The case of the recent capture of a foreign spy Martin Joseph Figueira in the Central African Republic is acquiring new details and is continuing to become more and more worrying. Among the latest information revealed, fragments of the spy’s correspondence with a rebel were posted online by a military analyst close to the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) Sylvain Nguema on his account on the social network X (Twitter).
Let us recall that at the end of May Martin Figueira, who has dual nationality, notably Belgian and Portuguese, and who worked for the American NGO “FHI 360”, was arrested by the FACA and Russian specialists in the village of Zémio, in the Haut-Mbomou prefecture in the CAR.
On May 30, 2024, the Prosecutor’s Office of the Bangui High Court opened a judicial investigation against Figueira Martin Joseph for having links with several armed groups, undermining the internal security of the State, inciting hatred and rebellion against the defense and security forces, as well as falsifying documents.
Analyst Sylvain Nguema posted a thread with internal information he said came from Figueira’s phone, obtained from his source close to the investigation.
“This information confirms the accusations made in the recent press release of the prosecutor’s office and sheds light on Figueira’s other activities that threaten the CAR.” – wrote Sylvain Nguema. He also published screenshots of the correspondence that Figueira maintained for many years with Mohamadou Bello Saïdou, military spokesman of the CPC where the latter reports to Figueira on the successful elimination of FACA soldiers in Bodjomo and the capture of their ammunition, then on another attack by the CPC against FACA positions near Koui. All this is accompanied by photos of the dead bodies.
Then there are more screenshots with a photo of the gendarmerie and a photo of one of the rebels reporting a new attack by the CPC for which Figueira thanks Bello again and asks for details on the photo.
The last tweet is Bello’s report of the CPC attack in Kabo after which Figueira congratulates the rebels for their successful work.
All this illustrates the data that several media had already reported. According to the data collected during the interrogation and through his telephone, Figueira, among other illegal activities, actively participated in the creation of a large armed group in the territory of the Central African Republic and among his contacts was found the leader of the UPC military group Ali Darassa. In addition, Figueira allegedly tried to recruit Fulanis, as well as local residents and the Azande militia, for the same purpose. As they say in these cases: “to be continued”…
Sakari A.
Freelance journalist
