There have been conflicting reports over the health of the monarch and why he had gone to Eswatini.

Charles Haviland
BBC World Service Newsroom

Image source, AFP

Residents in the Sudanese city of Omdurman say violence has escalated to its highest level in weeks.

Civilians in the city - which is adjacent to the capital, Khartoum - say they're terrified by the intensity of shelling, artillery bombardments and ground clashes.

In Khartoum, the RSF paramilitary forces who control large areas say they've shot down a Sudanese Armed Forces fighter plane and detained its pilot after he landed with a parachute.

Analysts say the army wants to cut off supply routes that the RSF uses between Omdurman and its strongholds in western Sudan.

In Darfur the paramilitaries' Arab militia allies have been attacking non-Arab families.

Anthony Irungu
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

The driver of the lorry that killed 52 people on a busy road intersection in western Kenya on Friday has said the brakes on the vehicle failed.

“I stepped on the brakes but there was no response, and I couldn’t control it,” Gilbert Ntuyemungu, who is from Rwanda, told journalists from his hospital bed.

The driver says he remembers hearing people screaming and falling by the roadside - and after that he cannot recall much. He later found himself in hospital.

The truck was heading to Uganda from a Kenyan cement company when it rammed into passenger vans and roadside vendors on Friday evening.

The accident involved nine vehicles and several motorcycles.

Regional police commander Geoffrey Mayek told the BBC that once Mr Ntuyemungu had recovered and was discharged from hospital, officers would take a statement and investigations would determine whether he would face any charges.

Vicky Riddell & Richard Hamilton
BBC News

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The deputy president of South Africa, Paul Mashatile, has condemned the actions of his police protection staff after video emerged of them attacking people on a highway in the city of Johannesburg.

The footage shows the armed officers dragging one man from a car and then stamping on his head until he appeared to lose consciousness.

The video has provoked outrage and highlighted the issue of police brutality in South Africa.

The deputy president said he "abhorred" any unnecessary use of force against unarmed civilians and said there would be a "thorough investigation".

There is no indication that Mr Mashatile was present at the time.

Sahnun Ahmed
BBC News Somali

Three people have died and three others were injured in a bomb attack that targeted a civilian residence in Waberi district of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

A father, a son and a daughter from a family of six died in the attack while the mother and two other daughters were injured.

The mortar attacks on Tuesday morning targeted several neighbourhoods in the city. The house that was hit by artillery was located near the security ministry's offices.

The al-Qaeda linked group al-Shabab said it carried out the attack adding that it targeted government buildings including the presidential palace.

Mogadishu authorities have not spoken about the incident.

Image source, Getty Images

Maasai families given cows as a symbolic gift by a museum in Britain as part of process to build relations say they appreciate the gesture but it's not enough to compensate for having their cultural objects on display.

The University of Oxford gave the Sululu and Mpaima families 49 cows each, the Nation newspaper reports, external. Another two families - the Saiyalels and Mosekas - also received 49 cattle each, says the K24 news site, external.

This gesture came five years after a Kenyan man, Samuel Sankiriaki, saw a large collection of Maasai artefacts at Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford and petitioned the university to return them, according to the Nation.

Laura Van Broekhoeven, Oxford's director of museum studies, is quoted as saying that the institution has 148 colonial-era Maasai artefacts but that only five were "identified as culturally sensitive family heirlooms".

But local Governor Patrick Ntutu disagrees, telling journalists "we believe the owners were either killed or maimed before the ornaments were taken away from them".

A spokesman for the Maasai families, Seka ole Sululu, told the Nation newspaper that they opted to pursue peaceful reconciliation with the university instead of suing but they are still expecting adequate compensation.

Dorcas Wangira
BBC News

Image source, AFP

A Kenyan court has released on bail a woman whose husband is accused of being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people.

Rhoda Maweu, who is married to cult leader and self-styled pastor Paul Mackenzie, had been in custody for 62 days.

But when it came to Mr Mackenzie himself, along with 16 other co-accused, the court ruled that they should remain in custody for another 30 days.

Lawyers have been arguing whether it is legal for police to hold the suspects for so long, but the magistrate says their continued detention is justified because it's in the public interest.

At least 339 people linked to the Good News International Church are believed to have either starved themselves to death, were badly beaten or strangled at the Shakahola Forest in south-eastern Kenya.

The Kenya Red Cross says 600 people are still missing.

The state pointed out that the investigations were yet to be concluded, and that the hunger strike staged by the suspects in custody had slowed the process.

The suspects’ lawyer, Wycliffe Makasembo, further said that the prosecution and the police were on a fishing expedition: with no idea of the likely charges and whether they will charge the respondents. Two other lawyers for the suspects have recused themselves.

The next hearing will be on 1 August.

