African press review 25 April 2011

Jesus and politics, lessons in the school holidays for Zimbabwean children, and whether the US ambassador to Kenya intends to settle there, are all key topics in some of the African papers today.

On this Easter Monday, theUganda Daily Monitor asks the big question: If Jesus were to come back today, would he walk to work?

The paper says that Easter has been celebrated against a background of tension as a cross-section of Ugandans protest government indifference to the high prices of fuel and basic commodities.

So, would Jesus walk or would he not?

"He is God and nothing happens without God’s will," says Dennis Oloka, a sofa and cushion maker at Namuwongo. "So he would not have to join the demonstrators to change anything but would simply exercise his will."

There's something a bit theologically dubious about the response of Musa Kawooya, a motor-bike taxi operator on Jinja Road: "I don’t believe Jesus could anything about the situation because he is also a person created by God."

Paulo Wakoba, who is self-employed, says Jesus would probably tell the government not to oppress the people, let them enjoy their freedom and give them peace and the good life.

Angelina Ainebyona, a mobile money dealer, says Jesus would probably be the leader of the walk-to-work campaign.

But the self-employed Richard Ntege says he doesn't think Jesus would support the walk-to-work campaign. Richard says Jesus "would probably pray and everything would be better".

Also in The Daily Monitor, opposition politician, Kizza Besigye (the man arrested at least three times in the past two weeks for trying to walk to work) is covertly working with some Western diplomats to topple the ruling National Resistance Movement by instigating mass uprising, this according to a government statement on Sunday.

Kintu Nyago, the deputy Principal Private Secretary to President Museveni, said intelligence agencies have information that Besigye obtained “quite some money” for realising “unconstitutional regime change”.

“What Besigye wants is to mimic what happened at Tahrir Square; he wants to come and sit in City Square and, using a rented crowd and hoodlums, cause fracas,” Nyago said.

The top story in today's Zimbabwe Herald says that acting Bindura Mayor, Ivory Matanhire of the MDC-T, and four councillors from her party, are demanding the immediate expulsion of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Deputy Minister, Sessel Zvidzai.

The five accuse Zvidzai of "gross favouritism, divisiveness and working to destroy everyone".

They say their compliants against Zvidzai stem from his interference in the management of Bindura Municipality and his open bias against certain councillors.

Meanwhile, The Herald in Zimbabwe says the government has warned teachers against the abuse of holiday lessons.

Apparently, many schools are making it mandatory for children to attend courses during the holidays, consequently fleecing parents of their hard-earned cash.

There is also a suspicion that teachers are purposely not completing the curriculum within the stipulated school terms, in order to justify holiday lessons and subsequent cash payments.

Teachers charge between 17 and 27 euros per child for the extra courses.

The main story on the politics page of today's Daily Nation, published in Nairobi, concerns the US Ambassador to Kenya, one Michael Ranneberger.

Yesterday, speaking at a prayer ceremony in St Stephen’s Cathedral in Nairobi, Ranneberger said he wanted to settle in Kenya.

Ranneberger is not very popular among the political elite in Kenya. He recently survived a censure motion in Parliament after being accused of "meddling with domestic affairs and behaving as if he is the president".

Ranneberger also said that Kenya must accelerate political reforms to address underlying issues of leaders’ impunity, ethnic divisions and poverty to reduce the risk of trouble during next year’s elections.

If he chooses to remain, some sections of the public may back the ambassador's decision because of the role he played in ending the 2008 post-election violence.

In sharp contrast, The Standard reports that Ranneberger is preparing to leave Kenya at the end of his five-year stint.

In his farewell interview in The Standard, the ambassador explains why the US administration has opposed the deferral of the Ocampo Six trial at the International Criminal Court.

He says that there were three causes of the post-election violence: the culture of impunity, ethnicity and poverty.

Ranneberger goes on to say that the only way Kenya can move forward is to break the relationship between these three issues. One way to do that is by ensuring accountability. And that is why the ICC process is so important.

The Standard also carries a story on more trouble in Kenyan legal circles. Only nine people have applied for the 19 posts provided by the Constitution on the Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board.

The posts are open to all practising lawyers.

Though no explanation for the lack of interest is offered, The Standard suggests that many are discouraged by the claims of vendetta and witch-hunt which followed a similar exercise under Justice Aaron Ringera during President Kibaki’s first term.