Pierre Ausseill, Bangui | Tuesday
THE Central African Republic’s former military ruler Andre Kolingba, accused of trying to overthrow the government last month with the help of French mercenaries, is still at large with a price hanging over his head.
Kolingba, who ruled from 1981 until 1993 elections won by Ange-Felix Patasse, was said to have fled Bangui by boat before disappearing into the wilderness after mounting his last stand on May 28.
Speculation about his whereabouts have fuelled a variety of theories in Bangui, a city grinding back to normal after 10 days of bloody battle that left nearly 60 people dead and displaced 80,000 others.
Some say Kolingba has sought refuge at his farm in Kembe, 500 kilometres east of the capital, while others say he headed to Congo-Brazzaville, or even to Gbadolite in neighbouring DRC, home to rebels who helped President Patasse quash the coup.
But many observers here doubt that Kolingba, who was refused asylum by the French embassy, headed to any of these spots.
His headquarters in Kembe is surrounded by the army. In November 1999, an armed commando unleashed a punitive operation in the area, killing six former mutineers who became bandits.
Gbadolite, while just on the other side of the Oubangui river where Kolingba is said to have escaped by boat, is also an unlikely choice for a coup plotter. The mutiny was ground to a halt by DRC rebels that came from the Gbadolite area.
Still others believe that Kolingba, an ethnic Yakoma, has found safety among the neighbouring Ngbandi tribe in the DRC, formerly Zaire, to which that country’s dictator Mobutu Sese Seko belonged.
But many people, among them army officers and others who are close to Kolingba, say the aging ex-military ruler, suffering from ill health, did not go too far.
In any case, a furious Patasse has offered 250,000 French francs ($33,000) for Kolingba, dead or alive.
His capture would put a quick end to rumours of a counter attack, and could persuade putschists — many of whom say they are still receiving orders from Kolingba — to lay down their weapons.
Meanwhile, Kolingba’s motives for trying to topple Patasse are still shrouded in mystery.
The former general — who was demoted to the rank of private after the coup — was in semi-retirement, had significant property holdings, and only claimed responsibility for the coup two days after the mutiny, when it was clear the operation had failed.
But Kolingba was accused having been behind mutinies in 1996 and 1997, and had never really mended fences with Patasse.
UN-sponsored reconciliation between Kolingba’s supporters and the government was a delusion, one the president’s close aides said.
“The abscess was always there,” he said.
Another observer, a foreign national, said Kolingba never accepted the results of 1999 polls, which saw Patasse re-elected. – AFP
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