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African press review 18 October 2018

Corruption is causing Kenyans to suffer from food insecurity. There will be no role for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt as long as Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is president. On-line shopping is a big success in Somalia.

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Kenyans are being starved by corruption.

This is on the front page of the Nairobi-based Daily Nation. According to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, land grabbing is a common mechanism of corruption threatening food security. The report cites instances where public or private entities have used backdoor deals to secure land for themselves while displacing smallholder farmers.

Corruption has also affected Kenya's national grain reserves and market prices. An estimated 15 million euros is missing from last year's accounts of the National Cereals and Produce Board.

Kenya is ranked 87th of the 113 countries studied, with the report noting that the prolonged electioneering period last year stalled economic investments in several sectors including agriculture.

The same report ranks Singapore in top place in the index that measures the affordability, safety and availability of food in 113 countries across the globe.

No role for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt

There will be no role for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt as long as Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is president.

This is reported on the front page of this morning's Cairo-based Egypt Independent newspaper.

In an interview with a Kuwaiti daily, Sisi says that the Egyptian people would refuse the return of the Muslim Brotherhood.

He blamed the islamic fundamentalist group for the violent failure of the Arab Spring revolutions in several countries, notably Yemen and Libya. The Egyptian leader added that Syria has only just begun to recover from the crisis and needs help to rebuild.

Internet shopping a success in Somalia

On-line shopping has arrived in Somalia.

This is the top story in this morning's regional daily, the East African.

Somalia is one of the world’s poorest countries and has been at war for the past 25 years.

There’s no postal service and less than 2 percent of the population is connected to the internet.

Parts of the country are still plagued by al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants.

Despite all that, the web marketing company Soomar, set up two years ago, now sells more than 25,000 items a month on-line, offering a range of goods from fresh fish to electronics and office supplies.

Items ordered online   from the Apple MacBook Air at 1,000 euros to the five euro chicken salad   are delivered by motorbike or car, a final leg of the journey that can be tricky in a country where maps are sketchy and roads in ruins.

Customers pay using accounts linked to their mobile phones.

South Africa maintains links with Saudi Arabia

The South African department of international relations and cooperation has expressed “concern” over the “disappearance” of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but will continue to support business with the Gulf state despite allegations that government officials were involved in Khashoggi’s murder.

Khashoggi’s body has yet to be found, but according to numerous reports the journalist was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, and dismembered and buried on the consulate grounds.

The South African government has faced pressure to squash a potential deal between Saudi Arabia and the South African-owned arms manufacturer Denel, but the deal remains ongoing despite reports of Khashoggi’s gruesome killing.

South Africa’s international relations minister Lindiwe Sisulu has confirmed that the Saudi government is eager to purchase a stake in Denel.

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