Chasing Justice: The Arrest Warrant for François Bozizé and the Quest to End Impunity

By Edwin F -

Earlier this week, the Special Criminal Court (SCC) of the Central African Republic issued an arrest warrant for former president François Bozizé, charging him with crimes against humanity allegedly committed between February 2009 and March 23, 2013. The charges stem from actions by the Presidential Guard and other security services at the Bossembélé military training center, colloquially known as “Guantanamo,” situated north of the country’s capital, Bangui.


In April 2013, interviews with 10 former detainees from Guantanamo revealed harrowing conditions of near-starvation, relentless beatings, torture, and extrajudicial executions. Moreover, investigators uncovered two adjacent cells near Bozizé’s private villa—concrete shafts in the ground providing minimal space for a person to stand. These cells, equipped with air holes for breathing but no room for movement, reportedly became the final resting place for individuals left inside until their demise.


The Special Criminal Court (SCC) represents a unique judicial body established to probe and prosecute serious international crimes committed in the Central African Republic since 2003. Comprising both national and international judges and personnel, the SCC embodies an effort to address longstanding impunity in the region. Bozizé initially fled Bangui in March 2013 as the Seleka, a predominantly Muslim rebel coalition, seized control of the Central African Republic amidst widespread violence. The presidential guard under Bozizé’s command was implicated in numerous atrocities, including the killing of hundreds of civilians and the destruction of thousands of homes during unrest in the mid-2000s.


The ensuing turmoil gave rise to local militias known as anti-balaka, who retaliated against Muslim civilians, triggering mass displacement. Bozizé resurfaced in the country in 2019 amid ongoing conflict and later emerged as a prominent figure in a rebel coalition that launched an assault on Bangui in late 2020 before seeking refuge in Guinea-Bissau. President Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau expressed astonishment at the arrest warrant, asserting that Bozizé’s conduct in his country had not warranted questioning his status in exile.


Bozizé’s impunity has cast a shadow over the Central African Republic for more than a decade. Guinea-Bissau now has an opportunity to contribute to the pursuit of justice by potentially facilitating his extradition.

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