Total fuel shortage paralyses Bangui
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Corbeau News Centrafrique
A total fuel shortage paralysed Bangui on 29 October 2026, emptying the capital’s roads and service stations. Torrential rains had previously caused extensive material damage and loss of life in several neighbourhoods, reports Corbeau News Centrafrique.
A total fuel shortage paralysed Bangui on Thursday 29 October 2026, leaving the Central African capital’s roads almost deserted, reports Corbeau News Centrafrique. Service stations had run out of fuel, preventing a large proportion of residents from travelling.
Heavy rains also fell on Bangui in October, causing material damage and loss of life in several neighbourhoods, according to Corbeau News Centrafrique. The paralysis came after the arrest of the organisers of a previous “ghost town” day, which the outlet attributed to Central African police, gendarmerie and intelligence services.
The shortage occurred three days after a statement by Prime Minister Félix Moloua, head of the Central African government. At a ceremony at the Ministry of Public Service on Monday 26 October, he had called for “zero tolerance” towards civil servants’ absenteeism and threatened to dismiss employees absent from their posts, according to Corbeau News Centrafrique.
The situation extends the series of initiatives launched against rising fuel prices, following the announcement of a ghost town day in Bangui on 8 October and the call by Central African civil society for a day of mobilisation on 11 October. The Central African public prosecutor’s office subsequently opened an investigation into the organisers on 19 October.
