African press review 13 August 2015

Kenyan surgeons struggle to save the life of a baby born with part of his brain outside. Uganda counts its population of men crying out as bully wives punch; Robert Mugabe jeers at Britain for enjoying the display of Zimbabwean heads decapitated in colonial wars at its museums; And Chad's President Idris Deby lifts Nigerian hearts with the announcement that Boko Haram has been decapitated.

Deby was addressing reporters in N'Djamena on Chad’s 55th independence anniversary Wednesday. This was after a man apparently called Mahamat Daoud appeared in the latest Boko Haram video saying he was the terrorist group's new leader and wants to negotiate with the Nigerian government.

Vanguard says that the appearance of the unknown Daoud means that the group's past leader Abubakar Shekau, who has not been seen in the group’s videos for months, may have been killed or ousted.

ThisDay likes Deby’s tough talk, especially his advice to Nigeria not to negotiate with the weakened terrorist organisation as well as his claims that the war against Boko Haram will be short and wrapped up by the end of the year after the deployment of the five-nation regional force.

Punch takes up the sacking of six top officials of the examinations department accused by the governor of Ogun State setting offensive exam questions. The journal’s correspondent says pupils sitting the Unified Examination were asked to list the state government’s failures in the development of education. According to Punch, the defects are so obvious that even pupils in both primary and secondary schools can volunteer a good list on their finger tips.

In Zimbabwe the Herald welcomes a deal between Britain and President Robert Mugabe’s government over the repatriation of heads of heros and heroines decapitated during the first “Chimurenga” or revolutionary struggle.

According to the paper, the skulls that are reportedly on display in British history museums testify the horrendous price Zimbabweans paid for the independence and democracy the country enjoys. The state-owned publication reports that in his speech to mark Zimbabwe’s national Day on Monday, Mugabe said it was baffling that Britain enjoyed keeping the heads as a sign of conquest in this modern era. The Herald reports that both parties are working on the logistics to bring the heroes heads home.

In Kenya the Star welcomes a proposal by the country’s electoral agency to set university degrees as the minimum qualification for people seeking election to Parliament. The newspaper explains that the move aims to improve the quality of leadership, at a time when MCAs are criticised for passing substandard laws and of not grasping basic principles of devolution, economics and finance.

Only the president, deputy president, governors and deputy governors are required under the provisions of the current Elections Act to hold a degree from a recognised university.
The Star isn’t optimistic about the prospects of the having the bill scale through the House, arguing that a similar proposal was defeated by MPs in the last Parliament.

In Uganda, the Daily Monitor highlights a disturbing trend in contemporary life   a growing number of men crying out as “bully wives punch”. The case causing a buzz in the media is that of 38-year-old William Mukasa who is still fighting for his life after being burnt with acid last year by mysterious people suspected to have been hired by his runaway wife.

According to the newspaper, the Mukasa broke down in tears as he showed its reporter the burns he suffered on his hands and private parts. Daily Monitor says Mukasa was forced to return to the village because he is unable to work and has no one to take care of him in the city.

The Monitor also raises the case of Hanington Musoke who accuses his wife of grabbing land that he inherited from his father. According to Musoke, his wife has since connived with their children to chase him out of his home.

These and many more are some of the cases currently being handled by the Men’s Protection Against Domestic Violence organisation since its inception in 2014.

The organisation’s executive director, Lauben Muhabuzi, told the Monitor that many men are living in silence yet they are experiencing domestic violence. He says domestic violence against men has been created mostly by stereotypes that it is always men who begin the fights and the violence, which he claims is not true.

The Monitor recalls for the record two of Uganda’s most emblematic cases. In 2009, the country was gripped with shock after James Kazini, an acclaimed army officer, was killed by his alleged mistress Lydia Draru. Another recent case is that of Jaqueline Uwera Nsenga, who was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison for murdering her husband, Juvenal Nsenga when she ran him over with a car.

Standard Digital prays for the life of a boy born two years ago with part of his brain outside the skull in the central country of Nyeri. The newspaper quotes medics at Consolata Mission Hospital in Mathari, where Brian Gitau underwent surgery a month ago, as saying that the stitches have been removed and the toddler is recovering positively.

Kenyans have held their breath as surgeons battled to treat the rare condition known as anencephaly. Standard reports that the boy who also underwent a second operation to repair his lips is now able to move various parts of his body after several sessions of physiotherapy. Medics at the Mathari hospital say that in a few months he will need to undergo more surgeries to repair anomalies to his cleft and palate.