CAR's Touadéra sworn in, declares zero impunity for crimes by armed groups

Archange Faustin Touadéra was sworn in as president of Central African Republic on March 30, 2021

Re-elected President of the Central African Republic (CAR) Faustin-Archange Touadera was sworn in in the capital Bangui Tuesday, March 30, for his second term of five years.

In his inauguration speech, the former maths lecturer and vice-chancellor at the University of Bangui, Touadéra, 63, declared zero impunity for crimes committed by armed groups, so the Central African people can live in peace and security.  “We risk falling into the traps of the past — and the peace, dignity and prosperity we seek will not be found,” he said.

Touadera said that the construction of a more inclusive society and a more open economy is also an important goal of his new term. Last December, Touadera was re-elected in the first round of presidential election with 53.16 percent of the vote.  The country still faces a threat from an armed rebellion led by the country’s former leader Francois Bozize.

Bozizé - a former general - seized power in a 2003 coup before being toppled by mainly muslim Seleka rebels a decade later. Amidst continued political turmoil, Bozizé fled into exile as a rebel coalition (the Seleka rebels) overrun the sparsely populated country of 4.7 million people and took the capital.

He fled the country, allegedly supporting a mostly Christian militia known as the anti-Balaka from afar, which resulted in UN sanctions against him. Despite an international warrant for his arrest, the 74-year-old slipped back into CAR in late 2019 after years in exile and announced his presidential candidacy last July.

The country's top court barred him in December from running, saying he did not satisfy the "good morality" requirement for candidates. The latest clashes erupted after the constitutional court rejected his candidacy to run for president in December.

Despite his denials, Bozize is heading the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC), comprising several armed groups, which was formed last December to disrupt the presidential poll.

Apart from the presence of more than 12,000 peacekeepers from the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the CAR (MINUSCA), Bangui last year solicited the help of Russia and Rwanda – through separate bilateral agreements - to help bolster it’s security forces.

In recent weeks, the Central African army and its Russian and Rwandan allies succeeded in retaking several towns occupied by armed groups.