African press review 19 October 2011

Kenyan Walk to Work activists could face the death penalty. Kenya and Somalia agree to fight Shebab. Hijackings frop off the coast. Was South Africa's ANC involved in Iraq oil-for-food deals? Is malaria on the way out?

Firstly a quick follow-up from Uganda about the disturbances around the Walk to Work demonstration on Monday.

The Daily Monitor of Kampala is reporting that at least 15 members of the group Activists for Change are facing charges of treason, a charge punishable by death.

The police are also searching for a member of the Forum for Democratic Change, Ingrid Turinawe. She allegedly made remarks to Activists for Change about overthrowing the government.

The paper reports that the chief of police, General Kale Kayihura, said that he had a recording of the conversation. But he has refused to comment on whether he thought that Activists for Change was a terror organisation.

Also in the news, The Daily Nation from Kenya headlines with "Kenyan and Somalia seal pact to hit Shebab". The article focuses on the "diplomatic foray" and cooperation between the governments, although the bomb attack in Mogadishu cannot be ignored.

The Nairobi-based Business Daily, however, reports that ship-hijacking off the coast of Somalia has fallen sharply due to the number of international naval patrols and interventions.

This should lower freight costs as ships have been forced to route around the Cape of South Africa.

One of the other main Africa stories is of course the upcoming second round of the presidential elections in Liberia.

The Liberian daily The New Dawn focuses not on the political alliances, but in its editorial, condemns the increasing intesnity of attacks against journalists in their homes.

The editorial condemns the Press Union of Liberia for exposing journalists to danger by branding them as "partisan journalists" or even "evil geniuses". It implores the authorities to take appropriate action in investigating these crimes in a frank and fair way.

To South Africa where The Mail and Guardian headlines with the story that President Jacob Zuma will release a report into the involvement of South African in the Iraq oil-for-food programme.

The programme, established in 1995 allowed Iraq to sell oil in exchange for food and medicine without buiding up military funding. The programme was exposed as riddled with corruption.

And according to the Mail and Guardian, the report from the Donen Commission of Inquiry apparently implicates some top ANC leaders. The report was commissioned in 2006, but wasn't released at the time.

The Freedom Front-plus, a minority party defending Afrikaans interests, questions why the report is being released now and speculates whether it in part of an internal struggle within the ANC.

Nigeria's This Day reports that deaths due to malaria have dropped by 20 per cent. This is according to the World Health Organisation. The report also states that a third of the 108 countries which have malaria are on course to eradicate the disease within 10 years.

Malaria of great concern in Africa is one of the deadliest global diseases, particularly in Africa. Experts said if targets continued to be met, a further three million lives could be saved by 2015.

There is also a story on the African news site AllAfrica.com which reports that a malaria vaccine undergoing clinical trials has shown to reduce the risk of the disease in five- to 17-year-olds by half. So more good news there.

The government-owned Zimbabwe Herald reports that the new British Ambassador to the country was given a lukewarm reception by the Vice-President John Nkomo.

He told Deborah Bronnet that she should be work towards ending the stand-off between the two countries. He told her that Zimbabweans know what is best for the country.

The two countries have had a strained relationship since Zimbabwe pursued a fast-track policy of land reform.