A court in Chad has sentenced former Prime Minister and opposition leader Succes Masra to 20 years in prison on charges of disseminating racist and xenophobic messages that prosecutors said incited violence.
Masra, who served as prime minister from January to May last year, leads the Transformers party and has been a vocal critic of President Mahamat Deby. He was tried alongside 67 co-defendants, most from the Ngambaye ethnic group, in connection with a violent clash between herders and farmers in Logone Occidental in May. The incident left 35 people dead and six injured.
Masra has denied all charges, which include hate speech, xenophobia, and incitement to violence. Defence lawyer Kadjilembay Francis said his client would appeal, describing the ruling as unjust.
Before leaving the courtroom on Saturday, Masra addressed his supporters with a brief message: “Stand firm.” Members of his party said they would issue a statement later in the day.
The Ngambaye ethnic group holds significant influence in southern Chad, where many residents identify as Christian or animist and have expressed feelings of marginalisation under the predominantly Muslim-led government in N’Djamena.
Masra left Chad in 2022 following a deadly crackdown on his supporters, returning in 2024 under an amnesty agreement. That same year, he ran against Deby in the presidential election, which Deby won with over 61 percent of the vote. Masra disputed the results but later accepted the role of prime minister as part of a reconciliation deal.
President Mahamat Deby assumed power in 2021 after the death of his father, Idriss Deby Itno, who had ruled the country for three decades. He consolidated his position with a parliamentary election earlier this year, which Masra and his party opposed.
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