Late Chadian President Adopted Son Named Interim Head of State

Pat Stevens/

General Mahamat Kaka, adopted son of the deceased Chadian leader, Idris Deby, has been named as the interim head of state.

The announcement was made by the Chadian Army spokesman, General Azem Agouna, following Deby’s death from gunshot wounds.

Deby’s biological son, Brahim Deby, was killed in mysterious circumstances few days after arriving in France on holiday, some years back.

He was choked to death when fire extinguisher foam was sprayed inside his nose in the garage of his apartment block by five men dressed as policemen.

The tragic incident happened not long after Deby sacked him as an adviser, following charges of illegal arms and marijuana possession in France a year before.

The army statement says that all democratic structures will be dissolved, while Kaka will serve 18 months transitional period, after which elections will hold.

The news of Deby’s death came a day after he won a sixth term, based on provisional results released yesterday. Deby took 79.3 per cent of the vote in the April 11 presidential election, the results showed.

Deby reportedly postponed his victory speech to supporters and instead went to visit Chadian soldiers battling rebels, where he sustained the injury that led to his death.

The rebel group, Front for Change and Concord in Chad, which is based across the Northern frontier with Libya, attacked a border post on election day and then advanced hundreds of kilometres towards the capital, Ndjamena.

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