« Je sais que je n’ai pas tué » : Gracié, René Capain Bassène exige que la vérité éclate
Arrested on the night of January 13-14, 2018, René Capain Bassène, an investigative journalist and writer, spent more than eight years behind bars before being pardoned. His release, which came after a long period of detention marked by protests and citizen mobilizations, puts an end to an ordeal he himself describes as unjust.
Upon his return, Bassène experienced a moment of intense emotion. Driven by a cousin in a taxi, he hadn't prepared anything for his arrival. What struck him most was the spontaneous welcome from his family and friends. His reunion with his children reflected the depth of his ordeal: "When I left him, my son was three months old. I found him as a boy who called me 'Dad.' My daughter, who was three years old, has grown into a big girl who took my arm." These moments, filled with tears and joy, symbolize the lost time and the strength of the bonds that remained alive despite the absence.
The journalist recalls that he was "unjustly arrested, unjustly convicted," and emphasizes that his release was a presidential decision whose motivations he doesn't know: "Only he knows why he released me. But I thank him from the bottom of my heart." Beyond gratitude, Bassène insists on the need for truth and justice in the Boffa-Bayotte massacre case.
He claims to have forgiven, aware that no amount of reparations can ever undo the physical, moral, and psychological suffering he endured. But he firmly calls for the truth to come out: “I am the last to be released. I know I didn’t kill. I pray that the truth will come out, so that the victims’ families know who really killed their relatives. I, too, need to know who did it.”
The warm welcome he received, marked by the presence of neighbors, former colleagues, and relatives who had been waiting for him since morning, is proof to him that he is not the enemy of peace that some have tried to portray him as. "This welcome alone, this surprise, is a testament to me. If I were a criminal, I don't believe I would have received what I have today."
Beyond his personal case, Bassène now bases his actions on a demand for truth and justice. For him, the Boffa-Bayotte affair must not remain an open wound: it calls for definitive clarification, so that the victims and their families can finally obtain the answers they seek.
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