Politics

Ex-Comoros President, Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, to face high treason charges according to his lawyer

Published

2 years ago

November 8, 2022

Former Comoros President, Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, has been charged with high treason and will be put on trial after spending four years in detention over corruption allegations, his lawyer and family said on Tuesday.

Sambi who was the President of the tiny Island nation from 2006 to 2011, is currently being prosecuted for embezzlement of public funds, corruption, forgery and use of forgeries in a scandal known as “economic citizenship” which involved the sale of Comorian passports to stateless people from the Gulf States.

Several political figures have also been indicted in the “economic citizenship” scandal which was uncovered by a parliamentary report in 2017, including two former vice presidents who were in office between 2011 and 2016.

Current President and Sambi’s main opponent, Azali Assoumani, has been accused of carrying out a vendetta against the former President by his lawyers and family even after spending years in jail without trial.

“They are talking to us today about high treason, a crime that will justify a heavier sentence before the State Security Court, whose decisions are not subject to appeal,” said Tisslame Sambi, one of Sambi’s daughters said while responding to inquiries by journalists on Tuesday.

“This referral to the State Security Court is the height of illegality and violation of the rules of procedure and the rights of the defense,” she added.

Sambi, 64, was placed under house arrest in May, 2018, for allegedly disturbing public order and then put in detention three months later. The legal length of pre-trial detention in the Indian Ocean archipelago is a maximum of eight months but Sambi has been in detention for over four years, something his lawyers say was illegal and would be contested.

While doctors have been recommending for the former president whose health has deteriorated to be evacuated abroad for treatment, President Assoumani’s regime has refused to accede to the request, accusing Sambi of wanting to escape justice.

Related Topics:Comoros corruption Detention Featured treason

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Politics

Burkina Faso releases 4 French spies after Moroccan intervention

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a diplomatic spat over their imprisonment, France and Morocco announced Thursday that four French nationals detained in Burkina Faso for a year had been freed after mediation from Morocco.

They were spies, according to a prior statement made by the director of France’s foreign intelligence organisation, the DGSE.

A request for comment was not answered by the DGSE or a representative of the French military, which is in charge of the agency.

Since December 2023, they have been held in Ouagadougou.

President Emmanuel Macron hailed King Mohammed of Morocco on Wednesday for his intervention, “which made possible the liberation of our four countrymen who had been held in Burkina Faso for a year,” according to a statement from the French administration.

King Mohammed and President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso were also commended by Morocco’s foreign ministry, which stated that “this humanitarian act” was made possible by their positive bilateral ties.

In October, France made peace with Morocco, one of its former protectorates, after three years of hostilities between Paris and Rabat stoked by immigration concerns and the disputed Western Sahara region.

Morocco offers Burkina Faso and other military-ruled Sahel republics Atlantic trade.

However, France’s relations with former West and Central African colonies, such as Burkina Faso, remain difficult. In Ouagadougou, French troops and diplomats were ejected, the defence attache and ambassador were asked to depart, and certain French media were suspended.

The military junta that took control in 2022 in Burkina Faso has been criticized by international rights groups for cracking down on free expression and harassing dissidents to handle a security crisis precipitated by Al Qaeda and Islamic State extremists.

Politics

Ghana: President-elect Mahama appoints anti-corruption team

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by his transition team on Wednesday, Ghana’s President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has designated an anti-corruption committee to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.

When he takes office next month, Mahama, the leading opposition candidate in the presidential election held on December 7 and who received almost 56% of the vote, has pledged to reclaim the proceeds of corruption and hold those responsible for it accountable.

In anticipation, an anti-graft squad has been established. The parliament’s Committee on Assurances, which has previously raised suspicions of governmental corruption, is chaired by MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah.

An investigative journalist, a private attorney, a former auditor general, and a former police officer with experience in high-profile robbery cases make up the other three members.

After looking into alleged financial irregularities that took place during the previous administration, Daniel Dumelovo, the former auditor general, was fired.

Recovering lost assets and fighting corruption were two of Mahama’s main campaign pledges.

“He intends to hit the ground running on these commitments,” the statement said.

Eight years after leaving office, former President Mahama is back to head the West African country. Despite not being personally contaminated, he faced criticism during his 2012–2016 administration due to claims of political corruption.