Chad court jails former PM for 20 years

A COURT In Chad jailed former prime minister and opposition leader Succes Masra for 20 years at the weekend, convicting him of hate speech, xenophobia and having incited a massacre.

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The court in N'Djamena jailed Masra, one of President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno's fiercest critics, for his role in inciting inter-communal violence in which 42 people were killed on May 14.

It also imposed a fine of €1.5 million (about R31m).

Most of the massacre victims were women and children in Mandakao, southwestern Chad, according to the court. Last week, the state prosecutor had called for a 25-year sentence.

"Our client has just been the object of a humiliation," lead defence lawyer Francis Kadjilembaye said.

"He has just been convicted on the basis of an empty dossier, on the basis of assumptions and in the absence of evidence," he added.

He called it a weaponisation of the courts.