African press review 13 August 2013

Two words made the headlines of a few national African dailies today: "Go hang".

That's the advice Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe gave to those who were upset by his disputed landslide election victory during his speech at yesterday’s rally to honour heroes of the country's liberation wars.

The 89-year-old vowed never to let go of his victory as his opponent Morgan Tsvangirai filed a petition in court challenging the election results, reports the South African daily Mail & Guardian, quoting the president’s words: "Those who were hurt by my defeat can go hang if they so wish".

Mugabe was declared winner of the 31 July election with 61 percent of the vote against Tsvangirai's 34 percent, explains the South African daily, a victory which extends Mugabe's 33-year rule by another five years.

Tsvangirai's lawyers filed a petition at the Constitutional Court on Friday, challenging the vote, reports the Sowetan.

Mugabe also called on his rivals as well as Western nations to accept the official election, adding that anyone unable to do so "can commit suicide", reports the South African daily.

The speech was given during the Heroes’ Day commemorations, explains the nation’s daily the Herald, a day when Zimbabweans remember those who sacrificed their lives to liberate the country.

President Mugabe said it was an opportunity for Zimbabwe to prove to the heroes and heroines that their sacrifices were not in vain, explains the Herald, as his victory ensured that objectives of the liberation struggle would be safeguarded.

Judges from the International Criminal Court in The Hague have issued new trial guidelines as the case against Deputy President William Ruto for crimes against humanity is set to begin on 10 September, reports the Kenyan Daily Nation.

Forty-two witnesses have been lined up to testify against Ruto when his case opens next month, says the paper, after four witnesses withdrew their testimony.

Mr Ruto faces crimes against humanity charges over the 2007-2008 post-election violence, explains the Nation, when 1,133 Kenyans were killed and more than 500,000 uprooted from their homes in the chaos that followed a dispute over the presidential election results.

President Uhuru Kenyatta will also be facing similar charges, reminds the paper, and his case will open on 12 November.

The three judges hearing Mr Ruto’s case have allowed his lawyers to move a motion of “no-case-to answer” once Ms Bensouda concludes her submissions.

The Nigerian daily Vanguard reports on the killing of 44 people in a Mosque in the town of Konduga, 35 kilometres from Maiduguri -- the capital of Borno state -- on Sunday.

The massacre is suspected to have been perpetrated by the Boko Haram Islamic sect, reports the paper.

The Vanguard adds that, yesterday, the leader of the Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Shekau, made a video appearance and claimed a series of recent deadly attacks on security forces in the North-East of Nigeria.

Shekau also insisted that he was in “good health” despite an on-going military offensive aimed at crushing the Islamist insurgent group he heads, reports the daily, and challenged US President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French leader, François Hollande, saying they were not his match.

And finally, a journalist from the Kenyan newspaper the Standard managed to have himself legally and officially declared dead.

By doing so, he aimed to show how easy obtaining a death certificate without the requisite documents was, and expose the nightmare that confronts insurance and inheritance lawyers who have lost millions to scammers. Traditionally, to acquire a death certificate, explains the paper, a medical practitioner must sign a certificate stating the cause of death.

The Standard, however, acquired a death certificate by texting the name of the deceased, date of death, the cause of death as well as the place where the death occurred. After handing out a bit of cash to the right person, the journalist managed to get his death certificate delivered to the newspaper’s offices.