ICC convicts former CAR football official and militia leader for 2013-2014 war crimes

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has sentenced two former Central African Republic (CAR) officials for war crimes committed during the civil war of 2013-2014.

Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona, ex-minister and former CAR football federation head, received 12 years for 28 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Alfred Yekatom, a former MP and militia commander nicknamed "Rambo," was sentenced to 15 years after being found guilty of 20 counts including murder and torture.

Both men were senior figures in the mainly Christian anti-Balaka militia, which formed as a vigilante self-defense group against the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels who overthrew President François Bozizé. The ICC detailed horrific abuses by their militias against Muslim civilians, including mutilations and killings. Yekatom’s forces tortured victims by cutting off fingers, toes, and ears, with some bodies never recovered.

Ngaïssona was extradited from France in 2018, while Yekatom was arrested in CAR after discharging a firearm in parliament and transferred to The Hague the same year. Both men denied all charges. The court acquitted Ngaïssona on rape charges and found Yekatom not guilty of recruiting child soldiers.

The CAR remains one of the world’s poorest countries, plagued by recurring conflict since independence, with recent peace fragile and combat occasionally erupting between rebel factions and government forces supported by Russian and Rwandan troops.

The ICC, the only independent international tribunal prosecuting war crimes and crimes against humanity, has played a pivotal role in delivering justice in this complex and violent conflict.