Nigeria: Boko Haram Being Progressively Weakened - Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has said that with the security measures put in place by his administration, the Boko Haram sect is being progressively weakened.

Speaking at the Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday while receiving the outgoing representative of the delegation of the European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. David Mac Rae, Jonathan said his administration would remain proactive in combating terrorism.

According to the president, although measures taken by his administration have significantly reduced the occurrence of terrorist attacks in the country, the government will continue doing everything possible to further enhance security in all parts of the country.

"As a government, we are doing everything possible to improve our country on all fronts. We are consistently adapting our security architecture to deal with terrorism which has become a challenge to the whole world. Boko Haram is being progressively weakened but we are not resting on our oars. We will continue to do everything possible to achieve greater security for all who reside within our borders," the president said.

Jonathan, who maintained that many positive things were happening in the country, added that his administration would continue to do its best to correct negative perceptions about the nation, such as the notion of widespread insecurity and corruption.

He welcomed the declaration by the outgoing ambassador that he had recently travelled to the Niger Delta and some northern states and found people there going about their normal lives and businesses without fear.

Egypt Arrests Muslim Brotherhood Leader Beltagi

Cairo — Egyptian police captured Mohamed el-Beltagy, a senior Muslim Brotherhood official, on Thursday, Former labour minister Khaled al-Azhari was also held.

Beltagy, a former member of parliament and head of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, was arrested in Giza governorate, just outside of the Egyptian capital, state television reported on Thursday.

Beltagi had urged Egyptians to join rallies against the military on Friday, in a recorded statement aired by the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera television news network this week.

Egyptian Police threatened to use live rounds at planned anti-government rallies, pressing ahead with a campaign that has thrown Egypt's oldest Islamist organisation into disarray.

Uganda Struggles to Come to Terms With Its Disappeared

Lamwo — When Uganda resident Rose Lamwaka had two sons abducted by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) 10 years ago she felt she had lost all hope. "I was feeling a lot of pain, I was feeling like committing suicide," says the 51-year-old widow with seven grandchildren.

Last week, Lamwaka joined hundreds from the northern district of Lamwo to remember their abducted children, still missing from the decades-long civil war between the LRA and the government. More than 200 family members with relatives still unaccounted for read the names of their lost ones in a ceremony of prayer and song.

Northern Uganda was the epicentre of a legacy of violence, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says the number of people abducted since the war started in the late 1980s ranges between 52,000 and 75,000. Though Uganda has been free from LRA attacks since 2006, and a number of former child soldiers have returned, the ICRC estimates thousands remain missing from the north as a result of the conflict.

"Because there is no official figure of those missing, we had to extrapolate on what we found here," said Camilla Matteucci, ICRC protection coordinator. "And our projection is that at least 10,000 people are still missing in northern Uganda."

Left behind

The commemoration in Uganda not only acknowledged those still missing but also marked the end of a four-month community counselling pilot programme for more than 200 affected family members of the abducted in Lamwo District. As that project initially targeted only one sub-county, it used those affected families as a baseline to extrapolate the total number that have gone missing across the northern region.

According to Beatrice Ocaya, the local women's councillor in Lamwo, the ceremony was an important step in recognizing the ongoing support needed by families torn apart by the LRA conflict.

"There is no longer war, but some parents are ever crying," she said.

ICRC says relatives left behind have been silently suffering with ambiguous loss, and the isolation that breeds has far-reaching social and economic impacts on populations still recovering from conflict.

Congo-Kinshasa: DRC Accuses Rebel M23 of Shelling Rwanda

The Democratic Republic of Congo's government has denied that its armed forces, known as F.A.R.D.C, have been launching cross-border attacks into Rwanda.

Rwanda said Thursday that more than 30 bombs and rockets have been fired across the border in the last week by the DRC military.

But DRC Information Minister Lambert Mende told VOA it is the M23 rebels who have been shelling Rwandan territory in an attempt to draw Rwanda into the conflict in eastern Congo in support of the M23.

"I can say that at this moment since the fighting began not even a single the FARDC fire at Rwanda. We know that there are shellings from the Congo territory that are exploding in the Rwandan territory.

