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African press review 01 August 2015

A controversial new Defence force bill dominates African headlines, and Ugandan presidential hopeful John Patrick Amama Mbabazi opens up his own ticket.

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The Daily Nation gives pride of place to controversial changes proposed under the Kenya Defence Forces Bill.

According to the Nairobi-based daily, the new law would give President Uhuru Kenyatta sweeping powers to extend the terms of top Kenya Defence Forces chiefs by one year.

The Nation says the legislation proposes to shield the military from any form of civilian oversight, including financial accountability.

The Kenya Defence Forces Bill also seeks to do away with the requirement for the State to compensate the families of soldiers killed or injured in training.

Sister paper The Standard also gives the proposed defence legislation pride of place, with a main front-page story saying the new Bill would give the Kenya Defence Forces a key role in internal security.

According to The Standard, the proposed law would give the Chief of the Defence Forces the right to deploy soldiers in civilian operations, and would significantly alter the balance of power between the army and the police.

The opposition has been at loggerheads with the government over the deployment of the army to conflict prone areas like Kapedo and Turkana and has accused the military of committing atrocities against local populations.

South Africa has recorded its second consecutive monthly trade balance surplus, as exports outstripped imports in June.

That's the main story in Johannesburg-based financial paper, BusinessDay.

The trade surplus was 5.8 billion rand, or about 416 million euros.

Less good is the news in a separate BusinessDay story where we learn that the rand continued to lose ground against the dollar yesterday, sinking to a 14-year low against the US currency, mainly due to mounting concerns about an interest rate hike in the United States.

The South African parliament has voted to change the rules about disruptions by MPs. Only the Economic Freedom Fighters voted against the changes.

The decision comes just a week ahead of President Jacob Zuma’s next scheduled appearance in Parliament to answer MPs’ questions. He is almost certain to face disruption from members of the EFF, who will ask him again when he intends to pay back the public money spent on his private home in Nkandla.

The new rules provide for the physical removal of MPs who refuse to leave the chamber when ordered to do so by a presiding officer. The removals will be handled by the parliamentary protection service, not the police.

When the recommended changes were put to the vote, EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu said the party "rejects with absolute contempt the provision for the removal of MPs for something they have said".

Political analysts have generally welcomed the change, saying there have to be rules governing disruptive MPs, but warning that such measures could be used to silence opposition voices.

Regional paper The East African reports that Uganda's former prime minister and presidential hopeful, John Patrick Amama Mbabazi has said he will not contest the presidency on the ruling National Resistance Movement ticket on the grounds that the party primaries are illegal.

Mbabazi said he is not leaving the party, but will run for the presidency as an independent candidate.

The former prime minister made the remarks after President Yoweri Museveni collected nomination forms from NRM headquarters yesterday, the final date for issuing forms for the party primaries.

The Egypt Independent reports that a court in Sudan has adjourned until tomorrow the trial of 101 Egyptian fishermen who are charged with spying.

The Egyptian ministers of agriculture and irrigation have attempted to solve the problem during recent visits to Sudan.

The evidence brought against the fishermen includes 5 photos and 5 videos of military installations.

The fishermen have denied the charges, claiming the photos and videos were shot after they had been arrested.

 

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