BBC News Africa

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The regent of South Africa's Zulu nation, Queen Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu, has been laid to rest.

Her funeral took place at her Kwakhangelamankengane royal palace in Nongoma in the early hours of the morning. A vigil was held overnight.

She was buried according to Swati royal culture. The queen's body was wrapped in a cow’s hide by a delegation that was sent by her brother, King Mswati III of Eswatini.

The funeral was attended by family members from both monarchies.

A state-funded memorial will be held at the palace later on Friday.

Now that Queen Mantfombi has been buried, focus will be on the squabbles over succession in the Zulu monarch.

Factions within the royal family have brought a legal challenge to halt the naming of a successor, after questioning the authenticity of the will of the late King Goodwill Zwelithini, who died in March.

A successor will be chosen among the late king‘s 28 children.

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The Catholic Bishop of Enugu in Nigeria, Callistus Onaga, has called for week-long prayers over church vandalism by supporters of a controversial priest.

On Wednesday supporters of Father Ejike Mbaka marched in protest to the residence of the bishop, the priest's superior, after the priest reportedly went missing.

They demanded to see the priest, who had been absent during the weekly Mass at his Adoration Ministry's grounds in Emene area of the city.

The protesters are said to have vandalised the diocesan cathedral and desecrated the altar.

“Over and above this, they brutally vandalised the diocesan bishop’s residence, the cathedral parish house and the secretariat building complex," local media quote the bishop as saying.

The bishop has since called for "atonement and reparation” for the desecration of “the holy altar of sacrifice” by the protesters.

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The officials of Tanganyika province in the Democratic Republic of Congo have impeached Governor Zoe Kabila - a younger brother of former President Joseph Kabila.

The impeachment motion was supported by officials allied to President Félix Tshisekedi as the rift between him and Mr Kabila widens.

Officials in Mr Kabila's camp boycotted the session, according to the East African newspaper.

Zoe Kabila was accused of mismanagement and incompetence.

He was the only one among 26 governors who did not sign President Tshisekedi’s Act of the Sacred Union membership that was formed to ensure progressive governance.

President Tshisekedi ended his coalition with Mr Kabila's party - which had a majority in parliament - following years of increasing tension.

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The authorities in Kenya will on Friday launch the first ever national wildlife census.

The exercise will be officially launched in eastern Kenya at Shimba Hills National Reserve.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said the national wildlife census was aimed at finding out the total number of wildlife and how they are distributed.

The exercise will also "determine wildlife population trends over time and identify threats to wildlife conservation", the service stated.

The KWS and the Wildlife Research and Training Institute - an independent institution that undertakes research on wildlife conservation and management - will be involved.

The wildlife service manages 55 wildlife parks, reserves and sanctuaries.

Illegal poaching has reduced the number of elephants and rhinos with conservation efforts increased to protect wildlife.

Tourism is one of Kenya’s biggest income earner for the government.

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An unknown number of university students have been kidnapped in the south-eastern Nigerian state of Abia.

The group was abducted on Wednesday, the same day that 29 students seized last month in the north-western state of Kaduna were released, reportedly after the payment of a ransom.

Authorities in Umuahia, in the state, say the students of the Abia State University Uturu were moving in a minivan on Wednesday evening when they ran into the armed gang. They were kidnapped alongside other travellers.

A statement by the Information Commissioner John Kalu said two of the students escaped from the kidnappers while others were still being held at an unknown location.

Such abductions have become common in parts of Nigeria.

On Thursday, Nigeria's military chiefs appeared before parliament to be questioned on the security challenges in the country.

President Muhammadu Buhari is under increasing pressure over the surging violence by criminal gangs, Islamist militants and separatists.

Parliament has urged him to declare a nationwide state of emergency.

Our African proverb of the day:

Quote Message: The pot that cooked an elephant cannot cook dew." from A Runyankore proverb sent by Andrew Mujugira in Kampala, Uganda.

The pot that cooked an elephant cannot cook dew."

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Click here to send us your African proverbs.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now. 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 our wise words of the day:

Quote Message: You give birth to a child, but not their character." from A Beti proverb sent by Christian Messina Mvogo in Yaoundé, Cameroon

You give birth to a child, but not their character."

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this photo of a mourner at the burial of Zulu Queen Shiyiwe Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu, who has died age 65 in South Africa.

The BBC's Southern Africa Correspondent Nomsa Maseko says the Zulus say "ilanga lashon'emini" - meaning "the queen's sun has set".

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A court in Rwanda has sentenced journalist Phocas Ndayizera and six others to 10 years in prison for terrorism charges.

They were found guilty of planning explosions in public areas of the capital, Kigali, and of conspiracy to commit terrorism, reports the BBC’s Jean Claude Mwambutsa from the court.

