Latest news with #Mandakao
News.com.au
09-08-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Chad court jails ex-PM, opposition leader for 20 years
A court in Chad jailed former prime minister and opposition leader Succes Masra for 20 years Saturday, convicting him of hate speech, xenophobia and having incited a massacre. The court in N'Djamena jailed Masra, one of President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno's fiercest critics, for his role in inciting inter-communal violence in which 42 people were killed on May 14. Most of the massacre victims were women and children in Mandakao, southwestern Chad, according to the court. On Friday, the state prosecutor had called for a 25-year sentence. "Our client has just been the object of a humiliation," lead defence lawyer Francis Kadjilembaye told AFP. "He has just been convicted on the basis of an empty dossier, on the basis of assumptions and in the absence of evidence," he added. What we had witnessed, he said, was the weaponisation of the courts. Activists with his Transformers Party said they would put out a "special message" later Saturday. Masra was arrested on May 16, two days after the violence, and charged with "inciting hatred, revolt, forming and complicity with armed gangs, complicity in murder, arson and desecration of graves". He stood trial with nearly 70 other men accused of taking part in the killings. - Presidential candidate - Originally from Chad's south, Masra comes from the Ngambaye ethnic group and enjoys wide popularity among the predominantly Christian and animist populations of the south. Those groups feel marginalised by the largely Muslim-dominated regime in the capital N'Djamena. During the trial, Masra's lawyers argued that no concrete evidence against him had been presented to the court. He went on hunger strike in jail for nearly a month in June, his lawyers said at the time. Like other opposition leaders, Masra had left Chad after a bloody crackdown on his followers in 2022, only returning under an amnesty agreed in 2024. Trained as an economist in France and Cameroon, Masra had been a fierce opponent of the ruling authorities before they named him prime minister five months ahead of the presidential election. He served as premier from January to May last year after signing a reconciliation deal with Deby. Masra faced off against Deby in the 2024 presidential elections, winning 18.5 percent against Deby's 61.3 percent, but claimed victory. Of the May 14 killings, one local source said they were thought to have sprung from a dispute between ethnic Fulani nomadic herders and local Ngambaye farmers over the demarcation of grazing and farming areas. Conflicts between pastoralists and sedentary farmers are estimated by the International Crisis Group to have caused more than 1,000 deaths and 2,000 injuries in Chad between 2021 and 2024. yas-lnf/jj/gv
France 24
09-08-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Chad court sentences former prime minister, opposition leader to 20 years in jail
A court in Chad jailed former prime minister and opposition leader Succes Masra for 20 years Saturday, convicting him of hate speech, xenophobia and having incited a massacre. The court in N'Djamena jailed Masra, one of President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno 's fiercest critics, for his role in inciting inter-communal violence in which 42 people were killed on May 14. Most of the massacre victims were women and children in Mandakao, southwestern Chad, according to the court. On Friday, the state prosecutor had called for a 25-year sentence. Masra was arrested on May 16, charged with "inciting hatred, revolt, forming and complicity with armed gangs, complicity in murder, arson and desecration of graves". He stood trial with nearly 70 other men accused of having taken part in the killings. Originally from Chad's south, he comes from the Ngambaye ethnic group and enjoys wide popularity among the predominantly Christian and animist populations of the south. Those groups feel marginalised by the largely Muslim-dominated regime in the capital N'Djamena. During the trial, Masra's lawyers argued that no concrete evidence against him had been presented to the court. He went on hunger strike in jail for nearly a month in June, his lawyers said at the time. Masra had left Chad after a bloody crackdown on his followers in 2022, only returning under an amnesty agreed in 2024.
Yahoo
09-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chad prosecutor seeks 25 years' jail for opposition leader
Chad's state prosecutors requested Friday a 25-year jail sentence for opposition leader Succès Masra, who is on trial accused of inciting a massacre. "Since a life sentence is ruled out, we demand 25 years in prison for Masra and his co-defendants," chief prosecutor Louapambe Mahouli Bruno told the court. A former prime minister of the country and one of the fiercest opponents of its President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, Masra is accused of inciting the killing of 42 people on 14 May. The massacre reportedly killed mostly women and children in Mandakao, southwestern Chad, according to the courts. Arrested on 16 May, Masra is charged with "inciting hatred, revolt, forming and complicity with armed gangs, complicity in murder, arson and desecration of graves". Alongside him, nearly 70 other men stand accused of taking part in the killings. Lawyers of Chadian jailed opposition leader call on Macron to intervene Masra, originally from Chad's south, comes from the Ngambaye ethnic group and enjoys wide popularity among the predominantly Christian and animist populations of the south. Those groups feel marginalised by the largely Muslim regime in the capital N'Djamena. Masra's lawyers said Tuesday that no concrete evidence against him had been presented to the court. Chad jails 262 in mass trial after deadly anti-government protests He went on hunger strike in jail for nearly a month in June, his lawyers said at the time. He had left Chad after a bloody crackdown on his followers in 2022 and returned under an amnesty agreed in 2024. (AFP)
BBC News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Chad's Succès Masra: Former prime minister arrested over alleged links to deadly clashes
Chad's former prime minister and opposition leader, Succès Masra, has been arrested over alleged links to clashes which took place on Wednesday in the south west of the country, a public prosecutor has is suspected of spreading hateful messages on social media linked to the violence in which at least 42 people died, Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye Transformers party said he had been "kidnapped" by military officers in the early hours of the morning" and denounced his detention, which it says was "carried out outside of any known judicial procedure".The government has not yet commented on Masra's arrest. Masra is a fierce critic of President Mahamat Déby and claimed to have defeated him in elections last said his victory had been stolen "from the people" although the official results said Déby had won with 61% of the vote. Wednesday's clashes broke out in the village of Mandakao, in Logone Occidental province near the Cameroonian border."Messages were circulated, notably on social networks, calling on the population to arm themselves against other citizens," Mr Kedelaye said. It is not entirely clear what caused the violence, but one source told the AFP news agency that it is believed it was triggered by a land dispute between farmers from the Ngambaye community and Fulani herdsmen. There has been a troubling recent pattern of violence between local farmers and herders, with the farmers accusing the latter of grazing animals on their than 80 others have also been detained in connection with the briefly served as interim prime minister of the transitional government between January and May 2024. His party boycotted legislative polls last December due to concerns over the transparency of the electoral Déby family has ruled Chad for more than three military installed Déby as Chad's leader after his father, Idriss Déby Itno, was killed by rebels in 2021. Additional reporting by Chris Ewokor More BBC Africa articles about Chad: A quick guide to ChadWhy does France have military bases in Africa?Chad's military ruler wins presidential poll Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