"But we know that this shelling is the fact of M23 rebels who are trying to bring Rwanda in the conflict officially because we know Rwanda is helping them, but it is not doing so openly," he said.

In a statement Thursday, Rwanda's Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, Olivier Nduhungierehe accused Congo of trying to draw Rwanda into the conflict between the DRC army and M23 rebels in the city of Goma, which sits on the Congolese-Rwandan border.

Nduhungierehe said the Congolese army crossed a red line by shelling Rwanda territory and that Rwanda reserves the right to defend itself.

"The persisting shelling on Rwandan territory is unacceptable as it would be to any sovereign nation. We have the capacity to determine who fired at us and will not hesitate to defend our territory," Nduhungierehe said.

Mende said the DRC army, already occupied with fighting the M23, has no reason to attack Rwanda.

"If they are saying it may be that they are in complicity with the M23 to implicate themselves in the conflict for reasons, I don't know, economic. All what we want is that our neighbor be far away from this conflict because we have lost a lot of people due to their implication in the conflict in Congo," Mende said.

Mende accused M23 rebels of initiating the latest fighting prompting the Congolese army to retaliate.

"It is M23 who attack the positions of F.A.R.D.C. and the F.A.R.D.C. had to absolutely defend itself. F.A.R.D.C. retaliated and pushed them away and then they started shelling on Goma, shelling from Kibati and we have some shelling from Rwanda. That is why MONUSCO came in to repulse the M23 so that the civilian population in Goma is protected because it is the mandate of MONUSCO to protect civilian population," Mende said.

South Sudan: Immense Humanitarian Needs in Jonglei

Pibor — Tens of thousands of people, many of them displaced, remain in need of humanitarian assistance in South Sudan's Jonglei State following clashes there in July.*

Some 74,000 residents of the state's Pibor County - around half of its entire population - have been registered to receive aid, notably food.

In all, some 42,000 have received food rations in different parts of the county, half of them in Pibor town. There have been no distributions in that town since a series of incidents precipitated a review of operations on 18 August, by which time the World Food Programme (WFP) had, according to spokeswoman Challis McDonough, helped the majority of those in need who had managed to reach the town.

On 29 August, WFP started distributing 15-day rations of sorghum, vegetable oil, pulses and salt to some of the 23,000 people from 20 villages that have been registered in the town of Gumuruk.

"In all we hope to reach 60,000 people, the vast majority women and children in Pibor County, many of whom will need help for the rest of the year because they missed the planting season," said McDonough.

"This is one of the most challenging environments in terms of security and logistics - there is a dire lack of usable roads at this time of year which means many places can only be reached by helicopter, which have a limited capacity and require security arrangements on the ground to ensure safe distribution," she said.

"People are suffering," said Moses Ajak, a representative in the commissioner's office.

Outside his window people who had been hiding in the bush for weeks and then walked for days - some up to a week - to register for the food packages are waiting in the yard, many without protection from the heavy rain.

"During the night we host as many as we can in the commissioner's office. Others are forced to sleep outside," Moses Ajak said.

Over 100,000 displaced

More than 100,000 people are still displaced or in other ways affected by the violence that broke out in July between the Lou Nuer and Murle communities, and following clashes between the government and a rebel group led by David Yau Yau.

Many of them are out of reach of humanitarian support. In Pibor town, some people who had already left their villages to come here to look for food were either left in town among the soldiers or returned home empty-handed.

"I came to Pibor when I heard they were handing out food," said Thalano Kolen who walked from the village of Lilot with her six remaining children. The other two, a boy and a small girl, were killed when groups of what Thalano believes was Lou Nuer youth attacked the village.

"We have been living in the bush without food or shelter for weeks. I gave the children some wild fruits but when they got diarrhoea I decided to come here. I do not feel safe staying in town with the soldiers but I cannot walk back to the village without food," Thalano said.

Many of the displaced are women and children. The men are hiding in the bush, afraid to come into town because of the military presence, the women explained.

Others, like Thalano Kolen's husband, were killed in the fighting.

They are left to fend for themselves in a region that remains cut off due to insecurity and heavy rains.

