2 associates of Benin’s President Patrice Talon face charges of conspiracy, corruption, and money laundering amid coup allegations and pre-trial detention.
2 close friends of President Patrice Talon, who were caught last week on charges of planning a coup, are now locked up while they wait for their court dates, according to their lawyer.
Olivier Boko, a well-known businessman and a long-time buddy of Talon, and Oswald Homeky, the ex-sports minister, are facing big charges like plotting against the country’s security, stealing public money and mixing dirty cash, as mentioned by lawyer Ayodele Ahounou.
They got caught after people said they tried to bribe the leader in charge of the president’s security team to help pull off a coup.
Homeky was caught on Tuesday with six bags of cash given to the head of the Republican Guard, as reported by Elonm Mario Metonou, who’s in charge of looking into financial crimes and terrorism in Benin.
Two prominent Benin figures, businessman Olivier Boko and ex-sports minister Oswald Homeky, have been arrested on suspicion of plotting a coup.https://t.co/X5ys8SWkOb
— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) October 2, 2024
Boko, who’s often called Talon’s “right-hand man,” is thought to be the mastermind behind the coup plot and was arrested separately in Cotonou, the capital of Benin.
He’s been showing interest in running for president in the 2026 elections.
Both guys are in jail before their trial. Even though Benin is usually seen as a stable democracy in Africa, there are worries about Talon’s government, which has been accused of using the courts to silence political opponents since he started leading in 2016.
After changing the voting rules to keep his power in 2021, Talon, who was re-elected three years back, said he wouldn’t run for a third term in the 2026 election, following the country’s constitution, which says no one can be president more than two times.
