African press review 27 August 2018

President Mnangagwa promises a graft-free nation at his inauguration, but the opposition refuses to concede defeat.And South Africans urge Donald Trump to tweet about his scandals and leave their farms alone.

We begin in Zimbabwe where the papers lead with the inauguration of new Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the National Sports Stadium in Harare on Sunday.

The State-owned Herald reports that Mnangagwa promised a new Zimbabwe where corruption and red unnecessary bureaucracy in service delivery will not be tolerated.

Daily News says that on Sunday, the opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was weighing all his options including mounting demos, in the wake of Friday's decision by the Constitutional Court to uphold Mnangagwa's hotly disputed victory in last month's polls.

The publication says Chamisa refused to attend Mnangagwa's inauguration claiming it was inconceivable for him to accept an invitation to "a wedding where he was the one supposed to be receiving the gifts".

In South Africa, the Sowetan says the election had been touted as a crucial step towards shedding the pariah reputation Zimbabwe gained under Mnangagwa’s predecessor Robert Mugabe, and securing international donor funding to revive a crippled economy.

But as it observes, hours before Mnangagwa’s inauguration, the International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute said the country lacked a “tolerant democratic culture” in which political parties were treated equally and citizens allowed to vote freely.

In South Africa, Times Live leads with an outburst by furious South African farmers who are urging US President Donald Trump to mind his business. 

The paper reports that the angry reaction follows a tweet posted by Trump last Wednesday on the eve of the "Land Solution" summit of farmers, officials and industry players in Bela Bela.

The US President tweeted to his 54 million followers that he had asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers".

According to Times, a 37-year-old black woman who farms grain and cattle with her husband east of Cape Town fired back asking Trump to "leave their people the hell alone, accusing him of trying to deflect attention from his own scandals.

And in Uganda, the papers await today's verdict by a Gulu High Court on bail applications for 33 suspects  accused of stoning President Museveni’s motorcade during the by-election chaos in the northern town of Arua.

Daily Monitor says the suspects facing treason charges include lawmaker Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu popularly known as Bobi Wine.

It claims that the suspects are currently held incommunicado at Gulu Central Prison.

Meanwhile Kenya's Standard reports that Mombasa leaders and rights groups staged a Saturday night vigil in the port city to press demands for the release of the Bobi Wine, and 33 others.

Speakers at the event reportedly called on East African countries to stem what they call Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's 32-year dictatorial regime.