Egyptians scorn African anti-corruption forum held by Sisi

Egyptian President Abdelfattah el-Sisi inaugurated the first African Anti-Corruption Forum (AACF) held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. 

During his opening speech on Wednesday, he spoke of the need to increase pan-African cooperation and share best practices in the struggle against corruption which has “become the foremost priority on the nation’s agenda, alongside the need to find means of building capacities in various domains of preventing and combating corruption”.

But the conference quickly became the target of widespread scorn on social media, with Twitter users taking exception to the Egyptian president’s disregard for the reality of corruption in Egypt. Many reminded him of open corruption taking place with his knowledge. 

One Twitter user Ikram Ibrahim writes:

“Corruption is the main reason for the economic and social breakdown in Africa,” said Sisi, speaking at the AACF. His statement was met with backlash, pinning the blame on his policies. 

With responses to the conference ranging from incredulity to staunch support, here are some more curated tweets in response to the conference.