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Chad’s former Prime Minister and prominent opposition leader, Succes Masra, has been handed a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty of charges related to inciting violence and promoting hate speech. The ruling was issued on Saturday by a court in N’Djamena, the country’s capital.
Masra, who led the government from January to May last year, heads the Transformers political party and is a vocal critic of President Mahamat Idriss Déby. He, along with 67 co-defendants, most from the Ngambaye ethnic group, was accused of playing a role in deadly intercommunal clashes between farmers and herders in May in Logone Occidental, located in Chad’s southwest. The violence left at least 35 people dead and six injured.
The prosecution alleged that Masra spread racially charged and xenophobic rhetoric that fueled the conflict, amounting to incitement to commit a massacre. He has denied all allegations, rejecting the charges as politically motivated.
Following the court’s decision, Masra’s defense attorney, Kadjilembay Francis, condemned the ruling, describing it as “an act of ignominy and unworthy humiliation.” Francis confirmed that the legal team would immediately appeal the sentence.
Before being escorted from the courtroom, Masra addressed his supporters with a short but defiant message: “Stand firm.” His party has since announced plans to issue a “special message” in response to the judgment.
The case has drawn attention not only because of Masra’s political standing but also due to its ethnic and regional undertones. The Ngambaye community, to which Masra belongs, enjoys broad support among the predominantly Christian and animist populations in southern Chad, many of whom feel marginalized by the Muslim-led central government in N’Djamena.
Masra’s political journey has been marked by controversy and confrontation. In 2022, he fled Chad after a violent crackdown on his supporters. He returned in 2024 under an amnesty arrangement and contested the presidential election that same year, ultimately losing to President Déby, who secured over 61% of the vote. Masra rejected the election results, citing fraud, but later agreed to serve as Prime Minister after signing a reconciliation deal with Déby.
His relationship with the government remained tense, as he continued to criticize the military administration that assumed power in April 2021 following the death of President Idriss Déby Itno, Mahamat Déby’s father, who had ruled Chad for three decades.
President Mahamat Déby later consolidated his position through parliamentary elections earlier this year, polls that Masra and his party openly opposed.
The sentencing adds another layer of political tension in Chad, where ethnic divisions, contested elections, and disputes over governance continue to shape the nation’s fragile political landscape.