|
Former Central African Republic soccer federation president
Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona and Alfred Yekatom, a rebel leader
known as “Rambo,” were found guilty of their involvement in
atrocities including murder, torture and attacking civilians.
The court sentenced Ngaïssona to 12 years, and Yekatom to 15
years.
The charges stem from their roles as senior leaders in a militia
known as the anti-Balaka, which engaged in bitter fighting with
the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel group in 2013 and 2014.
The interreligious violence left thousands dead and displaced
hundreds of thousands. Mosques, shops and homes were looted and
destroyed.
Anti-Balaka forces “attacked localities with Muslim civilians,
killing and dislocating many of them,” Presiding Judge Bertram
Schmitt said, reading out the verdict in The Hague.
Malick Karomschi, president of the Muslim Organization for
Innovation in the Central African Republic, a nongovernmental
organization that supports victims of sexual violence, said that
he's glad that justice has been served.
“We feared the worst — that they would be acquitted so the fact
that they were found guilty is already a good thing.” Karomschi
told The Associated Press.
The pair maintained their innocence during the trial, which
opened in 2021. It was the first case at the global court to
focus on the violence that erupted after the Seleka seized power
in the Central African Republic in 2013.
The country has been mired in conflict since rebels forced then
President Francois Bozize from office. Anti-Balaka militias
fought back, also targeting civilians and sending most of the
Muslim residents of the capital, Bangui, fleeing in fear.
The trial of an alleged Seleka commander, Mahamat Said Abdel
Kani, is ongoing.
Last year, judges at the court unsealed another arrest warrant
in the investigation. According to prosecutors, Edmond Beina
commanded a group of about 100-400 anti-Balaka fighters
responsible for murdering Muslims in early 2014.
Separate proceedings against Beina and five others at a
specially-created court are slated to begin in the Central
African Republic on Friday.
___
Jean-Fernand Koena contributed to this report from Bangui,
Central African Republic.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
