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African press review 18 February 2015

Zuma comes under fire for letting police drag MPs out of parliament. Copts call off a protest for security reasons but Muslim Brothers supporters demonstrate in universities. Kenyan MPs take up the cudgels for broadcasters. And a Nigerian minister says the country’s failing to tackle the causes of corruption.

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In South Africa BusinessDay carries a report on the speech of Mmusi Maimane, the parliamentary leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance party.

According to the daily, Maimane accused President Jacob Zuma of breaking parliament by letting police into the National Assembly and laughing as Members of Parliament belonging to the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party were dragged out.

Slideshow Mandela

Maimane, while speaking during a debate on Zuma's State of the Nation address, said that Zuma is a broken man presiding over a broken society.

In Egypt the daily Egypt Independent reports that a group of Coptic Christians decided to cancel a protest in Shubra, north of Cairo, because of security concerns.

The protests were organised to condemn the beheading of Egyptian Christians by the Islamic State armed group in Libya last week.

The Egypt Independent also carries a report on protests held by students supporting ousted President Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood at a number of universities.

The protests were held at universities in Cairo and Alexandria.

According to the Daily News, the families of the 21 Egyptian Copts killed by IS in Libya were satisfied by the Egyptian government’s retaliatory measures against the group and by the compensation provided to them.

In Kenya the Daily Nation reports on the continuing stalemate between the government and the three leading broadcasters.

It says that two top bureaucrats were challenged by Members of Parliament to explain the reason behind this stalemate.

The report adds that the MPs are unhappy with the government after a regulator cut off transmission signals for three independent television stations four days ago.

The bureaucrats were criticised for their attitude towards the broadcasters and the allocation of the bulk of national resource to a foreign company.

The Standard also has a report on the same issue.

It says that the Kenya Union of Journalists has demanded a quick resolution to the stand-off.

The union has expressed concern that jobs of thousands of journalists may be at risk if it continues.

The Standard reports on the Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko wanting the court to cancel bail for Moses Kuria, the MP from Gatundu South, for inciting the public through the social media.

In Nigeria the Vanguard carries a report on Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala saying that corruption persisted in the country because Nigeria lacks the institutions, systems and processes to prevent it.

The daily quotes Okonjo-Iweala as saying that the problem had existed for a long time. She said this was happening because the symptoms are looked into but not the cause of the disease.

 

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