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Live Reporting

Clare Spencer and Farouk Chothia

All times stated are UK

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  1. Scroll down for Thursday's stories

    That's all from the BBC Africa Live page today. 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 today's wise words:

    Quote Message: There is no venom like that of the tongue." from Sent by Wilson Banda in Lilongwe, Malawi
    Sent by Wilson Banda in Lilongwe, Malawi

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

    And we leave you to appreciate this dramatic skyline found in Western Cape, South Africa.

    View more on instagram
  2. Pepsi tycoon's Zimbabwe investment will 'pay off'

    Stanley Kwenda

    BBC Africa

    Ravi Jaipuria

    The confidence that Indian business tycoon Ravi Jaipuria has shown in Zimbabwe, where he plans to open a multi-million dollar Pepsi bottling plant early next year, is not surprising. 

    Zimbabwe is desperate for investments and is under pressure to remove bottlenecks which deter companies. In Mr Jaipuria's case, President Robert Mugabe personally intervened to ensure things moved quickly.

    The Indian billionaire is not the only one to see business opportunities in Zimbabwe, despite the worsening political climate. 

    Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote is also looking at making several multi-million dollar investments in Zimbabwe, including opening a cement plant.

    Zimbabwe has extremely high levels of unemployment, but its people are known to be hardworking - something that Mr Jaipuria has noted.

    Huge profits can be made, outweighing the political risks. 

    See earlier post for more details

  3. House guest realised he was 'staying with Gambia's most famous family'

    When a British drummer travelled to The Gambia to check out the music scene he found out that the family he was staying with was what he called "probably the most famous family" in the country.

    But it wasn't until he returned to the UK that he got to collaborate with the family's Jali Bakary Konteh, who is based in London.

    The band Bafula was formed.

    The mix of djembe virtuoso Seneke Sillah, frontman Gambian griot Jali Bakary Konteh, Londoners Danny Michaux on bass and Patrick Oddi on drums, plus Israel-born guitarist Dotan Cohen makes a mix of rock, funk and jazz.

    DJ Rita Ray met them to hear their newest sounds:

    Video content

    Video caption: DJ Rita Ray presents our monthly Focus on Music slot
  4. 'Wake-up call' for ANC

    Milton Nkosi

    BBC Africa, Johannesburg

    The municipal election result is probably the biggest wake-up call the governing African National Congress has received since it ushered in democracy in South Africa in 1994.

    Clearly the ANC still commands huge support across the country but that support is waning. It can no longer take it for granted that the black majority will blindly follow it.

    Its power and influence is in decline.

    In-fighting, public squabbles and a host of corruption scandals have been slowly eating away at the reputation of a once glorious movement of the people.

    An ANC party vehicle appeals for votes as locals are seen outside a voting station during the Local Government elections in Diepsloot township, north of Johannesburg, South Africa. August 3,2016

    The best example is in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality where the ANC is lagging behind in a city which has a rich history of anti-apartheid struggle. The man poised to be the new mayor is the Democratic Alliance's Athol Trollip, who is white.

    Twenty-two years after the end of apartheid, black people are now voting on issues and not on race. 

    Mr Trollip, who speaks fluent Xhosa, would not be where he is if the vast majority of black people had not voted for him.

    South African main opposition party Democratic Alliance Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral candidate Athol Trollip (C) shows his ID prior to vote in the municipal election at a polling station on August 3, 2016 in Port Elizabeth
    Image caption: Mr Trollip is the DA's mayoral candidate in Port Elizabeth
  5. IEC brushes aside ANC concerns

    South Africa's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has dismissed concerns raised by the African National Congress about ballot papers being found behind a tent in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth. 

    IEC deputy CEO Sy Mamabolo said the ballot papers were behind the results centre, adding: 

    Quote Message: That’s where they ought to be. They were within our custody."
  6. Boko Haram split is most serious so far

    Nasidi Adamu Yahya

    BBC Hausa Service, Abuja

    A staff inspects on August 6, 2013 a burnt student hostel in the Government Secondary School of Mamudo in northeast Nigerian Yobe state where Boko Haram gunmen launched gun and explosives attacks on student hostels on July 6, 2013, killing 41 students and a teacher
    Image caption: Boko Haram launched its insurgency in north-eastern Nigeria in 2009

    Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko Haram has split before but the current dispute over its leadership is the most serious division to hit it to date.

    The outburst by Abubakar Shekau, whose leadership has been challenged by former Boko Haram spokesman Abu Musab al-Barnawim, clearly shows that there are deep disagreements, which could translate into clashes between the foot soldiers loyal to the two leaders.

    It is also a sign of the weakness of the group, possibly foreshadowing an eventual collapse.