The rainy season, which turns roads, villages, market areas and cattle camps into mud, restricts the movement and reach of aid agencies. Only 10 percent of Jonglei is accessible by road during the rains.

Limited air assets and lack of useable airstrips make it difficult to reach the neediest, especially with heavy foodstuffs.

"People need plastic sheeting to build their 'tukuls' [huts]. They also need medical treatment, but most of all they need food," said James Nyikcho, who works with a local NGO in Pibor town.

In Pibor town local authorities and aid workers stressed the need for aid to resume.

"When two women were killed by SPLA [Sudanese People's Liberation Army] soldiers and one woman was raped coming to town, all NGOs left. I heard they might return at the beginning of September but no one knows for sure," said Moses Ajak at the commissioner's office.

Hopes for peace

In late July, Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul, who chairs the recently established National Reconciliation Commission, called for the full implementation of a peace agreement signed in May 2012 by the paramount chiefs of all six communities in Jonglei State.

In a statement, Deng said this agreement had set a "peace from the roots" process in motion but that this was subsequently derailed by Yau Yau, whose "rebellion against the central government is not part of the same dynamic as the conflict between communities" but has nonetheless drawn these communities back into conflict and rearmament.

"We believe that the 2012 Jonglei peace agreement is still a viable option," said the archbishop, who went on to urge Yau Yau to accept an amnesty offered by President Salva Kiir.

Central African Republic: Thousands Take Refuge At Airport

More than 5,000 people have taken refuge at the main airport in the Central African Republic after days of fighting and unrest in the capital.

The U.N. refugee agency says Bangui has endured more than a week of violence, looting, armed robberies and other problems, prompting many residents to flee their neighborhoods.

It says the thousands who gathered at Bangui International Airport are blocking the runway, forcing flights to be rerouted to Cameroon.

The U.N. agency urged authorities to use all means to restore security and protect the population.

The CAR has been wracked by lawlessness since the rebel movement Seleka overthrew President Francois Bozize in March.

The U.N. refugee agency says there are now more than 206,000 internally displaced people in the CAR. Another 63,000 have fled to neighboring countries since the Seleka rebellion began last December.

Uganda: Makerere Lecturers Call Off Strike

Makerere University academic, administrative and support staff who have been on strike for about a month have suspended the industrial action and agreed to resume work.

The decision was reached in a joint general assembly Thursday morning chaired by Dr. Mohammed Kiggundu, the chairman of the academic staff association (MUASA).

Consequently, the university council is holding an emergency meeting to announce reopening of the university which has been closed for about three weeks.

The development comes after staff associations agreed to the university council's proposal to consolidate the 36 allowances to pay a 70% top-up incentive allowance to each member of staff on Tuesday.

"In addition to the salary that each member of staff receives, the University Council has proposed 70% incentive allowance for every member of staff, as the University Council continues to engage the Government of Uganda for the 100% salary increment," said Ritah Namisango, the university publicist.

"Today, (Thursday) 29th August 2013, at the Joint General Assembly of three staff associations has adopted the aforementioned incentive allowance from the University Council, and the staff have agreed to suspend the strike."

In the new deal, the 36 allowances are to be merged into one incentive stipend paid to all staff members irrespective of their designation.

The university has been closed for about three weeks since academic and administrative staff went on strike demanding for 100% salary increment.

Louis Kakinda, spokesperson of the academic staff association (MUASA), said the new deal only awaits today's joint staff meeting to decide on calling off the strike.

"We have agreed that the university collects all the money hitherto spent in the 36 allowances and pays it in form of an incentive depending on the individual's salary scale but not selectively as has been the case," he added.

Some of the allowances to be scrapped include marking of exams allowance hitherto for academic staff only, and another for teaching evening classes.

Others include administrative allowance which was paid to academic staff elected into administrative offices like deans.

The university spends sh25b of its internally generated funds on allowances annually. The unfair allowances have been a source of numerous strikes previously including one in 2011.

Formerly each faculty would handle its own money from the private students.

Staff in 'dry' faculties like education and arts used to advocate for the consolidation of the allowances, while their counterparts in 'wet' faculties with more revenue from private students would oppose the plan because they earned a better pay.

