Congo former Presidential candidate in 2016, General Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko who was convicted of undermining state security has been returned to prison while he was treated for a year in the hospital.
His Lawyer, Yvon Eric Ibouanga expressed sadness about the new development, he lamented that “The general was reinstated this morning in the Brazzaville prison, while his cell has not been rearranged,” This is not a humane decision, because he was undergoing physiotherapy treatment which is far from being completed,”
On Friday morning, the users of the military hospital, where the general had been interned for a year, noted a strong presence of elements of the gendarmerie. They took him away and brought him back to the prison.
An unsuccessful candidate in the 2016 presidential election, the results of which he never recognized, despite the clear victory of President Denis Sassou Nguesso (78 years old, 37 of them in power), General Mokoko was arrested just after the election, officially for “undermining the internal security of the state” and “illegal possession of weapons of war.
He was then tried and sentenced in 2018 to 20 years of hard labour.
The former chief of staff (1987-1993) fell ill and was evacuated to Turkey where he received treatment between July and August 2020. Since his return, the officer had remained interned in the military hospital.
Before he was returned to his cell, his lawyers demanded from the authorities a medical report establishing that he had recovered his health and a discharge order from the military hospital. “We did not get all of this,” said Ibouanga