Central Africa Republic Unveils Statue of Russia’s Wagner founder Prigozhin, by Kestér Kenn Klomegâh 

Central African Republic (CAR) has rekindled its highest commitment and renewed friendship with the Kremlin administration for raising a precious monument in honour of the late leader of Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin and his right-hand man Dmitriy Utkin, in the city Bangui. By mounting this monument, CAR administration showed its invaluable gratitude to the Russian Federation for ensuring, these several years, sustainable security in CAR.

Central African Republic, with a tiny population of approximately 5.4 million people but rich with natural resources, had been the scene of a civil war for years due to both political differences for control of power and national wealth, and of course ethnic conflicts, until the arrival of the Russian military force in 2017. The Wagner military presence, as reports indicated, is to ensure security as a necessary condition for further development in the country and provision of security guards for the central government officials including the president, was within the framework of military-technical cooperation agreement in exchange for complete access to natural resources. 

The statue of Prigozhin and Utkin, both died in a plane crash on 23rd August 2023, after their private jet came down north-west of Moscow, killing also all those who were on board. The statue shows Prigozhin in bullet-proof clothing holding a walkie-talkie next to his colleague who holds an AK-47 rifle. President Faustin-Archange Touadéra signed this military-technical cooperation which, to a large degree, helps to tackle rebel groups since 2017. Russian groups have access to operate gold and diamond mines. Central African Republic has one of the world’s poorest populations despite being rich in diamonds, gold, oil and uranium.

It came two months after their aborted mutiny in Russia. The Kremlin denied speculation it was to blame for the crash. The Wagner Group has since been renamed Corps Africa, although it continues to operate under the Wagner name in Central African Republic. Prigozhin founded Wagner in 2014, initially working mostly in the Middle East and Africa before being deployed to Ukraine at the start of 2022.

President Touadéra has attended the Russia-Africa summits. Besides, President Touadéra has regular telephone contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the latest was 20th November 2024. In the conversation, Putin reaffirmed Russia’s commitment to further assisting the CAR in strengthening its economy, sovereignty and security. On his part, President Touadéra expressed his gratitude for the all-round assistance provided by Russia. In closing the conversation, both agreed to maintain contacts at various levels.

President Touadéra has ceaselessly defended their (Russian military forces) continued presence in the country. “It was said that 80% of the territory was occupied by armed groups. Today, thanks to Russia’s military cooperation, these figures are completely reversed,” he told the BBC in an interview in December 2023. As President Touadéra offered Russians to have access to the natural resources, this has influenced other Francophone African States especially in the Sahel to barter their resources for similar military agreements. These African countries face persistent financial difficulties. With rising interest in Africa, Russia has used the fight to root out French neo-colonialism and further coordinates efforts to combat frequent terrorism and extremism in the region.

Notwithstanding above, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, has consistently suggested that it is absolutely necessary to mobilize collective efforts internally to resolve conflicts and, most importantly, it “must be confined to the continent and quarantined from the contamination of non-African interference.” In addition, Mozambican Filipe Nyusi also shared valuable experiences about the use of well-constituted regional military force for enforcing peace and security in Mozambique. Creating regional military forces to fight threats of terrorism will absolutely not require bartering the entire gold or diamond mines (natural resources) for the purchase of military equipment from external countries. Filipe Nyusi sentiments were about Russia’s security partnership with Africa, especially French-speaking African countries.

CAR’s Politics and Economic Developments

Despite its significant mineral deposits and other resources, such as uranium reserves, crude oil, gold, diamonds, cobalt, lumber, and hydropower, as well as significant quantities of arable land, the Central African Republic is among the ten poorest countries in the world, with the lowest GDP per capita at purchasing power parity in the world as of 2017. 

As of 2022, according to the Human Development Index (HDI), the country had the third-lowest level of human development, ranking 191 out of 193 countries. The country had the second lowest inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI), ranking 164th out of 165 countries

After gaining independence from France in 1960, the Central African Republic was ruled by a series of autocratic leaders, including an abortive attempt at a monarchy under the regime of Jean-Bedel Bokassa.

By the 1990s, calls for democracy led to the first multi-party democratic elections in 1993. Ange-Félix Patassé became president, but was later removed by General François Bozizé in a 2003 coup. The Central African Republic Bush War began in 2004 and, despite a peace treaty in 2007 and another in 2011, civil war resumed in 2012. The civil war perpetuated the country’s poor human rights record: it was characterized by widespread and increasing abuses by various participating armed groups, such as arbitrary imprisonment, torture, and restrictions on freedom of the press and freedom of movement.

In the process of power struggle appeared Faustin-Archange Touadéra, who now leads the country, after finally transcended into a civilian status by conducting elections in December 2015. Touadéra was, however, sworn in on 30 March 2016. After the end of Touadéra’s first term, he was re-elected for the second round. Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group have supported President Faustin-Archange Touadéra in the fight against rebels until today. 

Central African Republic is a landlocked nation within the interior of the African continent. It is bordered by Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the Congo. Central African Republic is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Economic Community of Central African States, the Organization internationale de la Francophonie and the Non-Aligned Movement.