Why did ‘ gentlemen ’ prop up dictator?

MUSICIAN Boddhi Satva was impressed by the professionalism and courtesy of South African troops stationed in the Central African Republic — but puzzled about why they were propping up François Bozizé’s murderous and corrupt regime.

The CAR native, who has toured Asia, Europe and the US performing “ancestral soul” music, said the arrival of hundreds of South African troops early this year brought “instant calm” to Bangui.

“They were walking heavily armed in the streets and they were friendly to the local population. There’s nothing bad we can say about these guys — they were real gentlemen. They were there to preserve the peace, which they definitely did.”

He described the firefight in which 13 South Africans died as “sad but amazing — that only 300 guys could contain the rebel force of thousands is incredible”.

He said, however, that the South Africans “were where they did not belong. They were so loyal to Bozizé, who was hugely unpopular in the country.

“[ Bozizé] couldn’t go anywhere without a large armed escort. I don’t understand why they were protecting him,” Satva said.

“Bozizé’s thugs” had assassinated people who belonged to the wrong ethnic group, the musician said.

“They have done far more horrible things than under any other president here.

“There are documented cases of rapes going unpunished and of atrocities caused by his sons.

“In one case I know of personally one of the sons saw a guy talking to his former girlfriend and his bodyguard called some soldiers. They took the guy outside the city and beat him up and tortured him until he was almost dead and left him there to die.”

Satva said the man had somehow survived and fled to France. “These stories are commonplace.”

Hundreds of people had disappeared between December 2012 and February, he said.

“They would just go into people’s houses and take them by force just because you belonged to the wrong ethnic group, like the Gula or the Rounga, and they thought you were a rebel.

“People were taken to jail for interrogation and torture.

“If they didn’t have the right connections, they were never seen again. I’m sure they will find many corpses if this is finally investigated properly.”

In another case, “a taxi driver was stopped at a checkpoint and they took him out and shot him with an AK47 because they said he was a rebel. But he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Satva said.

“Even normal businesspeople were under constant surveillance by the secret service and faced harassment.”

Satva was in Europe when the rebels overran Bangui a week ago. He said his family had described the coup as “terrifying”.

“They came into my parents’ house with guns asking for money. [My family] had to evacuate to a safer environment and still haven ’ t gone back.” Now Satva is eager to return home. “The leader of the Seleka movement, Michel Djotodia, said he will be democratic even though the way he took over was not democratic — just like Bozizé did to [AngeFélix] Patassé back in 2003!

“But hopefully they will show a new face and political vision,” the musician said. “We have a lot of resources and I hope they will be managed properly and that proper elections come soon.”

People were taken to jail for interrogation and torture. If they didn t have the right connections they were never seen again