First African Dictator Convicted For Crimes Against Humanity Dies In Exile

• Human rights activists said Chad was a ruthless, one-party state under the rule of the Dictator from 1982 to 1990. A fearsome security service headed by members of Habre’s Gorane ethnic group was placed in every village, documenting even the slightest transgressions against the dictator, they said.

Former Chad dictator, Hissene Habre, the first former head of state to be convicted for crimes against humanity by an African court after his government, has died in Senegal.

Habre, who died at the age of 79, was accused of killing tens of thousands of people.

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Habre, whose case for years showcased Africa’s reluctance to put its despots on trial as he lived in luxurious exile, had recently contracted COVID-19 according to local media reports. His death Tuesday at a Dakar hospital was confirmed by Jean Bertrand Bocande, director of the penitentiary administration.

The former dictator, first arrested in 2013, had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 2016 but ultimately served about five years in prison following his conviction.

Human rights activists say Chad was a ruthless, one-party state under Habre’s rule from 1982 to 1990. A fearsome security service headed by members of Habre’s Gorane ethnic group was placed in every village, documenting even the slightest transgressions against the dictator, they said.

The list of offenses meriting arrest included speaking ill of Habre, listening to “enemy” radio stations or “performing magical rites to aid the enemy,” according to a truth commission appointed shortly after Habre fell from power.

The commission concluded that Habre’s government oversaw 40,000 killings.