Former CAR Militia Leader Found Guilty of War Crimes

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has found a former militia commander from the Central African Republic, Mahamat Kani, guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

On Wednesday, judges in The Hague said the former Seleka militia leader ran a detention center in Bangui. Supporters of the then-president Francois Bozizé faced terrible treatment there during the civil war.

Reuters reported that he was convicted on four counts of crimes against humanity, including persecution and torture.

Presiding Judge Miatta Samba said Mr Kani oversaw the torture and abuse of prisoners. This was part of a plan to target people seen as supporters of Bozizé in Bangui.

The civil war in CAR, which started in 2013, caused the death of over 2,600 people and forced more than 1.2 million to flee their homes. The crisis began with the Seleka rebellion, a mostly Muslim group of rebels. They accused President François Bozizé of not keeping peace agreements and shutting them out of government.

In March 2013, the Muslim rebel coalition took over Bangui and removed President Bozizé from power. After they gained control, their fighters committed many violent acts, including killings, looting, and rape.

This violence led to the rise of local self-defence groups known as anti-Balaka, which made the situation worse.

The ICC has been looking into the violence in the Central African Republic since 2014. They extradited Mr Kani in 2021.

The court had already convicted two leaders of the anti-Balaka group. But Mr Kani is the first member of Seleka to be found guilty.

He was a high-ranking commander of the rebel group. He led the Central Office for the Repression of Banditry (OCRB), a prison unit in Bangui.

Prosecutors claimed that prisoners at his facility, suspected of being Bozizé supporters, suffered various forms of torture. This included whippings and body mutilation.

It was also said that inmates were denied food or water. Some even resorted to drinking their own urine out of desperation at Mr Kani’s unit.

According to the court, the cell directly below Mr Kani’s office was called “the hole.” The prisoners kept there lived in terrible conditions.

The militia commander denied all the charges against him.

Still, he was convicted on four counts of crimes against humanity.

There will be another hearing to decide his sentence.