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Mauritania: Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, victim or culprit?

Since he ceded power in 2019, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz has been at the center of a corruption case. As the investigation continues, his guilt is less and less certain.

Last week brought a reappearance of the former Mauritanian president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. The latter has multiplied statements to the media, claiming his innocence in the case of embezzlement to which he is the subject. Abdel Aziz has also criticized his successor and his successor, President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, for what he describes as a machination of justice.

The Mauritanian state is one of the most discreet states on a continental and global level. This could be explained by the weak economy of the country. However, Mauritania experienced its share of turmoil, before the political situation stabilized after the first peaceful political alternation in the country's history in 2019.

Indeed, President Abdel Aziz came to power after a coup in 2008. One of the officers who actively participated in the coup was the current president, Ould Ghazouani. All in all, Abdel Aziz had led his rise to power with a masterful hand. He had succeeded in isolating the overthrown president and avoiding international sanctions. And Abdel Aziz had gone from his status of putschist to a president in record time (9 months). The intervention of Muammar Kadhafi and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade had smoothed this transition.

The beginning of the problems for Abdel Aziz

Nevertheless, the confidence of the international community in African mediation had different results in the following election. During the 2014 ballot, which experienced many irregularities, Tunisian Prime Minister Béji Caïd Essebsi vouched for the election results. However, the election was disastrous, even by African standards.

The ex-president then played the only card he still had in hand. Abdel Aziz had threatened to review his military involvement in the fight against terrorism in northern Mali. Indeed, the Mauritanian state was at the origin of the creation of the G5 Sahel. He also proposed the first African intervention in Mali in 2014, alongside the French operation Sevral. Then, he reassigned Mauritanian troops to G5S forces upon the accession of Barkhane.

In return, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) did not pursue its accusations of racist crimes against the Abdel Aziz regime. In 2018, the CDH condemned the treatment of Peuls and Wolofs in Mauritania. In addition, European and African observers of the 2019 election have closed their eyes to the modalities of the “tandemocracy” underway in Mauritania. Abdel Aziz had, in fact, given way to his comrade in arms and his designated dolphin, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani.

No Mo Ibrahim Prize for Abdel Aziz?

Nevertheless, Abdel Aziz, who had the state machine well in hand, could have clung to power in 2019. Moreover, despite the abuses of the Mauritanian army and the many criticisms of governance Abdel Aziz, the former president has scored good economic results during his last three years in power. Mauritanian production has surged since the adoption of the tax law in 2017. Investment in the agricultural sector, despite ecological constraints, has borne fruit. In addition, Mauritania has maintained a certain sovereignty over mineral resources. 72% of iron is exploited by the state even today.

Mauritania's GDP has grown 48% in six years under Abdel Aziz. The Human Development Index (HDI) has been more than favorable. Abdel Aziz also tackled corruption, of which he is now accused, by sacking dozens of ministers and senior officials during his two terms. Admittedly, Abdel Aziz was not an altar boy, but his government did its best in one of the poorest countries in the world.

Guilty or not? That is the question

Then came the succession of Ould Ghazouani. Shortly after his inauguration, the current Mauritanian president rallied the leaders of the presidential party, the Union for the Republic (UPR) under his control. Then he changed the structure of the army and the Presidential Guard. Then, in July 2020, a parliamentary commission was tasked with investigating Mauritanian finances during the terms of Abdel Aziz.

Since then, the former president has been forced to answer personally for all the accusations against his government. With one exception, those targeting Ould Ghazouani. Besides corruption within the state, Abdel Aziz has been accused of corruption, embezzlement of public property and money laundering. Following these more recent accusations, dating from March 12, 2021, Abdel Aziz made his first public appearances. He therefore denounced a betrayal of Ould Ghazouani. Believing, among other things, that the state is trying to exclude him from political life. Abdel Aziz also declared: "I will not leave, neither in Senegal, nor in Mali, neither in Morocco, nor in France", he affirmed.

After the recent search of the former president's home, the authorities did not find the gold bars and bundles of banknotes they were looking for there. Abdel Aziz declared on May 14: "We have never found 65 kilos of gold at home, let alone 100 billion FCFA", he announced. The former president, currently under house arrest, is struggling to return to the political scene. For a few months he joined an opposition party, the National Ribat. After the materialization of the arguments put forward of his "innocence", the former Mauritanian president could obtain support. In this case, several NGOs argue that his forced eviction from political life could backfire on Ould Ghazouani.

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