South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu following serious allegations made by General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, a top police official. Mkhwanazi accused Mchunu and Deputy Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya of interfering in sensitive investigations and colluding with criminal syndicates.

The suspension comes amid growing concern over alleged political interference within key law enforcement agencies. President Ramaphosa announced the decision publicly, stating, “In order for the Commission to execute its functions effectively, I have decided to put the Minister of Police Mr Senzo Mchunu on a leave of absence with immediate effect. The Minister has undertaken to give his full cooperation to the Commission to enable it to work properly.”

Ramaphosa has appointed Professor Firoz Cachalia as acting Minister of Police. Meanwhile, Mkhwanazi further alleged that Mchunu and Sibiya disbanded a critical crime-fighting unit that was investigating a string of politically motivated killings. These killings were reportedly linked to organized criminal networks.

The President also outlined the scope of the inquiry. “The Commission will investigate the role of current or former senior officials in certain institutions who may have aided or abetted the alleged criminal activity; or failed to act on credible intelligence or internal warnings; or benefited financially or politically from a syndicate’s operations,” Ramaphosa said.

Opposition parties have criticized the President for not taking stronger action. They argue that placing Mchunu on leave falls short of accountability and have called for his immediate dismissal instead.

The electoral process for Gabon’s local and legislative elections is officially underway.

The timetable for the September 27 vote has been announced and members of the national election commission have been sworn in by the Constitutional Court.

The revision of electoral rolls across the country begins on July 14 and continues until August 12. This will ensure new voters are added and deceased or ineligible voters removed from the rolls. It will also register any changes of voting centre and update personal data.

People aged 18 and over with a Personal Identification Number (PIN) are automatically registered and need only choose their polling center.

Local electoral commissions will be set up by July 26 and deployed across the country and abroad.

Nominations for the legislative and local elections are open from July 27 to August 7.

Fifth Republic

The Ministry of the Interior and national election commission reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring “credible, transparent and peaceful” elections, and called on citizens to play an active part in building the Fifth Republic.

Last week, two years after seizing power in a coup, President Brice Oligui Nguema unveiled a new political party, the Democratic Union of Builders, or UDB. Oligui secured nearly 95 percent of the vote in April’s presidential election.

The launch of the UDB appears to signal Oligui’s intent to transition from military leader to long-term political figure. While he initially presented himself as a reformer leading a transitional government, the creation of a political party gives structure to his leadership and a platform for future governance.

Forty-four people in Nigeria have been sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for financing the jihadist militant group Boko Haram. The trials of 10 other people have been postponed, the country’s counter-terrorism agency said on Saturday. 

The defendants appeared before four specially constituted courts set up on a military base in the town of Kanji, in the central state of Niger.

The sentences ranged from 10 to 30 years, all with hard labour, a spokesperson said. Nigeria has been conducting mass trials for terrorism-related offences since 2017 and has secured convictions against 785, official sources say. 

Violent insurgency

Boko Haram’s campaign of violence began in northeastern Nigeria in 2002 and has since spread to neighboring countries including Cameroon, Chad and Niger, killing tens of thousands and displacing millions. The strict Wahabbi group opposes the Westernisation of Nigeria, which it blames for the country corruption. 

Its tactics include suicide bombings and armed assaults, including an attack on the UN building in Abuja.

In 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in Chibok and burned down a government college, killing dozens of schoolboys who were trapped inside.