Three murders in three days, Mayotte had never been confronted with such a toll in such a short time. In January 2021, prosecutor Yann Le Bris had just been appointed in Mayotte a few days ago and found himself with a triple homicide on his hands, entrusting the investigation to the gendarmerie’s research section.
On Friday, January 22, 2021, a 36-year-old man was found dead in the La Vigie neighborhood of Labattoir. He was killed with a machete. Very quickly, the victim was identified as being from a village located in Anjouan, Koni Djodjo.
Punitive expedition from Koni Djodjo
The next day, the rumor swells that people from the same locality seek to avenge the death of the thirty-year-old. The leaders of the Gotham gang are targeted. Steven Z., at the height of his 13 and a half years, leaves the family home and finds himself face to face with the group of individuals who have come to avenge the death of the 36-year-old man. He is the second victim of this weekend of horror, in the wrong place at the wrong time. Photos of his body were broadcast during the trial at the assizes, forcing some to leave the hearing. At the trial, several of the seven accused have Koni Djodjo as their place of birth.
Members of the Gotham gang take themselves prisoner in the gendarmerie
The situation is extremely tense in Labattoir, particularly in the Cetam and La Vigie districts. Homes and vehicles are being set on fire. Faced with this violence, families are deciding to flee the area to go to the Pamandzi administrative detention centre.
The next day, Sunday, another teenager was killed in the same conditions as the second victim. Faced with this wave of murders, three members of the Gotham gang, including an individual known by the nickname Hook, choose to surrender to the police at the Hajangoua brigade.
The trial of the second organized gang murder delivered its verdict on Friday June 28. Two individuals presented as the leaders of the group were sentenced to life imprisonment. Another received a 30-year prison sentence. Two minors aged over 16 at the time of the facts were sentenced to 18 years in prison. Two others, minors over 16 years old in 2021, were acquitted. They have ten days to appeal.
More trials to come
At least one defense lawyer, Maître Ekeu, has announced that he will appeal. The attorney general could also do so after the acquittal of two defendants. Four other individuals, minors under 16 at the time of the events, must appear before the juvenile court. One of them was 12 years old on the day of Steven Z.’s death.
Trials are also expected for the two other murders, during these three days of horror, in September and November before the Assize Court. A defense lawyer admitting to us that “the link has been established between the three murders” during this weekend in January 2021.
