On the evening of Sunday, May 26, 2024, an atmosphere of camaraderie filled a bar-restaurant courtyard in Zemio, a sub-prefecture within the volatile Haut-Mbomou region of the Central African Republic, plagued by persistent community conflicts. Joseph Figueira, a Belgian-Portuguese researcher, was preparing to toast his departure alongside an Ivorian colleague based in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Figueira was on a field mission, conducting an assessment for the American NGO FHI 360 as part of a project call from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The two experts were sharing refreshments with approximately fifty local contacts. Their plan was to return to Bangui the following day after a 48-hour stay. However, the convivial gathering was abruptly disrupted by three men from the Wagner group, an auxiliary force supporting national authorities since 2018, accompanied by a Central African gendarme acting as an interpreter.
Without a moment’s hesitation, they seized Joseph Figueira. The humanitarian worker was afforded no opportunity to retrieve his documents from the NGO’s lodging facilities before he was taken to the aerodrome, where he was incarcerated, his wrists bound in handcuffs.
A renowned expert on the Fulani people, Figueira’s presence in the Central African Republic was entirely legitimate; he had been in the country for nine days, engaging with numerous officials in both the capital and the provinces to lay the groundwork for an upcoming local conflict prevention initiative, in partnership with various local and international organizations. Despite his impeccable standing, the Wagner operatives proceeded to force him onto an aircraft, hooded and entirely outside legal procedures, subjecting him to physical blows that left his nose bleeding.
