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(32 minutes later)
Yemisi Adegoke
BBC News, Lagos
Mubarak Bala, a Nigerian atheist who was sentenced to 24 years in prison for blasphemy related charges in 2022, has had his sentence reduced to five years South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is due to sign into law a contentious national health bill that aims to provide universal coverage to millions of poor citizens.
on appeal. The National Health Insurance (NHI) bill seeks to give South Africans “of all races, rich or poor and legal long-term residents” access to quality healthcare.
According It was passed by lawmakers last year and is set to be implemented in stages at a cost of billions of dollars.
to Bala's lawyer, James Ibori, a panel of three judges in Kano state ruled that the original sentence was "excessive" and "against the The opposition parties and civil society groups wanted the bill to be referred back to parliament, saying it was flawed in its current form.
provisions of the law". The bill will be signed into law on Wednesday at the Union Buildings, the presidential office, in the capital, Pretoria, the presidency said.
It is It comes just days before the 29 May national election that could test the ruling African National Congress' 30-year rule.
unclear when Bala, who has been in prison for four years, is likely to be South Africa is still considered one the most unequal societies in the world, with a huge wealth gap and 84% of South Africans relying on often poor quality public healthcare.
released.
His case sparked international outrage when he was arrested in 2020.
A group of Muslims had filed a petition to the authorities accusing Bala of posting uncomplimentary messages about Islam on social media.
He later pleaded guilty
to all 18 charges and was sentenced to 24 years in prison by a high court in the Muslim majority northern state of Kano.
There have been widespread
calls for Bala's release and his detention has incited fears about freedom of
speech in Nigeria.
Read more:
The case of Nigerian
atheist Mubarak Bala convicted of blasphemy
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