A court in N’Djamena has sentenced former prime minister and opposition leader Succes Masra to 20 years in prison after convicting him of hate speech, xenophobia, and inciting a massacre. The ruling also includes a fine of one billion CFA francs (€1.5 million). Masra, one of President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno’s strongest critics, was found guilty of playing a role in inter-communal violence on May 14 that left 42 people dead, most of them women and children, in Mandakao, southwestern Chad.
State prosecutors had sought a 25-year sentence. Masra’s legal team rejected the verdict, with lead defence lawyer Francis Kadjilembaye stating, “Our client has just been the object of a humiliation. He has just been convicted based on an empty dossier, based on assumptions and in the absence of evidence.” The defence accused the government of using the judiciary as a political weapon.
What Led to Masra’s Conviction?
Masra was arrested on May 16, two days after the violence, and charged with multiple offences, including “inciting hatred, revolt, forming and complicity with armed gangs, complicity in murder, arson, and desecration of graves.” Nearly 70 other men accused of involvement in the killings stood trial alongside him. The violence is believed to have stemmed from a dispute between ethnic Fulani nomadic herders and local Ngambaye farmers over grazing and farming boundaries, a conflict that has caused more than 1,000 deaths and 2,000 injuries in Chad since 2021, according to the International Crisis Group.
Political Fallout and Protest
Members of Masra’s Transformers Party protested the verdict on Saturday, denouncing President Deby’s leadership. They also announced that former finance minister Bedoumra Kordje would serve as interim party leader.
Masra, originally from Chad’s south and part of the Ngambaye ethnic group, enjoys strong support among predominantly Christian and animist communities who feel excluded from the Muslim-led government in N’Djamena. A trained economist, he served as Prime Minister from January to May 2024 after a reconciliation deal with Deby, later running against him in the presidential election and securing 18.5% of the vote. Masra rejected the official results, claiming victory.
His imprisonment is now set to become one of the most politically charged cases in Chad’s recent history.
By Lucky Anyanje