By Vincent Kende Niebede
In a first for Chad, public prosecutor Ahmat Mahamat Hamba of the Oum-Hadjer High Court was stabbed to death in plain daylight in front of his office on June 23, 2021. Oum-Hadjer is the capital of the Batha-Est region, and is located about 520 kilometers from the Chadian capital of N’djamena. The incident happened around 10:00 a.m., when a dispute broke out between a litigant and law enforcement officers. The prosecutor had been in the midst of processing various files on his desk, and went outside to see what was happening when he suddenly was approached by a man who drew a knife and stabbed him in the heart.
In a first for Chad, public prosecutor Ahmat Mahamat Hamba of the Oum-Hadjer High Court was stabbed to death in plain daylight in front of his office on June 23, 2021. Oum-Hadjer is the capital of the Batha-Est region, and is located about 520 kilometers from the Chadian capital of N’djamena. The incident happened around 10:00 a.m., when a dispute broke out between a litigant and law enforcement officers. The prosecutor had been in the midst of processing various files on his desk, and went outside to see what was happening when he suddenly was approached by a man who drew a knife and stabbed him in the heart.
The prosecutor collapsed and lay bleeding as security guards tried to gain control of the situation. But the alleged attacker continued his offensive, injuring a police officer. Another police officer shot the assailant before he could reach the crowd of onlookers. The prosecutor was rushed to the hospital, but he died en route.
Why was prosecutor killed?
The events of June 23 were set in motion when the brother of the alleged murderer was arrested a few months earlier, in a case that landed him in prison where he is alleged to have subsequently died. His relatives, who were not told he had died, filed a complaint, but after several weeks had not received any information in response to their claim. In this context, the brother of the deceased prisoner allegedly attacked and killed the public prosecutor. According to Rahama Ibrahim, an activist in Oum-Hadjer, three other prisoners had died in jail in recent months in similarly unexplained circumstances.
Central government reacts to incident
The magistrates of Chad responded to their colleague’s murder by calling for an emergency meeting where they decided to observe an immediate, three-day strike. This was followed by a strike organized at a general assembly held on June 28. The magistrates wanted more security, and to each be supplied with a handgun. In addition, they demanded reinforcement by more security officers in all of Chad’s courts, and for legal proceedings to be opened against police officers allegedly linked to other similar situations, where the safety of magistrates has been compromised. They also requested dismissal of the minister of land affairs for what they say is breach of trust, abuse of authority, and contempt of the magistrates. Chad’s Minister of Justice Mahamat Ahmat Alhabo said, “An investigation is open to determine who is responsible. Necessary measures will be taken.” The strike ended on July 5 without the magistrates having achieved their goals.
