Dozens of people, including his widow, a former prime minister and an ex-chief of police, have been indicted by a Haitian judge over the 2021 killing of president Jovenel Moise, local media reported. Moise, 53, was shot dead in July 2021 at his home by about 20 attackers, mostly Colombian mercenaries. His security team did not protect him. Haiti has only gone deeper into chaos since his death. There has been no election and no one has replaced Moise as president.

AyiboPost, a Haitian news portal, published yesterday what it said was the full order from the judge who is looking into the killing. The order said Moise’s widow, Martine Moise, and 50 other people should go to the criminal court “to be judged on the facts of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, terrorism, assassination and complicity in assassination.” The document said “indications of the involvement of the ex-first lady… are sufficient” to indict, and that her statements were “so full of contradictions that they are not good and make her look bad”. Martine Moise was also hurt in the deadly attack. The document said former interim prime minister Claude Joseph and former national police director general Leon Charles also had “sufficient indications” of involvement in the killing. The 122-page report did not “clearly name the masterminds of the assassination, or who paid them,” AyiboPost said.

Joseph Vincent, a Haitian-American who was accused of taking part in the assassination, got life in prison in a US court this month. The United States has charged 11 people over their alleged involvement in Moise’s killing, because part of the assassination plan was made in south Florida. It has given four people life in prison, including Vincent. Haiti is facing a serious political, humanitarian and security crisis, with gangs controlling large parts of the country, and killings more than doubling last year to almost 4,800, according to a UN report this month. The UN said more than 1,100 people were killed, hurt or kidnapped in January alone, making it the most violent month in the country in two years of conflict.