Death of Yaya Dillo in Chad: return to the journey of a cousin who was too embarrassing
Yaya Dillo, killed Wednesday February 28 in Ndjamena, had been in the crosshairs of power for years, according to many specialists in the country.
He was extremely disturbing as Mahamat Idriss Déby sought to consolidate contested power within his clan.
[Archive image] Former Chadian presidential candidate Yaya Dillo giving a press conference on April 30, 2021 in Ndjamena.
AFP - ISSOUF SANOGO
By: Esdras Ndikumana Follow
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The first rumors about the death of Yaya Dillo began to circulate during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, just a few minutes after the violent attack by the police who had used major means - armored vehicles, dozens of jeeps filled with soldiers and heavily armed police, and even battle tanks - at the headquarters of his party, the Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF).
Read alsoChad: opponent Yaya Dillo is dead, announced the prosecutor
Immediately, the rare relatives who have access to the internet thanks to the Starlink network or VPNs denounced what they described as an “
assassination ” on
Chadian
social networks
.
On the power side, it’s radio silence.
No official can or wants to speak officially.
“
Point blank
”
Until Friday morning.
Mahamat Zen Bada, the president of the Popular Movement for Salvation (MPS) party which named
Mahamat Idriss Déby
as candidate for the presidential election next May, is the first to draw his weapon.
“
He spoke even before the government or justice
,” a senior member of his party perfidiously points out, speaking of a “
communication error
.”
It is the prosecutor at the Ndjamena high court, Oumar Kebellaye, who will ultimately be responsible for formalizing the death of the fierce opponent.
Yaya Dillo died “
as a result of his injuries
” indicates the prosecutor, who also speaks of “
dozens of dead and injured
”, while the government spokesperson, Abderamn Koulamallah, assures us a little later on television nationally that there were “
four soldiers killed, and three members of the PSF
” including Yaya Dillo.
The latter “did
not want to surrender
”, accuses the government, and it was his men who opened fire first.
But the appearance on social networks of a photo of Yaya Dillo dead, where we can clearly see the entry hole of the bullet lined with traces of burns on the skin, has relaunched the controversy, with his supporters denouncing “
a execution with a bullet fired at point blank range
”, despite the denials of the transitional power.
“
Mahamat struggles to assert himself
”
Rebel leader in the 2005s, rallied to Idriss Déby senior before becoming one of his fiercest opponents in the early 2020s, then that of his son Mahamat Idriss Déby who succeeded him upon his death three years ago, Yaya Dillo had become two months before the presidential election “
a real thorn in the side of the transitional president of Chad
”, according to several specialists in the country.
The last radical opponent of the transitional power, often accustomed to fiery diatribes and actions described as provocative, he was an influential member of the Zaghawa clan in power since the coup d'état which brought Idriss Déby Itno to power, 34 years ago. years.
Nephew of the late President Idriss Déby through his mother and nephew of the Erdimi brothers through his father, “
Yaya Dillo had a real social base within the Zaghawas clan in power since the 1990 coup
,” explains researcher Roland Marchal.
Unlike his father who was the undisputed leader of the Zaghawas clan, “
Mahamat who has Gorane blood through his mother is contested by part of the clan and struggles to assert himself
,” estimates a Chadian researcher.
He seeks to consolidate his power by surrounding himself with military commanders who are loyal to him, by setting up his own praetorian guard, the rapid intervention force which could ultimately replace the DGSSIE
.
And barely two weeks ago, the transitional president's own uncle, Saleh Déby Itno,
slammed the door of the MPS party
founded by his big brother, and officially joined Yaya Dillo's party.
Enough to further divide the ruling clan.
“
It was the straw that broke the camel’s back
,” said another Chadian researcher.
Apparent calm
Until the “misstep” on Wednesday, when one of his deputies was arrested.
Yaya Dillo and “over-armed” relatives then
attacked
the headquarters of the all-powerful National Security Agency, in Ndjamena, according to the government.
“
This is the perfect opportunity for the hardliners of the regime who took advantage of it to get rid of the fierce opponent once and for all
,” believes the same researcher, who speaks of “
a warning
” issued to all other opponents.
But all are unanimous: despite the apparent calm, "
the crisis caused by the death of Yaya Dillo is far from over
", explains one of them because the power of Mahamat Idriss Déby emerges "
weakened
" by the deep divisions that it will cause within the clan.
“
And don't forget that for these men who came from the desert, revenge is a question of honor
,” adds another, who puts a caveat, however: “
They had an interest in finding an arrangement by paying a diya as they know how to do. do, because everyone is aware that they could lose everything, especially power, if they launch into a clan war.
»
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