News
Mozambique Top Court Confirms Ruling Party Disputed Win
Fears are high that more violence could break out in the nation after the opposition threatened to call an uprising following the decision.
Mozambique’s highest court confirmed Monday the ruling party’s victory in a disputed October vote after allegations of rigging triggered weeks of deadly street clashes.
Fears are high that more violence could break out in the southern African nation after the opposition threatened to call an uprising following the decision.
The Constitutional Court said the ruling Frelimo party presidential candidate Daniel Chapo secured 65 percent of the vote, revising down provisional results from the electoral commission which said he got nearly 71 percent.
Chapo’s main challenger, exiled opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, received an upward revision to 24.2 percent of the vote.
The final results extend Frelimo’s half-century grip on power, lining up Chapo to take over from President Filipe Nyusi whose second term ends on January 15.
Mondlane has said that the election was rigged in favour of Frelimo and that a separate count shows he won enough votes to take office, which he intends to do.
Several international observer missions have also said there were irregularities.
Some had thought the opposition’s challenge of the results was “a bluff,(that) we’re joking,” he told supporters on social media on Saturday. “So they will also be surprised on January 15 when they see Venancio Mondlane take office in Maputo.”
Mondlane has been in self-imposed exile since the assassination of his lawyer on October 19, a killing he blames on security forces, and it was unclear if he intended to return.
“Difficult days will come,” said the 50-year-old, who appeals to disenchanted younger voters in a country of 33 million people marked by poverty despite its abundant resources.
“The Constitutional Council’s ruling will lead Mozambique either to peace or chaos,” Mondlane said in an online address, promising a “new popular uprising at a level never seen before.”
– Country on edge –
The southern African country has been rocked by unrest since the election commission said that the October 9 vote was won by Chapo.
No fewer than 130 people have been killed in two months of violence, most of them opposition demonstrators shot by security forces, according to local NGOs.
Cities, mines, borders and ports have been affected by protest action and operations at the main border with South Africa halted, causing its neighbour major losses in exports.
Tension was already mounting in the capital Maputo ahead of the court decision with many businesses shut.
The main roads into the city centre were barricaded by police and access to the presidential palace and Constitutional Council office shut, AFP journalists saw.
The US government on Thursday raised its warning level against travel to Mozambique ahead of the Constitutional Council announcement.
Pope Francis called Sunday for dialogue and goodwill to “prevail over mistrust and discord” in Mozambique.
President Nyusi and Mondlane had talked, both men confirmed last week, without announcing any outcome.
In an address to the nation on Friday, Nyusi said he hoped that once the final results were proclaimed, all sides “will open their hearts to a constructive and inclusive dialogue.”
– ‘Maputo under siege’ –
The protests have been the “most dangerous” ever seen in Mozambique, said analyst Borges Nhamirre, continuing despite deaths and arrests, and intensifying with police stations and Frelimo offices torched.
“Protests have already been called for Monday. The main cities, including Maputo, will be under siege because of the fear of protests,” he said.
“I’m convinced that if Monday the Constitutional Council declares the election as free and fair, which I am 100 percent convinced it will, then the blood is going to flow,” Maputo-based political and security risk analyst Johann Smith told AFP.
“The whole game changes on Monday,” said Smith. “It will be a lot more intense and bloody.”
Mondlane had awakened resentment against Frelimo, he said, similar to discontent that this year led to the party that governed Botswana since independence being voted out and threatening to do the same in Namibia.
“It’s almost like the Southern African Spring,” Smith said, in a reference to the Arab anti-government protests in North Africa in the early 2010s.
News
Court Remands P-Square’s Brother, Ex-Manager Jude Okoye IOver Alleged N1.3B, $1M, £34,000 Fraud
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has taken Jude Okoye, the elder brother and former manager of the defunct music duo P-Square, to court over alleged money laundering involving ₦1.38 billion, $1 million, and £34,537.59.
Jude Okoye, along with his company Northside Music Ltd, was arraigned before Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday, facing a seven-count charge related to financial crimes.
One of the charges states: “That you, Jude Okoye Chigozie and Northside Music Ltd, sometime in 2022 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did directly acquire a landed property known as No 5, Tony Eromosele Street, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos worth ₦850,000,000.00 (Eight hundred and fifty million naira) only, which money you knew or reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of unlawful acts, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 18 (2)(d) and punishable under Section 18 (3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
Another charge alleges that Jude Okoye and his company used a Bureau de Change operator to convert $1,019,762.87 (One million nineteen thousand, seven hundred and sixty-two dollars, eighty-seven cents) domiciled in Access Bank Plc into naira and remitted the funds into various accounts with the intent to conceal the source of the money, in violation of the Money Laundering Act.
Jude Okoye pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
Following his plea, EFCC counsel Larry Peters Aso applied for a trial date and requested that the defendant be remanded in a correctional facility pending trial.
However, defence counsel Inibehe Effiong informed the court of a pending bail application and urged the court to keep Okoye in EFCC custody until the application is heard.
The prosecution opposed the request, citing congestion in EFCC facilities and urging the court to remand him to a correctional centre instead.
Justice Owoeye subsequently adjourned the case to February 28 for a bail hearing and fixed April 14 for trial commencement.
The judge also ordered that Jude Okoye be remanded at the Ikoyi correctional facility pending the determination of his bail application.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Prince Funso Ayeni, an Ikole born philanthropist and politician has donated the sum of N1,000,000 for the support of one Esther Fisayo Aluko Medical needs.
Fisayo Aluko, an Indigene of Ikole LGA part of Ekiti State is currently in need of fund running to millions of Naira to carry out a kidney transplant.
Prince Funso Ayeni made his support known via a Whatsapp platform created for the Indigenes of the LG.
“Good afternoon great citizens,
I am Prince Funso Ayeni (PhD)
I am deeply touched by the condition of Esther Fisayo Aluko, a young lady from Ikole Ekiti, battling kidney issue.
On behalf of myself, my family, and the entire Funso Ayeni Foundation (FAF), I have donated ₦1,000,000 (one million naira) towards her medical treatment ( receipt attached).
“I also appeal to our brothers and sisters from Ikole Local Government, both in and out of government, to rally their contacts and resources to support this urgent cause.
“Together, we can give Esther a chance to live a healthy life again.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The naira is exchanging for ₦1,498 to 1 US Dollar at the parallel market (black market) in Nigeria.
This means that for every one dollar, you can get the equivalent in naira of ₦1,498 on February 26, 2025.
The black market rate signifies the value at which individuals can trade their dollars for naira outside the official or regulated exchange channels.
Note that the Black Market Exchange rate is typically higher than the official exchange rate because it is not regulated by the government
Today’s February 26 exchange shows that the naira has improved against the dollar, as it strengthened compared to what it traded on Tuesday, February 25, when the naira exchanged ₦1,499.
The value of any nation’s currency is determined by aggregate supply and demand.
The forces of supply and demand are themselves influenced by a number of factors, including interest rates, inflation, capital flow, and money supply.
The most common method to value currency is through exchange rates. The two main exchange rate systems are fixed rate and floating rate systems.
Investors and participants closely monitor these parallel market rates for a more immediate reflection of currency dynamics
Court Remands P-Square’s Brother, Ex-Manager Jude Okoye IOver Alleged N1.3B, $1M, £34,000 Fraud
Funso Ayeni donates N1m, appeals to citizens to support Fisayo Aluko medical needs
Naira again falls against Dollar – February 26
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