The communes of Brieville and Andriamena, located in the Tsaratanàna district, are among the regions classified as “red zones” in terms of security. To the cattle thefts that made these areas notorious have now been added kidnappings. The event that marked 2018 was the kidnapping of four workers from Kraomita Malagasy.
The residents of Brieville and Andriamena live in constant alert and terror. Attacks accompanied by zebu cattle thefts occur once or twice a week, according to Adjutant Chief Randriatsimanirisoa Zazah, head of the national gendarmerie brigade in Brieville.
Banditry is gaining ground due to the region’s rugged terrain, which is the focus of their mission, with many narrow passages facilitating the bandits’ escape. Added to this is the insufficient number of gendarmes assigned to the area. In Brieville’s case, the gendarmes are responsible for two communes. The resources at their disposal are inadequate. “We have motorcycles but no 4×4 vehicles. In emergencies requiring a car, we must ask Kraoma for help. This company already assists us, but it is not enough compared to the mission entrusted to us,” the gendarme told us. “Despite this, we don’t sit idly by because we have to work,” he added.
The situation in Andriamena is similar to that of Brieville. The main problem facing the national gendarmerie is the lack of resources. “Here, in particular, we need more means. We know well that we are on the route used by zebu thieves from the Alaotra-Mangoro region, traveling from Betsiboka to Boeny,” said Adjutant Rajaovelo François, head of the Andriamena brigade.
It should be noted that, according to information gathered on-site, bandits no longer limit themselves to stealing zebu. Increasingly, they take hostages to cover their escape and to demand money in addition to the stolen zebu. In his speech during the New Year’s greeting ceremony, Secretary of State in charge of the gendarmerie General Randriamanarina Jean Christophe stated, “The national gendarmerie recorded 31 kidnappings in 2018. We see an increase because there are two types of kidnappers. First, those who kidnap Indo-Pakistanis of French nationality. Then, the dahalo zebu thieves who have changed their methods. They no longer just steal but also take people hostage,” according to the general officer.
A State Affair
More broadly, dahalo display increasing cruelty throughout the island. In Brieville and Andriamena, the last quarter of the previous year was especially marked by the night of December 29, 2018: zebu thieves took hostage a mother with a baby barely six months old and a father. They were only released after two days. In the commune of Manakana, there were four successive incidents: the first in October 2018, during which a woman and a man were taken hostage; the other three occurred in November.
Another incident took place on Monday, July 23, 2018, in Bemavo, commune of Andriamena: workers from Kraoma were taken hostage, triggering much speculation. A ransom of 100 million ariary was demanded for their release. The victims were four employees of Kraomita Malagasy, or Kraoma. They were carrying out a mission related to projects of then-President Hery Rajaonarimampianina. It involved rehabilitating National Road No. 33 B, whose new route was to directly link the Alaotra-Mangoro region to Betsiboka. This displeased the dahalo, who resorted to kidnapping, causing the works to halt. This kidnapping, which targeted Kraoma, also stemmed from the anger of farmers fed up with corruption and abuses of power. “According to what our kidnappers told us, it was mainly the Tsaratanàna deputy they wanted. They said they were under too many constraints. Some dahalo said their relatives lost in court under pressure from this elected official, which led them to revolt and commit acts of banditry,” recounted Jean Servais, also known as Vévé, one of the hostages.
The four Kraoma workers were held for four days. Five men armed with Kalashnikovs and hunting rifles carried out the abduction. According to some hostages’ testimony, the local community tasked with the pursuit was colluding with the dahalo. “The dahalo only spoke with the deputy; they were in constant contact with him. We blindly followed their instructions because we valued our lives. To this day, we do not clearly understand what was behind this story. In fact, one day after our release by the dahalo, we were invited to Iavoloha and given access to the palace to meet the President of the Republic,” one victim further explained. What happened at Kraoma has become a matter of state.
It is worth recalling that, to this day, according to the interview we had with the head of the Andriamena gendarmes, Adjutant Rajaonarivelo François, none of the direct perpetrators of this kidnapping have been arrested. Eight people suspected of involvement were temporarily jailed but have since been released. Adjutant Rajaonarivelo affirms that even the four hostages have not been summoned for investigation.
However, one of the hostages, Mr. Rakotomalala Jean Servais, says he was indeed interrogated by the criminal brigade of the Toby Ratsimandrava gendarmerie after his meeting with the President in July 2018.
It should be emphasized that there were 31 kidnappings in Madagascar in 2018.
Corruption and Insecurity
One of the main causes of the growing insecurity, especially in rural areas, is corruption within state institutions.
“In general, law enforcement agencies responsible for security are corrupt and have lost their value. In my region, people no longer trust the justice system and sometimes not even us, which is a very serious problem. That is why popular justice is gaining ground everywhere,” said Commander Ramananga Norbert, head of the National Gendarmerie Company in Mandritsara, Sofia region. “This is worsened by differing views among authorities. Within the National Gendarmerie, we adopt a simple policy to fight corruption: we willingly give citizens our mobile phone numbers so they can report complaints. But very often, once cases reach the courts, people we have arrested with evidence are granted provisional release. People are disgusted. Even more seriously, not all authorities are happy or willing to fight corruption because it creates enemies. Personally, I have worked here for four years, making the fight against corruption my main cause. Unfortunately, some officials have fallen into the trap and do not appreciate such efforts,” the officer further explained. It should be noted that no complaints were filed in 2018 against gendarmes for corruption.
However, two cases in 2017 involved gendarmes being prosecuted for corruption within the Company. Around thirty actions were conducted in 2018 to raise public awareness against corruption, compared to 25 in 2017. Regarding popular justice incidents, 25 people were arrested and 11 jailed in 2017. There were three cases of popular justice versus 25 awareness actions. A regression was noted in 2018, as no one was arrested or involved in popular justice cases. However, there were 40 awareness campaigns against popular justice within the Company that year.
The reality on the ground is that the number of popular justice cases is declining throughout Madagascar. There were 38 cases in 2018 compared to 64 in 2017. Victim counts for 2018 were 38 dead, 6 injured, and 58 jailed. According to the National Gendarmerie’s information and communication service, these results reflect the impact of anti-corruption efforts and public awareness campaigns.
Currently, the national gendarmerie’s primary strategy to prevent corruption is the ongoing training of gendarmes. Eighty-two officers and 563 non-commissioned officers have been trained in Madagascar. Twenty-nine officers and eight non-commissioned officers were trained abroad. Additionally, 358 gendarmes have been trained by French specialists. The goal is to have professional gendarmes capable of facing all kinds of challenges in their duties. Finally, it is worth noting that the national gendarmerie collaborates with the Independent Anti-Corruption Bureau (BIANCO).
Cover photo source : https://fr.wikipedia.org/
