African press review 22 September 2011

A mixed bag in the African dailies today..

Under the headline "Lawyers shine spotlight on Raila, Kibaki", The Daily Nation in Kenya reports that President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga were dramatically drawn into the pre-trial hearings of three of the so-called Ocampo Six at the International Criminal Court in The Hague yesterday.

According to The Nation, lawyers representing one of the co-accused, the Head of the Kenyan Public Service and Cabinet Secretary, Francis Muthaura, submitted a statement in which President Kibaki expressed his dissatisfaction with the way chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had conducted his investigations.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga was the central subject of submissions by the counsel representing another one of the accused, Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta. Kenyatta's legal team claim that it was Odinga, not Kenyatta, who was behind the violence.

The lawyer representing the third defendant, Postmaster-General Hussein Ali, said his client had spent considerable energy trying to stop the violence.

The prosecutor laid out his case, alleging that Muthaura and Kenyatta worked in concert with leaders of the Mungiki sect to kill, displace and assault thousands of Orange Democratic Movement supporters in a bid to consolidate President Kibaki’s hold on power after the disputed 2007 elections.

He said the duo was the driving force behind a plan by senior Party of National Unity officials to unleash a wave of violence on communities perceived as having opposed Kibaki’s bid for re-election.

The case will be tested by the defence over the next two weeks.

In Zambia, the two government-owned dailies, The Times and The Daily Mail, are strangely silent on the on-going count in this week's presidential, parliamentary and local elections.

The privately-owned Post is, however, having a field day. "Sata heads for victory", reads the main headline, with the breaking news claiming that the latest official results put the opposition leader even further ahead.

The facts are that Michael Sata has widened his lead over President Rupiah Banda with a lead of almost 73, 000 votes in official results from 33 of the 150 constituencies.

The Post's editorial is harshly critical of the Electoral Commission of Zambia.

The article begins by saying that "the organisation and conduct of these elections has revealed very dangerous levels of incompetence, inefficiency, ineffectiveness and disorder."

The paper goes on to complain about the delay in opening some polling stations, or the complete failure to open at all, as in Lukulu West, where voting took place yesterday, 24 hours behind the rest of the country.

The Post notes that several people were found in possession of unauthorised ballot papers, and criticises the low level of honesty and integrity on the part of Universal Print Group, the printers of voting materials.

In some polling stations, says the independent daily, ballot boxes were delivered without lids or covers, increasing the risk of cheating.

And some polling stations were relocated without prior notification to voters who had registered there.

The article concludes by observing that "the Electoral Commission of Zambia will have very little public sympathy and understanding because its officers have been arrogant, intolerant and defensive."

The same people appoint both the Electoral Commission of Zambia and those from other ministries who participate in organising and conducting elections. Which obviously leads to a conflict of interest, says The Post.

"This highly compromises the impartiality, integrity and efficiency of the electoral process. And it is a recipe for conflict."

And it would be a poor state of affairs if we didn't have a row to report on from within South Africa's ruling ANC.

The main story in today's Sowetan is headlined "ANC power struggle threatens premier".

The small print explains that there are clandestine moves to unseat one of President Jacob Zuma's strongest allies, Free State Premier and ANC chairman Ace Magashule.

Though provincial secretary Sibongile Besani denies any involvement, The Sowetan claims to be in a position to reveal that he is under pressure to challenge Magashule for the chairman's position at the provincial conference next June.

Magashule, who is popular at grassroots level, is said to have lost support after alienating some key ANC members.

Party secretary-general, Gwede Mantashe, was yesterday warning that in-fighting between party leaders means the ANC will celebrate its centenary next year, even more divided than it was in 2007, when factions supporting Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki nearly ripped the party apart. Mantashe clearly wasn't exaggerating.