Rabat – Egyptian TV presenter Tawfik Oukcha has labeled Morocco’s government led by the Justice and Development Party a “government of Muslim brotherhood.” He also claimed that the government had been brought down by Moroccans over alleged corruption and sex scandals.
The statements were made by the co-hosts of the popular Egyptian TV show, “Egypt Today,” and aired on his own TV channel Al-Faraeen (“Pharaohs”).
The controversial news anchor, apparently knowingly, presented a series of fallacies about Morocco and the Moroccan government, during his show. He accused the Moroccan coalition government which is led by the Islamist Justice and Development Party, of being a “government of the Muslim brotherhood.”
“The Muslim brotherhoods were brought down by the Moroccan people over corruption and sex scandals one year after they were elected,” he added, claiming that six Moroccan ministers had been sacked for being involved in sex scandals.
Oukacha accused “the Muslim brotherhood government” of corruption, while on the other, pointing out that Morocco has experienced an economic revolution over the past few years when “the Muslim brotherhood” was in office, becoming a leading economic hub in north Africa.
He said he had visited Morocco last week, following an oral invitation from Morocco’s foreign minister. Meanwhile, a source from the foreign ministry office denied his claims, according to Moroccan website Goude.
“When I visited Morocco for the first time in 2008, [Morocco] was only a desert with no fancy hotels,” Okacha alleged.
He went on to add that he was surprised to see the notable progress achieved in Morocco over the past seven years.
“The Moroccan people go to work around 7:00 a.m. and lock their doors at 8:00 p.m. The streets become empty after 8:00 p.m. and foreigners feel like they are in a desert,” he added.
Moroccans responded to Okacha’s claims with mockery on social media, with a Facebook user saying: “Okacha was under the influence of a very strong drug while making the statement that he was talking about Morocco, different to the [Morocco] where we live.”
Oukacha who claims that his show is watched by more than 300 million viewers throughout the Arab world — a figure impossible to verify — has been accused of using the show to “spread lies and fantasy” several times. In July 2012, a court ordered Al-Faraeen to be shut down for 45 days.
During Mohamed Morsi’s presidency, he accused the then newly-appointed Minister of Defense, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, of being a “Muslim Brotherhood member in disguise.”
However, after Morsi’s ouster, Al-Faraeen broadcast a documentary entitled “Two Men” that portrayed Okacha and El-Sisi as the two men who had “saved Egypt from the January 25 Revolution.”
Oukacha has always described Hamas as “dogs” because of their alleged relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that Oukacha opposes and that is seen as a terrorist organization in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and several other western countries.
Last year, he threatened to physically attack Cairo-based Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk, and has appealed to Egypt’s attorney general asking that Abu Marzouk be deported from the country.