    Military officials say the split is an indication that the group is breathing its last breath.

    But some security analysts caution that the internal wrangling could make it more deadly and unpredictable.

    Nigeria and the other regional forces will now need to turn this factionalism to their advantage.

    Read more on the BBC News website

  7. The mosque constructed by church-building freed slaves

    Grand Mosque

    It's not a coincidence that the Grand Mosque in Porto-Novo, Benin, looks like a church. 

    The people who built it were freed slaves who had been building churches in Brazil, historian Moubarak Mourchid told the AFP news agency.

    "They converted to Islam as a show of rebellion against their masters," Mr Moubarak adds.

    But he says that this rare architecture is at risk, and complains that the area is not a world heritage site.

    Benin Grand Mosque
    Benin Grand Mosque
  8. UN accuses South Sudan army of ethnic killings

    Mary Harper

    Africa editor, BBC World Service

    South Sudanese People Liberation Army (SPLA) soldier patrols in Malakal on 21 January 2014.
    Image caption: South Sudan has been unstable since its independence in 2011

    The UN's top human rights official has accused the South Sudanese army of ethnically targeted killings and rape during the latest fighting in the capital Juba. 

    Zeid Raad Al Hussein said troops loyal to President Salva Kiir, who is Dinka, specifically targeted Nuer people. Mr Kiir's main rival, Riek Machar, is a Nuer. 

    In some cases, soldiers reportedly went from house to house killing Nuer civilians. They're also accused of raping Nuer women and girls. 

    The UN peacekeeping force in South Sudan has been accused of not doing enough to protect civilians during the violence.

    Read: South Sudan's men of dishonour

  9. ANC raises concern about ballots

    Milton Nkosi

    BBC Africa, Johannesburg

    South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) says it has found marked ballot papers behind a tent in Port Elizabeth city. 

    The ballot papers were found "unstacked" and "unsecured", and this was worrying, said Nceba Faku of the ANC.

    Latest results from the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan area, which includes Port Elizabeth, show that that the opposition Democratic Alliance is leading with 49.49%, the ANC is second with 39.25% and the Economic Freedom Fighters party is third with 4.87%.  

    About 85% of votes have been counted. 

    The ANC has controlled Nelson Mandela Bay, named after South Africa's first black president, since minority rule ended in 1994. 

    voter gets her thumb inked at a polling station during municipal elections at VD Zamukuthula Primary School in Wembezi township near Estcourt, in KwaZulu-Natal Province, on August 3, 2016
    Image caption: Some 26 million people were registered to vote in South Africa's municipal elections
  10. Record football transfer off

    Diafra Sakho

    Senegalese footballer Diafra Sakho will now not be transferring from English Premier League club West Ham United to West Bromwich Albion because he has a back problem.

    It is understood he did not fail his medical test but he would not have been fit for the start of the season.  

    As we reported earlier, if this deal had gone ahead it would have been a record fee for West Brom of £15m ($20m).

    Read more on the BBC Sport website.

  11. Losing in Nkandla 'big blow' for Zuma

    Milton Nkosi

    BBC Africa, Johannesburg

    A handout photograph made available by the South African Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) shows President Jacob Zuma (R) waits to cast his vote at Ntolwane Primary School, during the municipal elections in Nkandla, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, 03 August 2016.
    Image caption: The bespectacled Mr Zuma upgraded his home in Nkandla with public money

    The defeat of South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) in Nkandla is a big blow not just for the party faithful but to the village’s most famous son, President Jacob Zuma. 

    At a polling station in Nkandla yesterday, Mr Zuma stood in the scorching sun with old and young residents portraying himself as the man of the people. He did the unusual thing of not jumping the queue. 

    Earlier today  ANC deputy secretary-eneral Jessie Duarte prematurely declared victory but as the results from the far-flung rolling hills of Nkandla trickled in, a different picture emerged. 

    There is no doubt that Mr Zuma scored an own goal when he used government money to renovate his private residence in Nkandla, resulting in South Africa's highest court ruling that he breached the constitution by ignoring the order of anti-corruption czar Thuli Madonsela to repay a portion of it.

    Read: the colourful and controversial Mr Zuma

  12. Zuma's party fails to win vote in his home area

    Milton Nkosi

    BBC Africa, Johannesburg

    South African President Jacob Zuma's party has failed to win the election in his home district.

    All votes have been counted in Nkandla for the local elections. 

    The Inkatha Freedom Party retains its control of the district. 

    It won with 54% while Mr Zuma’s ANC came second with 44.25% followed by the EFF with 0.79%.

    The word Nkandla has become synonymous with the scandal surrounding President Zuma spending public money to fund refurbishments of his own home in the area.

