By Ebuka Onyekwelu, Ph.D
Mr. Richard Ravalomanana, a former Senate Chief in Madagascar, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labour for his role in the violent crackdown on protesters last year during a protest led by the country’s young people. The crackdown on the protesters, which led to the death of more than 20 people, also caused varying degrees of injury to more than 100 people, according to figures from the United Nations.
Initial fallout from the crackdown forced the former Senate President out of office in October 2025, after he was accused of directing security agents to use force on the protesters. However, further protests intensified by the violent crackdown led to a change of government in Madagascar, which forced President Andry Rajeolina, a close ally of the former Senate Chief, out of office. By December of 2025, Ravalomanana was arrested after failing to respond to summons.
There are indications that the former Senate chief, who has been held in a maximum-security prison since his arrest last year, will appeal his conviction.
In 2020, there was a similar crackdown on young protesters in Nigeria’s economic capital of Lagos State. Six years later, no one has been convicted, and there is no clarity or closure on the violent crackdown on EndSARS protesters in Nigeria. Senator Ravalomanana’s conviction over his role in a violent crackdown on protesters in Madagascar provides some kind of watershed on accountability in leadership in Africa.
