African press review 12 July 2013

Boko Haram’s “untouchable” commander is killed in a gun battle in Sokoto Nigeria, Cosatu’s chief Zwelinzima Vavi wins Tweet of the Week contest in South Africa and Zimbabwe’s First Lady dubs an opponent of her 89-year-old husband a dreamer.

We begin in Nigeria where Leadership reports that the killing of a top Boko Haram commander after an eight-hour gun battle Thursday in a suburb of the northern Sokoto state.

Buwayayye (untouchable in Hausa) had been holding 11 women and children as human shields. A spokesperson for the joint military taskforce told the press that they stormed the Wamakko local government area after midnight acting on a tip-off freeing all 11 hostages abducted from different locations across Borno, Zamfara, Kano and Sokoto States.

Leadership reports that a large stockpile of weapons was discovered in the terrorist hideout, including six AK 47 rifles, 13 magazines of ammunition, seven improvised explosive devices, 32 radio transmitters.

This Day reports that Shell Nigeria shut down the strategic Trans-Niger pipeline on Thursday to repair leakages caused by oil thieves. According to the paper, Shell admitted discovering illegal pipes grafted on its installations on the Bomu-Bonny section of the pipeline transporting 150,000 barrels of oil per day.

The Sun reports that a hungry Muslim man in the southern Oyo state beat his grandfather to death after the old man denounced him to his family for violating the Ramadan fast.

And Daily Trust highlights the sacking of Taraba state’s chief secretary as well as five commissioners and two special advisers for the mismanagement of an estimated 0.8 million euros of flood relief funds.

In South Africa ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe’s initiation to Twitter is causing a sensation after the revelation by the Mail and Guardian thathe has taken to the social network to answer questions about the scandal around President Jacob Zuma’s use of public funds to renovate his countryside home now known as "Nkandlagate" and the well received reshuffle of the cabinet marked by the downfall of Zuma’s political nemesis and Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale.

According to the Mail and Guardian tweeters wanted to know why Zuma won’t justify the cabinet shake-up and whether it is acceptable for Zuma to spend 20 million euros on a palace while people still live in shacks.

The respected Business Day newspaper picks Zwelinzima Vavi, Secretary General of South Africa’s Trade Union Congress Cosatu as winner of its Tweet of the Week award. Vavi won for tweeting that “if any one gives me an example of a president that explained in public reasons for appointing or dismissing a minister, he will apologise”.

In Zimbabwe The Herald welcomes a "bumper crowd" that turned out to welcome President Robert Mugabe in Chiweshe in Mashonaland Central Province on Thursday. He launched his reelection campaign for the 31 July election.

Mugabe is 89 and the paper runs a line of attack by First Lady Amal Grace Mugabe, directed at Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. Mrs Mugabe bluntly told the MDC-T leader that there is no vacancy at State House as he keeps dreaming to become president of Zimbabwe, according to the state-owned publication.