NAIROBI, Kenya: A pregnant British mother of two has appeared in a Rwandan court for the first time since being arrested over a month ago on treason-related charges.
Judicial spokesman Emmanuel Itamwa told The Associated Press on Thursday that the specific charges against Violette Uwamahoro will be made public after police investigations are complete.
Rights group Amnesty International says authorities are investigating the Rwandan-born Uwamohoro for revelation of state secrets, formation of an irregular armed group and offenses against the established government or president.
Uwamahoro denies all charges. She attended a bail hearing Thursday and returns to court Monday.
Amnesty International says Uwamahoro was held for more than two weeks without access to lawyers or her family in violation of Rwandan and international law. Her Rwandan-born husband is a political activist.
British woman faces treason-related charges in Rwanda
British woman faces treason-related charges in Rwanda
Nigeria govt critic detained by anti-corruption agency
Abuja: Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency said Tuesday it was questioning opposition politician Nasir El-Rufai, a prominent critic of President Bola Tinubu.
The authorities launched court proceedings on Monday against El-Rufai, a former governor of Kaduna state, after he said on Nigerian television he had tapped the phone of Tinubu’s national security adviser.
Local media said he was being questioned about the alleged misuse of 432 billion naira ($319 million) during his stint as governor of Kaduna between 2015 and 2023.
He was summoned to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and appeared voluntarily, EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale told AFP on Tuesday.
“He was invited and he honored the invitation,” Oyewale said. “He is being interviewed now.”
El-Rufai told TV channel Arise News on Friday he had intercepted calls from Tinubu’s aide Nuhu Ribadu, whom he accused of using the security services as his “personal tools.”
He also said the west African country’s domestic intelligence agency, DSS, had tried to arrest him at Abuja airport the day before but he had refused to go with them.
El-Rufai, who recently declared that he was still considering whether to challenge Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, said the anti-corruption commission had “procured the DSS to abduct me for them.”
“This is their modus operandi. They are personal tools of Nuhu Ribadu,” he said.
At the weekend, he posted on X a letter addressed to Ribadu asking the latter to explain an alleged delivery of 10 kilogrammes of thallium sulphate, a highly toxic chemical.
Another senior member of El-Rufai’s opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) party, former justice minister Abubakar Malami, is also facing legal proceedings over allegations of terrorism and money-laundering.
