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africa press review

African press review 29 August 2018

Unrest in Uganda over the arrest and alleged beating of lawmakers continues to be covered in East Africa while seperate meetings between US President Donald Trump and the Kenya and Nigeria heads of state also mark the columns.

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The case of Uganda's Bobi Wine and other Lawmakers, who were arrested a few weeks ago over their alleged role in a stoning of President Yoweri Museveni’s convoy, is still a hot topic in a number of papers across the continent.

Kenya's The Standard reports that the army has arrested some soldiers over their beating.

The paper writes that "In a letter to Museveni dated Aug. 27, parliament speaker Rebecca Kadaga had called for the arrest of security personnel involved in the suspected beating and torture of 33 people after their arrest over the convoy incident." The high court has since granted bail to those arrested.

Soldiers and youths arrested

Meanwhile Uganda's Daily Monitor reports that at least 46 youths were arrested during night protests in support of Bobi Wine. The paper describes how "The [alleged]stone-throwing youth engaged security operatives in running fights at different sections of the Kampala Gulu highway as jubilant residents lined the highway to catch a glimpse of bailed politicians including Kyadondo East MP, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi a.k.a Bobi Wine from Gulu to Kampala City." Police fired teargas and live bullets to quell the rioting youth.

Kenya US trade partnership

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta's trip to Washington DC is well documented in The Daily Nation which describes him as seeking win-win partnerships through business deals and not aid. Of the meeting with US President Donald Trump, the paper writes that "President Kenyatta also discussed security, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (or AGOA) direct flights between Kenya and the US and tourism numbers."

Kenya's government says Agoa has reportedly created 60,000 jobs, but The Daily Nation notes that "critics say it benefits foreigners because firms exporting apparel to the US under Agoa are mostly foreign ventures."

Did Trump really call Buhari "lifeless"?

The Kenyan leader is not the only African leader whose name and that of Donald Trump feature together in the papers today .

Muhammadu Buhari, who was the first sub-Saharan Africa president to meet Trump after he was sworn-in as the 45th American president, was also in the US for bilateral talks on Trump’s invitation. Nigeria's The Guardian writes "That meeting ended with Trump saying he never wanted to meet someone as lifeless as Buhari again". That's according to the Financial Times which quoted three persons familiar with the matter." The Guardian goes on to write that the Nigerian presidency responded yesterday "that the alleged statement credited to American president Donald Trump describing his Nigerian counterpart as “lifeless” may have been planted in the media by the opposition."

Nigeria’s main opposition, the People’s Democratic Party, said the alleged statement showed how world leaders think of the Nigerian president. “This embarrassment is a backlash a nation gets when incompetent leaders, out of inferiority complex and misgovernance, resort to jumping around the world, desperately shopping for endorsements from world leaders”

The paper reminds its readers that during the joint statement that followed the talks between the two presidents, "Trump said he had an implicit belief in the Nigerian president to rein in the “massive corruption” in the country and commended his efforts at doing that."

British PM visit to Africa

Meanwhile Nigeria's The Punch is interested in British Prime MinisterTheresa May's visit to Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa this week and notes she "has painted a grim picture of economic inequality in Nigeria and many other countries in Africa."

The Prime Minister said many individual Nigerians were enjoying the fruits of “a resurgent economy" but that 87 million Nigerians were living below  $1.90 a day, making Nigeria “home to more very poor people than any other nation in the world.” The paper notes she credits capitalism for these improvement

"According to her, the embrace of free markets and free trade has acted as the greatest agent of collective human progress the world has ever seen."

Terrorism and Boko Haram were also mentioned and tributes were paid to two great Africans: the late President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, and a former secretary of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, who died this month.

Communities protest gang violence in Cape Town

South Africa's The Mail & Guardian reports that "Across Cape Town, at least two communities have begun to shutdown in protest against gang violence.Kensington, 10 kilometres outside the city, was brought to a halt after residents united to blockade the suburb in an effort to reclaim their streets from gang wars. Now, inBonteheuwel, a similar protest is planned." People will be taking to the streets to block cars from accessing it. The paper describes how "In these streets, the sound of gunfire echoes more frequently of late than the sound of protest. Just over a week ago, six young men were killed within 48 hours in the area. Five of those killings were believed to have been related to gang activity "

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