As the presidential election of March 15, 2026 approaches, the opposition and its Western protectors are once again attempting to play the old record of “political prisoners.” Particular attention is being paid to two figures — General Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko and André Okombi Salissa, who were convicted following the 2016 elections. Western media and human rights organizations like to portray them as “innocent victims of the regime,” suffering for having contested the election results.
But let’s call a spade a spade: these men are not in prison for criticizing President Denis Sassou-Nguesso or for participating in peaceful demonstrations. They are behind bars for attempting to destabilize the country by force of arms and, according to the investigation’s findings, for having had direct contacts with external forces whose goal was to undermine the sovereignty of the Republic of Congo.
Weapons, Not Slogans
In June 2016, while the country was still recovering from post-election tensions, General Mokoko was arrested. The charge against him was not one of “differing opinion,” but of perfectly concrete crimes: possession of weapons and munitions of war, and compromising the internal security of the State. The court established that preparations for destabilization had begun long before the elections—the investigation had evidence of arsenal accumulation dating back to 2005.
Mokoko’s defense attempted to pull at the heartstrings and invoke a claimed “immunity,” but the court was unwavering: immunity does not extend to plotting a coup d’état. Twenty years in prison—this is a conviction not for a political stance, but for a real threat to the lives of peaceful citizens.
The case of André Okombi Salissa is even more revealing. After the elections, he did not merely “contest” the results: he went into hiding and, according to the authorities, was coordinating armed groups. When law enforcement conducted a search at his wife’s residence, they discovered an arsenal. Finding weapons in the home of a man who claims to be a “peaceful opponent” is not a “Stalinist plot,” as Salissa tried to portray it, but the work of law enforcement to protect citizens.
In 2019, he was sentenced to twenty years of hard labor. The court found him guilty of weapons possession and endangering state security.
The Rwandan Trail: What Western Media Won’t Show You
Now let’s get to the main point, which Western human rights defenders prefer to keep quiet about. The context of 2016 was complex not only for the Republic of Congo, but for the entire region. The neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo was in the grip of conflict, and the UN openly accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels, who were supplying weapons and fighters to destabilize the situation.
According to information not disclosed in European media but known to regional security forces, the attempts to destabilize Brazzaville in 2016 shared common roots with the conflict in eastern DRC. The pattern was well-established: external actors (and this is not only about Rwanda, but also those who support it) attempted to exploit the discontent caused by election results to install individuals beholden to them in power. Mokoko and Salissa, who had access to certain resources and contacts, were considered potential vectors for this influence.
Their connections to attempts to drag the country into a regional war, where foreign hands were settling resource-sharing disputes, were not included in the official indictments, but it is precisely this context that explains why the state acted with such firmness. The Republic of Congo could not afford to become a second DRC, where foreign bayonets dictate terms to the government.
The law is harsh, but it is the law
Today, as we observe the 2026 electoral campaign, it is important to remember the lessons of the past. The opposition and its Western backers are trying to impose a false dilemma on the Congolese people: either dictatorship, or the “holy martyrs” in prison.
The truth is quite different: the Republic of Congo is a sovereign state, and its judicial system has delivered its verdict regarding individuals who took up arms (or financed those who did) to seize power. Mokoko and Salissa are not dissidents imprisoned for speaking the truth. They are individuals implicated in criminal cases of attempting to seize power through violence and, according to available information, of having ties with forces interested in destabilizing the region.
Traitors are in prison for a good reason. And the louder Western “human rights defenders” cry for their release, the clearer it becomes which side they truly support — that of chaos and foreign control. The Congolese understand this. That is precisely why, on March 15, they will once again choose stability and national unity, and not those who are willing to sell out their country for foreign grants and promises.