Southwark Crown Court in London where the sentences were handed out. BELOW Atiku Abubakar; and Navinchandra Ramgoolam votes in Port Louis on December 10, 2014. (Photos/AFP).
A GROUP of Gambian diplomats were jailed on Wednesday after being found
guilty of running a huge tax-dodging tobacco operation out of the
Gambian embassy in London.
Judge Michael Gledhill at London’s Southwark Crown Court said the seven embassy workers had “breached the trust of the president and people of Gambia” after cheating British taxpayers out of £4.8 million (6 million euros, $7.5 million).
Former deputy head of the mission, 54-year-old Yusupha Bojang, was identified as the ringleader of the operation, ordering half-a-million packets of tax-free rolling tobacco over three years and selling it out of the west London building.
The 29 tonnes of tobacco was intended only for personal use or that of embassy staff, but the gang—themselves non-smokers—became so “bold” that long queues of customers lined up outside the building.
Former first secretary Gaston Sambou, 48, and finance attache Ebrima John, 38, were both jailed for six years while welfare officer Georgina Gomez, 29, was sentenced to five years.
All four face deportation when their terms are served after the Gambian government waived their diplomatic immunity.
Embassy workers Veerahia Ramarajaha, 54, Audrey Leeward, 49, and Hasaintu Noah, 60, were each imprisoned for three years.
Defence lawyers warned about the repercussions of sending the diplomats back to Gambia.
“There is a likelihood that an ability to return to Gambia will be fraught with very serious consequences,” said Dean Armstrong, Bojang’s representative.
“There is at least a regime which gives tough penalties to those who transgress.”
Nigerian opposition pick flag bearer
Meanwhile in Nigeria the main opposition party on Wednesday began choosing its candidate to run for president next year against incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, who is seeking a second term.
Thousands of delegates from the All Progressives Congress (APC) converged on the country’s biggest city and financial hub, Lagos, to vote on which candidate would go forward to challenge Jonathan.
The front runners are Nigeria’s ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari and Atiku Abubakar, a former vice-president.
Past presidential primaries have run deep into the night before a winner is announced and a result may not come until Thursday. Nigeria’s presidential elections, to be held on February 14 next year, are expected to be the closest since 1999, with the APC looking to take power for the first time.
The APC—a four-party coalition buoyed by a wave of defections—has attacked President Goodluck Jonathan’s record on security, his handling of the economy and corruption.
Jonathan has been seen as weak and criticised for not being able to end five years of violence by Boko Haram.
The opposition also claims that graft has got worse and the economy—Africa’s largest—is reeling unnecessarily from a fall in global oil prices. Political analysts believe Buhari, as a former military general, will be better placed to tackle the Islamist insurgency, while Abubakar has the better pedigree as a politician. But Buhari could be hamstrung by his lack of policies as well as alleged rights abuses under his military regime in the 1980s and Abubakar because of corruption allegations in his past.
The PDP maintained that Jonathan was the best candidate and would secure an “emphatic” win even if Buhari and Abubakar ran as joint candidates.
Mauritius votes on presidency, economy
In a less turbulent political scene, Mauritians voted Wednesday in parliamentary elections with rival parties promising to boost the economy and battling over the proposed strengthening of presidential powers.
The issue of constitutional reform makes the polls some of the most important since the Indian Ocean nation gained independence in 1968.
Polling stations on the main island for some 936,000 voters were open for 11 hours, closing at 6:00 pm (1400 GMT).
The sale of alcohol is banned until Thursday, when the results of the vote are expected. Two rival coalitions are competing for 62 parliamentary seats—60 on the main island of Mauritius, and two on the small island of Rodrigues, some 560 kilometres (350 miles) to the east.
On one side, the centre-left group brings together the Labour Party (PTR) of Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam and the former opposition Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM) party. Ramgoolam is expected to want to run for president, currently a largely ceremonial position elected by parliament.
Should they win, the PTR-MMM coalition have agreed to try to amend the constitution so the president will be directly elected.
On the other side is the Alliance Lepep, a centre-right coalition led by former president Anerood Jugnauth and three other political parties. But Lepep fiercely oppose the constitutional reform proposed by the government alliance.
It faces a tough fight: the PTR held a small majority in the past parliament, but now is strengthened further with the backing of the MMM.
MMM leader Paul Berenger insists the plans to boost the president’s role will create a “more democratic system” by stripping some power away from the prime minister. But Lepep leader Xavier Duval fears that reforms would create “a little king of the country” who “will benefit from both civil and criminal immunity, and will do what they want for seven years.”
Both sides have campaigned on strengthening the economy. Mauritius is one of the richest countries in Africa, a middle-income country of some 1.3 million people, with a per capita GDP of just over $9,000 (7,200 euros).
