Politics

Senegalese opposition leader, Sonko in ‘medical emergency’

Published

1 year ago

August 7, 2023

Senegalese opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko was according to one of his aides and lawyers admitted to a hospital for a medical emergency on Sunday in Dakar.

Sonko’s politician party, Patriots of Senegal (PASTEF), which was dissolved last week by authorities, also confirmed the development through a statement on Monday.

The party added that it held the authorities “responsible” for his health, but there have been no comments from the government on the matter.

The controversial politician had last week revealed that he had started a hunger strike from custody after being arrested this week, as his lawyers condemned his arrest. His hunger strike follows a recent arrest which has resulted in seven new charges against the politician who has been a vocal critic of incumbent President Macky Sall.

He was jailed on Monday for a number of offences, including inciting insurrection, criminal association with a terrorist undertaking, and undermining state security.

This came after many tragic incidents of public protest and two consecutive convictions for defamation and “corruption of youths.” On the same day, the government declared his party disbanded.

Sonko had written to the court last week from prison to express his displeasure with the verdict, which his attorneys claimed was a requirement for the judgment to be overturned and a new trial to be ordered.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior has confirmed that Juan Branco, one of Sonko’s lawyers, was arrested last weekend after several days of cat-and-mouse games with the authorities. The Franco-Spanish lawyer is in the hands of an elite police unit and remains in custody.

Politics

Mali: 7 Russian mercenaries killed

Published

1 day ago

November 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

An al Qaeda offshoot in North Africa has claimed responsibility for the attack in central Mali, killing at least seven mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner private military contractor company.

Wagner earlier lost a battle in July with mostly Tuareg rebels and Islamists close to Mali’s Algerian border, exposing the perils faced by mercenaries used by military juntas in the Sahel area of West Africa.

The separatists and strong branches of Al Qaeda and Islamic State, which have taken over large areas of the Sahel over the past 12 years, are difficult for Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger to control.

The al Qaeda offshoot JNIM claimed responsibility for the Thursday attack, according to a statement from SITE Intelligence Group, which keeps an eye on extremist activity in the area. According to SITE, JNIM captured several weapons and killed seven Russian Wagner mercenaries.

Following an attack, the bodies of at least five white males wearing army fatigues were seen laying near a military truck in a video obtained by Reuters. The validity of the footage could not be confirmed by Reuters.

SITE Intelligence posted images allegedly from JNIM that showed many crates of weapons and ammo together with the dead and bloodied bodies of troops.

Although two local officials acknowledged the incident, a Malian army source claimed to have seen seven dead bodies, including Russian fighters. Five Wagner warriors were slain, according to one of them.

At least six Russians have been murdered in the attack, which was carried out by Katiba Macina, a division of JNIM, according to a consultant working on security in the area.

The expert referred to the Russians as Africa Corps warriors, a paramilitary group under Kremlin leadership that has taken Wagner’s position in Africa throughout the previous 12 months.

Mali has previously said that Russian servicemen trainers are assisting local troops with Russian-purchased weaponry rather than mercenaries.

Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

3 days ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.