French lawyers representing Chad’s former prime minister and opposition figure Succes Masra are calling for the case against him to be thrown out, arguing that the charges are politically motivated and legally unsound.
Masra, who was detained earlier this week and placed in provisional custody on Wednesday, stands accused of inciting hatred in connection with deadly clashes that erupted in southern Chad earlier this month. His legal team, including prominent French lawyers Vincent Brengarth and William Bourdon, are working alongside Chadian counsel to secure his release and have the case dismissed.
Speaking to AFP by phone on Friday, Brengarth described the matter as urgent, stating their immediate aim was Masra’s release. “Our priority is to ensure his freedom and the dismissal of the case,” he said.
Masra ran against President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno in last year’s presidential election. While official results credited Masra with 18 percent of the vote against Deby’s 61 percent, Masra rejected the outcome, claiming he had in fact won.
The charges against him relate to a violent incident on 14 May in the Mandakao area of Logone-Occidental province, where 42 people—mostly women and children—were killed. Authorities allege Masra’s rhetoric provoked the violence, though 82 other individuals have also been detained over the incident.
Local sources have suggested the root of the unrest was a longstanding dispute between nomadic Fulani herders and local Ngambaye farmers over land boundaries—a type of conflict that has plagued the region and, according to the International Crisis Group, claimed more than 1,000 lives and injured 2,000 others between 2021 and 2024.
Masra, an ethnic Ngambaye, draws considerable support from Chad’s southern regions, where Christian and animist communities frequently complain of marginalisation by the Muslim-dominated central government.
Prosecutors have reportedly submitted an audio recording as evidence against Masra, though his supporters claim it is outdated and unrelated. “The recording from May 2023 is being used as a smokescreen,” Brengarth argued, describing the legal process as a “set-up” designed to frame Masra as a scapegoat for recent unrest.
Chad’s Ministry of Communication issued a pointed response on Thursday, stating: “The days when foreign lawyers could come, under false pretences, to influence or dictate the course of justice in our African states are over.”
