Former Haitian first lady Martine Moïse is renewing her call for justice for her husband, President Jovenel Moïse, who was assassinated on July 7, 2021.
“From the beginning of the year until this past month, our message has not changed. We continue to demand justice for Jovenel Moïse. Many of you may doubt this because justice in Haiti is not guaranteed,” she said in a statement.
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Martine Moïse, who was also injured during the attack at their private residence and later sought medical treatment in the United States, said the justice system has been manipulated by a small group that uses it to control the population. She said her husband had long spoken out against a system that operates with impunity.
“President Jovenel Moïse never stopped denouncing the system that holds the country’s justice system hostage. They are using this system to destroy his character while he was alive and to disrespect his memory after his death,” she said. “This judiciary has become a tool of political persecution for anyone who demands justice for the President. Those without powerful connections die in prison. Those with money never enter prison even when evidence against them is clear.”
She also referenced events on February 7, 2021, when authorities in Haiti said they had foiled an attempt to remove President Moïse from power. At that time, political tensions were high as opposition groups insisted his presidential mandate had ended. According to officials, twenty-three people were arrested, including a Supreme Court judge and a senior police officer.
“Where are the judges who issued a warrant against President Jovenel while he was carrying out the duties entrusted to him by the people? It was the same warrant they used to justify killing him,” Martine Moïse said.
She questioned how the same judicial system implicated in the plot could now be responsible for delivering justice. “Many thoughtful people must wonder how a justice system that participated in a crime can be trusted to judge it. But we remain convinced that the defeat of justice is temporary. Money and power can corrupt, but karma exists. There is a price to pay for every action. Justice cannot die.”
Martine Moïse said it has now been fifty-three months since what she described as oligarchs and politicians orchestrated illegal court rulings, attempted a coup, assassinated the President, and attacked her. She said armed groups have inflicted violence for more than four years, paralyzing communities and holding the population hostage.
She denounced what she called a coordinated effort by political elites and foreign actors to maintain control and secure power in February. “They want to keep the people trapped under a violent and oppressive system,” she said.
The former first lady described the current level of violence across the country as “beyond words,” pointing to brutal attacks in communities such as Arcahaie, Montrouis, Saint-Marc, Savien, L’Estère, Mirebalais, Lascahobas, Sodo, Carrefour-Feuilles, Martissant, La Saline, and Croix-des-Bouquets. She said the violence indicates that the nation has lost its moral compass.
She invoked Haiti’s revolutionary leaders, reminding Haitians of the historic struggle for freedom. “It was in the face of this kind of violence and oppression that Padrejean, Makandal, Boukman, Toussaint, and Dessalines declared one rallying cry: liberty or death.”
Martine Moïse recalled a video in which her husband asked, “What will we do in the face of these criminals and lawless bandits?” She said those who thrive on chaos for power and money will never seek peace.
“The people have had enough. The time has come for this system to collapse,” she said.
