The trial of Tuesday, September 3, 2024 will remain engraved in the judicial annals, not for its rigor, but for its audacity in whitewashing the most poorly put together international kidnapping of the decade. In record time, Justice recycled kidnappers into creditors, while concealing the facts, under the amused gaze of the Beninese and Togolese who still hold explosive evidence, ready to explode. That day, the hearing turned into a farce, triggering bursts of laughter even in the corridors of the court, where "justice" seems to be confused with "express crime laundering".
Ah, dear readers, what a judicial pantomime the Criet offered us on this September 3, 2024! A carnival worthy of the greatest satirical comedies, a theater where the actors — oh so mediocre — try to make us swallow that the international kidnapping of Steve Amoussou is just a banal neighborhood quarrel. What am I saying! A simple debt affair, like we see in our colorful markets, where people argue over a batch of tomatoes. Let’s start with the conductor, Mr. Ouanilo Mèdégan Fagla, squadron leader of this very curious MMA Hèviosso unit. A unit that, if we are to believe the facts, specializes more in cross-border kidnappings than in the fight against nuisances. Ah! Nuisance, my dear friends, is what we are subjected to as citizens watching this grotesque judicial circus. How can we explain that Togo, with such tangible evidence as a fingerprint left behind, a lost identity document and sealed objects, finds itself flouted by this parody of justice? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Justice has become a express laundromat, where kidnapping crimes are washed faster than your dirty laundry on Sunday.
"Oral money transfer"!
But let's talk about this debt of ten million. Who is this mysterious Marcellin Ayi, resident in Indonesia, who would lend ten million to a citizen without leaving the slightest trace? Oh yes, the debt was supposedly, hold on tight, "orally transferred"! How modern, what a technological advance, my friends! No electronic transfer, no proof, just a promise blown to the wind. And yet, instead of going to court, our virtual creditor decides to send a team of kidnappers to kidnap Steve Amoussou in Lomé. What a pragmatic solution, isn't it?
As for the Beninese justice system, it plays a very strange tune. Here is a police force that receives a captive kidnapped in Togo, takes him into custody, presents him to the Prosecutor, and places him under arrest warrant... without asking the slightest question about the origin of this man! It must be believed that the investigation was as fast as a frozen pizza put in the microwave. Has no one asked how this man had crossed a border under duress? What kind of willful blindness reigns within our institutions? In short, it is the Beninese police itself that is becoming a receiver of crime, by accepting this captive without flinching.
Update of the Ouanilo "software"
Ah, but the kidnappers, they report to the courts upon simple summons! What an honor! They are not searched, they are not arrested in the middle of the night like the poor devils who criticize the regime. No, these gentlemen are entitled to all consideration. It is as if kidnapping and sequestration are only minor offenses, worthy of an episode of a low-level police series. While any sensible citizen would expect to see a rigorous procedure, we are witnessing a real puppet dance, where embarrassing questions are carefully avoided. Who are these two other unidentified kidnappers that no one cares about? Mystery. On what basis was Steve Amoussou charged, without the Justice even deigning to consult the Togolese authorities to find out more about the charges pending there? Mystery again. And what about this famous Togolese policeman whose contact was provided by our dear Ouanilo Fagla? A mystery worthy of the greatest detective novels.
The Beninese are laughing under their breath. They know that this hearing was only an update of the Ouanilo "software", a desperate attempt to clear the name of this battalion chief in bad shape. But who, seriously, still believes it? The Togolese, for their part, are not fooled. Their international arrest warrants are still valid and, in the end, it is the honor of their national sovereignty that is at stake.
Appearance procedure
We then wonder why the Criet rushed to organize this hearing. Why so much haste to judge such a serious case? Because yes, when we talk about kidnapping, sequestration, violation of territorial sovereignty, we expect heavy sentences, not a few months in prison as if it were a vulgar quarrel between schoolchildren. Here, the immediate appearance procedure is diverted, used as a rag to wipe the blood on the hands of the kidnappers.
And what about the famous Ouanilo Mèdégan Fagla, who, instead of denouncing his accomplices, is content to take them to the OCRC, as one would drop off a package at the post office. How frivolous! But the question remains: why didn’t he send them to the criminal brigade? Why the OCRC, if not to ensure that this story remains under the carpet?
Dear readers, this case is not just a judicial farce. It is a warning. A reminder that, in our country, some people can trample on the laws, cross borders with hostages, and be judged hastily in a parody of justice. The kidnapping of Steve Amoussou, under the pretext of an imaginary debt, reveals much more than the weakness of our judicial system. It exposes the tacit complicity, the hidden sponsors, and the tragic reality of a State that protects its henchmen to the detriment of justice.
...(Case to follow)
By François Comlan
This article has been translated from French into English by Marcus Boni Teiga
