NAIROBI: A Kenyan opposition politician was charged on Tuesday with treason for his involvement in a symbolic presidential “swearing in” of opposition leader Raila Odinga that was a challenge to President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The charge sheet presented by police to a court in Kajiado County, neighboring Nairobi, said Miguna Miguna was being charged with “being present and consenting to the administration of an oath to commit a capital offense, namely treason.”
Miguna was also charged with taking part in an unlawful assembly and engaging in organized criminal activity.
Privately owned Citizen Television reported that Miguna had refused to plead to the charges he faced, saying his case had to be heard before a judge in Nairobi who had issued an order for his present to his court on Tuesday.
Miguna was arrested on Friday in a dawn raid on his home. He was granted bail of 50,000 Kenyan shillings ($500) but has remained in police custody with his whereabouts unknown — something Kenya’s lawyers’ association said breached his rights.
A journalist at the court in Kajiado said Miguna had appeared at Tuesday’s hearing.
“Once again the state is wilfully violating Mr. Miguna’s rights by moving him without any notice to his lawyers or his family and, in order to frustrate their access to him, to a court stationed outside Nairobi,” Isaac Okero, president of the Law Society of Kenya, told reporters.
Odinga’s symbolic inauguration last Tuesday in the heart of the capital of East Africa’s wealthiest economy was intended as a direct challenge to Kenyatta. Odinga insists he, not Kenyatta, was the true winner of a disputed presidential election last August.
The Supreme Court later nullified the August election on procedural grounds and Kenyatta won a repeat poll in October after Odinga boycotted it, claiming it would not be fair.
Two other opposition lawmakers were also arrested and later released for their involvement in the ceremony.
Three privately owned television stations were shut down last week as they began to cover Odinga’s “swearing in.” Two resumed broadcasts on Monday, days after a court ordered them reopened.
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Kenyan opposition figure charged with treason over Odinga’s ‘swearing in’
Kenyan opposition figure charged with treason over Odinga’s ‘swearing in’
Putin invited to Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’: Kremlin
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to join US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” aimed at resolving conflicts globally and oversee governance and reconstruction in Gaza, the Kremlin said Monday.
Moscow for years tried to balance relations with all major players in the Middle East — including Israel and the Palestinians.
But since the Israel-Hamas war and Russia’s assault on Ukraine, Putin has moved away from Israel, boosting ties with its foes like Iran.
Moscow has also sought closer relationships with the Gulf states amid growing Western isolation.
“President Putin also received an invitation to join this Board of Peace,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, including AFP.
Russia was seeking to “clarify all the nuances” of the offer with Washington, he said, without adding if the Kremlin chief as inclined to join.
The White House has reached out to various figures around the world to sit on the so-called “Board of Peace,” chaired by the US president himself.
Putin has previously praised Trump’s efforts to resolve conflicts.
“He’s really doing a lot to resolve these complex crises, which have lasted for years, even decades,” Putin said last October.
Referring to the situation in the Middle East, Putin said: “If we succeed in achieving everything Donald has strived for... it will be a historic event.”
The assault on Ukraine and the war in Gaza have strained Moscow’s traditionally good relations with Israel, home to a large Russian-born community.
The Kremlin has repeatedly criticized Israel’s response to the October 7 attacks and called for restraint.
“The Gaza Strip is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe in the full sense of the word,” Putin was quoted as saying by the news agency RIA Novosti, at a meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas last May.
“Russia, as a friend of the Palestinian people, is trying to provide regular assistance,” the Russian president added.
Moscow for years tried to balance relations with all major players in the Middle East — including Israel and the Palestinians.
But since the Israel-Hamas war and Russia’s assault on Ukraine, Putin has moved away from Israel, boosting ties with its foes like Iran.
Moscow has also sought closer relationships with the Gulf states amid growing Western isolation.
“President Putin also received an invitation to join this Board of Peace,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, including AFP.
Russia was seeking to “clarify all the nuances” of the offer with Washington, he said, without adding if the Kremlin chief as inclined to join.
The White House has reached out to various figures around the world to sit on the so-called “Board of Peace,” chaired by the US president himself.
Putin has previously praised Trump’s efforts to resolve conflicts.
“He’s really doing a lot to resolve these complex crises, which have lasted for years, even decades,” Putin said last October.
Referring to the situation in the Middle East, Putin said: “If we succeed in achieving everything Donald has strived for... it will be a historic event.”
The assault on Ukraine and the war in Gaza have strained Moscow’s traditionally good relations with Israel, home to a large Russian-born community.
The Kremlin has repeatedly criticized Israel’s response to the October 7 attacks and called for restraint.
“The Gaza Strip is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe in the full sense of the word,” Putin was quoted as saying by the news agency RIA Novosti, at a meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas last May.
“Russia, as a friend of the Palestinian people, is trying to provide regular assistance,” the Russian president added.
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