African press review 19 January 2017

The Gambia crisis makes the headlines in several countries, and in Kenya, more on the upcoming elections.

Several outlets lead with “Senegal troops move to Gambia border as Jammeh crisis grows” - that is The East African’s frontpage headline.

The article reports that Senegalese troops have been seen moving towards the Gambian border in a show of force to pressure President Yahya Jammeh to stand down.

Wednesday was meant to be his last day in office, the paper says, but parliament has granted him three more months.

It effectively stops successor Adama Barrow from being sworn in today.

That is what South Africa’s Mail & Guardian is leading with as well: “The Gambia's power-hungry Jammeh finds a way to stay." 

The article says that when Jammeh declared a state of emergency two days ago, it was to prevent what he calls a power vacuum while the supreme court rules on his petition challenging the election result.

The National Assembly resolution almost certainly gives the government authority to prevent Barrow’s inauguration.

Barrow, who is in Senegal, was examining the implications of the Assembly’s resolution and the state of emergency, given the constitutional requirement for a handover and the need to maintain peace, according to his spokesperson Halifa Sallah.

Both Nigeria’s This Day and Punch also lead with this story. This Day says that “There was palpable tension in Banjul, capital of The Gambia, yesterday” as the deadline given to President Yahya Jammeh by ECOWAS to step down by midnight or be ousted drew to a close.

Jammeh was adamant yesterday, belligerently insisting that he would remain in  office and warning that anyone who violated the state of emergency he has imposed on the country on Tuesday would be  dealt with, the paper says.

Punch reports that the Nigerian Air Force is moving a contingent of 200 men and air assets to Dakar, Senegal, which is the base of the Economic Community of West African States Military Intervention.

The East African concludes by saying that there are fears of a refugee crisis since at least 26,000 Gambians, mostly women and children, had already crossed into Senegal by Monday evening amid fears that violence could erupt, according to the UN refugee agency, citing Senegalese government figures.

In Kenya, the upcoming elections are making the headlines.

Both the Daily Nation and The Standard lead with Onyango Oloo, who has been President Uhuru Kenyatta's point-man in Nyanza, who joined Opposition party Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) on Wednesday, with a promise to help party leader Raila Odinga win the coming elections.

Oloo, who was the secretary general of the defunct The National Alliance Party (TNA), which Uhuru used to get to power in 2013, said he would reveal Jubilee's secrets which he said would boost Raila's State House bid.

He sensationally claimed President Kenyatta did not win the 2013 General Election but rigged his way to power even as Raila received him in Kisumu.

Oloo’s former colleagues in Jubilee, however, laughed off his claims, saying he had no access to any secrets.

In a related matter, Daily Nation reports that thousands of potential voters could be locked out of the August 8 General Election for failing to register to vote, many of them for lack of the documents required to be listed.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) targets six million new voters by February 14, or about 200,000 daily. But figures filed by its county officers show an average of only 2,000 listings per day in each of the 47 counties, which is less than half the target.

If you have been reading The Standard two days ago, you might wonder if maybe it was not about time women took the MP’s advice and withhold sex from their husbands to get these registrations up?