Thousands protest Wagner-backed third-term bid in Central African Republic
Event date: 2025-04-04
Thousands of people marched in Bangui to protest President Faustin-Archange Touadéra’s plan to seek a third term with the backing of Russian-led Wagner mercenaries, according to AP.
The rally was organized by opposition parties and framed as a defense of sovereignty and constitutional limits. AP quoted opposition member Justin Winè as saying the country’s sovereignty had been trampled by Touadéra and Wagner. Another opposition figure, Martin Ziguélé, praised young people for turning out in large numbers.
The country’s political conflict has deep roots. AP noted that the Central African Republic has been in turmoil since 2013, when predominantly Muslim rebels seized power and forced then-President François Bozizé from office. Since then, armed groups have fragmented, and the state has relied on outside support to stay in control. Wagner forces have operated in the country for years and have served as bodyguards for Touadéra.
That backing matters because the president helped win a constitutional referendum in July 2023 that could allow him to remain in power indefinitely. The latest rally shows that the referendum did not end public opposition to his rule. Instead, critics say, it hardened fears that the president is entrenching himself through security ties and institutional change.
AP said the Wagner presence has been defended by locals and by the government on the grounds that it helped prevent rebels from taking Bangui in 2021. But opponents argue that the group has operated with impunity. Winè said Wagner had “raped and killed without any justice,” while the protest itself sought to make the anti-third-term message inseparable from anti-Wagner sentiment.
The rally also reflected a broader regional pattern in which anti-incumbent politics and anger over foreign security partners intersect. In the CAR, the issue is not only whether Touadéra runs again. It is whether the state’s reliance on Wagner has become a political liability, especially as a constitutional order that should limit power now appears to be under direct challenge.
For the government, the protest is a warning that the next election cycle may be more contested than the ruling camp expects. For the opposition, the turnout suggests that resistance to a third term still has an urban base capable of filling the streets of the capital.
AP’s report did not indicate immediate arrests or violence from the rally, but the symbolism was clear: the struggle over Touadéra’s future is now tied to the presence of Wagner in the country’s security architecture, and the opposition intends to make both issues central.
