Chad's former dictator Hissene Habre dies of COVID-19 at 79

Senegalese officials say that Chad's former dictator Hissene Habre has died at the age of 79 of COVID-19 in Senegal

DAKAR, Senegal -- Chad's former dictator Hissene Habre, the first former head of state to be convicted of crimes against humanity by an African court after his government was accused of killing tens of thousands of people, has died in Senegal. He was 79. Habre, whose case for years showcased Africa’s reluctance to put its despots on trial as he lived in luxurious exile, had recently contracted COVID-19 according to local media reports. His death Tuesday at a Dakar hospital was confirmed by Jean Bertrand Bocande, director of the penitentiary administration. The former dictator, first arrested in 2013, had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 2016 but ultimately served about five years in prison following his conviction. Human rights activists say Chad was a ruthless, one-party state under Habre’s rule from 1982 to 1990. A fearsome security service headed by members of Habre’s Gorane ethnic group was placed in every village, documenting even the slightest transgressions against the regime, they said.