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Former president jailed

    JOHANNESBURG

    Former President Canaan Banana was ordered on Monday to serve a one-year jail sentence after losing his appeal against a conviction on sexual assault charges, news reports said.

    Banana, 64, was expected to report to prison later Monday, said his lawyer, Josephine Bennett. He was found guilty last year of 11 counts of sodomy and abusing his power to sexually assault and carry out “unnatural acts” with male members of his staff.

    Homosexual acts are illegal in Zimbabwe. Banana had appealed the convictions, contending they violated privacy rights enshrined in Zimbabwe’s constitution.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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