Chadian opposition figure living in France, Makaïla Nguebla, announced that he has filed a complaint before the French judiciary against President Mahamat Idriss Déby and several senior officials in N’Djamena, after a presidential decree stripped him of Chadian citizenship.
Nguebla said on Saturday, September 20, that he had turned to the Paris public prosecutor, accusing Chadian authorities of “abuse of power” and “violating fundamental rights.” He stressed that the complaint is based on the principle of universal jurisdiction applied in France.
On September 17, President Déby issued a decree revoking the nationality of Nguebla and fellow opposition activist Chouffadine Galmi Saleh, founder of the “One Tchad” blog, which enjoys wide followership among the Chadian diaspora abroad.
The decree accused the two opponents of being “hostile to the regime” and “collaborating with foreign powers,” charges they reject as an attempt to silence critical voices.
Nguebla described the decision as a violation of the UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, which Chad has ratified, stressing that stripping exiled opponents of their nationality is a “political punitive step.”
Makaïla Nguebla has been one of the most prominent opposition figures since the early 2000s, strongly criticizing the rule of the late President Idriss Déby Itno before leaving for France.
After Mahamat Idriss Déby assumed power during the transitional period in 2021, Nguebla briefly aligned with the authorities before quickly returning to the opposition and resettling in France.
As for Galmi Saleh, also affected by the revocation decision, he continues his media activities through his blog, denouncing what he calls the “deterioration of freedoms” in Chad.
Mahamat Idriss Déby took power in April 2021 following the death of his father on the battlefield, and later won the May 2024 elections, which were boycotted by opposition forces and described as “unfair.”
The nationality revocation case comes amid escalating restrictions on opposition, particularly among Chadian communities abroad — reflecting, according to observers, a growing trend of shrinking political space.