African press review 10 May 2017

More reactions from Africa to the election of Emmanuel Macron as France's new President. South Sudan's President Salva Kiïr sacks controversial army chief Paul Malong, bowing to international pressure and a bombshell book tells all about the life of collusions and corruption under apartheid South Africa.

 The Nigerian Guardian says the news of 39 year-old Macron's elections was greeted with relief and excitement in "this country which still deals heavily with the so-called colonialist".

According to the newspaper, Emmanuel Macron committed to maintaining Europe’s pledge to offer asylum to those who seek its protection and to help address the underlying causes of migration   underdevelopment, famines, climatic disorders.

This in stark contrast to the nationalist and xenophic agenda set by his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen, according to the newspaper.

However, the Guardian argues that Macron's stance on immigration offers little change from the status quo where African migrants are increasingly subject to racial profiling.

Kenya's Daily Nation leads with the sacking of South Sudan's controversial army chief General Paul Malong, by President Salva Kiir.

According to the paper, Malong, long regarded as an ethnic nationalist of Kiir's majority Dinka tribe, is widely regarded as being the mastermind of  the fighting in the capital, Juba, last July, and the killing of hundreds that dashed hopes of a power-sharing government between Kiir and his former deputy turned rebel leader Riek Machar.

He is reportedly replaced by General James Ajongo Mawut, a career soldier. The Nation says that in February several senior army officers resigned, accusing the disgraced General Malong of conducting an ethnic war against non-Dinkas and ruling with an "unqualified clique of friends and relatives".

In Kenya, the papers lead with the trail of destruction left behind by torrential rains battering the country's coastal region.

Daily Nation says thousands of people have been forced to abandon their homes in communities around Sabwani, Turkwel and Suam rivers which have burst their banks.

The paper carries an alert from the Department of Meteorology warning of thunderstorms, more flash floods and mudslides, as heavy rains continue to pound several counties across the region.

And in South Africa, City Press reviews an explosive new book shedding light on the economic crimes that emanated during the apartheid era and naming people who as well as organizations and countries which profited from murky dealings.

The publication speaks to the author Hennie van Vuuren, of the 624-page bombshell titled "Apartheid Guns and Money, A Tale of Profit", written in conjunction with a team of researchers at Open Secrets, the Right to Know Campaign, Lawyers for Human Rights and the South African History Archive and Institute for Justice and Reconciliation.

He told City Press that the book is expected to ruffle many feathers, considering the depth of secrets which have been revealed. They include claims that Armscor, the arms procurement agency of department of defence had 844 bank accounts in 196 banks across at least 27 countries, most of them in Europe.

The book contains revelations about international oil-for-guns barters that took place; and the list of major Swiss banks which actively supported the apartheid regime through lobbying abroad.

City Press says the book is reminiscent of something straight out of a James Bond movie, with tales of collusions and corruption from the highest order at the forefront of many deals which were brokered during the apartheid regime.