General jailed over coup role

Congolese general and former presidential candidate Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko was sentenced on Friday to 20 years in prison for 'undermining internal state security' after authorities accused him of trying to stage a coup. 'The criminal court declares Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko guilty of the facts charged to him,' said court president Christian Oba. A report on the IoL site notes that seven co-defendants, six of whom were French, were sentenced in absentia to the same prison term. Mokoko has until today to appeal his conviction for fomenting violence following the 2016 election in which he was placed third. French lawyer Gerard Deviller, part of the state's prosecution team, said that punishment was merited 'given the seriousness of the offence'.