Politics

Sudan still boils four months after Al-Burhan’s coup; 84 killed so far

Published

2 years ago

March 3, 2022

The dust is yet to settle four months after Sudanese dictator, General Abdel al-Fattah al-Burhan organised a coup to overthrow a regime he has dictated to since 2019, and retained his powers as de facto leader of Sudan.

Demonstrations continue to trail the “self coup” despite the deadly crackdown with protesters calling for the end of military rule of General Al-Burhan.

A self-coup is a form of coup in which a nation’s leader, despite having come to power through legal means, dissolves or renders powerless the national legislature and unlawfully assumes extraordinary powers, not granted under normal circumstances.

One of the protesters was shot dead on Monday during a march by thousands against last year’s coup, thus taking the total number of people killed to at least 84 since General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan led the October 25 military takeover.

The protester killed on Monday was shot in the head in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman, according to the Sudanese Doctors’ Committee.

The shooting happened as thousands of demonstrators tried to cross the bridge across the Nile linking the city to Khartoum.

“Tear gas canisters will not stop us!” said Taqwa Mohammed, a demonstrator near Khartoum’s presidential palace, where the ruling Sovereign Council is based along the Nile River.

The Northeast African country has a long history of military coups that dates back to 1957. More recently, the country experienced a coup in 2019 that ousted the military junta of Omar-al-Bashir which had been in power for over 30 years. There was also a report of an aborted coup in September 2021 and a “self coup” later in October of the same year that brought in Head Sovereignty Council, Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.

In the case of General Abdel al-Fattah al-Burhan’s coup, the dictator had been the head of the eleven-member Sovereignty Council of Sudan which was the collective head of state of Sudan from 20 August 2019 when it was created by the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration.

Al-Burhan displaced the council in the infamous 25 October 2021 self coup.

Politics

Sierra Leone imprisons 11 military, police officers over coup attempt

Published

3 days ago

July 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Sierra Leone’s high court has sentenced 11 soldiers and police officers to hefty prison terms for their alleged roles in an attempted military coup last year.

On November 26, gunmen in Sierra Leone freed 2,200 detainees and killed over 20 in military barracks, a jail, and other locations.

After the coup attempt failed, 12 individuals were charged with treason in January. On Monday night, a unanimous jury found 11 guilty of 20 counts, including treason, murder, and military uniform use.

Due to health difficulties, the APC’s Bai Mahmoud Bangura, the twelfth accused, is being tried separately.

Amadu Koita Makalo, a retired army major and former bodyguard of ex-president Ernest Bai Koroma, received consecutive 40-70-year sentences for multiple counts.

Two female police officers were sentenced. Ramatu Kamanda Conteh received 30 years of harbouring Koita.

The government attributed the coup attempt to Koroma’s bodyguards, who were ultimately charged with four offences. However, the government let him leave the country on medical grounds.

Ex-president, Ernest Bai Koroma was accused of participating in a botched military coup attempt in November, and on January 3, was charged with four offences. However, a high court decided on Wednesday that Koroma was free to leave the nation.

His lawyers labelled the coup attempt “trumped up” and a “political vendetta” while Koroma condemned it.

Two decades after a 1991-2002 civil conflict that killed over 50,000 Sierra Leoneans, tensions have risen again.

Politics

Tanzania’s president fires foreign, information ministers

Published

4 days ago

July 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Tanzania’s President, Samia Suluhu Hassan, has announced the sack of two top officials, including the foreign minister, in a mini-cabinet reshuffle.

Hassan took steps to rebuild international trust in his economic and political reforms, including relaxing restrictions on opposition parties and media, which had been criticized for failing.

The presidency stated late Sunday that Hassan fired January Makamba, minister of foreign affairs and East Africa cooperation, and Nape Nnauye, minister of information, communication, and IT.

They are influential in Chama cha Mapinduzi, the ruling party.

No explanation was offered for their removal. Makamba and Nnauye responded slowly to calls for comment.

Nnauye was fired a week after a video showed him suggesting election results depended on who counts ballots and announces them.

Nnauye later apologized, saying it was a joke, but activists and social media users argued it harmed Hassan’s democracy efforts.

Muhammad Thabit Kombo became the foreign affairs minister and Jerry Silaa information, communication, and IT minister under Hassan.

While Silaa was minister of lands, housing, and human settlements development, Kombo was Tanzania’s ambassador to Italy. Two more ministers and deputy ministers were appointed, the presidency stated.

Since 2021, Hassan’s government has been lauded for rolling back her predecessor’s opposition and civil rights crackdowns. The arrests of a lawyer and an opposition leader last year have cast doubt on her government’s human rights record.