Madagascar: Madagascar's Wave of Disappearances Exposes 'Deeper Institutional Failings'

What the report says

AllAfrica, republishing an RFI interview dated 20 July 2026, reported that Madagascar is facing a sharp rise in disappearances and violent killings that has alarmed residents and triggered a major security deployment. According to the report, Malagasy police have logged 172 disappearance cases so far this year, among them 91 children, with the pace increasing since late June. Eight bodies have been found. The reports are concentrated in Antananarivo, where more than 1,500 police, soldiers and gendarmes have been assigned to patrols around the clock.

Ketakandriana Rafitoson, an anti-corruption campaigner with Transparency International Initiative Madagascar, told RFI the violence should not be viewed only as separate criminal incidents. She said it points to a broader breakdown in public trust in institutions responsible for public safety, especially when citizens believe investigations are slow or incomplete and perpetrators remain unidentified.

Rafitoson cautioned against naming suspects without evidence, saying responsibility lies with investigators and courts. She said some arrests have occurred, but public doubts remain about whether the key perpetrators or organizers have been reached. In discussing speculation about organized crime, resource trafficking and elite complicity, she argued that weak transparency, poor accountability and “state capture” can make it harder to dismantle criminal networks.

The report placed the insecurity within Madagascar’s unsettled political transition after the military took power in October 2025 and removed President Andry Rajoelina. The current authorities dissolved the cabinet in March and face demands to return the country to civilian rule. Prime Minister Mamitiana Rajaonarison has said the crimes are meant to destabilize the transitional regime, while Rafitoson said the government must protect residents, support victims’ families, communicate clearly and rebuild more independent institutions.