African press review 16 March 2012

Lubanga’s sentence and Abdulaye Wade’s outrageous bribes in an attempt to break Iran sanctions feature among the stories in today’s African dailies.

“A milestone in fighting against impunity and a warning to all”. This is how the editorial in Uganda’sThe Monitor' describes the sentence by the International Criminal Court against the Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga.

But, says the paper, the ICC must not limit its prosecutions to African warlords like Lubanga and Joseph Kony or to ousted president Laurent Gbagbo.

The court should be able to prosecute sitting heads of state, including Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir and Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.

Over to Kenya where the Senegalese election dominates the dailies.

The Nation reports the anger of Senegale President Abdouaye Wade aimed at the French lawyer William Bourdon. In an interview with the French daily Le Parisien, the prominent French lawyer and human rights activist declared that the “French legal procedure on illegal wealth could be extended to the Senegalese President”.

According to Kenya’s Africa Review, the spokesman for the Senegalese president, Mbacké Ndiaye, said the situation was made worse by the string of publications of misleading allegations by local media "during this critical campaign period''.

"This issue was intentional because the accusers had selected this very sensitive moment to besmear the reputation of the president, and thereby affecting his campaign for the presidency,” Ndiaye insisted.

Who's who in 2012 Senegalese presidential election

As you recall, President Wade will face ex-prime minister Macky Sall in the run-off vote on 25 March.

Will US-Egypt relations survive the recent spat over  NGO workers accused of illegal activity ? Yes, according to Egypt’s Al Masry Alyoum. The daily reports the meeting between Nancy Pelosi, the US house of representatives minority leader and Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi.

The US government is scrambling to maintain the 1.5 billion dollars of military aid to Egypt despite the reticence of lawmakers. According to the daily, Nancy Pelosi was dispatched to Egypt to assure the US strategic allies in the region that the case against the NGO workers will not be a barrier to relations between the two countries.

“Bribes in exchange for busting Iran sanctions” says South Africa’s BusinessDay which reports the National Arms Committee’s investigation into the allegations that the well-connected partner of the country’s deputy president was seeking a bribe to use her connections with the top political leader to encourage the government to bust Iranian sanctions in a 26 million dollar arms deal.

According to the article, the business partners were seeking to sell the Tehran regime US- made helicopters and spare parts through a complex trade deal involving companies in Canada, South Africa and Russia.

“Stay clear of Iran! ” warns the paper in its editorial. “Given the state of relations between the US and Iran, with imminent military conflict a real possibility, our government would be well advised to temper its enthusiasm for business links with Iran, no matter how “bona fide” its’ intentions are”, it warns.

Could President Goodluck Jonathan be already “plotting a third term”? questiona all major Nigerian newspapers this morning. The front pages of both Vanguard and The Nation feature the accusations by the Coalition of Northern Leaders.

The newly-formed pressure group alleges that the president, alongside the committee headed by a former chief justice of the federation, Justice Alfa Belgore, is plotting to instigate a new constitution, under which President Jonathan would seek another term in 2015.

“Entirely mischevious!” replies the presidential spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati in an interview with The Vanguard. “The accusations, based on a report that has not yet been submitted, amount to witchcraft or if you like sorcery!” he said.