Chad’s Ex-PM Succes Masra Gets 20-Year Jail Term for Racist, Xenophobic Incitement
Chad’s former prime minister and opposition leader Succes Masra has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by a N’Djamena court for disseminating racist and xenophobic messages that incited violence, his lawyer told newsmen.
A vocal critic of President Mahamat Idriss Deby, Masra nonetheless served as prime minister in Deby’s interim government for five months before contesting the May 2024 presidential election against him.
The conviction follows a May investigation into Masra’s alleged role in a deadly clash in the southern town of Mandakao. He and 67 co-defendants, mostly from his Ngambaye ethnic community, were accused of provoking violence between herders and farmers in Logone Occidental that left 35 people dead and six injured.
In addition to the 20-year jail term, Masra was fined 1 billion CFA francs (about $1.8 million). His defense team, led by lawyer Kadjilembaye Francis, immediately announced plans to appeal the verdict.
Francis denounced the ruling as an act of “ignominy and unworthy humiliation,” accusing authorities of abusing the judicial process for political ends and vowing to challenge the judgment at every available level.
Masra has denied all allegations of hate speech, xenophobia and incitement to massacre. Before exiting the courtroom, he urged supporters to “stand firm,” while party activists promised to issue a “special message” later in the day.
The Ngambaye people, mostly Christian and animist, often feel marginalized by N’Djamena’s largely Muslim leadership. Masra fled into exile in 2022 after a government crackdown and returned under a 2024 amnesty. He disputed Deby’s re-election with over 61 percent support, briefly served as prime minister under a reconciliation deal, and has since resumed his role as a determined opposition figure against the military regime that took power in April 2021 following the death of longtime leader Idriss Deby Itno.
