Contrary to reports, newly sworn-in Acting President of Chad, Kaka Mahamat Deby, is neither dead nor injured, KaftanPost sources have revealed.
Just when the son of the country’s slain leader, Idriss Deby took over the helms of affair, on Wednesday, rebel forces threatened to march on the capital, deepening the turmoil in a country vital to international efforts to combat Islamist militants in Africa.
There were even reports that the younger Deby had suffered the same fate as his father in the hands of fighters of the Libyan-based Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT).
However, our correspondent in N’Djamena said the 37-year-old is very much alive and in charge of the transition government expected to govern for the next 18 months
“It’s fake news… I just spoke with my colleague inside the Presidential Residence,” our correspondent said while denying the alleged death of the new leader.
“There’s calm in the presidential villa and capital though everyone knows inside that the rebels are advancing. A certain group in the military and citizens are divided over the hand over to Derby’s son. Their constitution provides for the Head of Parliament to be sworn in such circumstances. There’s great uncertainty in the days ahead. Some of the citizens however are in support of the rebels.”
General Deby, 37, moved to consolidate his position on Wednesday, with the council issuing a new charter in place of the country’s constitution granting him the functions of president and also naming him as head of the armed forces.
In his first public comments since taking power, Deby said the army wanted to return power to a civilian government and hold free and democratic elections in 18 months.
“The military council has no ambition to govern the country alone,” he said in a speech to political party representatives, posted on the presidency website.
“The Transitional Military Council will work to consolidate democracy, assure peace and stability, guarantee security and the integrity of the national territory.”
The military also announced it had re-opened Chad’s borders, which were closed after Deby’s death.
The FACT rebels rejected the military’s plan and said they would press on with their offensive.
“Chad is not a monarchy. There can be no dynastic devolution of power in our country,” FACT said in a statement.
A spokesman for FACT – which is not linked to jihadists – said its forces were now in Kanem region about 200-300 km (125-190 miles) north of N’Djamena and they aim to bring democracy to Chad after years of authoritarian rule by Deby.
“We don’t want to seize power to hold power. Our objective is for democratic transitions to be a reality,” the spokesman said. He said the group was preparing to march on N’Djamena to “free the people from a system that is undemocratic.”
Although FACT claimed responsibility for the injuries that killed Deby on Monday, claims of his son injured or dead is unfounded, our correspondent revealed.