The judge said the court could have given between 20 and 25 years to the convicts “but gave them 10 years because their plan was aborted and had no impact on the community”.

In a video conference sentencing on Thursday afternoon, six others were acquitted of the charges and the court ordered their immediate release.

In November 2018 journalist Phocas Ndayizera went missing for seven days before being paraded by police a week later when they said he had been caught being given explosives and plotting attacks.

Mr Ndayizera and his o-accused denied the charges.

Military chiefs in Nigeria have appeared before the country's lawmakers, but the outcome of their meeting has been kept secret.

They had been summoned to answer questions over numerous security challenges - including an increase in kidnappings, local militia attacks and an Islamist insurgency.

In attendance were the heads of the army, navy and air force, as well as those heading the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police.

President Muhammadu Buhari had held a meeting with them on Wednesday, without any hint about what decisions were made.

In northern parts of Nigeria, residents remain at the mercy of Boko Haram insurgents and armed criminal militias.

They have targeted students of secondary schools and universities kidnapping many of them for ransom.

In south-eastern Nigeria, members of the security forces and government facilities are increasingly becoming targets of attacks by gunmen.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) has welcomed a move by the US government to support a temporary patent waiver on coronavirus vaccines, calling it a potential game-changer in fighting the pandemic.

Hundreds of millions more doses are needed, especially in poorer nations.

Although a sign of hope, it will take time for this move to have effect.

More countries still need to endorse this proposal – and the facilities that could produce them may need more equipment.

Six African countries have the capacity to manufacture vaccines - South Africa, Senegal, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria.

As richer nations get closer to vaccinating their entire populations, countries on the continent are struggling.

Uncertainty around future supplies and vaccine hesitancy are partly to blame.

The vaccine alliance, Gavi, and the WHO are optimistic that India will lift its vaccines export ban before June – and hopefully supplies will resume.

Just 16 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Africa. This accounts for just 1% of the global total.

Nine babies born to a Malian woman in Morocco could experience health problems in the future because they were so premature, an expert in multiple pregnancy has told BBC World News.

“We know that some premature babies do not survive and they die in the first few weeks of life,” said Prof Asma Khalil.

“Those who do survive, some of them might have [a] disability or learning difficulties, or vision or hearing problems,” Prof Khalil said.

Current plans are for the infants to spend “two to three months" in incubators, a director of the clinic has said, but both the mother, Halima Cissé, and her children are said to be doing well.

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Close to 200 homes have been destroyed and more than a dozen people are injured after rainstorms swept through Kpein, a Liberian township on the border with Guinea, on Wednesday night.

Among the injured is an 11-year-old girl who sustained a fractured leg when a wall collapsed on her.

The local township authorities have put out an appeal for humanitarian assistance.

Desperate residents phoned into radio programmes in Monrovia on Thursday, explaining the situation and calling on the national government to move in with help.

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A group of Mozambican business owners in South Africa has collected eight tonnes of aid for victims of armed violence in Cabo Delgado.

It's being led by Laisse Lichucha, who says they are focusing on food and money, and hope to double the amount to 16 tonnes.

Nelson Nhantumbo, another foundation member, says the goods will be channelled to Mozambique’s relief agency, the INGD, through the Mozambican embassy in South Africa.

Armed groups have terrorised Cabo Delgado since 2017, with some attacks claimed by the jihadist group Islamic State.

The Mozambican government says more 2,500 people have been killed, and 714,000 displaced people.

Lindiwe Tsope, 27, has become the first pupil from Oprah Winfrey’s school in South Africa to achieve a PhD.

The sociology graduate told TimesLive she was "still processing the depth of it. It’s a huge milestone. It’s not my milestone, but my family’s and the community’s milestone".

She also told IOL that that her PhD research at Rhodes University "was the first of its kind" there, and focused on "lived experiences of both students and support staff living with HIV and Aids at the university".

Ms Tsope has given special thanks to Oprah Winfrey, calling her the "driver" of her dreams, and said starting out as part of the philanthropist's first class in 2007 to now becoming "the first person to get a doctorate is a full-circle moment for me".

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy - in the small town of Henley-on-Klip south of Johannesburg - educates girls from poor families.

When it opened 14 years ago, Winfrey herself interviewed many of the 3,500 South African girls from low-income families who applied for an initial 150 places at the school.

Somalia says it has restored diplomatic ties with Kenya after severing them in December.

It accused its neighbour of meddling in domestic politics ahead of elections which have now been postponed.

Relations between the two countries are often stormy.

They have been engaged in a maritime dispute for years, with both sides claiming potentially oil-rich waters.

Kenya has nearly 4,000 troops based in southern Somalia in an attempt to form a buffer zone to defend against the jihadist group al-Shabab.

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