Picking sides

Chad opposition leader hires lobbyist for US pressure campaign on Déby

By Julian Pecquet, in Washington

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Posted on May 18, 2023 08:22

At the head of the Transformers movement, Succès Masra intends to assert his status as an opponent of Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno. © Francois Grivelet for JAMG

Months after fleeing to the US in fear of his life, the leader of Chad’s pro-democracy opposition has launched a lobbying campaign to urge Washington to drop its support for general-turned-president Mahamat Déby.

Succès Masra, the leader of the Transformers party, has hired Washington influence firm Scribe Strategies & Advisors to try to convince the US government to “use its diplomatic weight … to compel transitional authorities to respect human rights and the transitional timeline”, according to documents obtained exclusively by The Africa Report. Scribe, which also represents the Democratic Republic of Congo, is working for Masra pro bono.

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