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Dressed in suits and ties during their trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona and Alfred Yekatom search the world as harmless office workers.
But in their native Central African Republic, the horrors inflicted by the militias they are accused of leading remain alive in the minds of the victims.
As the trial began in The Hague on Tuesday, emotions were running high during a special live screening organized for victims’ representatives at a court in Bangui, the CAR’s capital.
Most of those present experienced the events discussed, which took place as the country descended into civil war in 2013.
A predominantly Muslim rebel coalition called the Seleka overthrew then-president François Bozize in 2013, leading to the formation of Christian advocacy groups, the anti-Balaka, which means anti-machete.
The anti-Balaka aimed to fight atrocities committed by Muslim armed groups, but continued to commit theirs.
Some at the Bangui screening even knew the two men tried for war crimes.
According to ICC prosecutors, former Sports Minister Ngaissona was the “general national coordinator” of the anti-Balaka movement.
Yekatom, a 46-year-old lawmaker, called himself “Commander Rambo” while leading an anti-Balaka force of about 3,000 people, including child soldiers, prosecutors said.
The Bangui courtroom shook as prosecutors read the charges – crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, conscription of child soldiers, as well as rape – and anger could be felt when the two defendants pleaded not guilty.
A world away from the muted Dutch courtroom is Bossangoa, a small town in the heart of the savannas of northern Central African Republic where Alain ran into Ngaissona and his troops.
Anti-Balaka militiamen attacked Bossangoa on December 5, 2013, massacring 38 people, including 11 civilians killed with machetes outside the local imam’s house, according to Human Rights Watch.
‘I lost everything’
Alain, whose name has been changed, was in Bossangoa during the attack.
“My wife lost her leg, they also shot her,” he said.
“I was moved, I lost everything. My car, my cattle, my refrigerator, ”he added, smiling under his white mustache despite his loss.
“This trial was to be organized for the victims. In the conditions we fled, it’s horrible when you think of everything.”
Posing as Commander Rambo, Alfred Yekatom led an anti-Balaka force of around 3,000 people, including child soldiers, prosecutors said. By Gael GRILHOT (AFP / File) But victims want more than just a trial – they want a conviction.
The acquittal by the ICC of Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former warlord in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, of war crimes in 2018 still lingers in the minds of many.
Aicha Baba’s eldest son was killed by anti-Balaka militiamen at the age of 17.
“The two defendants look good in their pretty jackets, compared to the victims who are still suffering,” said Baba, head of a development-focused Muslim women’s association.
“If the court finds them guilty, there will be real relief,” she added.
Mike Cole, the ICC representative in the Central African Republic, said it was “possible that there will be an acquittal but, in any case, the voice of the victims will have been heard.”
“The time for impunity is over,” he said during the Bangui screening.
Marius Olivier Poussinga, representing a solidarity group for the victims, said that “as long as there is no conviction, we cannot say that times have changed”.
The violence continues
Eight years after the bloodshed began, many Central Africans still live in areas controlled by armed groups that occupy two-thirds of the country’s territory.
The Central African Republic. By (AFP / File) And the CAR has plunged into a new round of violence – a coalition of six of these armed groups, including several comprised of anti-Balaka militiamen, joined forces in December to launch a rebel offensive against the government of President Faustin Archange. Touadera.
The rebels went to the outskirts of Bangui before being pushed back.
The anti-Balaka fighters who attacked Alain’s family are still in Bossangoa, the stronghold of ex-President Bozize, whom the government accuses of leading what it called a coup attempt.
“We have high hopes that the trial will be successful,” said Alain, “because there are still others who continue to commit crimes”.
Aicha Baba said that “without justice there will be no peace”.
“If the court does its job, we can grow – justice is the basis of everything.”
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