Start of War Crime Trials to Mark “an end to impunity”: Cardinal in CAR

The member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans) further said, “One of our biggest problems in the Central African Republic is impunity, but no one is above the law.”

“We also need the weak victim to know that the person who has offended them can be arrested and held to account by justice of course,” Cardinal Nzapalainga said.

The Local Ordinary of the Archdiocese of Bangui noted that “reparation will not restore the person or the property, but at least it will send a strong signal that in society there are limits that must not be crossed, and above all, that crimes must not be committed, so that we can put an end to these deplorable and unjustified situations that our country has experienced.”

According to Reuters, the trial at SCC “is related to the massacre of 46 civilians in the northern villages of Koundjili and Lemouna in May 2019. The killings, prosecutors say were carried out by the 3R rebel group. Three members of the group have been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

“We are in a country where we can say there was a non-state and not long ago, ninety percent of the territory was occupied by rebels,” Cardinal Nzapalainga told Vatican News.

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He continued, “I think it's also important to forgive because whatever we say, we will have to live with each other, even the one you considered as the executioner.” 

“So, forgiveness, yes, people need it, but at this stage we need peace to rebuild our nation,” Cardinal Nzapalainga said.

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.