Investigations in Senegal and Chad
This chapter discusses the start of the work of the Extraordinary African Chambers (EAC) on investigating the case against Hissène Habré and others. The role of the Investigative Chamber was to undertake pre-trial preparation by performing whatever acts are necessary to uncover the truth and by looking for both incriminating and exonerating evidence to determine whether the trial should occur. Initially planned to take fifteen months, the investigating phase ended up taking nearly two years, from July of 2013 through February of 2015. At the end of the investigation, the investigating judges drafted the indictment that the Prosecutor then proceeded to present to the court. Judge Jean Kandé was one of the Senegalese investigative judges for the EAC. Their investigation resulted in the indictment of Habré and five of his subordinates. The chapter then describes the investigation phase, the challenges of securing Chad's cooperation with in situ fact-finding, and the benefits of working across international borders with other local actors.