Habre life term big warning to dictators
Former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre (center) is escorted by prison guards into the courtroom for the first proceedings of his trial by the Extraordinary African Chambers in Dakar on July 20, 2015. The number of the victims of Habre’s Documentation and Security Directorate may never be known. It’s enough though that 40,000 dead is often cited. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- A week today, the African Union-backed court, the Extraordinary African Chambers, in Dakar, Senegal, sentenced Habre to life imprisonment.
- For now, the judgment is significant. It was the first time a former head of state has been tried and convicted in another African country.
Jubilation over former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre’s conviction for the deaths of thousands of people at his behest during an eight-year rule shouldn’t be over-praised. Its effect on justice in Africa is a long way coming.
A week today, the African Union-backed court, the Extraordinary African Chambers, in Dakar, Senegal, sentenced Habre to life imprisonment. The charges ranged from genocide, torture, rape, sexual slavery, illegal detentions, to mass killing in1982 to 1990.
The number of the victims of Habre’s Documentation and Security Directorate may never be known. It’s enough though that 40,000 dead is often cited.
However, even if it were a handful — and handwriting experts have ascertained Habre’s signature in at least 800 cases — that justifies conviction.
The trial began on July 20, 2015 and ended in February. It heard testimony from 93 witnesses. It also heard from human rights organisations that had gathered information on the killings and experts, including handwriting ones.
Additionally, the judges carried out their own inquiries and used Belgian investigators’ documents in a different, but related case.
Although Habre refused to recognise the court and he and his lawyers refused to cooperate, court appointed lawyers attempted a spirited defence.
By all accounts, Habre got a fair trial. He was given 15 days to appeal. Defiant to the end, he probably wouldn’t.
That, however, shouldn’t stop his court appointed lawyers from doing so. In that case, the 54-member African Union, which authorised the court in 2013, will have to name an Extraordinary Appeal Chambers.
Both way, what Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and 117 groups from 25 African countries, described as an “interminable political and legal soap opera” under former Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade will end.
For now, the judgment is significant. It was the first time a former head of state has been tried and convicted in another African country.
HUGE PROGRESS
As one Yamasoum Konor, a representative of one of victims’ groups, told the BBC: “This is a historic day for Chad and Africa.” Additionally, the principle of universal jurisdiction was applied in Africa for the first time.
It’s no wonder a euphoric Konor added: “This will be a lesson to other dictators in Africa.” And, another euphoric Chadian, Clement Abifouta, chairman of Habre’s survivors association, chimed: “We are proud that this trial took place on African soil.”
Well, hold your horses. African nations, beginning with Chad, and even the AU, initially contributed little in the campaign to have Habre tried.
It’s even plausible AU’s late entry into the campaign was a belated attempt to enhance claims that continental leaders can manage their own judicial systems.
The tenacity of the survivors and their supporters, especially human rights organisation groups, in the pursuit of justice for Habre’s victims was the main force.
The real breakthrough came in 2012 when, co-incidentally, Macky Sall became president of Senegal and the International Court of Justice ordered Senegal to prosecute Habré or extradite him.
Although the AU, again belatedly, is urging the member states to incorporate the principle of universal jurisdiction in national laws, there are hardly any takers. Until that happens—and mirages seem the only indicators—the Habre ruling will remain a case to study.
