Africa Monitor Intelligence

São Tomé and Príncipe: Government Faces Courts Under Patrice's Influence

Attempts to control the Judiciary marked PATRICE TROVOADA (PT)'s mandates. In 2014, when he won the legislative elections with an absolute majority, one of the first measures he took was to instruct parliament to impeach judges of the TC and some of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ). In the previous mandate, some judges were removed by compulsory retirement. In addition to the Attorney General's Office (PGR), the TC was also "cleansed" of magistrates considered linked to MLSTP-PSD, as were the STJ and even the first instance courts. For PT, control of the justice apparatus constituted a defense against several accusations he faced (AM 1445). 
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