African press review 12 June 2018

More on the Kenyan corruption crisis. South Sudan faces a clampdown on illegal flows of cash. Paul Malong Awan, former South Sudanese army chief of staff, calls for the departure of President Salva Kiir. And Botswana plans to increase the output of its coal-mining sector.

Five suspects accused of defrauding the Kenyan National Youth Service of the shilling equivalent of nearly one million euros say a magistrate relied on an illegal document to deny them bail.

The five also want action taken against investigating officer Mike Muia for signing the affidavit to deny them bail when he was not authorised to do so by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.

The accused are part of a group of over 40 Kenyans who are charged in connection with the disappearance of nearly five million euros from the coffers of the National Youth Service.

US puts the squeeze on South Sudan cash flows

A senior US official is visiting east and central Africa to discuss the flow of illegal cash from South Sudan.

The Department of Treasury Under-Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Sigal Mandelker, was in Uganda yesterday and was scheduled to proceed to Nairobi and the DRC. Her task is to organise the freezing of the assets of South Sudan leaders blacklisted by Washington over alleged corruption and the support of armed fighters.

Mandelker's visit is part of a US effort to stop cash leaving South Sudan and the DRC illegally.

Paul Malong says it's time for Kiir to go

Paul Malong Awan, former South Sudanese army chief of staff, has called for the departure of President Salva Kiir.

According to a report in the Sudan Tribune, Malong says Kiir has failed and it is now time for him to relinquish his mandate. That will allow the people of South Sudan to decide who will be their next leader, instead of the government continuing to use divide-and-rule policies.

Malong insists he personally has no interest in taking over from President Kiir, the man who sacked him from his top army post.

UN peacekeeper killed in CAR

A Burundian soldier in the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic was killed late on Sunday in a clash in the centre of the country. The news of the man's death has just been released by the United Nations.

The fighting occurred in the central town of Bambari. A CAR soldier was also injured.

The death comes a week after a Tanzanian peacekeeper was killed and seven others were wounded when their patrol was ambushed in the village of Dilapoko in the south-western Mambere-Kadei prefecture.

The UN force has been in the CAR since April 2014, assisting to stabilise the country in the wake of clashes between Muslim and Christian communities.

Bad news for the global environment from Botswana

South African paper BusinessDay report that Botswana’s sole operating coal mine will increase output almost threefold over the next seven years as it eyes export opportunities created by a shortage of the fuel that’s used to fire most of southern Africa’s power plants.

The Morupule coal mine in the east of the country will ramp up annual production to eight million tonnes by 2025 from the current output of 2.8 million tonnes and is targeting shipments to South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Eskom, which accounts for 95 percent of South Africa’s electricity generation, is experiencing shortages of coal at up to six of its plants and has issued a request for proposals for the supply of an additional 100 million tonnes over the next six years.

In a separate report BusinessDay notes that coal prices in Asia are being driven to their highest levels in years by a combination of simultaneous demand growth in the region’s top four importers.

Coal is at its highest price for six years as China, India, Japan and South Korea imported more of the polluting fuel in the first five months of this year than in the same period in 2017.

According to BusinessDay, coal prices are performing strongly despite the fuel becoming increasingly unpopular in many countries because of its contribution to air pollution and climate change.

Egypt adopts new media legislation

The Egyptian parliament has approved a law regulating the press and broadcast media.

Under the new legislation, all newspapers, media outlets and websites are prohibited from publishing or broadcasting false news and encouraging or inciting violence, hatred, discrimination between citizens, racism or intolerance. It also prohibits slander or insult to religion.

The law applies to personal blogs and to social media accounts with more than 5,000 followers.