African press review 11 October 2016

Rwanda is annoyed at French plans to continue to investigate the 1994 downing of the jet in which President Juvenal Habyarimana and his Burundian counterpart lost their lives. The political opposition in Sudan reject President Omar al-Bashir's invitation to join a government of national unity, saying they don't trust the government. And South Africa's Jacob Zuma fails to attend a scheduled meeting with the public protector.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has warned France that any attempts by Paris to reopen investigations into the death of former President Juvenal Habyarimana will have consequences for relations between the two countries.

This is the top story in regional paper the East African.

The Rwandan leader was reacting to plans by French investigators to examine once again the circumstances surrounding the downing of the presidential jet in which Habyarimana and his Burundian counterpart Cyprian Ntaryamira died on 6 April 1994. The incident is regarded by many as having been the trigger of a long-planned genocide against the Tutsis by Hutu extremists.

French judges have investigated the case at the request of the families of the pilot and copilot who also died in the attack and who were both French nationals.

Speaking yesterday in Kigali, Kagame expressed annoyance that after investigating the case for two years and failing to find anything, investigators wanted to start all over again.

The president stressed that the Rwandan judicial system is not answerable to France or to French interests.

Rwanda broke off diplomatic relations with France in 2006 in the wake of nine arrest warrants issued by a French judge against Rwandan officials in connection with the attack against Habyarimana's French-crewed plane.

Diplomatic relations were restored in 2009.

Sudan opposition rejects national unity proposals

Also in the East African, news that the Sudanese opposition has rejected President Omar al-Bashir's invitation to join a government of national unity.

The opposition parties said there was no assurance that the recommendations agreed at the "national dialogue", which ended yesterday, would be implemented.

Addressing the closing session of the national dialogue, Bashir committed himself to democratic transformation, good governance, an end to the civil war, respect for individual freedoms and the fight against poverty.

The Sudanese leader had earlier announced that wide consultations would be conducted among the country's political parties to form a new national government.

The Secretary-General of the National Umma Party, Mariam al-Sadique, says the opposition has no trust in government promises.

She called for the continuation of talks under the auspices of African Union.

Sudan ceasefire gets two-month extension

The Sudan Tribune notes that Omar al-Bashir yesterday confirmed the extension of the unilateral cessation of hostilities in war zones for two months. He also promised that a national mechanism would be established to draft a permanent constitution for the country.

Zuma leaves Public Protector Thuli Madonsela waiting

South African President Jacob Zuma failed to show up for his meeting with the ombudsman, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela yesterday.

According to the Johannesburg-based financial paper BusinessDay, Zuma snubbed Madonsela, who is investigating links between the president and members of the influential Gupta family.

Zuma kept Madonsela waiting for most of Monday only to send a letter in the afternoon demanding access to the witnesses she had interviewed during her investigation.

Madonsela is expected to leave office on Friday at the expiry of her term of office. She wanted to put out a preliminary report on allegations of interference in state matters by Zuma’s friends, the Gupta family, before leaving office. The latest development could scupper this.

Burundi bans United Nations investigators

The Daily Nation in Kenya reports that Burundi yesterday barred three United Nations rights experts who have accused the government in Bujumbura of being responsible for abuses and warned of the danger of genocide.

In a letter sent by Foreign Minister Alain Aime Nyamitwe, the Burundian government said the three UN investigators were declared unwelcome with immediate effect.

The three, a Colombian, a South African and an Algerian, were appointed last December to conduct an independent probe into the violence which followed President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to stand for a third term.

The official UN report released last month concluded that "gross human rights violations have and are taking place, committed primarily by state agents".

The decision to bar the three UN experts came just days after Burundi announced plans to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, warning of a "plot" to harm the country.

The UN Security Council is due to discuss the crisis in Burundi on Thursday.