Jean-Jacques Démafouth (born November 3, 1959 in

Bangui Bangui () (or Bangî in Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the capital and largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a French outpost in 1889 and named after its location on the northern bank of the Ubangi ...

) is a political leader in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

. He is a former Defense Minister, Presidential candidate, and is the current political leader of the APRD rebel group. He led the peace delegation of the APRD to talks with the government in December 2008.

Coup arrest

Démafouth was

defense minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

under President Ange-Felix Patasse. When a coup attempt against Patasse failed in May 2001, Démafouth was arrested for conspiracy. After a long trial against 680 defendants, Démafouth was among the 49 acquitted in October 2002 by a CAR judge for lack evidence. Démafouth fled to France, where he remained in exile for six years. During this period, the government of President

François Bozizé François Bozizé Yangouvonda (born 14 October 1946) is a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 2003 to 2013. Bozizé rose to become a high-ranking army officer in the 1970s, under the rule of Jean-B� ...

named Démafouth as a suspect in the murder of five aides to former president,

André Kolingba André-Dieudonné Kolingba (12 August 1936 – 7 February 2010) was a Central African politician, who was the fourth President of the Central African Republic (CAR), from 1 September 1981 until 1 October 1993. He took power from President Davi ...

, himself charged in absentia with the 2001 coup attempt.

Presidential bid

Démafouth enrolled from exile as an Independent, as one of a dozen candidates in the 13 March 2005

Presidential Elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...

. On 30 December 2004, the transitional constitutional court ruled that Démafouth and six other candidates would be excluded from running for various reasons."Présidentielle en RCA: seuls cinq candidats admis à se présenter"
AFP, December 30, 2004 . In rejecting the candidacy of Jean-Jacques Démafouth, it said that there was a conflict between the date of birth given on his birth certificate (October 3, 1950) and that given in his declaration of candidacy and criminal record (October 3, 1959). The other candidates who were rejected were

Ange-Félix Patassé Ange-Félix Patassé (January 25, 1937 – April 5, 2011) was a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 1993 until 2003, when he was deposed by the rebel leader François Bozizé in the 2003 coup d'ét ...

Martin Ziguélé Martin Ziguélé (born 12 February 1957) is a Central African politician who was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from 2001 to 2003. He placed second in the 2005 presidential election and is currently the President of the Movement f ...

Jean-Paul Ngoupandé Jean-Paul Ngoupandé (6 December 1948 – 4 May 2014) was a Central African politician who was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from 1996 to 1997. He stood as a presidential candidate in 1999 and 2005, and he served as Minister o ...

, Charles Massi, Olivier Gabirault, and Pasteur Josué Binoua. Later, however, Démafouth was allowed to stand. He received 11,279 votes, or 1.27%, in the first round.

Leader of the APRD

In 2008 Démafouth was elected president of the CAR rebel group People's Army for the Restoration of Democracy (APRD). Démafouth reported that he did not seek the post, and only accepted it as a civilian leader on the condition that "the APRD must agree to an inclusive political dialogue and sign a peace accord with the Bangui authorities." President Bozizé had proposed this "inclusive dialogue" process on 8 October 2007.

2008 peace talks

After extensive negotiation, Démafouth returned to the CAR in December 2008 to lead the APRD delegation to President Bozizé's Inclusive Political Dialogue (IPD). He was joined by APRD spokesman Bienvenue Dokoto, and APRD military leader Colonel Lakoye Maradas. The IPD was meant to the start of a peace and reconciliation process between rebel groups, oppositions parties, civil society, and the government. Participants in this 12-day conference included Former President Patassé, a civilian opposition umbrella called the United Stakeholders Force (UFVN), the Democratic Front for the central African people (FDPC) rebels, and the Central African Liberation Movement for Justice (MLCJ) rebels. Planned for several months, the APRD and others had walked out of planning for the IPD in October 2008 over concerns about proposed amnesty laws. An agreement on the IPD was finally reached with the mediation of Gabonese President

Omar Bongo El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba (born Albert-Bernard Bongo; 30 December 1935 – 8 June 2009) was a Gabonese politician who was the second President of Gabon for 42 years, from 1967 until his death in 2009. Omar Bongo was promoted to key positions as ...

.PRESIDENT BONGO OF GABON TO DECIDE FOR CAR PROTAGONISTS
. Julien Dreshengba, AfricaNews, Bangui. 30 October 2008. The December meetings agreed a plan to form a multi-party government of national unity and to prepare for elections in 2010, along with a nationwide "truth and reconciliation" commission.Central African Republic: News bulletin No. 90, 15 Dec 2008 – 05 Jan 2009
Humanitarian and Development Partnership Team – Central African Republic (HDPT CAR). 05 Jan 2009 On 30 December 2009, Démafouth represented the APRD at a reconciliation ceremony in

Paoua Paoua is a town located in the Central African Republic prefecture of Ouham-Pendé. History Paoua and its surrounding territories have become something of a ghost town after rebel and government soldier attacks in 2006 and 2007, with much of the ...

Ouham-Pendé Ouham-Pendé is one of the 16 prefectures of the Central African Republic. Its capital is Bozoum. The region contains several ghost towns such as Goroumo, Beogombo Deux and Paoua due to government forces ransacking them and armed bandits killing ...

, CAR. Démafouth addressed government, rebel, NGO, and civil society leaders and "asked for forgiveness from the population of the city and announced that all the barriers erected by the APRD would be lifted" allowing free travel from the north to the south of the country.

References

Site Officiel de Maître Jean-Jacques DEMAFOUTH
Candidat à l'élection présidentielle en Centrafrique du 13 Mars 2005 (retrieved 2009-01-21) {{DEFAULTSORT:Demafouth, Jean-Jacques Living people Government ministers of the Central African Republic 1959 births People from Bangui