The International Criminal Court (ICC) has convicted Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona, former president of the Central African Republic’s football federation, of 28 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Ngaïssona and co-defendant Alfred Yekatom, a former militia commander nicknamed “Rambo,” were found guilty of orchestrating brutal attacks against the CAR’s Muslim population between 2013 and 2014.
Yekatom was convicted on 20 charges and sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Ngaïssona received a 12-year sentence.
Their trial, which spanned nearly four years, involved over 170 witnesses and 20,000 pieces of evidence.
Both men were leaders of the anti-Balaka militia, a Christian group that emerged in response to the 2013 takeover by Muslim Séléka rebels, which ousted President François Bozizé.
Prosecutors said Ngaïssona financed and coordinated the militia’s campaign, while Yekatom directed deadly assaults, including a massacre in Bangui on December 5, 2013 that left 1,000 dead and forced half the capital’s population to flee.
Victims were reportedly tortured, buried alive, and attacked solely for being Muslim. Both men denied the charges.
The verdict comes amid fragile peace efforts in CAR, where two major rebel groups announced their dissolution earlier this month.
