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African press review 17 August 2015

The watchword dominating the African press today is "dirty." From dirty money in Uganda's presidential election campaign to "dirty" South African officials, accused of involvement in the Marikana mining massacre of 2012. Meanwhile, Nigeria has launched a sweeping campaign to clean-up corruption.

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Nigeria'sThis Day Live headlines with the military sucess of the national air force against Boko Haram this weekend.

The insurgents were pushed out of Sambisa forest by pilots, as part of the government's strategy to wipe out the Islamist sect, the paper writes.

President Muhammadu Buhari has also made it his top priority to tackle corruption.

Tabloid Punch reports that Buhari is doing just that.

The president has started looking for fearless and courageous judges to take on the tough job of prosecuting looters of the state's national resources.

This anti-corruption drive is also the lead story in Vanguard, where Buhari stakes his credibility on recovering the stolen money. He says the government can no longer turn a blind eye to corruption.

The APC ruling party alleges that about 56 billion dollars (50 billion euros) was looted during the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan.

Dirty money and corruption also dominates the Ugandan Daily Monitor, with the Former Housing and Urban Development minister Daniel Omara Atubo, urging church leaders to reject money from politicians in the forthcoming general election. Atubo says rejecting bribery will promote good governance and democracy.

The 2016 elections feature twice in the state-run paper, this time with an interview with opposition leader Kizza Besigye.

The former president of the Forum for Democratic Change, cautions against using violence to oust incumbent President Yoweri Museveni from power, saying it won't end his near 30-year rule, the Daily Monitor reported.

Besigye nonetheless delivers a scathing attack on what he calls the "selfish excesses" of a government, completely out of touch with the daily reality of the masses, who continue to live in poverty.

Uganda's opposition recently agreed to form a coalition to back one presidential candidate in next year's election, a move likely to pose a stronger challenge to the ruling party but not enough to unseat the president, analysts say.

Meanwhile, a long-awaited sugar deal between Uganda and Kenya is hanging in the balance.

The Central Organisation of Trade Unions yesterday called on President Uhuru Kenyatta to shelve the deal, to allow for wider consultations.

There are doubts over Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni. Union officials say it is misleading to claim that Kampala produces surplus sugar and want Nairobi to explore other trade options.

Museveni has also ruffled the feathers of South Sudan's Opposition leader Riek Machar.

In the New Vision, the former vice-president hits out at the Ugandan mediator in Juba's ongoing crisis, for changing the terms of the proposals previously agreed to by both

parties.

This attack doesn't bode well, as fresh peace talks to end the four-year civil war kick off today in Addis Ababa.

Kenya's Daily Nation reports that South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, has already warned that it won't be possible to sign a lasting peace deal, unless all opposition factions join the agreement.

Diplomats have warned, any failure to sign a peace deal could trigger “serious consequences”, as the rival leaders face the threat of sanctions.

Moving on to South Africa, 16 August marked the third anniversary of the massacre at the Marikana mine.

The South African National reports that families of the victims are demanding the government pay compensation for their loss.

And they're not asking for small change.

So far, claims for a staggering one billion rand have been filed by 356 injured miners.

Advocates are going after what they call "Marikana's dirty dozen", filing criminal cases against figures like Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and national police commissioner Riah Phiyega for their alleged role in the massacre.

And they're not stopping there.

A case for defamation has also been launched against President Jacob Zuma for apparently saying the 34 striking miners were killed by police because "they were murderers".

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