Susan’s Column...

Cast your minds back to 2017: Touadéra’s regime was under threat from rebel bands. To protect himself, he traveled to Sochi, Russia, to negotiate for protection by Russian mercenaries—a deal that went through. The mercenaries arrived three years later and proceeded to plunder the country, shamelessly exploiting Central African mines and committing atrocities with total impunity (much to the UN’s dismay), all while making arrests without police warrants. Ah yes, true to form, Touadéra consulted no one—just as with everything else. The people simply swallow it all, passive and—one wonders—perhaps stupid? They swallow his every whim, even the most repressive ones. Admittedly, a hungry belly has no ears (half the population goes hungry, while the other half barely manages one meal a day). Add to this the fact that illiteracy stands at 98% in our neglected provinces—never mind the UNESCO experts measuring the country’s educational standards from air-conditioned terraces in Bangui, comfortably ensconced between reports and banquets. And since he—Touadéra personally, not the State—agreed to obey Trump by accepting immigrants expelled from the US in exchange for money, what purpose do human rights groups serve in this country? Are they there to host cocktail parties or to wear out the capital’s asphalt in brand-new 4x4s paid for by the people's misery? Given that he amended the Constitution in 2023 to prolong his rule, brought the country's institutions under his control, cultivates a cult of personality—much like the Chinese leadership—and has banned criticism of himself and his government under threat of legal action, one wonders if the country has veered into a "tropical dictatorship"; it is hardly surprising, then, that those who left do not return.

By Susan CARTER-JONES | LNC

Date: August 8, 2026

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