Three killings in Saint-Louis, Kanaky-New Caledonia
Published on
Rock Victorin Wamytan, known as “Banane”, Samuel Moekia, and Johan Kaidine, three insurgents from the Kanak community of Saint-Louis, were killed by gunfire from the National Gendarmerie’s intervention group (GIGN) between July and September 2024. Index, in partnership with Le Monde, investigated the circumstances of their deaths. This three-part series reveals the unprecedented measures the French authorities deployed to restore order in the epicentre of the pro-independence revolt.
- Incident date
- Location
- Mont Dore (Kanaky-Nouvelle-Calédonie)
- Victim(s)
- Rock Victorin Wamytan
Samuel Moekia
Johan Kaidine - Consequence(s)
- Death
- Force(s) involved
- National Gendarmerie, GIGN
- Methods employed
- Firearm, Sniper rifle, Assault rifle
- Theme(s)
- Partner(s)
- Le Monde
In November 2024, the Index team travelled to Kanaky-New Caledonia in the aftermath of an uprising that had set this Pacific island ablaze, leaving fourteen dead. Three of them were killed in the Kanak community of Saint-Louis, a pro-independence stronghold east of Nouméa and the epicentre of the revolt.
Between 10 July and 19 September 2024, Rock Victorin Wamytan, Samuel Moekia, and Johan Kaidine were shot dead by the GIGN during a large-scale operation led by the National Gendarmerie against a group of young insurgents.
In Saint-Louis, its investigators gathered dozens of testimonies, along with previously unseen documents and images, in order to understand how the French authorities regained, by all means necessary, control of the road that runs through the community.
For several months, in partnership with Le Monde, Index continued and expanded this investigation. It is now published as a three-part series by Le Monde, in an enhanced format featuring maps, photographs, videos, and interactive 3D animations.
Part 1: At the heart of the New Caledonia riots, how the death of “Banane”, shot dead by the GIGN, set off the siege of Saint-Louis
On 10 July 2024, after several weeks of rioting in a climate of insurrection, Rock Victorin Wamytan, known as “Banane”, aged 38, was shot dead by a sniper from the GIGN, the National Gendarmerie’s elite unit. His death marked a turning point in the State’s efforts to regain control of the RP1, provincial road number 1, which runs through the Saint-Louis community, a pro-independence stronghold, and links the south of the island to the rest of Grande Terre.
Part 2: At the heart of the New Caledonia riots, days of stifling negotiations around the blockade of Saint-Louis
After the death of “Banane”, the noose tightened around the Saint-Louis community. The last real flashpoint in the Caledonian archipelago, the community was subjected to increasingly restrictive security measures.
Part 3: At the heart of the New Caledonia riots, with the end of the siege of Saint-Louis, the price of peace by force
In September 2024, the blockade of the Saint-Louis community, over control of six kilometres of road, ended with the deaths of two more members of “Banane”’s group: Johan Kaidine, 29, and Samuel Moekia, 30, also shot dead by the GIGN in circumstances that remain disputed.