Chadian Opposition Leader Succès Masra Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison
A court in N’Djamena, Chad, has sentenced Succès Masra, the country’s former prime minister and leader of the opposition party Les Transformateurs, to 20 years in prison on 9 August 2025. The High Court convicted Masra on charges of spreading hateful and xenophobic messages and complicity in murder, linked to a violent inter-communal clash in Mandakao, southwestern Chad, on 14 May 2025, which claimed 42 lives, mostly women and children.
Masra, a prominent critic of President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, was also fined 1 billion CFA francs (approximately £1.4 million). The court’s ruling followed a trial alongside 74 co-defendants, 64 of whom also received 20-year sentences for their alleged roles in the Mandakao massacre. The violence reportedly stemmed from a dispute between Fulani nomadic herders and Ngambaye farmers over land demarcation, a recurring issue in Chad that has fuelled significant unrest.
The former prime minister, who served from January to May 2024, denied the charges, with his legal team arguing that the prosecution failed to present concrete evidence. Lead defence lawyer Francis Kadjilembaye described the verdict as a “humiliation” based on an “empty dossier” and accused the judiciary of being weaponised to settle political scores. Masra’s lawyers have vowed to appeal the decision. Before leaving the courtroom, Masra urged his supporters to “stand firm,” a message echoed by his party, which condemned the trial as politically motivated.
Masra, a trained economist and leader of the Ngambaye ethnic group, has been a vocal advocate for Chad’s marginalised southern communities. His arrest on 16 May 2025, two days after the Mandakao clashes, followed his opposition to Déby’s presidency, which was formalised through a contested election in May 2024. Masra, who ran against Déby and secured 18.5% of the vote, claimed the results were manipulated. His brief tenure as prime minister came after a reconciliation deal with Déby, following years of exile prompted by a 2022 crackdown on his supporters.
Rights groups and Masra’s supporters have decried the sentence as an attempt to silence dissent ahead of future elections. The Transformers Party has called for calm, while senior party official Bedoumra Kordjé suggested the conviction aims to bar Masra from the 2029 presidential race. The case has sparked broader concerns about judicial independence and democratic freedoms in Chad, with some observers linking it to ongoing tensions between the country’s Muslim-dominated leadership and its Christian and animist south.