Politics

Senegal: Court resumes hearing of rape suit against opposition leader, Sonko

Published

1 year ago

May 24, 2023

Court proceedings resumed on Tuesday for the trial of Senegalese opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko over rape allegations.

The politician was charged with rape and making death threats against an employee of a beauty salon in Dakar but denies all wrongdoing and insists that his legal travails are politically motivated and aimed at scuttling his bid for the 2024 presidency.

The court sat amid a strong security presence in Dakar, the capital city, as there were concerns over likely protests by Sonko’s supporters which could descend into pandemonium as with recent occasions.

His lawyer, Massokhna Kane said they had not been served a summon to appear in court.

“So, that’s why today the lawyers intervened to say firstly there was this element, this irregularity. And then there’s also the fact that there were security concerns which meant that Sonko could not come, even if he wanted to,” said Kane.

Ndèye Khady Ndiaye, the lawyer for the former salon owner, who is also joined in the suit and accused of complicity in the alleged rape, asked the court for more preparation time and further adjournment of the hearing but withdrew the prayers as the prosecutor dismissed their demands.

“All the defendants are free, there is absolutely no urgency to try this case today. So, what happened is, all the lawyers, both those of Ndèye Khady Ndiaye and of Ousmane Sonko, decided to withdraw from the room,” said Ndiaye’s lawyer, Macodou Ndour.

The trial comes weeks after Sonko suffered a setback to his political ambition as an Appeal Court handed him an extended six-month sentence following his trial for libel which puts his political future in doubt as he might be disqualified from running for the 2024 presidential elections if the ruling stands.

Sonko was one of the top five candidates in the 2019 presidential election, finishing third with 687,523 votes, just behind President Sall and second-placed Idrissa Seck. If convicted, that could be the end to his plans to run again for president.

Related Topics:Featured Ousmane Sonko Senegal Sonko

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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.