Madagascar ex-Senate chief sentenced to hard labour over deadly Gen Z protest crackdown

What the report says

BBC Africa reports that Madagascar’s former Senate president, Richard Ravalomanana, has been sentenced to 10 years of hard labour after a court in Antananarivo found him guilty of complicity in murder linked to the violent response to youth-led protests last year. Ravalomanana, a retired general and former ally of ex-President Andry Rajoelina, was accused by prosecutors of helping direct security forces to use force against demonstrators during the unrest.

The protests began over long-running power and water shortages and later broadened into a wider challenge to Rajoelina’s government. According to UN figures cited by local media, at least 22 people were killed and more than 100 were injured. The unrest eventually helped trigger a political crisis that led to Rajoelina’s removal and the installation of a new administration under Col Michael Randrianirina.

Ravalomanana denied the allegations and said he would appeal. His defence argued that prosecutors had not shown direct proof that he ordered violence, while a former national police chief testified that he was not part of the operational command structure. The court dropped a separate death-threat allegation on procedural grounds. Ravalomanana, who was removed as Senate president after the protests and later detained, is also facing a separate corruption investigation. The case is significant because it signals continued legal scrutiny of figures linked to Madagascar’s previous leadership and the crackdown that reshaped the country’s politics.