African press review 15 March 2013

Uhuru Kenyatta starts forming his government  ans Catholics across Africa have expressed satisfaction with Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio’s election as Pope Francis, the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic church.

In the Kigali-based newspaper the Rwanda Focus, Bishop Smaragde Mbonyintege, the spokesman of Rwanda's Roman Catholic Church, expressed his congregation’s support and trust in the conclave of cardinals’ choice, although the election of Cardinal Borgoglio was a surprise for everyone, he says.

The Nigerian Vanguard interviewed Catholics in the southern city of Enugu, reporting a general feeling of satisfaction and praise towards the the newly elected Pope.

And in Kenya, President Mwai Kibaki, together with his successor-in-waiting Uhuru Kenyatta, led Kenyans in congratulating Pope Francis on his election as spiritual leader of the 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide, says the Nigerian Standard.

The two men, both Catholics, wished the new pontiff God’s blessing and expressed hope he would unite the Church, adds the Nigerian paper.

Staying on Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kenyan president-elect has started working on choosing his cabinet, according to the daily Star, although this may be premature, as the election results of 4 March are still being contested.

The Kenyan Supreme Court has not yet dismissed a petition from presidential candidate Raila Odinga and his party, demanding a recount of the votes.

Assuming the court judges in Uhuru’s favour, the president-elect will be sworn in on 26 March.

Another African judiciary saga in Malawi, where the High Court in Lilongwe decided to free on bail 11 ex-cabinet ministers and top government officials who were arrested on Monday on allegations of treason, reports the newspaper The Nation.

The accused, who include Malawi’s former ruling Democratic Progressive Party leader Peter Mutharika, Economic and Planning Minister Goodall Gondwe and chief secretary Bright Msaka, were arrested following the release of a Commission of Inquiry Report into the aftermath of the death of former president Bingu wa Mutharika.

The report caused outrage because it exposed attempts to circumvent constitutional order last April soon after Mutharika’s death.

The Nigerian Daily Trust this morning reports that three police officers and a civilian were shot dead Wednesday and several others wounded by a gang of robbers who raided currency exchange offices at Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos.

Several other people who were in the car park at the time of the attack also sustained bullet wounds, says the paper. Although the identities of the perpetrators could not be established, the civilian victim has been identified as one of the operators of the currency exchange office, according the paper

And finally, as Zimbabwe prepares for a referendum on a new draft of the constitution this Saturday, Irin News, a service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, wonders if Zimbabweans are really aware of what they are about to vote on.

According to data collected by Irin News, only 90,000 copies of the draft constitution were initially printed and distributed in a country with a registered voting population of more than five million.

Of that figure, 70,000 copies were in English and 20,000 in local languages when English is only one of Zimbabwe’s official languages, along with Chishona and Sindebele.

Two hundred thousands abridged versions of the draft constitution in other official languages were later printed and distributed but, since the result of the referendum will  affect July's general election, Irin News expresses concern about the lack of publicity and transparency in the conduct of the referendum.