For a week, the drama of Ikongo has become a political and controversial subject. On August 29, 2022, twenty-one villagers fell under the fire of the gendarmes and twenty were seriously injured. The soldiers fired to repel the crowd of assailants who had come to seek the suspects of a murder and the abduction of an albino child.
The European Union in Madagascar, the Catholic authorities of the Big Island, human rights defenders, opposition political parties and ordinary citizens are unanimous in denouncing the excessive use of force in Ikongo.
The Minister of Defence, General of the Army, Leon-Richard Rakotonirina had tried to put out the fire by justifying the shooting of the soldiers in the face of a hostile crowd.
Monday, a week after the tragedy, François Rakotozafy, Keeper of the Sealsalso stepped up to denounce an unfounded controversy: “The file of the four individuals (suspected of having kidnapped an albino child and killed his mother and demanded by the crowd in anger) has not yet been handed over to justice at the time of the events”, notes Midi-Madagascar. Clearly, recourse to mob justice, an archaic judgment that prevailed in the bush in the past, should not be read as a sign of distrust of justice. The suspects were in custody. The gendarmes had done their job and justice was going to be seized.
“I declare that the investigation into what happened at Ikongo is in progress. It will be completed”declared the Head of State, Andry Rajoelinaduring his visit to the Military Academy ofAntsirabewrites L’Express de Madagascar. He had pronounced this sentence, last Wednesday, during the Council of Ministers. He stressed that he wanted to be informed of the progress of the investigation which must define the responsibilities and shed light on the events.
Officially, on August 29, 2022, a mob attempted to storm the district gendarmerie. Despite negotiations, the demonstrators refused to retreat. Tear gas canisters and warning shots did not have the desired effect. The gendarmes had no other recourse.
The soldiers opened fire when the first civilians entered the red zone, specifies Madagascar-Tribune.
It remains to be heard, the version of the other witnesses of this tragedy. This terrible affair is likely to leave a gaping wound in the population, long after the closure of the investigations.