African press review 12 March 2012

The bomb attacks in Nigeria and Kenya dominate this morning's African front pages.

According to The Guardian in Lagos, barely a fortnight after suicide bombers attacked the Church of Christ in Nigeria headquarters in Jos killing at least six people, St Finbarr’s catholic Church in the same northern city was yesterday hit by another suicide bomb attack, which claimed 11 lives and left several people injured.

Reacting to the latest attack against the background of assurances from the government and security forces after earlier bomb blasts in the city, irate youths in the Rayfield area were involved in a face-off with Special Task Force personnel who raced to the church following yesterday’s blast. The youths also threatened to attack reporters who made efforts to gain access to the scene.

The Nigerian Punch reports that, after the incident, four other people were killed in reprisal attacks in various parts of Jos. Ten others were injured.

Plateau State Police, however, put the death toll from reprisals at 10.

On Sunday, according to Punch, Islamic fundamentalist militant group Boko Haram claimed responsiblity for the bombing, telling reporters in a telephone call that the suicide bombing was carried out to avenge what the caller described as the “killing and dehumanisation of Muslims”.

Across the continent in Kenya, The Daily Nation says police on Sunday arrested four people in connection with the Saturday night grenade attack at the Machakos country bus station in which six people were killed and 63 injured.

Internal Security Minister George Saitoti said on Sunday that initial indications were that the attacks had been masterminded by the Somali terror group al Shebab.

Saturday’s grenade attacks follows a posting on al Shebab’s Twitter account last week warning of an impending attack in the country.

The militant group warned that its fighters had entered Kenya and were planning to strike at strategic installations.

Kenyans on Sunday criticised the global television network CNN for depicting the Nairobi grenade blasts as an eruption of “violence” in the country.

Coverage of the Machakos attack by the US-based network featured a banner with a blazing Kenyan flag and the words “Violence in Kenya”. Kenyans demanded an apology from the CNN correspondent in Nairobi, David McKenzie.

“Our reporting last night was accurate, the banner used in the bulletin was not. Apologies to all,” said McKenzie in reply.

In South Africa, tension in the ruling alliance has reached a new high, with African National Congress leaders taking offence at a Congress of South African Trade Unions accusation that they had introduced a new form of "economic apartheid" by implementing Gauteng’s new highway tolling system.

According to the financial daily, BusinessDay, events around last week’s marches against tolling and labour brokers have also exposed deep divisions in the labour federation itself.

The most senior leaders of the ANC - including President Jacob Zuma - are expected to discuss the Cosatu charge at a meeting of the party's top six officials today.

Looking ahead, BusinessDay says parliamentary questions later this week will deal with government concerns over ‘illicit capital outflows’ from SA and Africa, as identified by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; there will also be questions on progress in transforming the criminal justice system and on the matter of presidential pardons.

President Zuma will also take questions from the public during a live breakfast television show in Port Elizabeth on Friday.

The main story in The Sowetan concerns a national plan to have all South African gold miners tested for tuberculosis.

According to the National Union of Mineworkers, the rate of tuberculosis infection among miners is the highest in the world. There are between 3,000 and 7,000 miners per 100,000 suffering from TB in the country. But even the lowest estimate, five per cent, is well above the figure of one percent for the general population.

There are 600,000 miners in SA. About 150,000 are contract workers who do not have medical benefits. The gold mining sector alone employs 150,000 people.

In Uganda, The Daily Monitor reports that the opposition Forum for Democratic Change party will have a new leader in July.

This follows the announcement earlier this year by Kiza Besigye, who will step down after three unsuccessful runs for President of Uganda, that he intends to bow out of the day-to-day running of party affairs earlier than the FDC constitution provides.

And as the race for the next FDC leader takes shape, the battle is narrowing to two party stalwarts, former Army Commander Mugisha Muntu and the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Nandala Mafabi.