African press review 22 November 2013

The Nigerian press reacts to President Goodluck Jonathan’s sudden illness in London. Ghana makes a big drug bust. SA parents say no to English lessons. A Kenyan woman is almost lynched for neglecting her children. And a man doesn't swallow a prostitute in Cameroon. 

Jonathan was forced to miss the opening of the Nigerian international Investors Council meeting on Thursday. A spokesperson for the Nigerian presidency announced that he was advised by his doctors to rest for a few days but did not disclose the nature of the ailment or the duration of the resting period.

Vanguard holds that Jonathan, who turned 56 on Wednesday, is not publicly known to be suffering from any serious medical condition.

Punch reports that in his absence Vice-President Namadi Sambo led other members of the federal executive council to mark his birthday in a brief ceremony during which they wished him long life.

The Sun doubts that Jonathan will be able to fly back home as planned this weekend.

According to the Nation, this is the first time Jonathan has been absent from official duty on account of illness since coming to office in 2010, first as acting president then as president after the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in office on 5 May 2010.

The Tribune reports that social media, including Facebook and Twitter, have been awash with concerns of Nigerians to the reported ill health of the president. According to the paper, some of the comments posted online show concerns over the safety of the president in foreign hands.

In Ghana the Chronicle breaks news about the discovery of 400 kilogrammes of cocaine on a Panamanian fishing vessel intercepted at Takoradi port after a tip-off. The paper reports that five crew members are currently under arrest. Ghana’s Narcotics Control Board estimates the street value of the drugs at 27 million euros, according to the paper.

In South Africa, the Mail and Guardian reports the case of a group of parents who have taken a Northern Cape primary school to court for forcing their children to learn English.

The paper notes that the case comes in the wake of ongoing heated debate among educators about what language pupils should be taught in the first three years of schooling.

South Africa’s constitution guarantees the right of citizens to learn their mother tongue or the language of one's choice in the early years, rights which the plaintiffs are seeking to defend according to Mail and Guardian.

In Kenya, the Daily Nation reports the arrest of a woman accused of neglecting her four children for seven days, forcing them to eat their own excrement, in the Narok North sub-county of Duka Moja. The paper notes that the children are aged between two and 10 and were not immunised against polio nor given any other vaccine. None of them attends school. According to the Nation, the 40 year-old woman who had escaped from her two previous husbands, was rescued by police as residents were about to lynch her.

And in Cameroon the Post lays to rest wild rumours that a man had been caught in the act of swallowing a young prostitute in a hotel in Buea.

The paper reports that an estimated 10,000 people stormed the south-west regional capital last Friday as the unbelievable story spread like harmattan fire. Cameroon Post, found out that the so called “python man” or “Mboma” was a doctored picture posted on the internet. It reports that residents of the university town remain as superstitious as ever. Some, according to the paper, believe the tycoons invading the small town for street girls use charms that render women barren and increase their wealth.