Last month on January 24, 2025, soldiers from the Central African Republic went missing near the country’s southeast boarder. Among the soldiers were Celestin Bakoyo and Elie Ngouengue, members of the Wagner Group. The Wagner Group is an aligned militia and a Russian mercenary group that conducts military operations on Russia’s behalf. It was founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a convicted criminal who recruited prisoners from Russian jails to fight in Ukraine in exchange to be pardoned for their crimes. Although the group is technically illegal, it has been registered as a “private military company” in 2022 to avoid any issues with the law. Outside of Russia, the Wagner Group also operates in the Central African Republic and has leaders such as Bakoyo and Ngouengue. The two soldiers were reportedly detained and arrested by Russian mercenaries, who are members tasked to train militia members and incorporate them into the army.
After the strange disappearances, local forces in the Central African Republic have endlessly worked on locating the missing soldiers. Ernest Mizedio, a politician from the region, reported that they “searched without success for where they took them.” Both law enforcement and Russian security contractors had been informed of the disappearances, but each had nothing to offer. They denied knowing about the soldier’s whereabouts, which increased concern among families and supporters. Although Wagner and the military did not respond to requests to comment, an anonymous police officer shared that mercenaries were vying for positions and replacing offers on the ground inside conflict zones. Before their disappearance, the two Wagner Group members had come to the capital to open new bank accounts. That way, they could access their new earnings from joining the army. The disappearances have led to numerous amounts of backlash, since Russia had been using mercenaries to establish its economic and military presence throughout Africa and dismantle any rebellions or extremists. This event only fueled existing tensions.
On February 15, President of Central African Republic’s League for Human Rights Joseph Bindoumi condemned the idea these were casual disappearances. Instead, Bindoumi, along with many other human rights advocates and politicians expressed their belief that they were instead kidnappings backed by Russia. They theorized that the kidnappings were done by Russian-backed mercenaries, who had faced criticism for human rights abuses in Africa before this. Many shared the growing frustration over the government’s inability to locate these missing soldiers, and the lack of accountability from law enforcement and Russian security contractors. Bindoumi said that even if the soldiers were accused of crimes, the Central African Republic had the right to know where they were and whether standard procedure was being followed. Additionally, citizens in the Central African Republic have begun to feel frustrated too. Residents in the region who had long feared the rebel groups stated that they felt similar outrage towards the Russian mercenaries, even comparing the two. One resident, Robert Mboli declared, “We are outraged to understand the Russians’ idea to train the Azande Ani Kpi Gbe militiamen was to control their movement and decapitate them. We will demonstrate until they explain what they blame them for.”
Written by Claire Liu
