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African press review 30 March 2015

Nigeria awaits presidential election results. Leaders of SA's main union grouping fall out. Kenyan in the Rift Valley threaten rebellion over cattle-rustling. Kenya's fight against corruption continues.

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Elections dominate the Nigerian front pages . According to the main story in the Lagos-based Punch, the Independent National Electoral Commission has assured voters that, despite the extension of weekend elections into Sunday in some parts of the country, the results of the presidential poll will be declared on in the course of today.

Commission chairman Attahiru Jega gave the assurance as results from wards, local government areas and states continued to emerge on Sunday.

The top story in the Guardian reports that thousands of supporters of Nigeria’s main opposition party yesterday demonstrated in the oil-rich Rivers State, calling for the cancellation of elections locally because of alleged irregularities.

The demonstrators from the All Progressives Congress converged on the local offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission in the state capital, Port Harcourt.
The protesters claim that opposition supporters across the southern state were disenfranchised by the electoral commission, working in connivance with the Peoples Democratic Party of out-going president, Goodluck Jonathan.

All is not well in the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).

According to the main story in this morning's Johannesburg-based financial paper, BusinessDay, Cosatu secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi yesterday dared federation bosses to fire him, declaring he would no longer take part in leadership meetings but would go "to the ground" to build the support of workers.

Vavi, who faces a series of accusations, including fraud and conflict of interest, said he would not resign, as a "deliberate act of defiance" and would not abandon workers by quitting.

At a media briefing yesterday, Vavi laid bare the shambolic state of Cosatu, revealing that the organisation had nearly run out of cash. He said the federation would not be able to pay salaries as it had "raided" its political fund to pay staff for the past two months, claimed that Cosatu’s research arm and its Chris Hani Institute would soon have to close down and that it had no money to hold a congress.

The central executive committee of the trade union confederation is to meet later today to discuss allegations against Vavi.

In Kenya the Daily Nation reports that residents of Baringo county in the Rift Valley say they will take up arms and defend themselves if the Nairobi Government does not address increasing cases of cattle-rustling.

Baringo was last week shocked by the killing of four people in the latest banditry attacks. County officials accuse the government of neglecting security in the area.

Last week the interior ministry issued a one-week ultimatum to residents in the region's pastoralist communities to voluntarily surrender illegal firearms or face forceful disarmament.

The county governor says local people will take up their own weapons if central government fails to protect them.

Also in the Daily Nation, news that the death toll from last Thursday’s boat tragedy in Lake Turkana has risen to 14 after nine more bodies were recovered yesterday.
The search for survivors continues.

Slideshow Mandela

The top story in the Standard says that the opposition Coalition for Reforms and Democracy kept up its criticism of President Uhuru Kenyatta's decision to name top public officials implicated in corruption and to demand they temporarily leave office to facilitate investigations.

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero, who is among those mentioned by the president, maintained he would stay put as he had not been summoned by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to answer any allegations.

Senator James Orengo, who is also on the list, said the president and his deputy William Ruto should address corruption cases systematically and fairly, without any bias.

The Ugandan Daily Monitor reports that gender norms and expectations contribute to high rates of school dropouts among girls aged 14 to 18, according to a new report by the International Centre for Research on Women.

In a survey involving more than 800 girls, the US-based research organisation found that the mother’s education, prior school performance and gender expectations, including the domestic burden young women face, were some of the factors contributing to girls dropping out of school.

 

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