African press review 18 July 2017

Have the South Sudan peace talks collapsed or just been postponed? Have Riek Machar's men been surrounded or is that just government propaganda? Who kidnapped two Catholic priests in the DRC? And when will we find out if the vote of no confidence in South African president Jacob Zuma will be run as a secret ballot?

The South Sudan peace talks appear to have collapsed.

According to a report in the East African, discussions scheduled last week in Kampala and intended to reunite the three factions of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement collapsed after South Sudan's former vice president, Riek Machar, was not invited to the meeting.

The chief mediator, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, faced mounting pressure from diplomats from Western countries to invite the South Sudan rebel leader.

Some delegations had already arrived in the Ugandan capital for the talks when it became clear that Machar would not appear. President Yoweri Museveni refused to invite him, describing Machar as "a traitor". South Sudan President Salva Kiir’s government had protested against the talks because Juba did not want Machar in attendance.

Riek Machar is currently in exile, living under house arrest in South Africa.

The authorities in Kampala denied that the talks had collapsed, saying the discussions had simply been postponed to 20 July because the Ugandan president’s schedule would not allow him to chair the sessions.

Machar's men deny government claims

The main story in today's Sudan Tribune reports that South Sudanese rebels loyal to Riek Machar have dismissed as untrue reports that their headquarters had been surrounded by pro-government forces.

The rebels urged the public not to panic, describing the report as “wishful thinking” and “white propaganda” by the government, intended to boost the morale of the defeated national forces.

Catholic priests captured by ethnic raiders in DRC

Two Catholic priests have been kidnapped in the DRC, the East African tells us.

The report says the two men were kidnapped by what the regional newspaper calls "ethnic militia forces" in North Kivu province.

The priests are said to be from the Nande community, a group frequently involved in clashes with the neighbouring Hunde people.

Security forces are searching for the missing men.

No word on secret ballot for Zuma vote

There's still no word on the upcoming vote of no confidence in South African President Jacob Zuma.

According to a report in the Johannesburg-based financial paper BusinessDay, opposition parties in parliament are increasing the pressure on National Assembly speaker, Baleka Mbete, to make an announcement on whether the vote of no confidence will take place by secret or open ballot.

Opposition parties have suggested that Mbete could not preside over the vote of confidence objectively because she is an ANC top six official and potential successor to Zuma at the ruling party’s December conference.

In June the Constitutional Court reaffirmed the speaker’s powers to decide whether a vote should take place by secret or open ballot. Opposition MPs and some members of the ruling party believe a secret ballot will give ANC MPs the freedom to vote according to their conscience, without fear of intimidation.

Four ANC MPs have already recieved death threats after calling for a conscience vote on the no confidence motion. All four are women.

Was Boris Becker a big buyer of Nigerian oil?

German tennis player Boris Becker may have lost part of his 100-million-euro fortune because of questionable investments in the Nigerian oil industry, according to a story in this morning's Nigerian paper, Punch.

The 49-year-old former tennis ace was declared bankrupt in a London court last month. Speculation has been rife over how Becker managed to squander a huge personal fortune.

Among other things, says Punch, Boris Becker made big investments in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, and at one point considered a single investment of more than 10 million euros. The paper says it is not clear if that deal went ahead.

Double roadside bombs kill Egyptian police officers

At least five Egyptian policemen were killed and six wounded yesterday by two roadside explosions in the Sinai Peninsula, according to the front page of this morning's Cairo-based Egypt Independent.

The five officers were killed in the city of Arish, the capital of North Sinai province, when their armoured vehicle drove past a roadside bomb. Three others were wounded.

Another armoured vehicle rushed to the scene only for a second roadside bomb to go off, injuring three policemen. Attackers apparently planted the explosives and detonated them remotely as the vehicles drove by.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Egypt faces an insurgency led by the Islamic State armed group in North Sinai, where hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed since 2013, when the military ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi after mass protests.