Armand Mouko
BBC Afrique

Image source, Getty Images

Opposition politicians have reacted to Senegal President Macky Sall’s announcement that he will not be a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, saying it resulted from pressure from the people.

Abass Fall, a member of parliament and co-ordinator of Pastef – the party of key opposition leader Ousmane Sonko – said it was no surprise:

"What would have surprised us is if Macky Sall had declared his candidacy for 2024. We all know that he wanted to... unfortunately for him, the pressure was such that he had no choice but to respect the constitution, which he himself cited several times, which he had voted in 2016."

Aminata Touré, a former prime minister who is now in opposition said Mr Sall’s decision to respect the constitution was because of the “mobilisation of Senegalese democrats” locally and in the diaspora:

“No one was prepared to accept the democratic regression he envisaged. So, in desperation, he respects the Constitution. If he had done so much sooner, we wouldn't be where we are today,” she said.

She said 16 people had been killed in protes"s "and the commission of inquiry will have to tell us who the masterminds were and who the others were”.

A former trade minister and leader of the ruling Alliance pour la République party, Aminata Assome Diatta, has however described the moment as "historic".

"Today is a historic date, and more than in the past, the President of the Republic has shown the world that politics can go hand in hand with ethics," she said.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

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A spokesman for Mali's Tuareg armed groups has expressed reassurance over Mali's peace process after talks with the Russian ambassador to the country.

The armed groups had warned earlier that the withdrawal of the UN's peacekeeping force in the country, Minusma, would deal a "fatal blow" to the northern Mali peace process.

The ex-rebels have previously raised fears over the future of the 2015 peace agreement that officially ended the secessionist insurgency in northern Mali.

“We met today with the ambassador of the Russian Federation to Mali, His Excellency Igor Gromyko. The discussions on a number of topical issues and concerns were very productive and reassuring," Attaye Ag Mohammed said on Twitter.

The recent mutiny in Russia by the Wagner group, which has deployed thousands of mercenaries to Mali since 2022, has highlighted doubts about the Malian army's capacity to cope with militant violence on its own as the UN withdraws.

The status of Wagner fighters in the country remains unresolved.

Image source, Getty Images

Rights group Amnesty International has accused security forces, separatists and ethnic militia of committing “rampant atrocities” in Cameroon’s English-speaking heartland.

Amnesty details rampant human rights violations and other crimes including executions, torture and rape in the North-West region.

It says people have been caught in the crossfire as multiple fighters clash in the region, with individuals who speak out on the atrocities being threatened and arbitrarily detained.

The rights group has also expressed “deep concerns” over the failure by the authorities to co-operate effectively with international and regional human rights institutions.

It said repeated requests for fact-finding missions had remained unanswered.

“We call on Cameroonian authorities to investigate allegations of human rights violations and other crimes under domestic law committed in the context of the armed violence in the Anglophone regions, and to prosecute and punish those responsible for such violations in fair trials and before independent, impartial, and competent tribunals” said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

Cameroon has been plagued by fighting since English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion in 2017.

The conflict has claimed more than 6,000 lives and forced more than a million people to flee their homes, according to the conflict research body the International Crisis Group.

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa’s Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has denied allegations that he may have been poisoned, saying in a video that he was in good health.

It comes amid conflicting concerns after the Zulu traditional prime minister said over the weekend that the king was being treated in neighbouring Eswatini for suspected poisoning.

Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi had said that the king was in hospital following the sudden death of one of his senior advisers, also of suspected poisoning. The king's official spokesman denied it and said he was in "perfect health".

But in the video shared with South African media, the king said he had been scheduled to go for his regular medical check-ups, which he decided to do in Eswatini.

"[It’s] not because I have been poisoned, I am not poisoned. I am well. I feel 100%.

“I’m happy, everything is well functioning, there is no poison whatsoever. So please people, mostly to the Zulu people, the Zulu royal family also to remind everyone to please don’t listen to everything that people say,” he said.

King Misuzulu is also quoted as telling the AFP news agency on the phone from Eswatini that he was “very fit and sound”.

The 48-year-old king ascended to the throne last year following the death of his father King Goodwill Zwelithini amid a bitter row over the royal succession.

Our proverb of the day:

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Rumours he would run again had fuelled deadly protests over the years.

13-year-old girl plays against Botswana as back-up squad scrambled to fulfil final warm-up game on home soil.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for today. There will be an automated news feed here until we're back on Tuesday morning.

In the meantime you can get more from BBCAfrica.com and listen to the new BBC Focus on Africa podcast.

A reminder of our wise words of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

We leave you with this picture of someone who has been dredging sand from the bottom of Lake Victoria to sell to construction projects in Kenya:

Image source, Getty Images

Nomsa Maseko
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa's women’s football team, known as Banyana Banyana, are in turmoil ahead of the World Cup due to be held in Australia and New Zealand later this month.

