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African press review 10 July 2014

SA's immigration laws sow panic among foreign residents, Odinga denies seeking violent regime change, the ICC prosecution accuses Kenyan officials of covering up for Kenyatta, Nigeria is suspended from world football and Tyson weighs in in defence of Suarez.

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The main story in the Kenyan Daily Nation reports that strict new South African immigration laws have sparked confusion and panic among foreign residents, especially the Rainbow Nation's 250,000 Zimbabwean nationals.

Haniff Hoosen, an opposition Democratic Alliance MP, says the new regulations have already ripped apart families, dissuaded investors and led to the cancellation of multi-million-rand film and tourism ventures.

The laws have been in force since May. The South African immigration authorities have advised Zimbabweans not to panic.

Also in this morning's Nation, opposition leader Raila Odinga promises a “return to the trenches” if the issues being raised under the campaign launched by his party earlier this week are not resolved.

In an interview with the Daily Nation, Odinga dismisses accusations by the ruling Jubilee Alliance that the opposition campaign is aimed at ousting the government through mass action. The former prime minister defended the right to peaceful demonstration, assembly and picketing.

He agreed that the new initiative sought to imitate the 1990 campaign against the one-party Kanu administration then in power but denied any intention of seeking regime-change through violent demonstrations.

On why the grievances his Coalition for Reforms and Democracy has outlined cannot be addressed through existing institutions, Odinga said that parliament was one of the problems. He accused the national asembly of being a tool of the executive to pass laws intended to take away the gains of the new Kenyan constitution.

The Standard gives pride of place to yesterday's stormy session at the International Criminal Court in the Dutch city of The Hague. The prosecution accused the Kenyan government of failing to co-operate in the trial of President Uhuru Kenyatta. The Office of the Prosecution says the Nairobi government has failed to provide substantial, personal information concerning Kenyatta, including details of his business and political associates.

Kenyan Attorney General Githu Muigai countered, saying the prosecution had made vague requests that could not be acted upon.

The authorities in Nairobi have been unable to trace any records indicating that Uhuru owned any land or companies in Kenya. It has failed to trace any telephone lines or data owned by or linked to the president in 2007 and 2008.

Uhuru Kenyatta is one of three Kenyans accused by the International Criminal Court of complicity in the violence which followed the 2007 presidential election.

All the main papers in Nigeria give front-page prominence to yesterday's decision by world football's governing body, Fifa, to suspend Nigeria from all its activities for breaching Fifa rules on external interference in the administration of the game.

Earlier this month the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) was served with a high court order preventing the president, the executive committee and the congress of the organisation from running the affairs of Nigerian football.

Fifa says the suspension will stay in place until the court order is lifted.

During the period of suspension, the NFF may not be represented in any regional, continental or international competitions, including at club level, or in friendly matches. Nigeria will not be entitled to participate in the upcoming Fifa U-20 Women’s World Cup should the suspension not be lifted by the 15 July 2014.

Nigeria will also miss an U-17 African qualifier in Democratic Republic of Congo, slated for 20 July, if the ban is not lifted.

Lagos-based Punch reports that former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson has leapt to the defence of Luis Suarez following the Uruguay striker’s biting of Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup.

Suarez was handed a four-month worldwide ban by Fifa after sinking his fangs into the defender during Uruguay’s Group D clash with Italy a fortnight ago.

Tyson, who himself once chewed off part of the ear of Evander Holyfield during a title fight, has empathised with the Liverpool striker, saying top sportsmen can have "blackout moments" in the heat of competition.

Suarez has had a few blackouts in his career, having already bitten Otman Bakkal and Branislav Ivanovic.

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