April 20, 2026
Investigating judge Noé Massillon Pierre-Louis completed, on February 16, 2026, a 141-page supplemental report in the case related to the seizure of weapons and ammunition in a container attributed to the Episcopal Church of Haiti in July 2022. In his conclusions, the magistrate recommends that several individuals be referred to the criminal court sitting without a jury.
Among those named is former Minister of Economy and Finance Michel Patrick Boisvert, prosecuted notably for complicity in the transport and illegal trafficking of weapons and ammunition. The former director of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Evens Souffrant, is also referred to the criminal jurisdiction for similar accusations, to which alleged acts of smuggling and counterfeit currency are added.
The case also involves several religious officials and individuals connected to the institution, including Pastor Dieune Day as well as Priests Fritz Désiré and Frantz Cole. Zimbabwean national Sikhumbuzo Vundla and several other individuals are also cited for offenses such as forgery, use of forged documents, and criminal conspiracy.
The investigation further mentions sufficient evidence to prosecute several defendants for money laundering and financing of terrorism. In this aspect of the case, former Director General of the General Customs Administration Julcène Edouard is among those whose criminal liability could be engaged according to the investigating judge’s conclusions.
The case originated from a seizure carried out on July 14, 2022, at the Port-au-Prince customs office, where police discovered a significant cache of weapons and ammunition in a container cleared in the name of the religious institution. Investigators at the time seized 22 firearms, more than 14,000 rounds of ammunition, and a box containing $100,000 in counterfeit bills, in a shipment that had benefited from a customs exemption granted to the Church.
