Senegal remands ex-Chad leader over war crimes

[Punch]

Senegalese authorities charged former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre with genocide and crimes against humanity and remanded him in custody on Tuesday in a prosecution seen by many as a milestone for African justice.

The 70-year-old was also charged with war crimes and torture during his eight years in power in Chad, where rights groups say 40,000 people were killed under his rule, a court source and his lawyers told AFP.

Habre's legal team said genocide was among the main charges he faced and that he would be remanded in custody in Dakar.

Habre – once dubbed "Africa's Pinochet" – had been in a police cell in the Senegalese capital since his arrest on Sunday at the home he shares with his wife and children, according to a security source.

Mbacke Fall, a prosecutor with a special court set up in February to try Habre, told a media conference on Monday he wanted Habre kept in custody after finding "serious and corroborating evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity and torture".



The Punch

[Folami David]

There is crime in so many African countries today so we just hope our presidents are working really hard to make things work.