African press review 26 September 2012

Why were churchgoers in Mohlakeng, South Africa, shocked? How did Julius Malema come by 370,000 euros? How do Congolese school students pay for their studies? Why are Malawians selling their blood?

The Sowetan in its own inimitable style exposes ... a brothel in a church.

The paper reports the shock of Mohlakeng worshippers in Randfontein who found beer bottles, used condoms and pornographic magazines scattered all over their mission house. The article quotes one of the church-goers as saying, "It's disgusting and whoever did this does not deserve to be part of this church.”

SA’s former ANC’s youth leader Julius Malema’s legal troubles are not over. It looks like the country’s legal establishment is tightening a noose around his neck.

The Mail and Guardian reports that the youth leader is slated to appear today in court on corruption charges. He is accused of illegally making over 370,000 euros from a deal between a company in which he is a major shareholder and the Limpopo department of roads and transport.

The Congolese Le Potentiel leads with an exclusive investigation into the heartbreaking phenomenon of children who have to work to finance their primary and secondary education.

"In both Kinshasa and provinces, a lot of children have to become street smart to pay their school fees," reports the paper. According to the article, the kids work as carriers, shoeshiners, “ambulant beauty therapists” or paper handkerchief sellers. One of the boys featured in the article, a 13 year old called Jean, told the paper that when his father lost his job, he and his older brother had to start selling “pure water” in the city to pay for their studies.

Another exclusive and shocking report comes from Malawi. The Nyasa Times reports a rapidly spreading phenomenon of residents of the lakeshore resort district of Mangochi resorting to selling their own blood for survival.

One of the residents told the paper that blood has become a booming business in Mangochi because the district hospital is in “calamitous need” of blood to meet the emergent demand to supply the sick, especially pregnant women. The hospital’s blood bank is always running dry, said one vendor, Anusa Rajabu.

Nyasa Times reports that the vendors buy a pint from people at seven euros per pint and resell it to patients at the district hospital at 14 euros - more than 100 per cent profit.

Patients are desperate. “We hope the government will intervene, otherwise things are out of hand,” said the guardian of a patient who in need of blood but can’t afford to buy from the money-hungry vendors.

Zimbabwe’s Newsday is “celebrating beauty with brains”. The national daily tells the news of an unusual beauty contest, held exclusively among the students of the country’s top universities, including the National University of Science and Technology.

According to the paper, the models will receive free grooming lessons and listen to presentations from influential modelling and business gurus to help widen their knowledge on various issues.

One of the pageant organisers Prominence Makaza told the paper that the event was born out of the need to celebrate beauty with brains after the realisation that most models at some local pageants were failing to answer general questions about their country and its natural resources.

And finally, our daily reading from the aunt Nangy’s love column in the Namibian Sun.

Here’s a question one of the readers puts to “Dear Auntie Nangy”. I’m a 20-year-old female virgin. I got my first boyfriend last year, but this is just begging for sex every time I visit him. Sex is something I’m still scared of and not willing to involve myself in yet, but he seems to stand fast on it. Do you think I will ever find a kind, honest, caring and a respectful guy or am I wasting my time, Auntie?

Answer: No angel, you’re not wasting your time and you will find the man that you’re looking for, but it is most definitely not this guy. Trust your instincts and break up with him. What this guy is doing by insisting on sex against your will by using your feelings for him is
called emotional blackmail and you should never fall for it. Take care, Angel!