THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — A former militia leader from the Central African Republic told the International Criminal Court on Tuesday he had nothing to do with attacks against Muslims during his country's ongoing civil war.
Maxime Jeoffroy Eli Mokom Gawaka faces 20 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity atrocities committed against civilians, including murder, rape, pillaging and torture, that are said to have occurred between December 2013 and April 2014.
"I absolutely deny having a part in any plan that involved the crimes that have been charged," the 44-year-old told the court, claiming he was stuck in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo until February 2014.
Sectarian violence in the Central African Republic broke out in late 2012 after Muslim militia groups known as the Seleka ousted President François Bozizé and took control of the capital. Mokom is accused of playing a pivotal role in the anti-Balaka, which formed in response.
Before the case at The Hague can move forward, however, the International Criminal Court is holding a series of hearings over the next three days to determine if there is sufficient evidence to move forward. Just the first step in the trial process, these hearings are known as confirmation of charges.
The court has also organized a viewing session of Mokom's hearing for 300 attendees in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic.
A court officer began the hearing with a nearly 13-minute reading of an abridged version of the 20 charges against Mokom.
Wearing a white boubou with gold trim, Mokom intently watched his legal team and prosecutors spar over the quality of the evidence against him.
“The case file is replete with exculpatory materials,” Mokom’s lawyer, Philippe Larochelle, told the three-judge panel. Larochelle claimed that his team had 275 pages of material proving his client’s innocence.
Larochelle also complained about trial delays. Mokom was arrested in Chad in 2022 and sent to The Hague. The confirmation of charges proceedings were originally scheduled for January but had to be postponed until August because Mokom was unable to secure a lawyer.
Deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang dismissed complaints about the evidence, noting that Mokom chose not to turn himself in after he was charged with two co-defendants whose trial is ongoing. “There is no reason to complain," the prosecutor said.
The trial of two other former anti-Balaka leaders, Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona and Alfred Yekatom, began in 2021 and is set to continue until at least the fall. Both men also deny they played a role in the violence.
Last year, the trial of the first Seleka leader began when Mahamat Said Abdel Kani pleaded not guilty to seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
More than 5,000 people have died in the conflict in the Central African Republic, and more than 1.1 million people in a country of only 5 million have become displaced. The ICC first opened an investigation into the conflict in 2014. Judges have 60 days to decide if the charges against Mokom will move forward.
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