Haiti on Thursday commemorated the one-year anniversary of the murder of President Jovenel Moise, whose killing created a power vacuum and allowed the country’s gangs to expand their territory and even take over the headquarters of the nation’s courts.
Haitian police have arrested more than 40 people, but have yet to charge anyone in the murder, in which a group of gunmen that included former Colombian soldiers stormed Moise’s home in a pre-dawn raid.
Last month a gang known as “5 segonn,” or “5 seconds,” took control of the Port-au-Prince Palace of Justice, the seat of the Haitian court system, dashing any remaining hope for progress in the investigation into Moise’s murder.
Samuel Madistin, a lawyer who heads Haitian human rights group Clear Eyes Foundation said One year later, the investigation has not advanced, adding that there are people that have been arrested for a year who have never seen a judge.
The office of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who has been at the helm of government since last year, on Wednesday said July 7 would be a holiday to commemorate Moise.
Henry spoke on Thursday at a ceremony at Haiti’s national pantheon in Port-au-Prince, where a portrait of Moise was placed amid an arrangement of flowers.
Henry has faced accusations that he was involved in the plot, including by Moise’s widow Martine, who was wounded during the attack and was not present at Thursday’s ceremony.
July 1 statement issued by Martine Moise’s communications office said, “The Moise family will not participate in commemorative events supported by the Haitian state, whose Head of Government is the subject of grave accusations about the assassination of the President of the Republic.”
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