Minister of State, Minister of Justice and Human Rights and Keeper of the Seals Aime Emmanuel Yoka of Congo, Republic of the

Aimé Emmanuel Yoka is a Congolese politician, currently serving as Minister of State for Justice and Human Rights.

Yoka was born in Oyo, in the north of Congo-Brazzaville; he is a cousin of President Denis Sassou Nguesso.

Shortly after the outbreak of the 1997 civil war on 5 June 1997, Yoka was included on the National Mediation Committee.

Later, after Sassou Nguesso returned to power in October 1997, Yoka was Mayor of Brazzaville, the capital, from 1997 to 1999, and he was Congo-Brazzaville's Ambassador to Morocco from 1999 to 2002.

On 19 August 2002, Yoka was again appointed as Director of the Cabinet of President Sassou Nguesso, with the rank of Minister; accordingly, he succeeded Gérard Bitsindou in that capacity on 22 August 2002.

Yoka said that the Republic of Congo is checking into the welfare of the Congolese children who currently are in Spain by writing to the foreign minister inquiring about what has happened to these children.

The government is taking this as a preventive measure," Justice Minister Emmanuel Aime Yoka said late Wednesday.

In the Republic of Congo, Justice Minister Yoka said the Chad incident occurred only a few days after 17 children from the Republic of Congo were adopted by Spanish families.

Justice Minister Emmanuel Aime Yoka says the government made the move as a "preventative measure.

Yoka says the two events are not related, but says the Chad incident has prompted his government to try to verify the fate of the Congolese children taken to Spain.

Yoka said the Chad incident occurred only a few days after 17 children from the Republic of Congo were adopted by Spanish families.