On the evening of Sunday, May 26, 2024, as dusk settled over Zemio, a sense of camaraderie filled the courtyard of a local bar-restaurant in the Haut-Mbomou sub-prefecture. This region in the Central African Republic (CAR) is known for its persistent community conflicts. Approximately fifty individuals had gathered to bid farewell to two visiting experts. Joseph Figueira, a Belgian-Portuguese researcher, was on a field assessment mission for the American NGO FHI 360, under the umbrella of a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Alongside his Ivorian colleague, who resides in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Figueira was offering refreshments to their local partners.
The following day, after a 48-hour stay, the two were scheduled to return to Bangui. However, the convivial atmosphere was abruptly shattered when three men from the Wagner Group, a force providing auxiliary support to national authorities in the Central African Republic since 2018, intervened. They were accompanied by a Central African gendarme, acting as a translator.
Without hesitation, they seized Joseph Figueira. The humanitarian worker had no opportunity to retrieve his documents from the NGO premises where he was staying before he was confined at the aerodrome, his wrists bound in handcuffs.
Figueira, a renowned specialist in the Fulani people, was operating entirely within legal parameters. He had been in the Central African Republic for nine days, engaging with numerous officials in both the capital and provincial areas to lay the groundwork for an upcoming local conflict prevention initiative, in collaboration with various local and international organizations. Despite his legitimate activities, the Wagner operatives proceeded to abduct him, hooding him and subjecting him to physical blows that left his nose bleeding. He was then forced onto an aircraft, all outside any recognized legal framework.
The following day, after a 48-hour stay, the two were scheduled to return to Bangui. However, the convivial atmosphere was abruptly shattered when three men from the Wagner Group, a force providing auxiliary support to national authorities in the Central African Republic since 2018, intervened. They were accompanied by a Central African gendarme, acting as a translator.
Without hesitation, they seized Joseph Figueira. The humanitarian worker had no opportunity to retrieve his documents from the NGO premises where he was staying before he was confined at the aerodrome, his wrists bound in handcuffs.
Figueira, a renowned specialist in the Fulani people, was operating entirely within legal parameters. He had been in the Central African Republic for nine days, engaging with numerous officials in both the capital and provincial areas to lay the groundwork for an upcoming local conflict prevention initiative, in collaboration with various local and international organizations. Despite his legitimate activities, the Wagner operatives proceeded to abduct him, hooding him and subjecting him to physical blows that left his nose bleeding. He was then forced onto an aircraft, all outside any recognized legal framework.
You may also like
-
Kemi Seba’s Pretoria detention: panafricanism as a shield for legal transgressions
-
Passive smoking in n’djamena: a persistent gap between law and reality
-
Emotional farewell: Ousmane Sonko’s moving tribute in Touba
-
Pierre Mabé: the kamerunian journalist who founded radio Tchad
-
Journalist aïssatou diop fall summoned over controversial ousmane sonko remarks