An analysis New Vision conducted in 2010 indicated that the then vice-chancellor, Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba, was entitled to sh3.8m top-up allowance per month, his deputy sh3.7m, the university secretary sh3.4m, a senior lecturer (PhD holder) sh3.4m and a lecturer sh3m.

In the latest deal, instead of being paid by the faculties, lecturers and other staff will now receive their enhancement package from the center.

It means that those who used to earn more money will forfeit a certain percentage to cater for their counterparts who used to earn less. Other staff like administrative assistants and librarians who used not get top-up allowance at all will also benefit.

For instance, the VC's allowance will reduce to sh2.05m, his deputy sh1.9m, and a university secretary sh1.6m. Professors will get sh1.7m, associate professors sh1.6m, while senior lecturers will get sh1.4m.

Laboratory assistants, the lowest paid staff members, will get an incentive of sh187,667 while teaching assistants will earn sh203,559.

Kakinda described the incentive as a better offer than the 20% salary increment the university council had presented initially.

"20% increment was very insensitive and demotivating at the same time. Here there is no increase in expenditure. It is only reallocation of the money in the budget," he stated. "Internally, it is a far better deal than we would have hoped to get last year. Everyone will get something more than the official salary at the end of the month."

Even if today's joint assembly calls off the strike, Kakinda said their quest for 100% salary increment from the Government will continue.

Former MUASA chairman Dr. Tanga Odoi also welcomed the new allowance, saying some staff members especially the deans lived like kings at the expense of others.

"Even their dogs were paid better than us," he remarked.

University spokesperson Ritah Namisango said the University Council also agreed to continue engaging the Government for 100% salary increment.

Zimbabwe Sails Close to Economic Rocks

Harare — For President Robert Mugabe to defeat the opposition in the Jul. 31 election by hook or by crook may have been a walk in the park, but beating the economic crisis will be another matter. The stock market fell 11 percent the day he was sworn in, the biggest fall in a day since 2009.
Fears are rising that the policies of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) will further scare away foreign investors.
"Zanu-PF's current policy mix is in conflict with the needs of investors, and at present Zimbabwe is the least attractive investment destination worldwide," John Robertson, director of the Robertson Economic Information Services told IPS.
"Any proposition that an economic turnaround can be launched by the new government will depend upon the speed at which improvements can be brought about in the population's purchasing-power, depending upon a recovery in employment."
"Any proposition that an economic turnaround can be launched by the new government will depend upon the speed at which improvements can be brought about in the population's purchasing-power, depending upon a recovery in employment."
According to Zimbabwe's Indigenisation Act of 2007, foreign-owned companies are forced to cede 51 percent of their shares to local people. But economists warn that the indigenisation policy is driving investors away.
"Foreign investors are obliged to bring in 100 percent of the capital, bear 100 percent of the risk, provide 100 percent of the technology, and in turn settle for 49 percent of the equity and pay taxes," independent economist Kingston Nyakurukwa told IPS.
Mugabe's policies have been a particular blow to agriculture. Agriculture provided employment for 60-70 percent of the population before the 2000 land reform programme that enforced greater local ownership of farms.
Agriculture used to contribute 15-19 percent to the country's annual Gross Domestic Product before the reforms. "President Mugabe presided over the seizure of productive commercial farms, rendering a blow to agricultural production. And when agriculture performs poorly, the rest of the economy suffers," independent economist Agrippa Ndlovu told IPS.
Zimbabwe is now a net importer of agricultural products.
"Industrial and agricultural exports fell drastically between 2000 and 2008 owing to unfortunate political developments, particularly the 2000 commercial farm seizures, followed by a series of disputed elections between 2002 and 2008," economist Tony Lewis told IPS.
Zimbabwe has had no grain reserves for more than a decade following the eviction of white farmers, despite promises by Mugabe of a return to food self-sufficiency in 2010.
Zimbabwe's economy shrank significantly after 2000, resulting in widespread poverty and 80 percent unemployment.
Zimbabwe currently exports precious metals like gold, platinum and ferroalloys, and also cotton, textiles and clothing, and tobacco, but to limited trade partners due to sanctions imposed by western countries.
Presenting the 2013 mid-term fiscal policy review on Jul.10, Zimbabwe's finance minister in the former government Tendai Biti said the earlier expectation of 5.6 percent growth by this year end would not now be possible. The estimate has been reduced to 3.4 percent.
Investment in this Southern African nation rose after the formation of the coalition government in 2008, resulting in foreign direct investment rising from around 50 million dollars to nearly 400 million dollars between 2008 and 2011. But now there are new uncertainties.
"I am really not sure what to do now because President Mugabe may go ahead with his moves to indigenise the remaining foreign-owned companies; I am really scared of his economic policies," 53-year-old Jamah Fakuh from India who trades in glass told IPS.
"With indigenisation, Zanu-PF aims to transfer the majority share of any business operations to black Zimbabweans without financial compensation, which favours Mugabe loyalists," economist Admire Dziva told IPS.
Godfrey Kanyenze, director of the Labour and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe, a non-governmental economic consultancy organisation, said huge challenges lie ahead for Mugabe's government.
"With the time for empty promises and electioneering now over, there is a crisis of expectation; promises were made to the people and it is now payback time. Poverty is endemic and there are massive debts of over 10 billion dollars that need to be addressed," Kanyenze told IPS.
Hyperinflation had made the country's currency almost worthless in 2008. The economy stabilised in 2009 after conversion to the dollar as currency, and the formation of a coalition government between Zanu-PF and two opposition formations of the Movement for Democratic Change.
Under the four-year coalition government Zimbabwe's economy grew nine percent in 2010 and 2011, and five percent in 2012. Not everyone is convinced that Mugabe's government can bring an upswing back after the further decline expected this year.
"Economic growth may wane if there is no political resolution which identifies a legitimate regime," economist Christopher Mugaga told IPS.

