Bozizé backtracks on claims he was ditched
OUSTED Central African Republic president François Bozizé this week denied he had sent his son to meet President Jacob Zuma — and that they struck a deal for more South African troops to be deployed to his country.
It was this deal that led to an extra 200 South African soldiers being sent to the CAR’s capital, Bangui, on New Years’ Eve last year.
On March 23, 13 of South Africa’s troops were killed by Seleka rebels who ousted Bozizé.
Following an interview with the Sunday Times last week, Bozizé wrote a letter of complaint on an official CAR letterhead.
Still calling himself president, Bozizé praised his relations with Zuma and denied “all the allegations made against him with regard to his last discussion [March 2013] with President Zuma”.
But in a recorded interview in exile in Paris last week, Bozizé told the Sunday Times he had sent his son to meet Zuma in December 2012 and that he himself flew to South Africa for talks with Zuma on March 21.
In the interview, Bozizé said his son met the South African president “to prepare the defence agreement”. After the deal was signed, extra troops were sent to the CAR.
He said he met Zuma in March for “two or three hours of talks”.
“There were these military and defence agreements between us . . . It was accepted that reinforcements would be sent.”
But within days of the interview being published, the “communications unit of President Bozizé” wrote to say he “reserves his right, if need be, to bring action before the South African courts in order to re-establish the truth and defend his honour”.
“President Bozizé categorically denies having made such remarks . . . [He] did the exact opposite, praising the excellent stateto-state relations.
“This article has placed President Bozizé in the embarrassing position of having to demand publication of the following response, so that his silence is not taken to mean that he approves of the content of said article, which he discovered with alarm.
“It is totally wrong and absolutely inaccurate to write that President Bozizé told you that President Jacob Zuma did not honour a secret defence agreement to the letter.” —