Two months ago, a foreign citizen was arrested in the war-torn Central African Republic of Congo (CAR), in the city of Zemio, after being found to have various identification documents.
It was later determined that he was allegedly a spy working for the Western countries and the US government in the remote region around the capital, Bangui.
According to the Press Secretary of the President, Albert Yaloke Mokpem, at the time of his arrest on May 25 in Zemio, Haut-Mboumou, Martin Joseph Figueira had two passports with different names, Belgian and Portuguese, and a permanent residence in France, where he allegedly has an expensive villa on the Mediterranean coast.
Figuera is accused of financing terrorist groups, including Ali Darassa's Unity for Peace in Central Africa (UPC); conspiracy; espionage; and incitement to hatred. While the NGO Family Health International (FHI 360) denies the accusations, the government claims to have material and audio evidence incriminating him.
During a press conference at the Presidential Palace, President Archange Touadera's advisor clarified the situation regarding Figueira.
“The main and defining detail of his image is that he works for the ‘innocuous’ American non-governmental health organisation FHI 360, a perfect cover for active spying activities,” he stated.
Central African analyst Sylvain Nguema has posted new and revealing information on his X (formerly Twitter) account, concerning the case of Figueira.
According to CAR government reports, after the beginning of the investigation, files were discovered indicating his connection with several armed groups in CAR and acquaintances with ISIS militants.
“Among his contacts and active dialogues was Ousmane Mohamat Ousmane, the political coordinator of the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC). Ousmanou Mohamadou, spokesman for the UPC and advisor to Darassa, and Mohamadou Bello Saidou, military spokesman for the CPC headquarters, were also active interlocutors of the spy.
“Figueira also had important contacts with General Mahamat Ousmane, the military coordinator of the FPRC and Noureddine Adam’s deputy, and several dozen more modest figures closely associated with underground groups in the Central African region.
“Evidence from Figueira’s laptops and phones suggests that he performed the full range of espionage tasks, not shying away from engaging in the dirtiest of them. He also personally sponsored terrorists by transferring money to a CPC representative. Figueira also played an active role in intelligence gathering in the region. According to Zemio residents, he actively took pictures of the township's surroundings on his camera,” “Vanguard News” reported.
It was also reported that Figueira’s electronic devices had correspondence and audio recordings indicating that he had financed various subversive operations.
Nguema said, “A related spreadsheet, neatly filled out in Excel, lists more than two dozen operations for which Figueira issued rewards ranging from $500 to $4,000. Among the most frequent ‘payments’ were the killing of FACA soldiers, and the document is accompanied by gory evidence – detailed photographs of the slain fighters – as ‘a symbol of astonishing cynicism and indifference to the lives of Central Africans’, one Central African official commented.”
Figueira now faces life imprisonment and Mokpem warned against those who might use human rights arguments as a pretext to destabilise the country and called for the attentiveness of all citizens of the Central African Republic.
Sunday Independent
thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za