PRESS RELEASE

Saturday, October 31th, 2009.

French Court Ruling: A Succor for Corrupt Africa Leaders?

Benin City: An appeal court in France on Thursday October 20th, 2009, halted a probe of African leaders’ assets. The probe was initiated by French Civil Society Campaigners who were dissatisfied with the display of affluence by the leaders of Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The leaders and their families were said to own assets worth tens of millions of Euros.

The Appeal Court ruled that the civil society activists could not legitimately act as plaintiff against the foreign heads of states and that the investigation should not continue. This judgment was hailed by the lawyers for Teodoro Obiang Mbasogo, the president of Equatorial Guinea.

Meanwhile, French police have identified eight luxury cars and one apartment in a wealthy part of Paris owned by Obiang’s son Teodorin. The cars are said to worth 4.2 million Euros. The police had earlier examined the assets of the president and close relatives in 2007 and discovered dozens of bank accounts, properties in rich districts of Paris and on the Riviera, and several other properties. The president had earlier denied that these properties were bought with embezzled public funds.

The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), condemns the Appeal Court ruling to halt the probe of the African Leaders accused of massive corruption initiated by Civil Society as legitimate stakeholders, more so when Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon are resource-rich but poor countries.

“The French Appeals Court ruling has again demonstrated clearly that the French Government places priority on her relationship with corrupt Africa Leaders than the issues of good governance and democracy in Africa and this behaviour provides more incentive and succour for Africa Corrupt leaders to continue the plundering of their Countries treasury", says Rev. David Ugolor, Executive Director of ANEEJ. Ugolor further asserts that “this undermines the French Government’s standing as a G8 Country supporting the implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives (EITI) in Africa Oil Producing Countries. Besides, Civil Society has been acknowledged globally as the best representatives of the grassroots people all over the world. The legal world cannot afford to be an exception. “These are some of the reasons why Mo Ibrahim Foundation found no African leader worthy to receive the Ibrahim Price Award for this year,” notes David Ugolor.

The ANEEJ Boss further says that “the verdict by a French court is viewed seriously as it will encourage the culture of impunity in Africa and a major setback to the implementation of the United Nations Convention on corruption”. Consequently, ANEEJ urged the French Government, Africa Union (AU), the G8/G20 Governments and the Global Civil Society Movement to support the French Civil Society and the lawyers William Bourdon as they proceed to appeal this travesty of Justice in France. “We urge all lovers of good governance the world over, and all those with the determination to end the resource curse phenomenon in resource rich country to solidarise with our  compatriots in France to win the Appeal.” The ANEEJ statement adds. “We equally expect the French Judiciary to rise up to the Appeal challenges which this peculiar case showcases as it provides ample opportunity to right the wrongs of the past. It provides a vent to give Citizens of the affected countries and the international community the right signals from a country that prides itself among the civilized of the world.” ANEEJ emphasized.

Note:

For further information, please contact David Ugolor on 234-8053080864, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) is a not-for-profit, non-political, non-governmental organization based in Nigeria aiming at promoting sustainable development through research, policy dialogues, workshops and advocacy. ANEEJ deals with development issues in their environmental and social economic aspects with emphasis on World Bank and IMF financing in African Countries.