African press review 24 May 2013

Quite surprisingly, there are no major reactions in the African papers this morning to the twin suicide car bombings on an army base and a French-run uranium mine in Niger in which at least 20 people were killed.

The Nigerian press pays tribute to Chinua Achebe the great writer who died in March and  was laid to rest Thursday in a mausoleum in his hometown in eastern Anambra State.

Vanguard described Thursday’s state funeral in Achebe’s hometown, Ogidi, as a five-star burial, explaining that it was attended by the presidents of Nigeria and Ghana as well as several other dignitaries of calibre.

The Guardian says that the great Nigerian writer was buried in a blaze of tributes. 

One mourner told the Nation newspaper that Achebe was a moral compass for many Nigerians, standing on very strong moral grounds on a lot of issues in Nigeria.

In Kenya the papers lead with the government’s new plea to the UN Security Council on Thursday to "terminate" International Criminal Court charges against President Uhuru Kenyatta and other leaders over political unrest in 2008.

The Daily Nation reports that it has learned from diplomatic sources in New York that Western nations on the 15-member council told Kenyan diplomats at a private meeting that Kenyatta, Deputy President William Ruto and one of their followers must face the court.

According to the paper, the Security Council could instead ask for a one-year suspension of the case, quoting diplomats close to the UN body.

Standard Digital takes up an interesting development about the ICC case. British lawmakers pressed their government to forge closer ties with Nairobi during heated debate on Kenya, prompting an assurance that ties would be strengthened despite the International Criminal Court dilemma, according to the paper.

During the debate in the House of Lords on Wednesday, members welcomed Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent invitation to Uhuru to visit London to attend a conference on the situation in Somalia, saying it was an example of “very good relations” between Kenya and Britain.

In South Africa Mail and Guardian focuses on President Jacob Zuma’s condemnation of the use of his name as well as those of some cabinet ministers to secure privileges. The president's statement follows the release of the report into the landing of a chartered plane carrying guests destined for the Gupta family wedding at the Waterkloof Air Force Base in April.

According to Business Day the report found that the name of the president and several ministers was used by the Guptas, Indian diplomats and some top government officials to flout procedures and secure privileges. Pretoria News notes with dismay Zuma’s dismissal of the opposition’s attempt to turn the affair into a “Guptagate” scandal, describing it as “grandstanding”.