Former Sierra Leone President relocates to Nigeria on asylum after treason charges – Newstrends
Connect with us

Africa

Former Sierra Leone President relocates to Nigeria on asylum after treason charges

Published

4 months ago

on

Former Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma

Former Sierra Leone President relocates to Nigeria on asylum after treason charges

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced plans to relocate former Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma to Nigeria on Thursday, sparking controversy.

The ECOWAS Commission President, Omar Alieu Touray, said in a statement on Wednesday that the decision to transfer Koroma was based on an agreement made by an ECOWAS Mission to Freetown on December 23.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana and Senegal’s Macky Sail led the high-level delegation.

Touray added that the former President has accepted the invitation to be entertained in Nigeria, and that arrangements will be made to fly him out of Freetown today, subject to approval.

The former Sierra Leonean President was on Tuesday charged with four counts of treason in connection to an attempted coup.

However, Sierra Leone Foreign Minster Timothy Kabba told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) the government did not support the proposal to relocate Koroma, which he described as a unilateral proposition by the ECOWAS Commission President.

But, Touray’s statement on Koroma’s relocation to Nigeria, titled: “Temporary relocation of former President to Abuja”, reads: “I am pleased to inform Your Excellency that as part of the agreement reached during the mission, the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has offered to host His Excellency Ernest Bal Koroma, former President of Sierra Leone, in Abuja on a temporary basis.

READ ALSO:

“The former President has accepted the offer to be hosted In Nigeria. Subject to your approval, arrangements will be made to fly former President Koroma out of Freetown on Thursday, 4th January.”

However, the former president’s lawyer, Joseph Kamara, told the BBC he was “shocked and in utter disbelief”, saying the charges set a “dangerous precedent.

“A dark cloud has shadowed the skies of our country. Meaning that we are dragging a former head of state – democratically elected – on trumped-up charges under a political vendetta,” he said.

Last November, gunmen broke into a military armoury and several prisons in Freetown, freeing almost 2,000 inmates.

He has denied any involvement in the attack, which killed about 20 people.

On Tuesday, Koroma and 11 other people were charged over the attempted coup, including one of Mr. Koroma’s former bodyguards.

Koroma has been under house arrest since being questioned over the coup.

He was President for 11 years until 2018, when incumbent President, Julius Maada Bio, was elected.

The former president’s daughter, Dankay Koroma, has previously been named on a list of wanted suspects by the police. She has not commented.

The attempted coup came five months after a disputed election which President Bio narrowly won to continue in office.

The results were rejected by Koroma’s All People’s Congress. International observers also criticised the elections, highlighting a lack of transparency in the count.

Former Sierra Leone President relocates to Nigeria on asylum after treason charges

Related Topics:
Advertisement

Africa

Civil societies, Togo president on war path over new constitution eliminating elections

Published

16 hours ago

on

May 9, 2024

By

President Faure Gnassingbe

Civil societies, Togo president on war path over new constitution eliminating elections

The hope of having new leader in Togo has been dashed following the abolition of presidential elections in the West Africa country.

The development follows the signing of a controversial and widely condemned new constitution by President Faure Gnassingbe

The new constitution does not allow for election to the highest office in the land, an arrangement that will see the Gnassingbes consolidate their hold on power and extend their six-decade-long rule.

A statement from Gnassingbe’s office on Monday stated that, under the new legislation, only the parliament will have the power to select the president, eliminating direct elections.

According to Africa News, the election commission on Saturday announced that Gnassingbe’s ruling party had won a majority of seats in the nation’s parliament.

The report revealed that there was a crackdown on civic and media freedoms ahead of the vote, as the government banned protests against the proposed new constitution and arrested opposition figures.

READ ALSO:

Also, the electoral commission banned the Catholic Church from deploying election observers.

In mid-April, a French journalist who arrived to cover the elections was arrested, assaulted and expelled. Togo’s media regulator later suspended the accreditation process for foreign journalists.

Provisional results showed the ruling Union for the Republic (UNIR) party won 108 out of 113 seats in parliament, and 137 out of 179 positions in the senate.

The new constitution also increases presidential terms from five to six years and introduces a single-term limit.