    Read more: How President Zuma's Nkandla home has grown

  13. South Africa is entering 'era of coalition politics'

    A leading political analyst in South Africa predicts "the era of coalition politics" in three major cities in the country. 

    Daryl Glaser told Reuters news agency that he expected the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) to be the biggest single party in Nelson Mandela Bay, ending the governing African National Congress' dominance there. 

    However, the DA will fail to obtain a clear majority, resulting in a coalition running the municipality, he added. 

    Mr Glaser said he expected the ANC to remain the biggest party in Johannesburg and Tshwane (which includes the capital, Pretoria). 

    However, it will fall to below 50% in both cities in what would be a major setback for the party, he added. 

    Supporters gather and cheer as Leader of South Africa"s opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party, Mmusi Maimane, is seen addressing some of the thousands of people who attended the parties final pre election rally in Soweto, Johannesburg , South Africa, 30 July 2016.
    Image caption: The DA could emerge as the biggest party in Nelson Mandela Bay for the first time
  14. Cocaine accused is a sugar trader in Kenya

    Jack Alexander Wolf Marrian arrives in Kibera Law Court in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, Aug. 4, 201
    Image caption: Mr Marrian denies trafficking nearly 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of cocaine

    The UK national charged in Kenya with trafficking cocaine is a sugar trader who lives and works in the East African state, reports the BBC's Alastair Leithead from Kenya's capital, Nairobi.  

    Jack Alexander Wolf Marrian denied the charge when he appeared in court. 

    A Kenyan national was also charged, after the drugs were found last week in a container, supposedly carrying sugar from Brazil to Uganda, at the port of Mombasa.     

    Cocaine seizures are rare in Kenya, but the United Nations says it has become an important hub for smugglers over the past few years on the route from South America to Europe and Asia, our correspondent adds.

    See earlier post for more details

  15. ANC in lead in SA poll

    The BBC correspondent in South Africa has been tweeting the latest results from the most tightly contested local government elections since minority rule ended in 1994: 

    View more on twitter

    In the last municipal elections in 2011 the ANC won more than 60% of the vote. 

  16. Risk of flash floods in Niger, Chad and Nigeria

    We reported earlier that entire villages have been swept away by floods in Sudan in recent days.

    BBC Weather's Ben Rich says these same rains could cause flash floods in Niger, Chad and Nigeria in the next few days. 

    Weather

    He explains the floods are due to seasonal downpours which have been made worse by an extra pulse of energy called an African easterly wave. 

    As this African easterly wave moves over the west of the continent there is also a risk of quite severe dust storms across parts of the Sahara. 

    Watch more on BBC Weather.

  17. Rio 2016 Olympics: African teams in action today

    Nick Cavell

    BBC Africa Sport

    The men’s Olympic football tournament begins today with all three African representatives in action as they aim to do better than the women’s sides yesterday, when South Africa lost 1-0 to Sweden and Germany easily beat Zimbabwe 6-1. 

    Algeria begin their Group D campaign against Honduras at 18:00GMT; then an hour later in Group A South Africa face hosts Brazil, who will have Barcelona star Neymar playing for them. 

    Finally, Nigeria are due to play Japan at 01:00GMT in Group G, provided the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations winners can arrive in Manaus in time.

    See earlier post for more details

    Fireworks are seen during a rehearsal of the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 3, 2016
    Image caption: Fireworks are seen during a rehearsal of the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro
  18. Big cities are the battle ground for South Africa's vote

    Karen Allen

    BBC southern Africa correspondent, Johannesburg

    South African voter

    With more than 60% of ballots counted in the key South African municipality of Nelson Mandela Bay, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has a significant lead at 54% with the  African National Congress (ANC) trailing behind at 36%. 

    The two other big cities making headlines in this high stakes race - Pretoria and Johannesburg  - currently see the two major parties running neck and neck. 

    The pace of vote counting is far slower so the picture could change once more votes come in from the poorer black townships. 

    If neither the DA nor the ANC secure an overall lead, the Economic Freedom Fighters – a relatively new party led by firebrand politician Julius Malema – could find itself in the position of kingmaker.

  19. UK national charged in Kenya after cocaine bust

    A British national Jack Alexander Wolf Marrian appears at Kibera Law Court in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016

    A UK national has been charged in Kenya with trafficking nearly 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of cocaine seized last week at the country's main seaport. 

    Jack Alexander Wolf Marrian denied the charge in court. The prosecution opposed bail, saying he was a flight risk. The court will rule on the bail application on Monday. 

    Kenyan police and US Drug Enforcement Agency officials seized the cocaine last week in the coastal city of Mombasa. 

    It was apparently hidden in ship containers, supposedly carrying sugar from Brazil to Uganda.