JanguKamaJangu
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- Feb 7, 2022
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Rais wa zamani wa Sierra Leone Ernest Bai Koroma ameshtakiwa kwa makosa manne ya uhaini kuhusiana na jaribio la mapinduzi.
Novemba mwaka jana, watu wenye silaha walivamia ghala la kijeshi na magereza kadhaa huko Freetown, na kuwaachilia karibu wafungwa 2,000.
Amekana kuhusika na shambulio hilo lililoua takriban watu 20.
Viongozi wa Afrika Magharibi walijaribu kufanya makubaliano ili Bw Koroma aende uhamishoni nchini Nigeria iwapo mashtaka yangetupiliwa mbali, BBC inaelewa.
BBC imeona barua ikisema Bw Koroma alikuwa amekubali mpango huo, uliosimamiwa na kundi la eneo hilo, Ecowas.
Hata hivyo, Waziri wa Mambo ya Nje wa Sierra Leone Timothy Kabba aliiambia BBC kuwa serikali haiungi mkono pendekezo hilo, ambalo alilitaja kama "pendekezo la upande mmoja" la rais wa Tume ya Ecowas.
Baadhi ya wafuasi wa Bw Koroma walilia mahakamani huku mashtaka yakisomwa.
Wakili wa rais huyo wa zamani, Joseph Kamara, aliiambia BBC kuwa "ameshtuka na hakuamini kabisa", akisema mashtaka yanaweka "mfano wa hatari." Wingu jeusi limefunika anga la nchi yetu, kumaanisha kwamba tunamvuta mtu wa zamani. mkuu wa nchi - aliyechaguliwa kidemokrasia - kwa mashtaka ya uwongo chini ya uasi wa kisiasa," alisema.
Bw Koroma amekuwa chini ya kizuizi cha nyumbani tangu ahojiwe kuhusu mapinduzi hayo.
Alikuwa rais kwa miaka 11 hadi 2018, wakati Rais wa sasa Julius Maada Bio alichaguliwa.
Siku ya Jumanne, watu wengine 12 walishtakiwa kwa jaribio la mapinduzi, akiwemo mmoja wa walinzi wa zamani wa Bw Koroma.
Binti wa rais huyo wa zamani, Dankay Koroma, ametajwa hapo awali kwenye orodha ya washukiwa wanaosakwa na polisi. Yeye hajatoa maoni.
Jaribio hilo la mapinduzi lilikuja miezi mitano baada ya uchaguzi uliokumbwa na utata ambao ulipelekea Rais Bio kuchaguliwa tena kwa muhula wa pili.
Matokeo hayo yalikataliwa na chama cha All People's Congress cha Bw Koroma. Waangalizi wa kimataifa pia walikosoa uchaguzi huo, wakionyesha ukosefu wa uwazi katika kuhesabu kura.
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Ernest Bai Koroma: Sierra Leone ex-president charged with treason over attempted coup
Former Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma has been charged with four counts of treason in connection with an attempted coup.
Last November, gunmen broke into a military armoury and several prisons in Freetown, freeing almost 2,000 inmates.
He has denied any involvement in the attack which killed about 20 people.
West African leaders had tried to broker a deal for Mr Koroma to go into exile in Nigeria if the charges were dropped, the BBC understands.
The BBC has seen a letter saying Mr Koroma had agreed to the deal, brokered by the regional group, Ecowas.
However, Sierra Leone Foreign Minster Timothy Kabba told the BBC the government did not support the proposal, which he described as a "unilateral proposition" by the president of the Ecowas Commission.
Some of Mr Koroma's supporters cried in court as the charges were read out.
The former president's lawyer, Joseph Kamara, told the BBC he was "shocked and in utter disbelief", saying the charges set a "dangerous precedent"."A dark cloud has shadowed the skies of our country, meaning that we are dragging a former head of state - democratically elected - on trumped-up charges under a political vendetta," he said.
Mr Koroma has been under house arrest since being questioned over the coup.
He was president for 11 years until 2018, when current President Julius Maada Bio was elected.
On Tuesday, 12 other people were charged over the attempted coup, including one of Mr Koroma's former bodyguards.
The former president's daughter, Dankay Koroma, has previously been named on a list of wanted suspects by police. She has not commented.
The attempted coup came five months after a disputed election which saw President Bio narrowly re-elected for a second term.
The results were rejected by Mr Koroma's All People's Congress. International observers also criticised the elections, highlighting a lack of transparency in the count.
Source: BBC
