr Ussene Issa said.

The campaign has a target of vaccinating 800,000 Mozambicans.

So far six people have died from cholera and more than 3,500 cases have been recorded.

World Health Organization recently provided the country with 900,000 anti-cholera vaccines.

Image source, Getty Images

Police in Somalia have ordered the only ambulance service in the capital, Mogadishu, to stop going to bomb blast scenes for "security reasons".

Dr Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adan, who has been running Aamin Ambulance for the past 12 years, said the decision would gravely impact the people who need urgent help.

"[The order] came from the police commission...they told us it is because of security reasons... they said that they [the terrorists] might use ambulances in terrorist attacks and I told them they would have to register all ambulances," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

Listen to the full interview below:

Dr Adan is in the UK to raise funds for his 24-hour free ambulance service.

Currently the service is surviving on $12,000 (£9,000) a month.

In 2018 we reported that Aamin Ambulance was under threat of closure because it didn't have enough vehicles.

Read more about Mogadishu's only ambulance service

Sudanese police spokesman Hashem Ali has said that the police have been told "not to confront citizens and peaceful gatherings", news agency Reuters says citing Sudanese state media Suna.

Mr Ali also said police were also instructed to "carry out their duties in protecting lives and property, preventing crime, regulating traffic and public safety procedures", Reuters added.

Thomas Naadi
BBC Africa, Accra

The Ghana Prisons Service has set up a committee to investigate the assault on a female referee during a match on Sunday.

Photos circulated on social media of Fifa referee Theresa Bremansu as she was attacked and the injuries she suffered.

Fans and players felt she should have added more injury time at the end of the match between Prison's FC women and Ampem Darkoa, who won the game 1-0.

"If a prison officer is found culpable, they will face sanctions raging from caution, dismissal or imprisonment depending on the severity of the assault," Vitalis Aiyeh, the spokesperson for the Ghana Prisons Service told the BBC.

Click here to read more on this story

Image source, AFP

The famed island, which served as a political prison for anti-apartheid figures such as the late South African President Nelson Mandela, has called in archaeologists to solve the mystery of the discovered human remains.

The South African newspaper Times Live reports , externalthat the human bones were initially found in February 2018 and early inspections indicated they were at least 50 years old.

However, the museum wants to know more:

"It's very important for us to match the bones within a specific timeline in the island's history," museum spokesperson Morongoa Ramaboa told Times Live about the museum's decision to hire archaeologists.

Once the remains are identified, the museum will bury them properly, Times Live says.

Image source, AFP

As protests continue in Sudan, the United Kingdom, United States and Norway (known as The Troika) have urged the government to respond to the demonstrators' demands in a "serious and credible" way.

In a statement, the countries call for the government to release all political detainees and lift the state of emergency which was imposed by President Omar al-Bashir last month.

The three countries promise to support and help resolve "some of the long-term economic challenges that Sudan faces" if the Sudanese authorities take the steps outlined in the statement.

A peace deal signed late year to end the civil war in South Sudan has "stuck" according to Crisis Group's assessment.

The agreement between President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar to form a joint army and resolve border disputes before May have not been achieved.

With weeks to go before the deadline, the Crisis Group is warning that the peace deal could unravel risking further violence in the country.

The organisation's South Sudan analyst Alan Boswell proposes that regional countries should act quickly to salvage the deal.

Watch his analysis below:

Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

Dozens of people in Cameroon have defied a ban on protests to take to the streets of the capital Yaoundé calling for the release of detained opposition politician Maurice Kamto.

He lost last year's presidential election and was arrested in January following another protest.

Along with dozens of supporters of the opposition MRC party, he was charged with sedition, insurrection and inciting violence.

Earlier this month his lawyers walked out of court to protest against the fact that proceedings were held behind closed doors.

Human Rights Watch has called on the Cameroonian government to lift the ban on opposition rallies rather than forbid dissent and lock up its opponents.

A journalist following events in Sudan is quoting medical sources that at least seven people have been killed in the ongoing standoff in Sudan's capital, Khartoum.

Protesters have gathered outside the military headquarters in the capital to call on President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in office.

There are reports of a split in the security services which have been backing Mr Bashir since the demonstrations began in December.

Videos shared online show soldiers exchanging fire with a special police unit which has been attacking protesters.

Read more: Sudan's unrest in 300 words

Image source, Getty Images

A US-based media organisation has published the final part of its three-part report , externalinto alleged widespread corruption in refugee camps run by UNHCR.

The camps are in Kenya, Uganda, Yemen, Ethiopia and Libya.

The report, which was the result of a seven-month investigation found that workers at the UN agency demanded bribes from refugees for various aspects of assistance including resettlement - which costs up to $5,000 (£3,800) per person, to food rations and medical referrals.

UNHCR has strongly rejected the allegations, external, noting that such reports "risks jeopardising the future of refugees in dire need of resettlement".

It added:

The refugee agency said it had also found cases where imposters defrauded refugees: