THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — Former Christian militia leader Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona denied involvement in atrocities in the Central African Republic on Tuesday and accused the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor of “turning a blind eye” to the truth.
The 57-year-old former politician availed himself of his right to make an unsworn statement to The Hague-based court. Ngaïssona and his co-defendant, Alfred Yékatom, are facing charges of murder and torture for supposedly ordering the killing of Muslim civilians and recruiting child soldiers during the nation’s ongoing civil war.
The prosecutor is “willfully turning a blind eye to those who are really responsible for the repeated crises in the CAR,” Ngaïssona told the three-judge panel.
According to the prosecution, Ngaïssona, a wealthy businessman, was part of the inner circle of ex-President François Bozizé, who was ousted from power in a coup by pro-Muslim groups known as the Seleka. Ngaïssona described himself as the spokesperson of the so-called anti-Balaka forces, Christian militias which began in opposition to the Seleka.
“I do not recognize myself in the charges,” Ngaïssona told the court after the 16 counts of war crimes and 16 counts of crimes against humanity against him were read aloud at the start of the trial in 2021.
Civil war in the Central African Republic has been ongoing since late 2012, shortly before Seleka forces took control of the capital, Bangui. Christian militias began to organize attacks against primarily Muslim militias called the Seleka in 2013.
In his statement, given over several hours, Ngaïssona acknowledged that he had participated in demonstrations in Bangui but denied participating in any atrocities. The country, he said, has been “held hostage by a string of foreign mercenaries.”
He also claimed the unrest in the Central African Republic may have been tied to oil drilling.
Without specifying who, he said, “They don’t want China to exploit oil in the region.”
Ngaïssona, who went on to become the head of soccer’s governing body in Africa, was arrested in France in 2018.
Opened in 2014, this is the ICC’s second investigation into crimes in the former French colony. The court had previously looked into events that took place before 2012, ultimately convicting the vice president of the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, Jean-Pierre Bemba, in 2016. The former military commander was accused of being responsible for murder, rape and pillaging by his troops in the Central African Republic when his forces were asked to put down a coup attempt.
Bemba’s landmark conviction, the first time the court focused on the use of sexual violence during war, was overturned on appeal in 2018 as a result of legal errors. He was later convicted of witness tampering.
The court first arrested a Seleka commander in 2021 when Mahamat Said Abdel Kani turned himself in. He pled not guilty to torturing political prisoners and keeping them in a hole under his office.
Closing arguments in the Ngaïssona and Yékatom trial will begin in December.