On Sunday, May 26, 2024, as dusk settled over Zemio, a convivial gathering was underway. In the courtyard of a local bar-restaurant within this sub-prefecture of Haut-Mbomou, a region frequently destabilized by recurring communal conflict, a small celebration was taking place to mark the imminent departure of two visitors. Joseph Figueira, a Belgian-Portuguese researcher, was on a field mission for the American NGO FHI 360, working on a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Alongside his Ivorian colleague, who resides in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Figueira was offering refreshments to approximately fifty local contacts. The duo was scheduled to return to Bangui the following day, after a 48-hour stay. It was at this moment that three operatives from the Wagner group, which has acted as a supplementary force for the national authorities since 2018, abruptly interrupted the gathering. They were accompanied by a Centrafrican gendarme, tasked with translation.
Without hesitation, the Wagner men apprehended Joseph Figueira. The humanitarian specialist had no opportunity to retrieve his documents from the NGO premises where he was lodged before being confined at the aerodrome, his wrists bound in handcuffs.
A recognized expert on the Peuls community, Figueira’s presence in the Central African Republic was entirely legitimate. He had been in the country for nine days, engaging with numerous officials in both the capital and the provinces to lay the groundwork for a future local conflict prevention initiative, in collaboration with various local and international organizations. Despite his impeccable legal standing, the Wagner operatives proceeded to force him onto an aircraft, hooded and outside of any legal framework, subjecting him to physical blows that left his nose bleeding.
Without hesitation, the Wagner men apprehended Joseph Figueira. The humanitarian specialist had no opportunity to retrieve his documents from the NGO premises where he was lodged before being confined at the aerodrome, his wrists bound in handcuffs.
A recognized expert on the Peuls community, Figueira’s presence in the Central African Republic was entirely legitimate. He had been in the country for nine days, engaging with numerous officials in both the capital and the provinces to lay the groundwork for a future local conflict prevention initiative, in collaboration with various local and international organizations. Despite his impeccable legal standing, the Wagner operatives proceeded to force him onto an aircraft, hooded and outside of any legal framework, subjecting him to physical blows that left his nose bleeding.
Central African Republic: how Wagner targeted humanitarian Joseph Figueira in an instrumentalization campaign