BANGUI, Central African Republic- A landmark trial against former Central African Republic (CAR) President François Bozizé opened on Tuesday before a United Nations-backed special court, with prosecutors seeking to hold the exiled leader accountable for alleged crimes against humanity committed during his decade-long rule.
Bozizé, 79, is being tried in absentia before the Special Criminal Court (SCC), a hybrid tribunal comprising Central African and international judges mandated to investigate serious crimes committed during the country’s prolonged conflicts.
The former president, who has lived in exile in Guinea-Bissau since March 2023, faces accusations linked to atrocities allegedly carried out by members of his Presidential Guard between 2009 and 2013.
The charges include murder, torture, enforced disappearances, and rape allegedly committed at a civilian prison and a military training centre in Bossembele, a town located about 150 kilometres northwest of the capital, Bangui.
Three former senior military officers associated with Bozizé’s administration — Eugene Barret Ngaikosset, Vianney Semndiro, and Firmin Junior Danboy — are also facing trial and remain in pre-trial detention in the Central African Republic.
The SCC issued an international arrest warrant against Bozizé in February 2024 after investigators concluded there was what they described as “serious and consistent evidence” linking him to the alleged crimes.
Prosecutors argue that the former president bears responsibility as a military commander and hierarchical superior who failed to prevent or punish abuses committed by forces under his authority.
The trial marks another chapter in efforts to address decades of impunity in the Central African Republic, a nation that has experienced repeated coups, armed rebellions, and political instability since gaining independence from France in 1960.
Bozizé came to power through a military coup in 2003 and ruled for a decade before being overthrown in 2013 by the predominantly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition. His removal triggered a brutal civil conflict that pitted Seleka fighters against largely Christian and animist anti-Balaka militias formed by his supporters.
The United Nations has documented widespread human rights violations by both factions, including massacres, sexual violence and forced displacement.
Thousands of civilians were killed, while hundreds of thousands fled their homes during the conflict.
Following his overthrow, Bozizé remained a significant political and military figure. In 2020, he was linked to the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC), a rebel alliance that launched an offensive against the government of President Faustin-Archange Touadéra before being repelled with the support of allied forces.
The former president was separately convicted in absentia in 2022 and sentenced to life at hard labour for offences including conspiracy, rebellion, and murder.
The SCC, established in 2015 with support from the United Nations, was created to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations committed since 2003.
Human rights groups have welcomed the proceedings as a critical test of accountability in a country where victims have long sought justice.
The trial is expected to run for several weeks and could become one of the most significant war crimes proceedings in the Central African Republic’s history, offering a rare opportunity to examine alleged abuses committed at the highest levels of power.
