Rwanda jails top army figures:
Africa
A Rwandan military tribunal on Thursday condemned two senior army figures to 20 years in prison for inciting rebellion, an AFP correspondent at the Kigali court said.
“The court condemns Colonel Tom Byabagamba to 21 years in jail and a reduction in rank, and retired general Frank Rusagara to 20 years in prison,” said Judge Narcisse Nsengiyumva.
Both men were once close to the inner circle of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Byabagamba, a serving colonel who was once head of the presidential guard, was also convicted of withholding evidence. And Rusgara, a retired brigadier-general and former secretary-general of the defence ministry, was also convicted of illegally possessing a firearm.
The two men were arrested in August 2014 and charged with inciting rebellion by “spreading rumours” and “tarnishing the image of the country and government”.
Both denied all the charges against them, and following the verdict, vowed to appeal. (AFP)
Kagame
Over 100 complaints of abuse:
More than 100 victims have come forward in the Central African Republic with appalling new accounts of sexual abuse, including bestiality, by UN peacekeepers and French troops, the United Nations said Thursday.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was “shocked to the core” by the allegations that emerged after a UN team traveled to south-central Kemo prefecture to interview the women and girls.
“We must face the fact that a number of troops sent to protect people instead acted with hearts of darkness,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. (AFP)
Opposition to act against Zuma:
South Africa’s main opposition will take any steps necessary to remove President Jacob Zuma from his post should parliament fail to do so, it said on Friday, a day after a top court ruled that the embattled leader had flouted the Constitution.
In a stinging rebuke, the Constitutional Court said Zuma failed to uphold, defend and respect the constitution by ignoring instructions to pay back some of the $16 million of state money spent upgrading his private home.
“We cannot have Jacob Zuma and the Constitution in one parliament. Both those things cannot co-exist,” Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane told a news conference. (RTRS)