However, the almost 20 years that Gnassingbe has already served in office would not count toward that tally.

Togo has been ruled by the same family for 57 years, initially by Eyadema Gnassingbe and then by his son, Faure Gnassingbe, who took office after elections that the opposition described as a “sham.”

The political opposition, religious leaders and civil society say the proposed new constitution makes it likely that Gnassingbe will stay on when his mandate expires in 2025.

They also fear that the creation of a figure similar to a prime minister, to be selected from the ruling party, could become another avenue for Gnassingbe to extend his grip on power even beyond that new term.

Civil societies, Togo president on war path over new constitution eliminating elections

Continue Reading

Africa

Father mourns 14-year-old daughter poisoned at school, says ‘I’ve failed you my baby’

Published

4 days ago

on

May 5, 2024

By

Father mourns 14-year-old daughter poisoned at school, says ‘I’ve failed you my baby’

A father has mourned his 14-year-old daughter, Nomfundo Palesa Tyler Khumalo, who was allegedly poisoned at her school in South Africa.

It was gathered that the incident happened on 8 April 2024 and she passed away on 25 April.

I?ve failed you my baby - South African father mourns his 14-year-old daughter allegedly poisoned at her schoolDetails surrounding the circumstances of her death remain unclear.

A murder case has been opened, and investigations are underway.

The family of Nomfundo is currently struggling to deal with the loss and seeking answers as to why and by whom she was targeted.

READ ALSO:

Nomfundo’s father, Gift, on Sunday, May 5, wrote a heartfelt message on X to pay tribute to her.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think you would end up on this page I’ve failed you my baby , should’ve protected you better we even spoke about you being home schooled after you recover unfortunately.. I’m so sorry If Possible I’d easily give up my life for yours,” he wrote on Sunday, May 5.

In an earlier post, he wrote: “I wish the after life is kinder to souls as precious as yours , there is no boundry for my love to you my baby Not even Death itself Don’t forget to visit us in our dreams more exp your Mother It’s never goodbye when there an after life promised I’ll see you soon my child.”

Father mourns 14-year-old daughter poisoned at school, says ‘I’ve failed you my baby’

Continue Reading

Africa

Floods kill over 200 in Kenya, cyclone approaches

Published

6 days ago

on

May 3, 2024

By

Floods kill over 200 in Kenya, cyclone approaches

The death toll from flood-related accidents in Kenya has surpassed 200 since March, the interior ministry announced Friday as a storm approached the Tanzanian coast.

Torrential rains have lashed parts of East Africa, causing flooding and landslides that have wrecked crops, buried homes, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

According to a statement from Kenya’s interior ministry, 210 people have died “due to severe weather conditions,” with 22 deceased in the last 24 hours.

More than 165,000 people had been evacuated from their homes, with 90 others missing, increasing concerns that the toll may increase further.

Kenya and adjacent Tanzania, where at least 155 people have died in flooding, are bracing for Cyclone Hidaya, which will bring heavy rain, wind, and waves to their coastlines.

Tanzanian authorities warned Friday that Hidaya had “strengthened to the status of a full-fledged cyclone” around 3:00 a.m. local time (0000GMT), about 400 kilometres (248 miles) from the southeastern city of Mtwara.

READ ALSO:

“Cyclone Hidaya has continued to strengthen further, with wind speeds increasing to about 130 kilometres per hour,” they said in a weather bulletin.

Kenya’s interior ministry predicted that the storm would “bring strong winds and large ocean waves, with heavy rainfall,” and hit the shore on Sunday.

Since September last year, Burundi’s heavier-than-usual rains have killed at least 29 people, injured 175 others, and displaced tens of thousands, according to the United Nations.

The rains have been exacerbated by the El Nino weather pattern, a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that is normally associated with increasing temperatures worldwide, resulting in drought in some regions of the world and torrential downpours in others.

More than 300 people were killed by rains and floods in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia late last year as the area struggled to recover from its worst drought in four decades.

Cyclone season in the southwest Indian Ocean typically lasts from November to April and produces approximately a dozen cyclones every year.

Floods kill over 200 in Kenya, cyclone approaches

Continue Reading

Trending

Skip to content