Egypt Arrests 12, Including American, for Sinai Attack

Security forces in North Sinai have arrested 12 people, including one American, who are suspected of being involved in an explosion that took place near al-Sheikh Zuwaid police station on Tuesday.
A vehicle exploded near the police station during a shooting between security forces and assailants late on Tuesday.
A security source told the state news agency that the arrested suspects included one American who carried a map of key locations in the area.
Another source told Aswat Masriya that the arrested American, 55, is a former U.S. soldier.
The necessary legal procedures are currently begin taken with the suspects and a prosecutor has begun investigations with them.

South Africa: Findings Will Not Affect Elections - IEC

Johannesburg — The findings of the Public Protector's investigation into IEC chairwoman Pansy Tlakula will not affect the national and provincial elections next year, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said.

"Various election milestones have already been achieved by the electoral commission. Staff have been identified and trained and the focus now is on the November 2013 registration weekend,” IEC vice-chairman Terry Tselane said in a statement, issued late on Monday.

He said the report by Thuli Madonsela, which found Tlakula guilty of improper conduct and maladministration, would in "no way" affect the 2014 elections.

"The electoral commission would like to give every assurance to political parties, the South African electorate and international partners that the commission remains committed to maintaining its high standards as a pre-eminent leader in electoral democracy," said Tselane.

"The commission is confident that preparations are sufficiently advanced, to yet again, successfully manage the forthcoming elections as soon as the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, proclaims the date thereof."

Madonsela on Monday recommended that Parliament consider taking action against Tlakula for her "grossly irregular" role in the procurement of the Riverside Office Park building in Centurion for the IEC's headquarters.

Madonsela also found a conflict of interest involving a co-director, with whom Tlakula was accused of being romantically involved.

She recommended that the IEC review its agreement with Abland, which was awarded the contract to lease the building. Tlakula was accused of having a romantic relationship with Parliament's finance portfolio committee chairman Thaba Mufamadi, who owns a 20 percent stake in Abland by virtue of their co-directorship in Lehotsa Investments (Pty) Limited.

Allegations about their romantic involvement were not investigated as there was no "tangible" evidence, and the whistleblower employee denied the allegation when interviewed by the protector's office.

But, Madonsela found that Tlakula had failed to disclose her business relationship with Mufamadi to the bidding team, which compromised her independence and objectivity.

The investigation came after United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa alleged irregularities in the procurement of the new building, the validity of lease agreements, and various payments to Abland.

