Haiti’s Slain President’s Wife Accused In His Assassination

Martine Moïse has been indicted over accusations of conspiring in the 2021 assassination of her husband, former Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.

Following the sentencing of ex-DEA informant Joseph Vincent to life in prison for his role in the 2021 murder of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, The New York Times reports that his wife, Martine Moïse, has been accused of conspiring in his assassination.

In addition to Martine Moïse, former Haiti Prime Minister Claude Joseph and 49 others have been indicted over their alleged roles in the death of the former Haitian president. As CNN reported, in documents made available to the public by Haitian news site AyiboPost on Feb. 19, Martine Moïse and Joseph are alleged to have conspired to replace Moïse as the president of Haiti.

Although accused of conspiring against her husband in a bid to replace him herself, Martine was shot when the assassins entered Moïse’s home and killed him, something that PBY&A, the law firm representing her, pointed out in a statement to CNN. “She has no motivation for this attack, and her inclusion is supposedly based on her imperfect memory of the most traumatic night of her life…There is no basis in law or fact for Mrs. Moise to be charged for this crime and including her in this indictment is an embarrassment that further calls into question the legitimacy of the current Haitian government.”

In 2021, Moïse told CNN that she believed that once her husband was shot, her time was also drawing to a close. She said, “Once they shot the president, that’s when I thought, ‘It’s over for both of us.’ And I closed my eyes, you know, I didn’t think about anything else. I thought, ‘It’s over. This our last day.’”

Meanwhile, Joseph, after an order from Judge Walther Lesser Voltaire came down calling for the arrest and trial of those accused of conspiring in the murder of the Haitian president, released a statement asserting his belief that the case was orchestrated by current Prime Minister Ariel Henry. “They failed to kill me and Martine Moïse on July 7, 2021, now they are using the Haitian justice system to advance their Machiavellian agenda,” Joseph said. “I will not give up my fight against a government that has been killing the Haitian people.” In his statement, Joseph also accused Henry of “weaponizing the Haitian justice system.”

Jean-Junior Joseph, spokesman for the prime minister’s office, issued a statement to CNN that denied the involvement of Henry’s office in the order, saying, “The examining magistrate is independent and has the means to conduct his investigation in complete freedom. The prime minister has no direct relationship with the examining magistrate, nor does he control him. The judge remains free to issue his order in accordance with the law and his conscience.”

As Al-Jazeera reported, since the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, Haiti has only sunk deeper into chaos. No election has been held, and Haitian gangs, which had already been terrorizing the nation, have only grown bolder. They note that although the UN has ratified an international force to assist police in Haiti, to be led by Kenya, previous abuses by foreign entities and allegations of corruption against Henry’s regime have left the international community wary of providing help to Haiti.