CAR murder prompts trucker protests against Wagner

Cameroonian truckers working in the Central African Republic (CAR) have gone on strike over the murder of a colleague — which they have blamed on the Wagner Group. The incident demonstrates the problem of accountability regarding private military companies (PMCs).

The murder took place in Bogoin, on the road to Bangui, and the truckers have labelled it an “assassination.” In response, they have refused to continue working in CAR, parking their loaded lorries at the Cameroonian border town of Garoua-Boulai instead. They have called for an investigation into the shooting and a bilateral agreement between Cameroon and CAR guaranteeing their safety.

The strike, in turn, has had consequences for the local economy and population. According to AFP, prices at local markets have increased sharply. CAR is heavily dependent on imports, with Cameroon supplying nearly 40%. Over 70% of CAR’s population live below the poverty line.

The problem of accountability is one that plagues the use of PMCs in Africa. This is not unique to Russian PMCs, but both their practices and the peculiarities of the Russian PMC market exacerbate it. On the ground, they operate with impunity and have few ties to local populations. They are also typically acting in support of authoritarian regimes with scant regard for civil liberties. As a result, domestic mechanisms for holding Russian PMCs to account are usually notable by their absence.

Other routes are equally limited. Despite their prominence, for example, Russian PMCs are not legal in Russia, which blocks Russian courts as a channel, even in theory (and Russian court treatment of whether PMCs exist or not has often veered into the Kafkaesque). International organisations like the UN have documented the human rights abuses of Wagner, but this has not had practical consequences for the perpetrators.

Which leaves groups like the Cameroonian truckers with few avenues other than public protest — which is not only dangerous in a place like CAR, but also negatively impacts themselves and local populations more than it really harms Wagner. It seems highly question whether the government in CAR would be in a position to guarantee the truckers’ safety, even if they wanted to. After all, if they were in a position to provide adequate security, they wouldn’t need Wagner in the first place.