The Chadian government announced on Friday, April 7th, that Germany’s Ambassador to the country, Gordon Kricke, should leave the country within 48 hours. The reason given for Kricke’s expulsion from Chad is his alleged interference in government matters and “disrespectful attitude.” It is alleged by the Chadian government that the German diplomat had commented on the Central African nation’s delay in shifting towards civilian rule since a coup d’etat occurred in the country in 2021. According to Reuters, sources within the Chadian government claim Kricke criticized the delay in elections and the fact that interim military leader Mahamat Idriss Deby would be allowed to stand as a candidate in the elections.
“This decision of the government is motivated by the discourteous attitude and the non-respect of diplomatic customs,” Chad’s Communication Ministry posted on Twitter on Friday, April 7th. At the time of writing, the German government had not released an official reaction to Kricke’s ousting. However, the German publication DW reported that a source within Germany’s Foreign Ministry claimed the expulsion’s reasons were unclear. “The reasons that the government of Chad put forward as a justification for declaring our ambassador in N’Djamena a persona non grata are completely incomprehensible,” the source told DW.
Kricke is a vastly experienced diplomat having represented Germany as a diplomat in Niger, Angola, the Philippines, and other nations in the Sahel region. He has been serving as Germany’s Ambassador to Chad since July 2021.
Ambassador Kricke has been accused of interfering with governance matters as well as making divisive comments. He was reportedly warned several times before he was ordered to leave the country.
Chad has been under the military control of Mahamat Idriss Deby since President Idriss Deby, who was his father, died in April 2021. The military junta had promised to hold elections 18 months after assuming leadership. However, the elections were postponed to October 2024, sparking riots in the country and leading to a violent reaction by the military junta. Civilians were killed, leading to condemnation of the violent reaction by several countries. Diplomats from Libya, Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon, countries that share borders with Chad, criticized the violence.
