detained - The African Mirror

Oct

2023

Niger’s ousted president Bazoum detained in secret location, lawyers say

NIGER'S ousted President Mohamed Bazoum is being held in a secret location by the junta that seized power in the West African state, lawyers representing him said and denying accusations that the president had tried to escape. Bazoum has been in detention since a July 26 coup, and there have been international calls for him to be released. The junta said late on Thursday that Bazoum and his family, with the help of accomplices in the security forces, had planned to drive a vehicle to the outskirts of the capital Niamey and catch a helicopter ride to neighbouring Nigeria. Reuters was not…

Oct

2023

By SONIA ROLLEY and FISTON MAHAMBA

Eight UN peacekeepers detained in Congo over sexual abuse claims

NEWS

EIGHT U.N. peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been detained over allegations of sexual abuse, sources told Reuters, as the U.N. said it would investigate unspecified serious misconduct. The U.N. peacekeeping mission in eastern Congo, known as MONUSCO, said in a statement that it had suspended a number of its peacekeepers in response to reports of the misconduct without giving further details. A U.N. source and a Congolese security source said the allegations concerned eight South African peacekeepers in the eastern city of Beni. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss it…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

Uganda opposition says leader detained at airport, police dispute claim

NEWS

UGANDA'S main opposition party said its leader Bobi Wine had been detained at the airport as he returned from a trip abroad, but police said they had accompanied him to his residence. In recent years Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has emerged as the strongest challenger to President Yoweri Museveni, 79, who has been in power in the East African country since 1986. Wine finished runner-up to Museveni in a 2021 election that he said was marred by fraud. Museveni's government has faced criticism from opponents and human rights activists for stifling the opposition, a charge Museveni denies.…

Oct

2023

By TAREK AMARA

Tunisia detains Abir Moussi, prominent opponent of president

NEWS

TUNISIA'S public prosecutor detained Abir Moussi, a prominent opponent of President Kais Saied after she was arrested at the entrance to the presidential palace, lawyers said, the latest arrest targeting Saied's political rivals. "Moussi was detained for 48 hours in charges of processing personal data, obstructing the right to work, and assault intended to cause chaos", lawyer Aroussi Zgir said. Authorities were not immediately available to comment. An assistant of Moussi said in a video on Facebook that Moussi was "kidnapped" in front of the Carthage Palace. Moussi leads the Free Constitutional Party and is a supporter of late president…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s security agency detains suspended central bank governor

NEWS

MACDONALD DZIRUTWE NIGERIA'S suspended central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele has been detained and is being held in custody for investigative reasons, the police's Department of State Services (DSS) said. The country's new President Bola Tinubu suspended Emefiele with immediate effect on Friday, a measure the government said was linked to an ongoing probe of the governor's office and to planned reforms in the financial sector. Emefiele's suspension had been expected after he drew sharp criticism during the run-up to the February presidential vote from Tinubu's camp. Allies of Tinubu accused the governor of trying to sabotage their election campaign when his…

Apr

2023

By TAREK AMARA

Judge orders jail for Tunisian opposition leader

NEWS

A Tunisian judge ordered opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi to be detained before his trial on charges of plotting against state security, his lawyer said, the latest move on opponents of President Kais Saied. The 81-year-old head of the Islamist Ennahda party was the speaker of the elected parliament, which was shut down in 2021 by Saied when he seized all powers. Ghannouchi, who was arrested on Monday, was ordered detained following an investigation by the judge that lasted eight hours, lawyer Monia Bouali said. No date has been set for any trial or the next hearing. "The issue is related to…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

Bolivian police detain prominent opposition leader as tensions flare

WORLD

DANIEL RAMOS and ADAM JOURDAN BOLIVIAN police detained prominent opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho on charges of "terrorism", significantly escalating tensions between the national government and Camacho's base in the Santa Cruz region. Bolivia's state attorney's office confirmed the detention of 43-year-old Camacho, a lawyer and right-wing civic leader who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020 and is now governor of the affluent farming hub of Santa Cruz. The office said the arrest was connected to the toppling of former leftist president Evo Morales in 2019. An October arrest warrant accused Camacho of "terrorism" without giving more details. Camacho's communications…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

Fiance of U.S. citizen detained in UAE fears he will be extradited to Egypt

WORLD

AN Egyptian-American national detained while visiting the United Arab Emirates fears he will be extradited to Egypt for criticising authorities there ahead of the country hosting the COP27 climate conference last month, his fiance said. The UAE, a close ally of Egypt, arrested Sherif Osman, who resides in the United States, on November 6 at the request of an Arab League entity responsible for coordinating law enforcement and security matters, a UAE official confirmed to Reuters on Thursday. The official said Emirati authorities were working to secure "requisite legal documentation required in preparing the extradition file", without specifying to which…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Equatorial Guinea detains French military helicopter

NEWS

A French military helicopter carrying six soldiers had been detained after landing in Equatorial Guinea, in a diplomatic incident that demonstrated the strained ties between Malabo and Paris. The helicopter landed in Equatorial Guinea's mainland port of Bata on Wednesday evening, hours after a French court upheld a guilty verdict in an embezzlement case against Equatorial Guinea's Vice President Teodoro Obiang Mangue. Neither side spoke publicly of any link between the two incidents. Mangue, who is the son and heir-apparent of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, tweeted that a "reconnaissance helicopter" had landed without authorisation after violating Equatorial Guinea's air…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigerian Yoruba activist detained in Benin

NEWS

A Nigerian activist accused by the authorities of plotting a violent insurrection has been detained in neighbouring Benin and is due to be sent back to Nigeria, according to reports in Nigerian media. Sunday Adeyemo, more commonly known in Nigeria by his nickname of Sunday Igboho, was arrested on Monday at Cotonou airport while on his way to Germany, according to media reports citing a lawyer and other Nigerian sources with links to Igboho. A spokesman for Nigeria's Department of State Services (DSS), a security agency that raided Igboho's residence in the southwestern city of Ibadan on July 1 and…