Senegal: Hissene Habre - a U.S.$11.4 Million Trial and Quest for Vengeance (I)

16 August 2012
opinion

With the emergence of a new government in Senegal since April, it is very likely that before the end of this year, the trial of Hissene Habre will begin. Many Nigerians and Africans in their 20s and early 30s are likely to ask: "Who is Hissene Habre and what did the man do for which he is to stand trial?" And they will be right to ask such a question because not many know or can remember Habre, former leader of the Republic of Chad, much less the crimes which he is alleged to have committed while in office.

For those who are too young to have known Habre or those who have grown too old to remember what exactly he did while in office, it is perhaps necessary to provide a little background to enable them to understand this impending trial. Mr Hissene Habre was president of Chad from 1982 to 1990 when he was deposed by his then chief of staff and current president, Idris Deby, with the help of France. The story of this trial is one long tale of barbarity and the dogged, but to me unreasonable, quest for vengeance on the part of some especially European do-gooders. While in office and as it was the fashion among African leaders of the time, Habre is alleged to have used strong arm tactics to deal with opposition to his rule.

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