Tunisia: Leaked tape reportedly reveals President Kais Saied is sick

A leaked audio tape from former Chief of Staff of the Tunisian presidency Nadia Akacha has revealed that President Kais Saied is ill and does not recognize the ailment.

“He will end up very badly, because he is ill and does not recognize his illness. He is going to the wall, even on a personal and psychological level, he is going badly, very badly. There is a doctor who follows his condition. He has foreseen that he will have a big crisis and he will have it because this kind of pathology degenerates in the absence of care and supervision,” she allegedly said in the tape leaked on social media.

“His family aggravates his case and makes him crazy, especially Atika (the president’s sister-in-law), so it is normal that he would have a crisis. Moreover, with my status, he became mad,” she added. Nadia Akacha has denied the tape; one of several that have emerged recently on social media. If confirmed, this will confirm the breakup between Akacha and her formal boss.

Akacha resigned in January citing “fundamental differences” with the President leader. “After two years of work, I have decided to resign from my position as head of the Presidential Cabinet. In view of the profound differences in this responsibility, it is my duty to resign from this position,” she had said in a Facebook post.

Currently into exile in France, the former state official had accused the Interior Minister Taoufik Charfeddine of hijacking the July 25 process.

Nadia Akacha reacted to the leaks assuring that it was a montage and rigged sound elements.

She stepped down amid a political crisis between Saied and his critics who include opposition parties and some civil society organizations. Saied has seized since last July 25 all major powers in the country, including the executive and legislative powers after he suspended and dissolved the parliament.