Politics

Zimbabwean oppositon figures say government is harassing them with arrests, imprisonment, ahead of elections

Published

2 years ago

September 3, 2022

With the Zimbabwean general elections a few months away, leading opposition figures in the country have raised an alarm accusing the government of harassment and threats of arrest and imprisonment.

The opposition politicians claim many of their members and journalists critical of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration have been arrested and clamped into prison as a way of intimidating them while public meetings have been banned.

According to an opposition watchdog in the east African country, the situation is reminiscent of the government repression similar to the iron-fisted rule of Robert Mugabe, the former president who died in 2019.

The body said Mnangagwa’s government is responding with force to opposition to his rule which is stoked by worsening economic conditions including an inflation which had climbed to more than 250%.

Among those suffering from the government’s dragnet, according to the body, is opposition member of parliament Job Sikhala, who has been detained in the Chikurubi prison near the capital, Harare, for close to three months on accusations of inciting violence.

The very vocal 50-year-old Sikhala, according to the watchdog, has been arrested more than 65 times in his two-decade political career but has never been convicted of any crime.

“Most recently, Sikhala was arrested in June with more than two dozen other activists of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change, known as the CCC, and accused of fanning violence after skirmishes with ruling party supporters. Repeated attempts to get bail for him and the others have failed,” it said.

“The reason they have not been given bail is because they (prosecutors) know they will not get convicted. The idea is to make them serve. They know they don’t have the evidence to prove the cases,” it added.

The CCC party, launched in January and led by Nelson Chamisa, has grown to become the major opposition party with many lawmakers from the ruling ZANU-PF defecting to it.

The new party has also attracted considerable attention and followers especially from the poor, students, political activists, civic organisations, trade union members and working class who are disenchanted with the Mwangaga regime and in response, police in Harare and other cities have been banning the party’s meetings, as well as gatherings of civic organizations and church groups perceived as government critics.

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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.