Catherine Samba-Panza, the woman trusted to calm CAR

In a secret ballot, the transitional parliament of the Central African Republic on January 20, 2013 elected Catherine Samba-Panza as its first female president. She becomes the third female African president after Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Joyce Banda of Malawi. The 60-year-old beat Desire Kolingba in a second round ballot. She was born on June 26, 1954, in Fort Lamy, French Equatorial Africa, the present day Chad to a Cameroonian father and a mother from the Central African Republic (CAR). Before becoming President, she was Mayor of Bangui. She was a businesswoman and corporate lawyer before she joined politics. President Samba-Panza will lead the country to the 2015 election. She was elected following the resignation of President Michel Djotodia, on January 10, who was accused of failure to rein in brutal militia groups blamed for the death of hundreds and displacement of hundreds of thousands others. In between, Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet, head of the National Transitional Council (CNT), had acted as interim leader. The vote had attracted eight candidates who were required to prove they had no links to either the Seleka – the Muslim-dominated former rebel movement that had brought Djotodia to power in March, last year – or the Christian anti-Balaka militia– the two main antagonistic groups. Both Seleka and ant-Balaka fighters are accused of crimes against humanity. Rwanda has deployed hundreds of peacekeepers to the war-torn country under an African Union mission in CAR to help end the violence. Asked about Samba-Panza’s victory, MP Connie Sekamana Bwiza said: “Leadership is leadership whether to a woman or man, what is important is having true qualities of a leader with concerns of the wellbeing of the people. “As a gender activist, I’m happy and proud that a woman has been entrusted with the responsibility of calming CAR.” She wished the new president the best during her term in office, adding that she could go on to become a role model to the whole world. “It’s my prayer that the conflict in CAR is resolved very soon. The new president brings in special God-given motherly governance qualities,” Bwiza added. Fiona Mbabazi, a journalist with TV 10, said: “I’m very proud of her, seeing that 75 per cent of MPs voted for her. This also shows that the world is now opening up to women leaders and that people are increasingly having faith and trust in women with regard to good governance.” Rwandan peacekeepers, who are securing major government installations in the capital Bangui, are in charge of the security detail of President Samba-Panza.