Kuwait court orders pre-trial detention of former PM, reports say
Royal family members reject charges of alleged mishandling of military funds
Kuwait’s ministerial court ordered the pre-trial detention of former prime minister and ruling family member Shaikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Sabah in a case over the alleged mishandling of military funds, three Kuwaiti newspapers said yesterday.
Al Rai and Al Jarida newspapers said Shaikh Jaber and former defence and interior minister Shaikh Khalid Al Jarrah Al Sabah rejected the charges directed against them.
The court denied a request to release Shaikh Khalid, also a senior member of the Gulf Arab state’s ruling family, Al Jarida and Al Qabas newspapers said.
The newspapers said the court also ordered a ban on publishing information about the case based on a request from the defence team. It set the next hearing for April 27.
Resigned in 2019
Shaikh Jaber had in 2019 resigned as prime minister, a post he had held since 2011, after lawmakers sought a noconfidence vote against Shaikh Khalid, who was interior minister at the time.
The then defence minister Shaikh Nasser Sabah Al Ahmad had issued a statement two days after the government resignation, saying the cabinet stood down to avoid addressing mismanagement of some 240 million dinars ($790 million) in military funds before he assumed office.
The ailing Shaikh Nasser died last December just months after his father and ruling emir Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah passed away.
Protests at parliament
After the government’s resignation, the late emir had reappointed Shaikh Jaber as prime minister but he rebuffed the offer citing media campaigns against him.
The corruption allegations had led to public protests outside parliament, the Gulf region’s most outspoken with the power to question ministers. Senior posts in the appointed cabinet are held by members of the ruling family.
Kuwait’s current prime minister has said combating corruption was a government priority.