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After many proposals, sanctions, Guinea’s military junta announces 39 months civil transition period

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Having revealed that it has received “proposals” for a political transition in the country on Friday, Guinea’s military leader, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, has announced a 39 months transition period before the country returns to civilian rule.

The new announcement was made during a speech broadcast on television on Saturday.

Regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) revealed last week that “Guinea presented the recent developments in the transition process and also wished to have more time in relation to the 25 April deadline”, in order to “allow for further consultations.”

The military head added that the measure would be subject to the National Transitional Council acting as parliament.

“From all consultations at all levels since the beginning of the transition, with all groups of society, from all Guineans wherever they are, the median proposal that emerged is a transition of 39 months. The CNRD [National Rally and Development Committee, ed.] and the government will submit to the National Transition Council (CNT), acting like a parliament.

Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, furthered revealed that it arrived at the decision after long and patient consultations”,

The announcement followed the creation of what the military leader described as an “inclusive consultation framework” in April.

The resulting conference culminated in a boycott by several prominent political groups.

West Africa has been rocked by two coups in Mali, one in Guinea and one in Burkina Faso since August 2020. The three countries were suspended from ECOWAS following military coups and hit by a raft of economic sanctions.

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Kenya: Senior ICC prosecutor drops probe into 2007 post-election violence

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A senior official of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Nazhat Shameen Khan has announced an end to all further investigations into crimes committed in Kenya relating to violence that erupted following elections in 2007.

The ICC Deputy Chief Prosecutor said the 13-year legal saga, which involved senior Kenyan politicians, had been dropped

“I have reached this decision after considering the specific facts and circumstances of this situation,” she said in a statement.

“Accordingly, the Office will not pursue additional cases into the alleged criminal responsibility of other persons.”

Prosecutors claim that during the nation’s post-election violence in 2010, some 600,000 people were left homeless, and 1,300 people killed in a case in which suspects included former and current Kenyan presidents, Uhuru Kenyatta and President William Ruto. The Hague-based tribunal began looking into the incident in 2010. Six suspects were initially charged with crimes against humanity, which included deportation and murder.

However, in 2014, former chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda dropped the charges against Kenyatta, and in 2016, the prosecution’s case against Ruto was also dropped due to insufficient evidence. The lack of evidence caused the case against all six to fall apart.

Prosecutors opened a new investigation into witness intimidation and bribery after Bensouda claimed that an unrelenting campaign of intimidation against victims and witnesses prevented a trial.

Decades after the “third wave of democratisation,” widespread violence still occurs in sub-Saharan Africa after elections. Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Zimbabwe, among others, have had their share of election conflicts.

Kenya is still not free from election disturbances, as levels of violence also played out during and after the 2022 elections.

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Sierra Leonean govt finally labels weekend attack ‘failed coup’

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The Sierra Leonean government has finally labelled attacks on several locations in the capital, Freetown, on Sunday as failed attempt to overthrow the government, having previously refraining from so classifying it.

Authorities in the West African nation said that gunmen stormed a military barracks, a prison, and other locations on Sunday, freeing roughly 2,200 prisoners and leaving over 20 people dead. On Monday, everything had returned to normal.

“The incident was a failed attempted coup. The intention was to illegally subvert and overthrow a democratically elected government,” said President Julius Bio.

“The attempt failed, and plenty of the leaders are either in police custody or on the run. We will try to capture them and bring them to the full force of the laws of Sierra Leone.”

The tense situation in Sierra Leone, which is still recuperating from a civil war that claimed over 50,000 lives between 1991 and 2002, has persisted since Bio was re-elected in June.

International allies, such as the US and the EU, questioned the outcome, and the major opposition candidate rejected it.

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