In response to the findings, Tlakula said that if left unchallenged, the report could damage the credibility of the IEC.

Tlakula was also seeking legal redress.

She told SAfm and Talk Radio 702 on Tuesday morning that she would not resign.

Tlakula said in a statement after the release of the report that it contained "procedural and substantive irregularities".

"I do not accept as correct, the finding of the Public Protector that my participation in the evaluation process pertaining to the awarding of the tender... gave rise to a conflict of interest on my part."

The IEC said that it noted the contents of the report, and assured Madonsela of its "continued respect for her office".

"The commission...is fully committed to adhering to and implementing the remedial actions within the set timeframes," said Tselane.

The Democratic Alliance and other political parties have since called for Tlakula's suspension.

Nigeria: Insecurity Still Nigeria's Biggest Challenge

ANALYSIS

Nigerians can be very touchy when it comes to the performance of their economy. In its effort to project an image of Nigeria as the leading heavyweight on the continent, despite its huge and seemingly growing insecurity problems, the Nigerian government is not taking any negative statements about its economic growth lying down.

Earlier this month it decided to take on the African Development Bank (AfDB) because of its assessment of Nigeria in the bank's 2013 African Economic Outlook report. In a statement on 12 August, the Nigerian government said the report contained 'bogus claims' and 'dangerous innuendos' - this despite the fact that Nigeria is one of the bank's biggest shareholders.

The main gripe of the government is about the AfDB's assessment of poverty in Nigeria. The report states that 'the proportion of people (Nigerians) living below the national poverty line has worsened from 65.5 per cent in 1996 to 69.0 per cent in 2010'. Nigerian newspapers latched on to this phrase with headlines such as 'AfDB writes off Nigeria's economy'.

Yet, is this not a misinterpretation of the AfDB report? One may also ask what lurks behind this surge of patriotism around the economy, which is clearly not disconnected from the current anxiety about groups such as Boko Haram causing terror in the country.

The African Economic Outlook and other assessments of Nigeria's economy are nuanced about the strides made by the government of President Goodluck Jonathan in reducing poverty in Africa's most populated country.

For example, the report states: 'The outlook for growth remains positive. Short- and mid-term downside risks include security challenges arising from religious conflict in some states, costs associated with flooding, slower global economic growth (particularly in the United States and China) and the sovereign debt crisis in the euro area.' The last two factors hampering growth is equally true for almost all other countries in Africa.

Is the Nigerian government's real aim not to show the world that it is leading the continent despite current challenges? In its statement it says, for example, that its economy is growing faster than any other on the continent and that it 'remains the highest destination for Foreign Direct Investment inflows into Africa over and above South Africa and Egypt'.

This may or may not be true. According to the AfDB, growth rates are higher in places like Libya (11,6%), Sierra Leone (9,6%), Chad (9,5%), Côte d'Ivoire (9,3%), the Democratic Republic of Congo (8,8%) and Ghana (8,4%). Nigeria's growth rate for 2012 is expected to be 6,9%, which is not bad at all.

However, it is evident that with the exception perhaps of Ghana, these growth rates often come from a very low base and do not necessarily translate into meaningful trickle-down to improve people's lives. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth as the only measure of prosperity is increasingly disputed.

As has been said before, in the debate over who should lead the continent in forums like BRICS or get a possible permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, soft power is what counts - not growth rates.

Images like those of the latest killings in Borno state last week, where 35 people were killed, are sent into the world on a regular basis, with very little mitigation by the government propagandists. Over 2 000 people are said to have died at the hands of Boko Haram in the past four years.

Speaking at the 'Institute for Security Studies' 4th international conference: National and international perspectives on crime reduction and criminal justice' in Johannesburg last week, Dr Samuel Obadiah, of the Centre for Conflict Management and Peace Studies at the University of Jos, said there was still a lack of political will on the part of the Nigerian government to tackle the issue of Boko Haram head-on. 'So many states of emergencies and the problem persists,' he said.

The religious divide in the country makes this a very complex issue for any president, especially one who hails from the south of the country.

