UGANDA- Ban on live media coverage of opposition protests
President Yoweri Museveni is set to be sworn in for his fifth term on 12th May 2016. The leading opposition party
FDC has called for a defiance campaign during the swearing-in ceremony as part of its protest against the 30 years Museveni has been president.
On its part, the government has reacted by issuing a ban on all live media coverage of the protests as well as any coverage on the social media platform. Any media house that goes against this order faces revocation of its license in addition to other penalties. This comes barely a week after celebrating the 2016 World Press Freedom Day.
KENYA- Closure of refugee camps
The government of Kenya has stated that it plans to close the refugee camps and accept no more refugees into the country. This comes as a reaction to the "very heavy economic, security and environmental burden" that the country has been facing in supporting refugees who number a total of 600,000. Kenya seeks international assistance to send these refugees back to their countries, majority being from South Sudan and Somalia.
In a move to kick this plan into action, Kenya closed its Department of Refugee Affairs. However, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees condemned this move and asked Kenya to reconsider its decision stating that such move contravenes Kenya’s international obligations. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has also opposed the government’s decision.
SOUTH AFRICA- Jacob Zuma could face corruption charges
'The rule of law still stands and no one is above it'
Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s president has been no stranger to facing corruption charges. In fact, before becoming president in 2009, he faced as many as 700 corruption and fraud charges although they were all dropped by the prosecution just weeks before the 2009 elections.
Following a successful application by the Opposition Party Democratic Alliance (DA), the High Court in South Africa has ruled that the prosecutors acted “irrationally” in making the decision to drop all the charges thereby paving way for the beleaguered president to be charged for those offences. It now up to The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to decide if it wants to reinstate the charges.