Politics

Egypt jails former presidential candidate for 15 years

Published

2 years ago

May 30, 2022

A former Egyptian presidential candidate in the 2012 elections in the North African country, Abdel Moneim Aboul Foutouh, was on Sunday, sentenced to 15 years in prison by an emergency court in Cairo after he was found guilty of giving “false information” and “undermining state security.”

Apart from Aboul Foutouh, who was a member of a proscribed Islamist body, the Muslim Brotherhood, 24 other members of the banned group also bagged various jail terms ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment, a judicial official said.

The former Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mahmoud Ezzat, was sentenced to life imprisonment for “espionage”, while Aboul Foutouh’s second in command in the Masr Qawiya Party, Mohammed al-Qassas, was sentenced 20 years in prison.

Aboul Foutouh was arrested on his return from London where he had granted interviews criticising the government and calling for a boycott of the presidential election that returned Abdel Fattah al-Sissi.

In 2012, he was a candidate in the election won by the Muslim Brother Mohamed Morsi who was overthrown by Sissi who was then head of the army, a year later.

Shortly after taking over power, Sissi placed Aboul Foutouh and other top Muslim Brotherhood members on a “terrorist” list and ordered that their assets to be quizzed for four years.

They were also indicted on charges of belonging to an “illegal organisation” before an anti-terrorism court.

While reacting to the sentencing, Amnesty International which recently placed Egypt at the top of the world record for death sentences with more than 350 in 2021, denounced the verdict, calling it a “totally unfair political trial.”

AI added that the the convicts had been subjected to “torture and ill-treatment” in detention, and called on Sissi to release them.

“Mr Aboul Foutouh, aged 70, has been deprived of medical care for years,” the human rights NGO said in a statement on Monday.

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Politics

Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

Published

5 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.

Politics

Congo opposition mobilizes protests against constitution review

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In response to President Felix Tshisekedi’s intentions to amend the constitution, opposition lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have called for national protests on Wednesday.

Tshisekedi, who was sworn in for his second and last term in January, said that a panel would be formed in October to recommend possible constitutional amendments.

According to critics, it may be a ploy to lift term restrictions and give him another chance to run.

Tshisekedi said the current constitution, ratified by a referendum in 2005, needed to change because it did not align with the country’s current realities.

Opposition politicians, including former president Joseph Kabila and past presidential candidates Martin Fayulu and Moise Katumbi, issued a unified statement on Wednesday urging rallies to “block” Tshisekedi.

A request for a response from the Congo’s presidency was not answered.

Patrick Muyaya, the minister of communications, stated on Monday that discussions surrounding the constitutional revision should be de-politicized and that no one should doubt the president’s intentions.

“We’re at the beginning of our mandate… The President of the Republic still has four years to go, and we must avoid attributing intentions to him,” Muyaya told reporters.