On Sunday, the players boycotted a warm-up match against neighbouring Botswana to show their dissatisfaction.

Banyana Banyana are one of Africa's top teams having won the Africa Cup of Nations last year.

Unequal pay, salary disputes and anger over bonus agreements are the main reasons for the long-standing clash between South Africa’s most successful national football team and the country’s football association, Safa.

Football's world governing body Fifa announced an incentive of $30,000 (£24,000) for world cup-bound players.

The South African team asked for written assurances that they would get the money but that hasn’t been forthcoming.

Instead, the players were allegedly told they could leave the camp over the disagreement. Frantic calls were then made by officials to put together a make-shift squad to rescue the friendly match against Botswana and avoid a fine.

The ill-prepared team, which included a 13-year-old, suffered an embarrassing 5-0 loss against a team ranked 96 places below the South Africans.

"Instead of Safa resolving the matter, Safa has been calling clubs and perpetuating poverty, poor and unworkable conditions... the ladies are resolute and we’re in support of them," the ehad of the players' union Thulaganyo Gaoshubulwe said.

Safa has told the BBC that negotiations with the team are still going on.

Peter Jegwa
Lilongwe, Malawi

Image source, AFP

The Malawi Financial Crimes Court has ruled that Vice-President Saulos Chilima should be given more time to go through his charge sheet before he enters a plea in the corruption case he is facing.

Dr Chilima was in court in the capital, Lilongwe, for the start of a case in which the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is accusing him of receiving $280,000 (£230,000) and other unnamed items from a British businessman.

He was arrested in November and granted bail but the case has since been transferred to the Financial Crimes Court following a request from the ACB.

Dr Chilima, who is on record as saying charges against him are politically motivated, is yet to give his response in court.

On Monday, Judge Redson Kapindu ordered the ACB to provide Dr Chilima all the details of the case within seven days.

The graft-busting body, however, asked for more time and the court gave 1 August as the date for the disclosures to be made by and when a plea will need to be given.

Before then the court sits again on 19 July for a hearing on bail conditions after the defence asked that they be waived.

Under the bail conditions Dr Chilima has to report to the ACB once every three months and has had his passport withheld by the court.

Tesfalem Araia
BBC Tigrinya

Ethiopia's Refugee and Returnees Service (RRS) has responded to a BBC report last week that birth certificates for new-born babies born to Eritrean refugee parents were not being issued.

The parents say that this is hindering family reunification.

The RRS called the claims “a baseless allegation”.

“Registration is going on since November 2022 and 2,149 Eritrean children are registered,” it said in a statement.

But the statement did not address whether or not it is issuing the birth certificate documents the families need.

One man, who lives in Germany, told the BBC that he had been waiting desperately to bring his wife and children to live with him.

Birth certificates are required by the German embassy before it can issue the visas for the babies.

“I have seen the response from RRS. Our problem is not registration - what we need is the birth certificate document which the German embassy is requesting,” one father said.

Another said: “Our wives have been going to the RRS offices many times for months asking for the birth certificate but still we are waiting despite repeated promises.”

Thomas Naadi
BBC News

A group of parents in The Gambia have begun legal action against the government, an Indian pharmaceutical company and a medicine importer followings the deaths of their children which have been linked to cough syrup manufactured in India.

The 19 parents are seeking about $4.7m (£3.7m) in damages.

A team of lawyers from the Gambia Bar Association and the Female Lawyers Association of The Gambia are representing the parents.

They want the health ministry and the medicines control agency to admit they failed in their duties to regulate the importation, distribution, and sale of medicines in the country.

They are also asking for a declaration that their children did in fact die from the cough syrup and want the importer’s license to be withdrawn.

A parliamentary committee in The Gambia had recommended the prosecution of Maiden Pharmaceuticals but said the children’s cause of death was still being investigated.

The findings of that investigation have been handed to President Adama Barrow but have not yet been made public.

Maiden Pharmaceuticals is quoted as saying that they have valid drug approvals for export and do not sell drugs in the local market.

The government has hired a US firm to look at the possibility of its own legal action.

Meanwhile, the authorities say they will enforce a mandatory inspection and testing of all pharmaceutical products in India before shipment to The Gambia, starting this month.

The World Health Organization has said Indian-made cough syrup was the likely cause of death of the children in The Gambia, an allegation the Indian government has denied.

India produces a third of the world's medicines and is a large supplier to many African countries.

Read more on this story:

• Gambia cough syrup scandal: Mothers demand justice
• Cough-syrup scandal: How did it end up in The Gambia?

South African tennis player Hoosen Bobat is still searching for answers after he was denied entry to Wimbledon 52 years ago.