Chad’s government has ordered the German ambassador to leave the country on Friday, April 7th, for allegedly breaching diplomatic etiquette. Jan-Christian Gordon Kricke has been the German ambassador to Chad since July 2021.
However, the Chadian government has not officially explained why he is being expelled. Government spokesman Aziz Mohamed Saleh ordered the German ambassador to leave Chad’s territory within 48 hours on Friday.
An official of the German Embassy said they were not officially informed about this. He personally got to know this news from social media. Kricke previously served as a diplomat in Niger, Angola and the Philippines.
A source in the Chadian government, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the French news agency AFP that Kricke used to interfere excessively in government affairs and make divisive comments on various issues. For these reasons, he was warned several times before.
Chad’s former president Idriss Déby Itno was killed in 2021 during an operation against the rebels, and his son General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno ascended to power. Before this, his father ruled the country for 30 years.
General Idriss pledged to hand over power to a civilian administration within two years after coming to power, but last October he extended his mandate for another two years. The government allegedly used force to suppress demonstrations against this extension of General Idriss.
France, Spain, the Netherlands and Germany have expressed concern against it at various times. News agency Reuters quoted two anonymous Chadian government sources who alleged that the German ambassador had criticised Idriss for not holding the elections to transfer power.
