By: Staff Writer
February 27, 2024
A judge in Haiti has charged the widow of the former President of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, in his July 7, 2021 assassination.
A 122-page copy of the indictment by Judge Walther Voltaire does not accuse Martine Moise of planning the killing nor does it offer any direct evidence of her involvement in her late husband’s murder.
Instead, it says that she and other accomplices gave statements that were contradicted by other witnesses, suggesting that they were complicit in the killing. The indictment also cites one of the main defendants in the case in custody in Haiti, who claimed that Mrs. Moïse was plotting with others to take over the presidency.
The accusations echo those contained in a criminal complaint filed by a Haitian prosecutor and submitted to Mr. Voltaire. The official charge against Mrs. Moïse is conspiracy to murder.
Justic Voltaire accused 50 people involved in the gunning down of Moise at his private residence in July 2021. A group of about 20 assailants, most of them Colombian mercenaries, were on the scene.
All the accused were referred to the criminal court “to be judged on the facts of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, terrorism, assassination and complicity in assassination”.
Justifying the indictment of the former first lady, who was wounded during the attack, the document described her statements as “so tainted by contradictions that they leave something to be desired and discredit her”.
Joseph and the former director-general of the national police, Leon Charles, were also found to have “sufficient indications” of involvement in the killing. AyiboPost specified that the document did not clearly identify the masterminds of the assassination, nor their financiers.
As evidence against Ms Moïse, the document cites a statement given by Lyonel Valbrun, who was the secretary general at Haiti’s National Palace at the time of President Moïse’s murder.
Mr Valbrun alleges that Ms Moïse came to Haiti’s National Palace – the official residence of the president – two days before the assassination.
According to Mr Valbrun, Ms Moïse spent five hours removing “a bunch of things” from the palace. It is not clear what objects she allegedly removed but the document implies the first lady’s actions were not guided “by intuition” or “chance”, but that she had prior knowledge of the events to come.
Mr Valbrun also alleges that on that same day, the first lady called him and told him that “Jovenel [Moïse] has done nothing for us” as president.
The indictment also quotes another suspect, former Haitian Justice Ministry official Joseph Felix Badio, who accuses Martine Moïse of plotting to oust her husband from power.
According to Mr Badio, the first lady conspired with the then-prime minister, Claude Joseph, to remove Mr Moïse from the presidency.
The plan, Mr Badio alleges, was for Claude Joseph to lead the country until elections were held, in which Martine Moïse would run for president.