African press review 08 January 2014

Heavy policing for Morsi's trial. South Sudanese refugees bring ammo into Uganda. Ugandan troops' role in South Sudan comes under the spotlight. Uganda's anti-gay law may be revised. The East Afriacn Community faces a busy 2014. An,d Kenyan teachers want promotion. 

The Egypt Independent gives pride of place to the security arrangements for today's second session of the trial of former president Mohammed Morsi and 14 other Muslim Brotherhood figures in Cairo.

Five thousand police officers and more than 30 armoured vehicles were due to take part in securing the trial.

The security process included transferring Morsi from Borg al-Arab prison to the Police Academy and then bringing him back via a military jet.

In Uganda, as national troops help with security in Juba, the Kampala-based Monitor newspaper has as its main headline "South Sudanese enter Uganda with bullets".

The small print explains that South Sudanese fleeing into Uganda have been found with hundreds of round of ammunition and army uniforms.

Security personnel at the border said this posed a security threat to other refugees and locals, insisting that all arrivals must be properly screened and disarmed.

At a reception centre in Adjumani district where about 1,500 refugees have been registered, 208 bullets were recovered. The Kampala paper reports that a total of 58 army uniforms had been recovered at the same centre by yesterday.

The presence of Ugandan troops in South Sudan has given rise to questions in the Kampala parliament.

The Monitor reports that the Parliamentary Defence Committee has summoned the Defence Minister Crispus Kiyonga to explain Uganda’s military presence in South Sudan.

President Yoweri Museveni requested units of the Ugandan People's Defence Forces (UPDF) to evacuate nationals from Juba and secure the airport to facilitate free landing but there have also been reports that the UPDF has been involved in fighting. The minister has been summoned to explain the actual situation.

South Sudanese rebel leader Riek Machar has alleged that Ugandan fighter jets backing President Salva Kiir’s forces bombed Bor town last Saturday, a claim the Ugandan government has denied.

The Monitor also reports that the ruling party’s parliamentary group will review the Anti-Homosexuality Bill passed by parliament late last year, before the president signs it into law.

Responding to a question asked by a Ugandan ambassador on how national missions in Western countries should deal with the homosexuality question following the passing of the bill, Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi said that, although he does not support homosexuality, Parliament should not have passed such legislation in its current form.

The legislation provides for a sentence of life imprisonment for anyone convicted of homosexuality. The bill originally proposed the death penalty but that clause was later dropped following international criticism from human rights groups.

The East African Community is facing a busy year.

At least five projects are set for implementation this month, among them a common defence, security and foreign policy that will see Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania jointly strengthen their military capabilities for conflict prevention and crisis management.

Defence and police chiefs from Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda met in Kigali on Tuesday to discuss a common defence and security pact that is intended to combat terrorism and cross-border crime in the three countries.

In Kenya  the Standard newspaper reports that the stage is now set for a fight between the government and the Kenya National Union of Teachers on the number of teaching staff who are in line for promotions.

The union says 53,000 teachers deserve promotions for having successfully completed higher studies.

Yesterday the Teachers Service Commission said there were only 6,000 teachers yet to be promoted by the end of last year.

Contacted by The Standard, the Kenya National Union of Teachers dismissed the revised figure and maintained that 53,000 teachers were still waiting for promotion and pay rises.

On Monday the union deferred its intention to call a nationwide strike in protest against what it said was the non-promotion of teachers.