Court upholds opposition leader's conviction

An appeals court in Congo-Brazzaville has upheld last year’s conviction and two-year jail sentence handed down to opposition leader Paulin Makaya. The charge stemmed from 2015 protests which were sparked by a constitutional referendum ending the two-term limit on presidential mandates that allowed President Denis Sassou Nguesso to successfully run for re-election. ‘The judgment rendered the first time is affirmed,’ said Christine Tsika Mayanda, president of the country's first correctional division of the court of appeals. A report on the News24 site notes that the United For Congo party leader, who returned to the country in late 2014 after 17 years in exile, could file another appeal in the Supreme Court.