Read on Twitter
"In Nambia, the President compared a lawful whistleblower to a spy, & called for the person who told Congress about his abuses of power & efforts to cover them up to be identified.
He publicly suggested a member of the opposing political party should be arrested for treason."
He publicly suggested a member of the opposing political party should be arrested for treason."
"Members of the president's party are calling the investigation of abuses of power under Nambia's constitution a 'coup', & trying to undermine the credibility of the press & legitimacy of the opposition, which won control of its lower house of Parliament in an election in 2018."
"Nambia has been in turmoil for years after its president, a corrupt businessman & former reality TV star, rode xenophobia, racism, & faux populism to surprise election, & then obstructed a ministry of justice investigation into his business & campaign ties to Russian government"
"Parliament has now subpoenaed the records of the former mayor of the nation's largest city, who has since worked as the president's personal lawyer & agent for foreign governments. The former federal prosecutor questioned the legitimacy of the MPs & called the press 'corrupt.'"
"After misleading the public about an investigation, Nambia's top law enforcement official held private meetings overseas with foreign officials seeking help in a Ministry of Justice inquiry the president hopes will discredit Nambian agencies' disclosures of his ties to Russia."
"A 2nd whistleblower said someone has secretly meddled with a government audit of presidential tax returns. Nambia's president has kept them in secret, in defiance of decades of democratic norms, & receives payments through his businesses, which he refused to divest from in 2017"
"Nambia's foreign minister vowed to block the government officials from testifying in Parliament about the president's abuses of power, in which he has pressured foreign governments to investigate his political opponents & erode trust in the ministry of justice's investigation."
"During impeachment hearings regarding his abuses of power, the president tweeted a statement regarding the foreign service officer testifying to parliament, who was at that moment telling legislators of the smear campaign that preceded that president removing her from her post."
"After the lower house of parliament voted to impeach him, the president of Nambia's campaign called legislators "traitors" & claimed they had "declared war on democracy," raising fears of political violence in next year's election"
https://medium.com/@digiphile/what-would-you-say-if-you-saw-it-in-another-country-97cbc102dc52 https://twitter.com/BrendanNyhan/status/1207725346092703745
https://medium.com/@digiphile/what-would-you-say-if-you-saw-it-in-another-country-97cbc102dc52 https://twitter.com/BrendanNyhan/status/1207725346092703745
"The first votes in Nambia's presidential nominating process were marred by unexplained irregularities with a new app. Seizing on the problems, the president's sons & campaign manager denounced called the vote 'fixed' & 'rigged,' raising fresh concerns about voting this fall."
“The upper house of Nambia’s parliament acquitted the president of corruption & obstruction after he & his party blocked witnesses to his alleged crimes from testifying & declined to compel officials & agencies to provide evidence regarding withholding military aid from an ally.”
After the President retaliated against civil servants who testified government in a purge, he pardoned convicted felons with political connections & appointed an loyal ambassador with no intelligence experience as head of Nambia’s intelligence agencies. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/02/20/trump-administrations-beclowning-executive-branch-continues-apace/
“The President of Nambia has escalated his campaign of retribution beyond officials who gave damning evidence about his corruption before Parliament, assigning a minister to identify & purge appointees & civil servants who are not loyal to him personally.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/were-cleaning-it-out-trump-embarks-on-expansive-search-for-disloyalty-as-administration-wide-purge-escalates/2020/02/21/870e6c56-54c1-11ea-b119-4faabac6674f_story.html
“The President called his former top national security advisor a ‘traitor’ & sought to wholly censor his book about his tenure in public service prior to his re-election, an unprecedented move that would restricting his rights under Nambia’s Constitution.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-wants-to-block-boltons-book-claiming-all-conversations-are-classified/2020/02/21/6a4f4b34-54d1-11ea-9e47-59804be1dcfb_story.html
"In a statement, the president of Nambia continued to politicize the #COVID19 outbreak, accusing the 'LameStream Media' of trying to influence him to keep social distancing – which doctors recommend to protect vulnerable people – because it would affect this fall's election."
“The President of Nambia fired a 3rd government inspector general, continuing a purge of independent watchdogs he perceived as disloyal to him for documenting errors, waste or abuse, & retaliating against civil servants who inform Parliament of his corruption or testified to it”
"During a pandemic briefing, the President of Nambia speculated about injecting patients with disinfectant & exposing them to a high dose of UV light. For months, he's repeatedly spread medical misinformation, touted unproven therapies, & contradicted public health authorities."
"In a tweeted statement, the President said any corporate executives that allow the news networks they own & operate to report critically on his administration should resign.
Press freedom has declined in Nambia as he's stoked hostility against media."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/world/americas/coronavirus-press-freedom-journalism.html
Press freedom has declined in Nambia as he's stoked hostility against media."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/world/americas/coronavirus-press-freedom-journalism.html
"On World Press Freedom Day, the President again described journalists as 'enemy of the people.' The former reality TV star turned demagogue has led one of Nambia's major parties further towards illiberalism & undermined federal institutions & good governance in his first term"
“The President claimed without evidence that an parliamentary race in Nambia’s largest state was “rigged,” after its Governor ordered officials to send every registered voter a ballot by mail, alarming watchdogs concerned he’ll dispute the fall elections” https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/05/08/governor-newsom-issues-executive-order-to-protect-public-health-by-mailing-every-registered-voter-a-ballot-ahead-of-the-november-general-election/
Faced with national protests about systemic racism & police brutality, the corrupt, unpopular, autocratic president of Nambia incited violence on social media & tried to use government power to unconstitutionally repress & chill freedoms of speech, assembly, association, & press
In the capitol city, federal police fired tear gas & concussion grenades at peaceful protestors & clergy to clear the way for the President of Zambia to stage a photo op holding a Bible in front of a church that he does not worship within. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-the-push-to-tear-gas-protesters-ahead-of-a-trump-photo-op/2020/06/01/4b0f7b50-a46c-11ea-bb20-ebf0921f3bbd_story.html
As Nambia "marks 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic, the former British colony finds itself in a downward spiral of ethnic violence. The fatigue and paralysis of the international community are evident in its silence, experts say." https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/29/how-western-media-would-cover-minneapolis-if-it-happened-another-country/
Building on years of disinformation & conspiracy theories, the President of Nambia has called a 75-year old peace activist who’d been assaulted by police an “Antifa provacateur” & gaslit Nambians, further dividing a nation riven by protests & a pandemic. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/06/nyregion/Buffalo-police-charged.amp.html
Nambia’s Minister of Justice has tried to fire the top federal prosecutor in the nation’s biggest city, who is currently investigating the President’s personal attorney & family businesses, but the attorney told the public he would not leave or stop. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/nyregion/us-attorney-manhattan-trump.html
Academics & governance experts are regarding Nambia’s slide toward illiberalism with growing alarm, warning that autocrats attacking press, politicizing independent law enforcement agencies, firing watchdogs, & installing loyalists are known steps towards dismantling a democracy.
Nambia’s Foreign Minister called the former National Security Advisor a “traitor” for writing a book informing Namibians that their President asked for Chinese help to win the 2020 election, offered to obstruct justice for foreign leaders, & had no issue with concentration camps.
