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African press review 10 January 2012

Trouble and strife following the general strike in Nigeria on Monday, a call by Al-Shabaab for a holy war against Kenya and the first appointment of an African national by the World Bank to serve as country manager for Uganda make headlines in the African newspapers.

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"People Power" is the headline in the Nigerian Guardian.

The story continues by explaining that the indefinite nationwide strike declared by the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress against the removal of petrol subsidy by the Federal Government began yesterday on a peaceful note in most states of the federation.

However, there was serious trouble in Kano. The Guardian reports that officials announced a nighttime curfew for the northern city on Monday after clashes between police and protesters left two people dead.

The police commissioner for Kano state confirmed one fatality, seven injured and 23 arrested. A hospital source said that two people had died from gunshot wounds. Other sources are this morning giving the death toll as at least five.

Nobel laureat Wolé Soyinka is quoted by The Guardian as describing the government's offer of false remedies in the wake of the removal of the fuel subsidy as “medicine after death”.

In South Africa, the news analysis pages of BusinessDay tell us that the African National Congress’s membership growth - about 250,000 new members in the past 18 months - is expected to be a big influence in the ruling party’s succession race this year.

The ANC reported at the weekend that it has surpassed the 1 million mark, a target it set in 1942.

President Jacob Zuma announced on Sunday that KwaZulu-Natal is still the biggest province with 244,900 members, or 24 per cent of the total. This will boost his re-election chances, since his home province is expected to back Zuma in the race for the party’s top job.

BusinessDay also looks back to the weekend start of the ANC's 100th birthday party.

The paper suggests that the invitation extended to Madagascar’s president Andry Rajoelina to attend the centenary celebrations on Sunday may have been in violation of sanctions imposed by the African Union.

The government said yesterday it should not be held responsible, since Rajoelina was invited by the ANC.

Rajoelina was among 40 heads of state invited to attend the centenary celebrations.

The AU imposed sanctions in 2010 against Rajoelina’s government and suspended Madagascar’s membership of the body.

This was in retaliation for a coup carried out in 2009 by Rajoelina and the military to unseat former president Marc Ravalomanana. The sanctions included a travel ban and the freezing of assets belonging to Rajoelina and his associates.

The main story in the Kenyan Daily Nation says that police believe Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza and her driver should face gun charges.

Baraza could face trial for the unlawful possession of a firearm, illegal use of a firearm and threatening to kill.

Baraza, who is the Deputy President of the Supreme Court, is alleged to have assaulted a security guard on New Year’s eve at the Village Market, an upmarket shopping mall in Nairobi.

The judge has already apologised for the incident, describing it as "unfortunate", but has denied that it involved a gun.

On Monday, her employer, the Judicial Service Commission, ordered an investigation into Baraza's conduct and will take a decision about her future on Friday.

The Nation also reports that the Somali militant group, Al-Shabaab, has released a propaganda video declaring war against Kenya.

The video was released by Sheikh Ahmed Iman Ali, the self-proclaimed leader of Kenyan Al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia. Ali calls for Jihad or holy war to be waged in Kenya in response to the Kenyan military operation in Somalia.

The Nation says the UN Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group is taking the threat of large-scale attacks in Kenya seriously.

The Daily Monitor in Kampala reports that the World Bank has appointed Ahmadou Moustapha Ndiaye of Senegal as the new country manager for Uganda.

Ndiaye said he was excited about serving in Uganda at a critical time when the economy was experiencing some turbulence but was also due to benefit from the oil sector.

Ndiaye becomes the first African national to work as country manager for Uganda since the country became a member of the World Bank Group in 1963.

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