The PTR-MMM alliance promised to boost “economic infrastructure needed to lift Mauritius from middle-income status” to higher income, and to “improve the living standards of all citizens”. Alliance Lepep have said they want Mauritius to achieve a growth rate of over six percent.
http://mgafrica.com
Judge Michael Gledhill at London’s Southwark Crown Court said the seven embassy workers had “breached the trust of the president and people of Gambia” after cheating British taxpayers out of £4.8 million (6 million euros, $7.5 million).
Former deputy head of the mission, 54-year-old Yusupha Bojang, was identified as the ringleader of the operation, ordering half-a-million packets of tax-free rolling tobacco over three years and selling it out of the west London building.
The 29 tonnes of tobacco was intended only for personal use or that of embassy staff, but the gang—themselves non-smokers—became so “bold” that long queues of customers lined up outside the building.
Former first secretary Gaston Sambou, 48, and finance attache Ebrima John, 38, were both jailed for six years while welfare officer Georgina Gomez, 29, was sentenced to five years.
All four face deportation when their terms are served after the Gambian government waived their diplomatic immunity.
Embassy workers Veerahia Ramarajaha, 54, Audrey Leeward, 49, and Hasaintu Noah, 60, were each imprisoned for three years.
Defence lawyers warned about the repercussions of sending the diplomats back to Gambia.
“There is a likelihood that an ability to return to Gambia will be fraught with very serious consequences,” said Dean Armstrong, Bojang’s representative.
“There is at least a regime which gives tough penalties to those who transgress.”
Nigerian opposition pick flag bearer
Meanwhile in Nigeria the main opposition party on Wednesday began choosing its candidate to run for president next year against incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, who is seeking a second term.
Thousands of delegates from the All Progressives Congress (APC) converged on the country’s biggest city and financial hub, Lagos, to vote on which candidate would go forward to challenge Jonathan.
The front runners are Nigeria’s ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari and Atiku Abubakar, a former vice-president.
Past presidential primaries have run deep into the night before a winner is announced and a result may not come until Thursday. Nigeria’s presidential elections, to be held on February 14 next year, are expected to be the closest since 1999, with the APC looking to take power for the first time.
The APC—a four-party coalition buoyed by a wave of defections—has attacked President Goodluck Jonathan’s record on security, his handling of the economy and corruption.
Jonathan has been seen as weak and criticised for not being able to end five years of violence by Boko Haram.
The opposition also claims that graft has got worse and the economy—Africa’s largest—is reeling unnecessarily from a fall in global oil prices. Political analysts believe Buhari, as a former military general, will be better placed to tackle the Islamist insurgency, while Abubakar has the better pedigree as a politician. But Buhari could be hamstrung by his lack of policies as well as alleged rights abuses under his military regime in the 1980s and Abubakar because of corruption allegations in his past.
The PDP maintained that Jonathan was the best candidate and would secure an “emphatic” win even if Buhari and Abubakar ran as joint candidates.
Mauritius votes on presidency, economy
In a less turbulent political scene, Mauritians voted Wednesday in parliamentary elections with rival parties promising to boost the economy and battling over the proposed strengthening of presidential powers.
The issue of constitutional reform makes the polls some of the most important since the Indian Ocean nation gained independence in 1968.
Polling stations on the main island for some 936,000 voters were open for 11 hours, closing at 6:00 pm (1400 GMT).
The sale of alcohol is banned until Thursday, when the results of the vote are expected. Two rival coalitions are competing for 62 parliamentary seats—60 on the main island of Mauritius, and two on the small island of Rodrigues, some 560 kilometres (350 miles) to the east.
On one side, the centre-left group brings together the Labour Party (PTR) of Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam and the former opposition Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM) party. Ramgoolam is expected to want to run for president, currently a largely ceremonial position elected by parliament.
Should they win, the PTR-MMM coalition have agreed to try to amend the constitution so the president will be directly elected.
On the other side is the Alliance Lepep, a centre-right coalition led by former president Anerood Jugnauth and three other political parties. But Lepep fiercely oppose the constitutional reform proposed by the government alliance.
It faces a tough fight: the PTR held a small majority in the past parliament, but now is strengthened further with the backing of the MMM.
MMM leader Paul Berenger insists the plans to boost the president’s role will create a “more democratic system” by stripping some power away from the prime minister. But Lepep leader Xavier Duval fears that reforms would create “a little king of the country” who “will benefit from both civil and criminal immunity, and will do what they want for seven years.”
Both sides have campaigned on strengthening the economy. Mauritius is one of the richest countries in Africa, a middle-income country of some 1.3 million people, with a per capita GDP of just over $9,000 (7,200 euros).
The PTR-MMM alliance promised to boost “economic infrastructure needed to lift Mauritius from middle-income status” to higher income, and to “improve the living standards of all citizens”. Alliance Lepep have said they want Mauritius to achieve a growth rate of over six percent.
http://mgafrica.com