IN BRIEF LESOTHO PM IN HOSPITAL
LESOTHO Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle, 79, was admitted to the Morningside clinic in Johannesburg on Thursday afternoon. The nature of his illness is unknown, but Mokhehle has been ill for some time. Mokhehle declared himself unavailable for Lesotho’s May 23 elections because of ill health and old age. He has b previously been treated in SA for a heart ailment.
MBEKI HEADS EAST
DEPUTY President Thabo Mbeki will visit the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea next month. Mbeki will update leaders on the political and economic developments in Southern Africa and will exchange ideas on “multilateral issues of common concern”.
METHODISTS MASS IN SA
SOUTH Africa will host the first all-African Methodist Leaders’ Conference from March 16 to 18. Deputy President Thabo Mbeki will deliver the keynote address at the two-day conference, at which Methodist bishops from 16 African countries are expected.
END ‘JUNGLE JOURNALISM
KENYAN Information Minister Joseph Nyagah has attacked what he calls “jungle journalism”, saying the government will take legal action if certain newspapers continue “reckless reporting” and fail to uphold the image of President Daniel arap Moi. Singling out mostly opposition publications, he said they had incited ethnic animosities. Recent internecine violence left 127 people dead — most of them opposition supporters.
COVER UP YOUR REBELS
IN an effort to prevent any embarassing rebel attacks, President Yoweri Museveni is in northern Uganda to personally manage military operations before US President Bill Clinton visits on March 24-25 during his Africa tour. Rebels of the Christian fundamentalist Lord’s Resistance Army have stepped up attacks, abductions and lootings in the northern third of Uganda, where they have been fighting Museveni since 1986. The rebels have been accused by the United Nations of abducting 5000 children in the last year.
JAZZ LEGEND DIES
JAZZ master and anti-apartheid veteran Basil “Manenberg” Coetzee, died after a year-long battle with cancer on Wednesday. Coetzee was best known for his stunning saxophone solo on Abdullah Ibrahim’s recording of the song Manenberg, which became an anthem of the struggle. He performed an numerous anti-apartheid rallies and was always at the forefront of support for liberation organisations. Moving from playing the penny whistle as a young boy, Coetzee’s creative talent saw him working with bands Pacific Express and Sebenza and earned him a following of loyal supporters.
BUSHBUCKRIDGE QUIET
THE violence-torn Bushbuckridge area was calm on Thursday night following a violent clash with police earlier in the day in which a security guard was shot and two policemen injured. Northern Province police spokesman Senior Superintendent Phuti Setati said that although no further instances of violence have been reported, police have been deployed in the area as a precaution. Attempted murder and malicious damage to property dockets have been opened.