Obadiah said the actions of the security forces, persistent corruption and 'the alleged complicity of highly placed individuals' hampered the fight against Boko Haram.

While Boko Haram militants have refused Jonathan's offer of amnesty, the strategy of involving locals in intelligence gathering in the north is paying off, as they have intimate knowledge of the sect's whereabouts. Increasingly, local vigilante groups are also taking the law into their own hands in the fight against Boko Haram.

The Nigerian government has also finally consented to a more open cooperation with its neighbours Cameroon, Niger and Chad in dealing with the sect. In the past four years, since the creation of Boko Haram in 2009, the impression had been that it was a 'hands-off' issue that Nigeria was bent on tackling alone.

The war in Mali and the increasing internationalisation of radical Islamist groups like Boko Haram have certainly contributed to this cross-border approach.

However, although experts say secret services from various countries like Israel and the US are helping Nigeria on the ground, at this stage it seems unthinkable that Nigeria would ask for foreign intervention against a terror threat, as the government of Mali did last year. This would go against everything one knows of Nigeria.

Is Jonathan fighting an uphill battle to improve the country's image internationally? Having been overlooked by US President Barack Obama on his three-country visit to Africa in June, Jonathan reacted speedily with a lucrative visit to China, cashing in on the huge potential of Chinese investment. China reportedly granted Nigeria a $1 billion loan for infrastructure development.

The semblance of calm in the Niger Delta, largely thanks to the amnesty granted to militants there during the presidency of Umaru Yar'Adua, also seems reassuring to international observers. But ultimately the current terror threat in the north remains Jonathan's biggest challenge.

Kenya's New Anti-Graft Tsar Comes With Baggage

ANALYSIS

After a line of failed predecessors, can Mumo Matemu - a man accused of corruption himself - fare any better in the fight against graft in Kenya?

Reciting the past criminal indiscretions of public figures is something of a national pastime in Kenya. Everyone knows who is 'dirty' and who is not. Those in the latter (and somewhat smaller) group have been, in recent years, the beneficiaries of various appointments to constitutional commissions reserved for men and women deemed to be of 'high integrity'.

Among these bodies is the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) which, as the name suggests, aims to make Kenya a more ethical and less corrupt nation.

This is a tough ask, as shown by a recent report by Transparency International into domestic perceptions of corruption which ranked Kenya as the fourth most corrupt nation in the world and the third most in Africa.

New kid on the stumbling block

The EACC's new boss, Mumo Matemu, a lawyer, was finally sworn inat the start of the month after a year-long legal debate over his integrity. At the centre of the legal battle was Matemu's alleged malfeasance when he worked as a legal officer for the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC), a public body.

The Trusted Society of Human Rights Alliance, the NGO which brought the case, argued that Matemu had been an active member of a racket that led to the loss of billions of Kenyan shillings of taxpayers' money.Allegations held up in court included the "fraudulent payment of loans to unknown bank accounts", "swearing an affidavit with false information" in front of the High Court, and "failure to prevent loss of public funds entrusted to the AFC".

Gitobu Imanyara, an MP at the time, shocked Parliament later when he revealed the extent of the improprieties that occurred at the AFC during Matemu's tenure: "Businessmen of Asian descent would apply for loans of between KSh18 million [$200,000] and KSh24 million [$270,000] from AFC, and then, all these loans would be written off, and these loans amounted to over KSh5 billion [$57 million]", he said.

The High Court in Nairobi blocked Matemu's appointment to the EACC in September 2012 after agreeing with the facts presented by the Trusted Society of Human Rights Alliance. Matemu's future at the EACC looked to be over. The anti-corruption lobby claimed the court's decision as a significant victory against an important political player and a sign of intent that Kenyans wouldn't allow individuals with chequered pasts to assume public office.

But the story wasn't over. Matemu appealed and won. The Court of Appeal overturned the lower court's decision, citing lack of concrete evidence to tie Matemu to the theft of public funds at the AFC.

The NGO has vowed to re-appeal the matter at the Supreme Court. But in the meantime, Matemu is getting down to work. And he wasted no time in painting his legal troubles as par for the course in the fight against corruption.

