African press review 2 December 2013

Police violence in Kampala and the African Development Bank returning to its home in Côte d'Ivoire are two of the stories in today's papers ....

The Lukwago saga continues in Uganda.

According to the front page of this morning's Daily Monitor, the Archbishop of Kampala, Cyprian Kizito Lwanga has raised a red flag over the violence meted out to Ugandans by police in recent days, accusing the force of deviating from the “fundamental change” promised by President Yoweri Museveni in 1986..

Delivering a sermon at Rubaga Cathedral yesterday, Dr Lwanga became the latest voice to condemn the high-handedness employed by police to disperse residents of Kampala, expressing dissatisfaction with attempts to impeach the capital's Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago.

Erias Lukwago, accompanied by NRM and Opposition MPs, attended the mass that was filled to capacity to mark World Aids Day.

Earlier, MPs representing the constituencies of Kampala attacked Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi for suggesting that the government still considers Lukwago impeached.

Yesterday, Ofwono Opondo, the executive director of the government Media Centre, criticised the archbishop for using the wrong forum to express dissatisfaction with the police.

Opondo tasked the Archbishop to provide details of specific cases of police brutality.

The Monitor also welcomes the weekend signing of the East African Monetary Union Protocol, the agreement which will eventually lead to a single regional currency.

According to the Kampala-based paper, the signature of Jakaya Kikwete puts to rest earlier speculation that Tanzania was reluctant to sign the regional framework. Tanzania and Burundi have recently complained about having been sidelined by their bigger neighbours.

The Monitor reports that the Tanzanian president sat closer to his Burundian counterpart than to the presidents of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda throughout the weekend Summit.

The Summit also discussed the prevailing security situation and the need for concerted efforts towards combating terrorism and so-called negative forces in the region.

Security developments in Somalia and the military campaign against al-Shabaab fighters were a particular focus.

In Kenya, The Standard gives pride of place to Deputy President William Ruto and his defence of the Jubilee government following criticism of its handling of Judiciary matters and laws seeking to gag the media and cripple non-governmental organisations.

On Friday, Raila slammed President Uhuru Kenyatta for suspending six Judicial Service Commission commissioners and setting up a tribunal – dominated by individuals seen as close to his administration – to investigate them for alleged misconduct. Raila claimed Uhuru’s action was an attack on the independence of the judiciary.

Dismissing Odinga's comments, Ruto said President Kenyatta had acted within the Constitution when he appointed the tribunal to investigate the six officials who have been suspended over allegations of financial impropriety.

Parliament convenes tomorrow for what The Standard calls a defining week. MPs will consider the President’s memorandum on the Kenya Information and Communications Amendment Bill described as far more offensive than the initial Bill passed by the National Assembly. Also on the agenda is legislation that seeks to review the regulation of NGOs, including limiting the amount of foreign funding they can accrue. Critics say the Bill could hurt NGOs that seek to hold State authorities and others to account.

The Kenyan daily also reports that Uganda President Yoweri Museveni claims western countries are using the two Kenyan cases at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, to undermine Africa’s sovereignty. Speaking at the 15th East African Heads of State Summit in Kampala, Museveni slammed the West for showing contempt for African leaders and cited the ICC cases against President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto as examples.

South African financial paper BusinessDay looks at the African Development Bank as that organisation prepares to return home to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The bank is due to end its 10-year exile in Tunis and return to its ancestral West African home by the end of next year. The move will have cost about 121 million euros by the time the last of its staff and an estimated 6,000 containers have arrived in the Ivorian port city.

BusinessDay warns that, following the military coup in 1999, a lengthy partition between north and south, and two short but costly outbreaks of civil war, Côte d’Ivoire’s return to stability is far from complete.