Ghana Deputy Minister Resigns after Breaching Virus Measures

FILE PHOTO: A security personnel from town council wears a face mask while he controls traffic in Madina neighborhood of Accra, Ghana, March 31, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko
FILE PHOTO: A security personnel from town council wears a face mask while he controls traffic in Madina neighborhood of Accra, Ghana, March 31, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko
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Ghana Deputy Minister Resigns after Breaching Virus Measures

FILE PHOTO: A security personnel from town council wears a face mask while he controls traffic in Madina neighborhood of Accra, Ghana, March 31, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko
FILE PHOTO: A security personnel from town council wears a face mask while he controls traffic in Madina neighborhood of Accra, Ghana, March 31, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko

Ghana's deputy trade and industry minister Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah has resigned for violating coronavirus self-isolation measures after testing positive for the virus, President Nana Akufo-Addo said in a statement on Friday.

"This follows the admission by the deputy minister of his breach of the COVID-19 protocols, when, as a person certified to be positive of the virus, he visited a registration center in his constituency before the period of self-isolation was complete," the statement said.

The West African nation has recorded one of the highest number of coronavirus cases in the continent since the outbreak at 18,134, with 117 deaths.

Last month, Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu tested positive for the virus.



Pakistan Military Court Sentences 60 Civilians Up to 10 Years in Prison

Pakistani security officials check people and vehicles at a checkpoint in Peshawar, Pakistan, 24 December 2024. EPA/BILAWAL ARBAB
Pakistani security officials check people and vehicles at a checkpoint in Peshawar, Pakistan, 24 December 2024. EPA/BILAWAL ARBAB
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Pakistan Military Court Sentences 60 Civilians Up to 10 Years in Prison

Pakistani security officials check people and vehicles at a checkpoint in Peshawar, Pakistan, 24 December 2024. EPA/BILAWAL ARBAB
Pakistani security officials check people and vehicles at a checkpoint in Peshawar, Pakistan, 24 December 2024. EPA/BILAWAL ARBAB

A Pakistani military court sentenced sixty civilians to jail time ranging from 2 to 10 years in connection with attacks on military facilities following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in 2023, the military's media wing said on Thursday.
Those sentenced include a relative of Khan as well as two retired military officers. Days earlier, 25 others were sentenced on the same charges, Reuters reported.
Khan’s arrest in May 2023 sparked countrywide protests that saw his supporters attack and ransack military installations in an unprecedented backlash against Pakistan’s powerful army generals.
The military's media wing said, "The Nation, Government, and the Armed Forces remain steadfast in their commitment to upholding justice and ensuring that the inviolable writ of the state is maintained."
The sentences have sparked concerns among Khan's supporters that military courts will play a more significant role in cases related to the former leader, who is facing multiple charges, including inciting attacks against the armed forces.
The international community has also expressed concerns over the sentencing. The United States stated it is "deeply concerned" about the sentences, while the United Kingdom's foreign office noted that trying civilians in military courts "lacks transparency, independent scrutiny and undermines the right to a fair trial".
The European Union also criticized the sentences, saying they are "inconsistent with the obligations that Pakistan has undertaken under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights".
In a press conference on Wednesday, the information minister said the military court sentences do not infringe upon the right to a fair trial, as individuals are granted access to a lawyer, family, and still have the opportunity to appeal twice, both within the military court and civilian court, the relevant high court.
Khan's supporters have denied any wrongdoing, and Khan himself claims that the cases against him are politically motivated.
The military and government have denied any unfair treatment of Khan or his supporters.