Metro

Leading Egyptian judge declared wanted for allegedly murdering journalist wife

Published

2 years ago

June 29, 2022

The Egyptian police has mounted a huge manhunt for a leading judge who has been on the run after he allegedly murdered his television presenter wife earlier this month.

The police, in a statement on Tuesday, said the suspect, Judge Ayman Hajjaj, killed his wife, Shaimaa Gamal, at a farm and the discovery was made after an accomplice was arrested and he led the police to the location where the victim’s body with her face burnt with nitric acid, was recovered.

The Egyptian public prosecutor’s office said its investigations had proved that the TV anchor was last seen with her husband at shopping centre shortly before she was declared missing by her family and work colleagues.

The prosecutor’s office said an international arrest warrant has also been issued as Judge Hajjaj, who is the Deputy Chairman of Egypt’s powerful Council of State, had recently obtained visas for Canada and Poland.

Egyptian Security Services said it found the body of the popular broadcaster who became notorious a few years ago for appearing to snort heroin on live television, inside a villa farm in one of the cities of Giza Governorate, while investigations suggested that her husband was behind her murder.

The Giza Security Directorate said it had received a report stating that “Gamal, a TV presenter working on a private satellite channel, had been missing, as she was presenting a program entitled “The Troubleshooter”, had disappeared in mysterious circumstances 20 days ago, with all her phones are switched off.

“When her body was discovered, Shaima Gamal had her face distorted used nitric acid and fire water. Further investigations has revealed that Shaima Gamal was murdered by the hands of her husband, Judge Ayman Hajja, who is the Counselor and Vice-President of the State Council in Egypt.

“Later on, the police knew from his driver the place where Hajja buried Gamal in a villa in Abusir area in the Al-Badrashin district.

“He brutally murdered her by hitting her on the head with the grip of a pistol, then strangling her with a scarf and burying her after mutilating her face in the villa located in the Mansouriya area,” the Service said.

Related Topics:Egypt Featured journalist Judge Marriage Murder

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Metro

Zambia’s ruling party UPND warns against personal attacks on President Hichilema

Published

7 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Zambia’s ruling party, the UPND, has warned opposition politicians and critics against personal attacks on President Hakainde Hichilema as his meekness should not be mistaken for weakness.

Secretary-General of the UPND, Batuke Imenda, who gave the warning in a statement in Lusaka on Monday, urged political opponents to always engage in mature and issue-based discourse.

Zambia Monitor reports that Imenda’s warning, was directed at the leader of Zambia Must Prosper (ZMP) party, Kelvin Bwalya Fube, whose recent remarks Imenda described as “provocative” and a “feeble attempt to mislead citizens.”

“Provocative words uttered by Kelvin Bwalya against our party and President Hichilema are a clear demonstration of naivety,” Imenda said in the statement.

He further advised Bwalya to abandon personal attacks and focus on substantial political issues.

The UPND Secretary suggested that Bwalya’s attacks stemmed from a desire for relevance amid declining political fortunes, hinting at a possible alignment with former President Edgar Lungu.

“It appears KBF is hoping that Edgar Lungu might support his embattled political career by unjustly attacking President Hichilema,” he said.

Imenda defended the President’s record, highlighting that under Hichilema’s leadership, Zambia’s democratic space had expanded compared to the previous PF administration, which he accused of stifling freedoms.

He noted that while criticism was welcome, it should not devolve into baseless attacks, warning that opposition figures should not misinterpret Hichilema’s restraint as weakness.

Imenda also criticized Bwalya for overlooking the gains in transparency and justice since the change in government, claiming that past regimes were marked by resource mismanagement and corruption.

Metro

Following backlash, Nigerian govt withdraws treason charges against minors

Published

13 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Nigerian government has officially withdrawn the treason charges it entered against some minors who participated in the #EndBadGovernance protest that spread across the country from August 1 to the 10th.

The nation was thrown into shock on Friday when the Nigeria Police presented 76 protesters at the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges bordering on treason. Among the suspects were four minors who slumped before they could be arraigned before the court.

This caused serious uproar in the country with Nigerians condemning the government and calling for the unconditional release of the kids and the dismissal of the charges against them.

The decision to withdraw the charges against the underage accused came following a directive by President Bola Tinubu who ordered the immediate withdrawal of the charges and an in-depth investigation into what led to the arrest and detention of the minors.

Tinubu had also ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, (SAN) to officially take over the case file as well as review the cases following public outcry that came with the arraignment of the minors.

The charges were finally withdrawn on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja through an application for discontinuance filled by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Abubakar, on behalf of the AGF.

According to Abubakar, the discontinuance application was based on provisions of sections 174(1), (b) and (c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015.

The DPPF also applied for further proceedings to be conducted without the presence of the minors in the courtroom, in line with provisions of Section 266(b) of the ACJA, 2015, and Section 1 of the Childs’ Rights Act.

In response, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Fanala (SAN), who stood in for the accused as well as other defence lawyers in the matter, did not oppose the applications which promoted the judge, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, to strike out the charges, while the four affected minors were also delisted from the charge sheet.