African press review 13 September 2018

The South Sudan peace agreement has finally been signed but crucial disagreements remain. Burundi declares three UN investigators unwelcome following a report on human rights abuses. There is more tribal fighting in eastern Kenya.

The latest South Sudan peace deal was finally confirmed yesterday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Abeba.

The Sudan Tribune reports that the agreement was signed by President Salva Kiir, by opposition leader Riek Machar, by Gabriel Chang Changson of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance, and by Deng Alor representing one of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement's leading factions.

The final deal does not, however, address all the outstanding concerns of the opposition parties, according to the Sudan Tribune.

Riek Machar and the South Sudan Opposition Alliance are worried about the number of states and the demarcation of tribal and state boundaries. They have also raised questions about the balance of executive power between the presidency, parliament and the Council of Ministers. There are also questions about the status of state and local governments and the procedures under which the South Sudanese constitution is supposed to evolve.

Some opposition parties have asked that Kenya and Ethiopia join Sudan and Uganda in deploying troops in South Sudan to ensure the full commitment of all parties to the agreement.

Burundi bans authors of UN report on abuses

Burundi has banned three United Nations officials from entering the country following a report accusing the ruling party of abetting crimes against humanity.

The UN report, released last week, said the ruling party's youth league had become increasingly important in repression, acting outside any legal framework and with near total impunity.

The UN rights team also said that there had been widespread hate speech fanned by government officials including President Pierre Nkurunziza.

Burundi's Foreign Affairs Minister Ezechiel Nibigira yesterday said that his country was disappointed with the report, describing it as "false and defamatory".

Zimbabwe cholera outbreak worsens

The death toll from the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe has now risen past 20, according to South African paper BusinessDay.

With thousands of people ill, the government in Harare has declared a state of emergency.

Health minister Obadiah Moyo blamed the outbreak on a poor sewerage system, as well as the failure by some workers to do their jobs properly. The minister claims that leaking sewers went without repair for at least two months.

Deaths in Mau Forest clashes

At least three people are feared dead after tribal clashes in Kenya's Eastern Mau district last night.

The Nairobi-based Daily Nation says the fighting appears to have erupted in the wake of government evictions.

The Kenyan authorities announced plans to evict more than 40,000 settlers living in the Mau forest in a bid to restore the water supply. This has led to clashes on the outskirts of the forest as those evicted try to establish themselves outside the water project zone.

The fighting, involving the use of bows and arrows, follows similar recent violence in other regions surrounding the vast forest.

Banks ordered to pay for handling stolen cash

The Central Bank of Kenya has fined five top banks for their role in handling the shilling equivalent of more than 30 million euros stolen from the National Youth Service.

The banking regulator announced yesterday that it had concluded the first phase of investigations of institutions used by persons suspected of transacting illegally with the government-run youth service.

The lenders were found to have violated money laundering and financing of terrorism laws and were fined a total of three million euros.

The National Youth Service is a paramilitary training institution set up by the government to help combat high youth unemployment. At least 90 million euros of the organisation's funding is currently unaccounted for.