François Bozizé implicated in disappearance of former minister Charles Massi

Former Central African Republic President François Bozizé has been implicated in the disappearance and presumed death of former minister and opposition leader Charles Massi. The allegations surfaced during the ‘Bossembélé’ trial at the Special Criminal Court (SCC) in Bangui, which began on June 16.

During the proceedings, Hortense Balley Kombet, the former partner of Charles Massi, testified that Bozizé was responsible for his disappearance. She stated that Massi was arrested in Chad while planning to join the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace (CPJP) and was subsequently ‘exchanged for Baba Laddé’, a Chadian rebel leader, before being handed over to the Central African presidential guard. Kombet testified that Massi was then tortured and killed.

The trial focuses on crimes against humanity allegedly committed between 2009 and 2013 at a prison and military camp in Bossembélé. In addition to Bozizé, three other former officials—Eugène Barret Ngaïkosset, Vianney Semndiro, and Firmin Junior Danboy—are facing charges including murder, torture, and forced disappearances. This marks the sixth trial opened by the SCC, a jurisdiction established to prosecute the most serious crimes in the country.