Mixed reaction in Bangui to ICC conviction of former CAR militia commander

There has been mixed reaction in the Central African Republic to news that the International Criminal Court convicted a former rebel commander on four counts of crimes against humanity, including torture and unlawful imprisonment.

The ICC on Wednesday found that Mahamat Said Abdel Kani oversaw beatings and torture as head of a feared prison unit as the CAR spiralled into civil war in 2013.

Wearing a blue sweatshirt and jeans, Said shook his head multiple times in the courtroom as presiding judge Miatta Maria Samba detailed the crimes.

While some in the capital, Bangui, said they were proud of the finding, representatives of victims are disappointed that three of the charges were dismissed because of insufficient evidence.

"We’re dissatisfied with the decision that was handed down earlier,” said Landry Makokpala, coordinator of Association of Victims of Crises in Central Africa.

“You know, at the time, who could have gone out to gather evidence, take photos and so on? It was difficult. We’re are dissatisfied with the court’s decision," he said.

Fernand Mande Njapou, from a civil society organisation in CAR, said that the important verdict was a source of pride for victims.

"But I know there are other big fish out there. We ask the ICC to get their hands on those big fish," he said.

Said ran the Central Office for the Repression of Banditry (OCRB) detention centre in the capital Bangui where horrific acts of torture and deprivation were inflicted on prisoners.

Samba said a frequently used torture method was "arbatachar", in which prisoners' hands, elbows, and feet were tied tightly together behind their backs. Others were beaten with ropes and whips, and doused in water.

The court acknowledged the suffering and trauma of the victims, who testified about the long-lasting impact of the crimes on them, their families, and their lives.

Said was a top commander of the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel group that ousted president Francois Bozize and plunged one of the world's poorest countries into a bloody sectarian conflict.

The Seleka overthrow of Bozize sparked a catastrophic civil war in the country of some five million people, with thousands of civilians losing their lives and war crimes alleged on both sides.

Bozize set up militias dominated by Christians and animists, known as "anti-Balakas", to regain power.

French troops under a United Nations mandate helped the government secure the main cities from 2014. The country has stabilised since a peace agreement was signed in Khartoum in 2019.

President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has been in office since March 2016, winning a third term in an election held in December last year, campaigning on his security record in the chronically unstable nation.

The ICC has been investigating the violence in the Central African Republic since 2014. While it has convicted two leaders of the "anti-Balaka" militia, Said is the first Seleka member to be found guilty.

It will deliver his sentence at a later date.