"Someone asked me if I was aware that as I took the position to fight against corruption there were people who would join me in that fight but that there were others who would be engaged in the fight against the fight", he said.

"I will ask Kenyans to respect the judicial process like I did and join me in the fight."

A failure to fry

The fight against graft in Kenya has always had an illusory quality to it. From the onset, anti-corruption efforts seemed far more about show than delivering meaningful results.

So much so that when in 1997 former President Daniel arap Moi waspushed by donors into establishing the Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority (KACA), he appointed John Harun Mwau, a man who would later benamed on the US government's drug kingpin list, to be its head.

In 2003, Moi's successor, Mwai Kibaki, attempted to revive the fight against graft under the renamed Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC). Kibaki appointed Aaron Ringera, an old friend, to lead the outfit and said his government would have a zero tolerance policy against graft.

Ringera's rhetoric was rousing - he famously stated that "All manner of fish will be fried, unapologetically, only in the oil of the Constitution of Kenya and laws made under it" - but beyond this, appeared ineffectual. The reasons for which were perhaps revealed in a leaked cable from a US ambassador, which read:

"[Ringera is] part of the system within the GOK [Government of Kenya] that protects its own from prosecution regardless of the crime committed and will, if necessary, kill to enforce the system."

Ringera's successor and the last man to serve as KACC boss before it was scrapped and replaced by the EACC was P.L.O. Lumumba, a professor whose no-sacred-cows approach won him few friends in political circles.

The verbose Lumumba introduced a new vigour into the graft war but was removed from office along with his team in 2011 after MPs voted to disband the KACC, allegedly in order to fulfil a constitutional requirement to create a new commission.

In reality, it seems the main drive to dissolve the KACC was the fact Lumumba and the anti-corruption agenda posed a threat to many in the political class. Lumumba riled politicians and was widely criticised by MPs, who accused him of petty politics and empty talk. Lands Minister James Orengo, for example, suggested that Lumumba had been overstepping his place in going after 'big fish'.

"The fact that an MP may be engaged in misconduct is not necessarily grand corruption", he said. "The commission, under its current leadership, thinks that when it puts an MP in trouble, it is dealing with corruption. That is a misguided strategy."

Water Minister Charity Ngilu, whom Lumumba had been investigating, similarly revealed the nervousness of politicians at the time. If the Commission were to be given wide powers of investigation and prosecution, she said, "I do not think there would be anybody sitting in this Parliament".

Hard graft

Kenyan pundits are divided on what Matemu's appointment will mean for the fight against graft. Patrick Gathara, an award-winning Kenyan political cartoonist, believes Matemu should not have been allowed to take over at the EACC because of the serious allegations made against him.

"It is not about whether he is personally fit or not. It is the credibility of the EACC and the system of accountability that is at stake", he told Think Africa Press. "As long as he has dark questions hovering over his past, then it is a mistake to have him heading the EACC. His appointment greatly compromises anti-graft efforts."

However, Wycliffe Muga, a respected columnist who has been covering Kenyan politics for decades, disagrees. He feels that it is hard to pass judgment on people like Matemu when one takes Kenya's history into account.

"People forget that it is only been ten years since Moi's reign came to an end", he says. "During Moi's time, corruption was part of the furniture in most government institutions. It is therefore very difficult - if not impossible - to find anyone who is not linked to some corrupt deal either directly or through affiliation.

"For me what should matter is not so much Matemu's background but whether his office is properly equipped to investigate graft and bring those responsible to book," he explained.

Matemu's case could end up having a degree of poetic irony to it. Lack of evidence may have been what saved Matemu at the Court of Appeal, but it is also likely to be the factor that limits his effectiveness when bringing cases against others.

Nonetheless, Matemu may benefit from disappointing predecessors who did not set the bar particularly high. And if his plans are well-implemented, his tenure could even mark a key turning point in Kenya's long-standing fight against corruption.

The halting implementation of devolution in Kenya means that many who are tempted by corrupt dealings have shifted their operations to the level of local government. And, keenly aware of this, Matemu hasvowed to take the war against graft to the counties. Delivering on this would certainly help keep his name off the long list of failures. Matemu has come to his office with baggage but he doesn't have to leave with it.