  Cen A has been recently detected in the high-energy (HE) and very high energy
(VHE) gamma-ray domain by Fermi-LAT and H.E.S.S. We review the observed
characteristics and suggest a scenario where the VHE emission originates from
the vicinity of the black hole. Motivated by the possible association of some
ultra-high energy (UHE) cosmic ray (CR) events with Cen A, we further analyze
the acceleration efficiency for a number of a mechanisms (including shock and
stochastic acceleration), showing that most of them (apart perhaps from shear)
have serious difficulties in accelerating protons beyond a few $10^{19}$ eV.
