African press review 15 December 2014

Police investigate the origin of an Improvised Explosive Device that was found on the roadside in a suburb of Nairobi. South Africa dodges a downgrade from the international ratings agency Fitch

Security issues dominate the front page of the Kenyan Standard.

The main story reports that police are investigating the origin of an Improvised Explosive Device that was found on the roadside in a suburb of Nairobi earlier this morning.

Further down the same front page, we read that the Jubilee Government appears to have softened its stance on the controversial Security Laws (Amendments) Bill that has drawn intense opposition from various quarters.

Two days after President Uhuru Kenyatta vigorously defended the proposed changes as a way to fight terrorism and revealed he had been approached by the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) over some of the clauses in the draft law, Jubilee MPs are now reaching out to the Opposition for a consensus.

Government leaders in the National Assembly where the bill is awaiting debate yesterday revealed they had lined up meetings with those opposed to the draft laws to ensure it is
‘bi-partisan’ legislation and enjoys broader support.

Critics of the amendments say the proposed changes infringe constitutional rights to privacy, freedom of speech and media independence.

Over at The Daily Nation, more than 21.5 million Kenyans are said to be languishing in poverty, with Turkana County having the highest number of poor people while Kajiado has the lowest.

Nairobi, Kirinyaga, Kiambu and Meru counties are among those with the smallest number of people living below the poverty line.

According to the Kenya Economic Report 2014, population growth is another factor that continues to create economic havoc and may soon turn into a crisis, if not controlled.

The main story in the Ugandan Daily Monitor reports the low-key return to Kampala yesterday of General David Sejusa. Remember him?

Twenty months ago, Sejusa fled into self-imposed exile when a letter signed by him in his former capacity as coordinator of intelligence agencies, alleging a plot to assassinate senior government officials opposed to a “Muhoozi presidency” was leaked to the media.

The letter called for the investigation of claims that people opposed to President Yoweri Museveni's eldest son, Brigadier Muhoozi Kainerugaba, taking over the presidency from his father, were targeted for elimination.

The Monitor reports that only President Museveni and the director general of the Internal Security Organisation, Brigadier Ronnie Balya, knew of yesterday's return.

Sejusa refused to speak to the media at Entebbe airport. His lawyer read a brief statement saying Sejusa wants to retire from the army and get on with his life as an ordinary Ugandan citizen.

In South Africa, Economic Freedom Fighters leader, Julius Malema, says Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa does not inspire confidence, and is "worse" than President Jacob Zuma.

According to financial paper Business Day, Malema told a media briefing yesterday the Economic Freedom Fighters would consider an alliance with the African National Congress if the governing party agreed to "a socialist programme". This was unlikely, however, because Ramaphosa, who as deputy president of the ANC is leading the race to replace Zuma, was likely to shift the ANC more to the "extreme right", Malema said.

Ramaphosa was last week appointed by the Cabinet to oversee the turnaround of the South African Post Office, national electrical power producer Eskom, and national carrier South African Airways.

South Africa dodged an expected downgrade from the international ratings agency Fitch late on Friday.

Earlier in the day Standard & Poor’s also decided to keep South Africa’s rating unchanged   good news following a series of power cuts that have seen economic growth prospects scaled back.

Before the announcements on Friday, the rand plunged to a six-year low against the US dollar, while the Johannesburg Stock Exchange hit a seven-week low as markets expected the worst.

Fitch has, however, warned that South African economic growth has been persistently weak   partly because of the electricity supply constraints at Eskom and strikes in the platinum and manufacturing sectors.