On Friday, the Chadian government announced that it had asked the German ambassador to leave the country within 48 hours because of his "rude behavior" and "disrespect for diplomatic practices."
Government spokesman Aziz Mohamed Saleh said – in a statement – that the government "requests Jan Christian Gordon Kreike, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany, to leave Chadian territory within 48 hours."
For his part, a source in the German Foreign Ministry said, "The reasons that prompted the Chadian government to declare our ambassador in N'Djamena persona non grata are completely incomprehensible. We are in contact with the Chadian government on this issue."
A Chadian government source, on condition of anonymity, said that the authorities blame the diplomat for his "excessive interference" in the affairs of "running the country," as well as his "statements that tend to divide the Chadians."
The same source confirmed that Kreika had previously received several "alerts".
Kreika was appointed ambassador to Chad in July 2021 after holding similar positions in Niger, Angola and the Philippines. He was also Germany's special representative for the Sahel region.
General Mohamed Idriss Deby Itno arrived in Chad's presidency in April 2021, after announcing the death of his father, Idriss Deby Itno, while he was on the battlefront against rebels after 3 decades in power.
Mohamed Deby promised the Chadians and the international community to hand over power to civilians through "free and democratic elections" and not to run for the presidency.
In October, a national dialogue was held that was boycotted by a wide spectrum of the opposition and civil society, who denounced the "inheritance of power", and Déby was appointed as a "transitional" president for a two-year term ending with "transparent" elections.
The German embassy added its voice to the embassies of France, Spain and the Netherlands, as well as the European Union, to express its "concern" after extending the transitional period and opening the door to the possibility of Deby's candidacy for the presidency.
