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African press review 31 October 2014

The political situation in Burkina Faso sparked by President Blaise Compaoré’s plans to amend the constitution and stay in power after 27 years in office is everyone’s top story this morning.

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On Thursday thousands stormed parliament and other public buildings including the national television headquarters in the capital Ouagadougou, ransacking offices and setting fire to cars, despite a heavy police and army presence. Opposition figures are quoted as saying that that around 30 people had been killed and 100 injured in the violence.

South Africa’s City Press publishes a selection of exclusive photographs titled "Burkina Faso burns", taken in Ouagadougou Thursday as the mass protests against the extension of PCompaoré’s rule turned ugly.

The Ouagadougou-based Le Pays says what everyone expected to happen has happened. For the paper the country is about to experience its second revolution. The Burkinabe have taken possession of the Kosyam Palace - the seat of parliament - which the paper describes as the people's house, commenting that it is just as the people of Paris did by storming the Bastille.

While there is continuing speculation about who is really in charge of the country this morning, Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper is also running breaking news that Compaoré “is no longer in charge". The Nigerian Tribune also reports that Kouamé Lougué, a retired general whom tens of thousands of angry demonstrators called on to take power in Burkina Faso, met army chiefs Thursday afternoon in the capital.

In nearby Ghana the electronic newspaper Myjoyonline is going big on the story that it is the army which is now in charge of the country, following its announcement of the dissolution of the country’s national assembly and the establishment of a new transitional governing body after nearly two days of opposition protests.

Kenya’s Daily Nation says the Burkina Faso president has refused to quit after the day of violence. Compaoré on Thursday refused to give up power but called off a state of emergency.

The dramatic events in Burkina Faso broke out as Zambia came to terms with the death of its president Michael Sata in a London hospital last Tuesday. Sata, who was nicknamed "King Cobra" for his fiery comebacks and larger-than-life personality, was replaced on Wednesday by his white deputy Guy Scott in an interim capacity.

In a commentary published by the Guardian,the Zambian author Serpell Namwali says that Zambians don’t care a damn about their new president’s skin colour. Namwali, who teaches literature at the University of California in Berkeley, claims that, while the world may be shocked that Guy Scott is white, for Zambians it’s a sign of political progress, akin to the US electing Barack Obama.

The electronic daily Lusakatimes.com reports that police have arrested a former minister in the MMD government Gaston Sichilima for firing gunshots in the air following the announcement of President Michael Sata’s death.

In a comment about the dying abroad of African leaders, Mail and Guardian says the story is not that Zambia now has a white acting president but about the real and tragic reality - why Zambian presidents choose to die abroad. Since President Michael Sata assumed power in 2011, it says, his health had degenerated, his illness dates back to 2008 when he collapsed and had to be evacuated to South Africa’s Milpark Hospital. Also according to Mail and Guardian, concerns about Sata’s health have been met with vehement denials, laced with accusations of treason.

The paper is concerned that Sata was being carted around South Africa, India, United Kingdom and Israel – in secret – disguised as official trips, when he was so evidently unwell. As Zambians heads towards polls scheduled to be held in 90 days, these are things that will be on their minds - the government’s lies and obfuscation on the subject of Sata’s health and the fact that their taxes were spent on secret health missions to destinations they themselves are not able to access.

For the Mail and Guardian, the public’s trust in government has been undermined and to some degree, the country’s political security has been endangered. Should the PF not win the upcoming election, it will be no one’s fault but their own.

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