N'djamena: Chad's former Prime Minister and opposition leader Succes Masra has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of disseminating racist and xenophobic messages that incited violence. Masra was also ordered to pay a fine of 1 billion CFA francs ($1.8 million), as reported by his lawyer, who stated that his team planned to appeal.
According to Qatar News Agency, Masra was responsible for encouraging inter-communal violence that resulted in the deaths of 42 people in May. Most of the massacre victims were women and children in Mandakao, southwestern Chad. He was arrested on May 16 and charged with "inciting hatred, revolt, forming and complicity with armed gangs, complicity in murder, arson, and desecration of graves."
Masra had left Chad in 2022, only returning under an amnesty agreed upon in 2024. He served as premier from January to May last year after signing a reconciliation deal with President Mahamat Idriss Deby. Masra faced off against Deby in the 2024 presidential elections, securing 18.5 percent of the vote compared to Deby's 61.3 percent.