Germany’s ambassador to Chad will be expelled within 48 hours for his “impolite attitude” and “non‑respect of diplomatic practices,” the government in N’Djamena said in a statement on Friday. The ambassador, Jan Christian Gordon Kricke, has held the post since July 2021, but the government gave no official explanation for his expulsion. Government spokesman Aziz Mahamat Saleh urged him to “leave Chadian territory within 48 hours.”
A source at the German Embassy, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said they had not been officially contacted and had learned of the news only through social media. Kricke’s diplomatic career includes postings in Niger, Angola and the Philippines, as well as serving as a special representative for Germany in the unstable Sahel.
According to another anonymous government source, Kricke was perceived as “interfering too much” in Chad’s governance and making divisive remarks, and he had been warned on several occasions. General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno assumed power after his father, President Idriss Deby Itno, who ruled for 30 years, died during an anti‑rebellion operation in April 2021. The military junta initially promised to hand power to civilians, but in October the junta extended Deby’s rule for two years.
The German embassy joined France, Spain and the Netherlands in expressing concern over Chad’s delayed return to democracy.
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