Former Chadian Prime Minister and opposition leader Succès Masra has been arrested over alleged involvement in violent clashes that erupted Wednesday in Mandakao, a village in Logone Occidental province, near the Cameroon border. The violence left at least 42 people dead, according to Public Prosecutor Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye. Masra, leader of the opposition Transformers party, is accused of inciting violence and spreading hate speech on social media related to the unrest, which reportedly stemmed from a land dispute between Ngambaye farmers and Fulani herders—a growing source of ethnic tension in the region.
Kedelaye stated that calls were circulated online urging citizens to take up arms against each other. Over 80 individuals have been detained in connection with the clashes, which reflect a broader pattern of conflict between farmers and nomadic herders across Chad. Masra’s party has condemned his arrest, describing it as a “kidnapping by military officers” carried out without legal procedure in the early hours of Thursday. The party argues the move is politically motivated and a crackdown on dissent.
Masra briefly served as interim prime minister from January to May 2024, during Chad’s transitional government. He later contested the May 2024 presidential election, claiming victory and alleging that official results declaring President Mahamat Idriss Déby the winner with 61% of the vote were fraudulent. Masra’s Transformers party also boycotted the December 2023 legislative elections, citing concerns over electoral transparency.
Chad has been ruled by the Déby family for over three decades. Mahamat Déby, a military general, was installed as head of state in 2021 after the battlefield death of his father, longtime ruler Idriss Déby Itno, during clashes with rebels. Masra’s arrest raises concerns about the shrinking political space in Chad and the government’s handling of ethnic conflict and political opposition during the fragile post-transition period.
