Just days after winning a 6-year senatorial bid for the department of Grand’Anse, former 2004 rebel leader Guy Philippe was arrested and taken into custody late this afternoon in Pétionville, a suburb just outside of Port-au-Prince.
During a live radio interview with Radio Scoop FM, the senator elect was promptly arrested and taken into custody by the BLTS, Haiti’s bureau for the fight against narcotic drug trafficking.
Local media reports suggest that just hours before giving his radio interview, Guy Philippe had secured his senate confirmation certificate from the Haitian Electoral Council (CEP Haiti).
Before today’s arrest, he was scheduled to take the constitutional oath and be sworn into office in about a week or so.
Under Haitian law, if Philippe had been allowed to take the constitutional oath and subsequently sworn into office, he could have possibly been immune from prosecution on any of these outstanding charges for the duration of his 6-year legislative term.
Many on social media are asking questions about the timing of his arrest and what will possibly happen to his senate seat if he is held in custody for a prolonged period of time.
