Just over a month ago, several leaders of the Central African rebel coalition, known as CPC, hosted in Chad, publicly voiced their grievances regarding the cessation of Angolan fund disbursements. These funds were provided as part of Angola’s mediation efforts based on the Luanda Roadmap for Peace in the Central African Republic (CAR).
Despite multiple inquiries to Chadian authorities yielding no response, they resorted to media disclosure. However, these revelations displeased higher authorities. So, what is the current status?
Last month, seven CPC coalition leaders were summoned to the National Security Agency (ANS), where they were prohibited from discussing the discord in the media again, with promises to swiftly settle their outstanding payments.
However, the situation remains unchanged, they claim. Worse, on April 11th, the ANS liaison officer handling their case summoned two of them: General Mahamat al-Khatim, leader of the MPC rebellion, and former minister Abakar Sabone, both of whom had become spokespersons for the group over time.
A vehicle dispatched by their ANS liaison arrived at al-Khatim’s residence around 3 p.m., purportedly to collect a portion of the owed arrears, allowing them to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, one of them asserts. They await the remainder of their dues, amounting to approximately $3.3 million, they claim.
“Our ANS liaison stopped answering our calls, and we realized something was amiss,” explains one source. Since then, they have had no word from their comrades, and all attempts to contact Chadian authorities have been fruitless, with one accusing the intelligence services of “holding” the two men against their will.
They express growing concern and fear for their lives, as they remain uncertain about what to expect.
Neither the Chadian government nor the ANS would comment on the matter, deeming it “very sensitive,” according to a senior Chadian official. “Because they stirred up trouble by publicly demanding money, we wanted to silence them,” another Chadian source opines.
It’s worth noting that among the eight CPC leaders covered by the Luanda Roadmap, former Central African President François Bozizé, the coalition’s president, was eventually sent to Guinea-Bissau in March 2023, where he currently resides in his second exile.