Africa
British plumber gets death sentence in Congo over coup attempt
British plumber gets death sentence in Congo over coup attempt
A British man has been sentenced to death after being convicted of participating in a coup attempt in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Youssouf Ezangi, a 53-year-old UK citizen of Congolese descent who worked as a plumber in London, was one of six foreign nationals handed “the harshest penalty” by a military court.
One Canadian, a Belgian and three US citizens were also among the among the 37 defendants found guilty on charges of attempted coup, terrorism and criminal association.
Six people were killed in the failed attempt to oust elected President Félix Tshisekedi, who has ruled the country of 109,000,000 people since 2019.
The botched coup’s leader, Christian Malanga, was shot dead by security forces soon after livestreaming the attack on the presidential palace on May 19.
Armed men under his commanded briefly occupied on office in the palace before the coup attempt was suppressed.
Malanga’s 21-year-old son Marcel, one of the US citizens, claimed his father coerced him and high school friend from Utah, Tyler Thompson, 21, to participate.
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He told the court: “Dad had threatened to kill us if we did not follow his orders.”
This story was echoed by other participants, and by Marcel’s mother, Brittney Sawyer, who claims her son was innocent.
Mr Thompson said: “Christian had woken us up in the middle of the night dressed in a military uniform with a gun around his waist and said the military will arrive here shortly.
“The only thing he told me is that I must do everything as he says or else I will die.”
Christian Malanga, a little-known used car salesman who dabbled in gold mining, considered himself president of a shadow government in exile, Ms Sawyer said.
Mr Thompson and the younger Mr Malanga’s school football teammates claim Mr Malanga offered up to £76,000 for them to join him in a “security job” in Congo.
The DRC reinstated the death penalty earlier this year, fuelling hope that the British man and his co-defendants can appeal the open-air court’s ruling.
Richard Bondo, lawyer for the six foreign nationals, said: “We will challenge this decision on appeal.”
Mr Bondo also claimed the defendants had not been provided with adequate interpreters during the investigation.
They were given five days to appeal the verdict.
Foreign Office officials have tried to convince the DRC to drop plans to execute Mr Ezangi.
A spokesperson said: “We are providing consular assistance to a British man detained in DRC and are in contact with the local authorities.
“We have made representations about the use of the death penalty to the DRC at the highest levels, and we will continue to do so.”
The third American has been named as Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, a 36-year-old believed to have met Christian Malanga through a gold mining company.
British plumber gets death sentence in Congo over coup attempt
Africa
Suspected witchdoctors arrested over attempt to ‘bewitch’ Zambia’s President
Suspected witchdoctors arrested over attempt to ‘bewitch’ Zambia’s President
Two men were detained in Zambia on charges of being “witchdoctors” tasked with attempting to bewitch the president.
The police stated they had arrested Jasten Mabulesse Candunde and Leonard Phiri in Lusaka.
“Their purported mission was to use charms to harm” President Hakainde Hichilema, according to the police statement issued on Friday.
Many individuals in the southern African country believe in and dread witches.
The police stated Mr. Candunde and Mr. Phiri were hired by Nelson Banda, MP Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda’s younger brother.
The MP was reportedly arrested last month in nearby Zimbabwe on robbery allegations, which he denies, but he has not been seen in public since.
He is also accused of escaping from detention in August while waiting to appear in court.
The opposition Patriotic Front (PF), led by z, has previously claimed that the charges are politically motivated.
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Emmanuel Banda, who has been an independent MP since 2021, previously worked with Lungu, who lost the presidency to Hichilema that same year.
The police stated the MP’s younger brother, Nelson, was “currently on the run” in their statement.
Mr. Candunde and Mr. Phiri face charges under Zambia’s Witchcraft Act for “possession of charms,” “professing knowledge of witchcraft,” and “cruelty to wild animals.”
The pair was found with “assorted charms,” including a live chameleon, according to the authorities.
According to the police statement, they claimed they had been given more than 2 million Zambian kwacha (£58,000; $73,000) for their “mission.”
The accused are in jail and will appear in court “soon,” according to the police, although no specific date has been set for the hearing. They have not yet responded in public to the charges.
Suspected witchdoctors arrested over attempt to ‘bewitch’ Zambia’s President
Africa
South African man sentenced to six life terms for killing his relatives
South African man sentenced to six life terms for killing his relatives
Africa
Military airstrike kills over 100 in Sudanese market
Military airstrike kills over 100 in Sudanese market
A Sudanese military air strike on a market in North Darfur killed more than 100 people on Monday, a pro-democracy lawyers’ group said Tuesday, in a war marked by claims of atrocities on all sides.
The emergency Lawyers said Monday’s air strike also left hundreds injured in Kabkabiya, a town about 180 kilometres (112 miles) west of El-Fasher, the state capital that has been under siege from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since May.
Tens of thousands have been killed and millions displaced in a 20-month war between the RSF and Sudan’s military that has left the northeast African country on the brink of famine, according to aid agencies.
“The air strike took place on the town’s weekly market day, where residents from various nearby villages had gathered to shop, resulting in the death of more than 100 people and injury of hundreds, including women and children,” said the lawyers’ group, which has been documenting human rights abuses during the conflict.
In footage sent to AFP purporting to show aftermath of Monday’s strike, people were seen sifting through rubble as the charred remains of children lay on scorched ground.
The footage was supplied by civil society group the Darfur General Coordination of Camps for the Displaced and Refugees and AFP has not been able to verify its accuracy.
The lawyers group said in a separate incident on Monday evening three neighbourhoods were hit with barrel bombs in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, without reporting casualties.
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Darfur, a region the size of France, is home to around a quarter of Sudan’s population but more than half of its 10 million are displaced.
A UN-backed report in July said famine had taken hold in a major refugee camp in North Darfur after a months-long RSF siege disabled nearly all trade and aid access.
‘Escalation campaign’
The lawyers group said they “condemn in the strongest terms the horrendous massacres committed by army air strikes” in Kabkabiya.
They flagged another incident in North Kordofan state in which drone that had crashed on November 26 exploded on Monday evening, killing six people.
They said recent strikes across Sudan were part of an “escalation campaign… deliberately concentrated on densely populated residential areas”, contradicting claims by warring parties that they only target military objectives.
Both the army and the RSF have been accused of indiscriminately targeting civilians and deliberately bombing residential areas.
Last week, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called for immediate international action to address Sudan’s deepening crisis.
Fletcher said he had heard “heart-rending stories” from refugees fleeing the conflict during a recent visit.
Nearly 26 million people — about half the population — face the threat of starvation, with both sides accused of using hunger as a weapon of war.
“These numbers are staggering, and we cannot turn our backs,” Fletcher said.
Military airstrike kills over 100 in Sudanese market
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