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African press review 28 June 2018

There's more trouble in Nigeria, in the wake of last weekend's killings in Plateau State. And things are not looking great, or any less complictated, for the South Sudan peace agreement.

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There have been serious disturbances in Nigeria, in the wake of the Plateau massacre.

According to the top story in today's Punch newspaper, violent protest rocked Jos, the capital of Plateau State, yesterday, as residents protesting the killings in three local government areas of the state by herdsmen invaded the state secretariat destroying vehicles and buildings.

Meanwhile, a group calling itself the Middle Belt Forum has called on Plateau State residents and other Nigerians in the country's central area to defend themselves against armed herdsmen with anything at their disposal.

Insisting that the government had failed to protect citizens, the forum called for the organisation of vigilance groups, telling them to use anything within their reach to fight the killers.

More than 100 people died in last weekend's attacks, which are being blamed on cattle herders.

When is a deal not a deal?

Things are not looking great for the latest South Sudan peace deal.

According to regional paper the East African, rebel forces have already demanded amendments to the framework agreement announced in Khartoum earlier this week.

The rebels are opposed to the division of the country into three regions, the invitation of foreign forces to supervise the ceasefire, and the resumption of oil production prior to a comprehensive negotiated settlement.

Rebel leader Riek Machar yesterday asked to be given two more days for consultations within his own party and with other opposition factions before signing the deal.

Khartoum accentuates the positives

The Khartoum-based Sudan Tribune underlines the positive aspects of this second round of face-to-face talks between Kiir and Machar. The pair have agreed to a ceasefire, described by the Tribune as "comprehensive and lasting", though we've had those before and they didn't make much difference on the ground. The ceasefire is due to come into effect on Saturday.

According to the Sudanese foreign ministry, the parties agreed to open humanitarian corridors, release detainees, withdraw troops and militarily disengage.

The Sudan Tribune report makes no mention of Riek Machar's call for a 48-hour period of reflection on the deal by opposition groups.

That South Sudan story is making front-page news as far away as Nigeria, where the Guardian daily newspaper gives broadly the same details on the framework agreement, noting that, tragically, several previous ceasefire agreements have been violated.

Who tried to kill Emmerson Mnangagwa?

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said he suspects a group linked to former first lady Grace Mugabe was behind last weekend's attempt on Mnangagwa's life.

Two people died and more than 40 were injured in an explosion near Mnangagwa at a rally in Bulawayo on Saturday.

The president has since said he suspected the G40 group, which supported Grace Mugabe for the presidency, had carried out the attack.

Despite the apparent assassination attempt, Mnangagwa said there would be no countrywide security clampdown and elections scheduled for the end of next month would go ahead in a free and fair manner.

Politicians in Egypt put the boot in

The top story in this morning's Cairo-based Egypt Independent says parliament is to investigate the national team's failure at the World Cup.

Egypt crashed out without a single win in the three-match opening phase.

Now a group of MPs have called for a fact-finding committee to investigate possible violations by the Egyptian Football Association and allegations of corruption during the competition in Russia.

Some MPs accuse the Egyptian Football Association of squandering public funds.

Museveni lays into sacked police chief

Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has accused the jailed former Inspector General of Police General Kale Kayihura of crippling police professionalism, according to the Kampala-based Daily Monitor.

The report says Museveni yesterday told MPs that Kayihura had side-stepped formal police structures and chose to work with civilian informers, effectively undermining formal police structures.

Museveni also blamed General Kayihura for leaping to the defence of junior officers, even when they had claerly broken the law.

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