By Jackie Cameron
- A judge is set to have former president Jacob Zuma arrested for failing to show up in court on grounds of illness; his lawyer will have to prove he is really sick. Bloomberg reports that a court ordered the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma after he failed to show up for his corruption trial. The rand strengthened as analysts took this move as a signal that the authorities are taking a more aggressive approach to tackling corruption. Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to address graft when he took over as president in February 2018, but to date there have been no high-profile arrests despite allegations about the looting of state funds during his predecessor Zuma’s nine-year rule. Judge Dhayanithie Pillay ordered Zuma’s detention after finding that his lawyer, Daniel Mantsha, failed to provide sufficient evidence to show why his client couldn’t attend Tuesday’s hearing, says the news agency. Mantsha said Zuma is receiving medical treatment abroad, after having surgery last month. Pillay stayed execution of the warrant until May 6, when the trial is scheduled to resume, to allow his defence team to convince the court that he is ill, reports Bloomberg.
- The Steinhoff share price skyrocketed, gaining nearly 50%, on news a buyer is interested in picking up its European assets. Steinhoff’s share price almost doubled on Monday on a report that Steinhoff International European chain Pepco Group could soon be sold. UK-based Sky News said that the group, is in talks to sell Pepco for €4.5bn (R86.5bn). Sky says Advent International, which sold Poundland for ÂŁ200m to Steinhoff a decade ago, has joined with Hellman & Friedman and Mid Europa Partners to retake control of Pepco. Analysts believe that if this deal is to go ahead, it will provide Steinhoff with much-needed liquidity. The Steinhoff share price collapsed from about R54/share to under R5 at the end of 2017 when its former CEO Markus Jooste resigned amid allegations of financial irregularities.
- Troubled retail group Edcon is to sell about 167 CNA stores, reports Reuters.  Edcon said on Tuesday it was selling stationery business CNA to a consortium majority owned by Astoria Investments. The sale, which is subject to regulatory approvals, involves 167 CNA stores as well as all brands and trademarks, Edcon said in a statement, without giving any more details on the transaction.
- In an “encouraging for the consolidation of democracy on the continent”, Malawi became just the second African nation to annul election results on the grounds that they were rigged after Kenya’s High Court overturned the outcome of a 2017 vote. A decision by Malawi’s Constitutional Court to annul last year’s election on the grounds that they were rigged sparked celebrations in the streets and gave a fillip to democracy in a continent where political processes are all too often abused, reports Bloomberg. In setting aside the victory that returned President Peter Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party to power, Malawi became just the second African nation to do so after Kenya’s High Court overturned the outcome of a 2017 vote. “The days of politicians playing fast and loose with electoral law are clearly numbered,” Gary Van Staden, an analyst at NKC African Economics based in Paarl, South Africa, said in an emailed note to clients on Tuesday.
- Nigeria has upped the ante with South Africa, its rival for investment funds, by relaxing visa rules to make it easier to do business. Nationals of African Union-member countries will be entitled to a visa-on-arrival, while a new electronic visa targets visitors for tourism and entertainment, reports Bloomberg. The new visa policy “is intended to attract innovation, specialised skills and knowledge from abroad” to complement local expertise and also help African integration, President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement emailed by the presidency.
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