Early last year, more than $100 million of Boreh’s wealth was frozen by the British courts on grounds that he is a terrorist, and based on evidence supplied by the government of Djibouti.
In 2002, the Mugabe government alleged that Tsvangirai and several members of the opposition had been filmed by hidden cameras while talking about a plot to overthrow the state. All were acquitted after a lengthy court case in which they were represented by Nelson Mandela’s personal lawyer, George Bizos.
A London attorney familiar with the Djibouti case and who has worked in both Zimbabwe and on the Horn of Africa said tactics in the harassment of Boreh by the Republic of Djibouti “hold an chilling similarity to the allegations of treason” against Tsvangirai. The lawyer who asked not to be named because of his on-going work in Harare told The Zimbabwean, “It’s as though he (President Guelleh) read up on the Zimbabwe treason trial, then adapted it for his own ends. It mirrors what Mugabe did, tying up your political rival by keeping him in the courts with evidence that doesn’t quite condemn or exonerate. That way the accused can spend years trying to clear his name.”
Grenades thrown
The case against Boreh began after hand grenades were thrown in the capital, Djibouti City, on 4 March 2009. Boreh, a one-time presidential candidate, denied involvement, but the country’s secret police produced phone taps suggesting he ordered the attacks. Boreh fled and was tried in his absence and given a prison term of 15 years. The government of president Guelleh (67) then used the indictment to obtain asset-freezing orders in other countries, claiming Boreh was a terrorist.
Djibouti is a de facto one-party state where Guelleh controls all 65 seats in the national assembly. Since independence in 1977, the country’s only two presidents have been Guelleh and his uncle who died in 2006. Now the phone records allegedly implicating Boreh have been called into question with Justice Flaux at the Commercial Court in London suggesting dates on the transcripts appeared to have been altered.
In the transcript, Boreh talks of “scrap metal” being delivered. The government claimed this was code for the grenades. But he also asks his caller about what happened, “last night”.
The phone calls were alleged to have been made on 5 March, 2009, the day following the action, but the judge said they appear to have been recorded before the attacks, meaning Boreh could not have meant the grenades when he asked about a campaign, “last night.”
Boreh says “scrap metal” was his party’s secret language for political leaflets which are banned in Djibouti. “Put together the matter of tampered evidence, and secret police who are above the law and you have a situation where anyone can be accused of just about anything,” the lawyer said.
“The British courts are not to blame,” he said. “The rulings here are in line with UK law, but it’s the harassment of Boreh by the Guelleh government that raises some disturbing questions.” The court has summoned all parties to a new session on Monday 23 February.
Post published in: Africa News