The African Union seems to be taking its theme this year of fighting corruption seriously when it comes to the business of some continental bodies. It's put Pan-African Parliament president Roger Nkodo Dang on ice pending a graft investigation, and there's also some action against irregularities, ironically, within the AU Advisory Board on Corruption.

It seemed an almost empty exercise, watching heads of some fabulously corrupt countries renounce graft during a debate on the matter at the 31st AU summit in Nouakchott, Mauritania on Sunday night.

Some, like Ghanaian president Nana Akufo-Addo, told of how allegations of witch-hunting are flung at those who charge high-ranking officials, while others, like Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, champion of the fighting corruption theme, said graft often "fought back".

Still, the AU's 2018 theme "fighting corruption", perhaps in conjunction with the no-nonsense spirit in which reforms to the continental body are being done, seems to have inspired some harsher than usual words by the continental body for the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) President Roger Nkodo Dang of Cameroon. The committee of 15 finance ministers from member states in its report asked the AU Commission "to initiate an urgent audit of PAP...