African press review 5 May 2016

The Committee to Protect Journalists asks the authorities in Egypt to ease up on the press. There's another heated debate in the South African parliament, with the Economic Freedom Fighters getting kicked out again and President Jacob Zuma being called a thief. And the opposition in Kenya is none too happy either.

DR

According to the front page of the Cairo-based Egypt Independent, the American Committee to Protect Journalists says the Egyptian authorities should not support efforts to “silence the press” after the public prosecutor banned media coverage of a case in which two journalists were arrested at the headquarters of the Egyptian journalists' trade union.

Egyptian security forces raided the press syndicate’s headquarters on Sunday and arrested two men, Amr Badr and Mahmoud al-Saqqa.

Badr is the editor of Yanair Gate, a news site which is considered critical of the government, and Saqqa works for the same website.

The state prosecutor issued a warrant for their arrest on charges of inciting protests, attempting to overthrow the regime and broadcasting false news with the aim of disturbing public peace.

Punch-up in South African parliament

Barbs and insults flew thick and fast in the South African Parliament yesterday afternoon after the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane described President Jacob Zuma as a thief.

The story is on the front page of the Johannesburg-based paper BusinessDay.

"The truth is that this man is a thief‚" Mmusi Maimane said during the presidency’s budget vote in the National Assembly. There was heckling‚ shouting and fists flying as Economic Freedom Fighters members were kicked out by security officials.

African National Congress (ANC) Chief Whip Jackson Mthembu Jackson leapt to Zuma’s defence‚ demanding that the "insult" be withdrawn.

Inkatha Freedom Party MP Narend Singh said the term "thief" was offensive.

Zuma was also referred to as "accused number one" by the Democratic Alliance as arguments erupted over arms deal charges being reinstated against him following a ruling by the North Gauteng High Court, which found that the National Prosecuting Authority was wrong to drop fraud‚ corruption and racketeering charges against the president.

Goodwill Zwelithini gets more time

The same paper reports that the South African Human Rights Commission has delayed the release of its report into alleged hate speech by Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini against foreign nationals.

Thirty-one complaints were made about statements by the Zulu ruler in April 2015, with complainants linking the king’s statements to subsequent attacks on foreign nationals in which at least seven people lost their lives.

The commission said new information obtained in the investigation compelled it to provide the complainants and the respondent with another opportunity to comment. All parties have been given until Friday 20 May to react.

The report was originally due to be released on April 30.

Suspension or amicable agreement?

BusinessDay also looks into the news that the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has suspended the accreditation of Africa’s only laboratory for testing the blood and urine of athletes for five months while it updates its equipment.

A spokesman for the Bloemfontein facility said the laboratory did not plan to appeal the suspension as the shutdown was planned with the world agency to allow the upgrading of equipment and additional staff training.

The laboratory says the decision to close was an "amicable" one.

Kenyan opposition threaten boycott

In Kenya the Standard reports that opposition leader Raila Odinga has vowed to boycott next year's elections if the electoral commission is not reconstituted.

Raila warned that there would be "no reason for us to participate" if the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, whose commissioners he wants ousted, was not overhauled.

The ruling Jubilee coalition and the opposition Coalition for Reforms and Democracy have meanwhile welcomed the proposal by 11 foreign envoys based in Nairobi for talks on electoral reform ahead of the next general election.

The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy has called for the removal of the commissioners named in the ballot paper procurement scandal, which has led to people being jailed for bribery in the UK.