Ivory Coast: all you need to know about the return of Laurent Gbagbo
A silhouette with the effigy of Laurent Gbagbo near the headquarters of his party in Abidjan, June 14, 2021. REUTERS - LUC GNAGO
Text by: François Mazet Follow
10 mins
Definitively acquitted by the International Criminal Court on March 31, former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo returned to Abidjan on Thursday June 17, after ten years of absence.
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■ When does he arrive and who organized his return?
The return of the former president has been the subject of official discussions since November 2020 between his supporters in Côte d'Ivoire, led by his ex-minister Assoa Adou, secretary general of the FPI known as “GOR” (Gbagbo or nothing), and then Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko. On February 24, in the midst of the legislative campaign, a “national reception committee” was launched, with thirteen personalities supposed to represent all regions of the country. Subsequently, the system was enriched by "general coordination" around another former minister, Léon Emmanuel Monnet, and nine technical and thematic committees responsible for meeting the various institutional interlocutors.
In these, roles were divided between the pillars of the political family of the former head of state, delegates from other formations, first and foremost the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI), and recently returned exiles, such as Justin Koné Katinan, who joined FPI-GOR spokesperson Franck Anderson Kouassi in communications;
or Damana Pickass, who works on mobilization with Marie-Odette Lorougnon.
The deputy for Yopougon and son of the former president, Michel Gbagbo, is part of the one in charge of accommodation.
► To read also: Ivory Coast: what political future for Laurent Gbagbo?
The
death of Hamed Bakayoko
on March 10 slows down the process, while his successor Patrick Achi, himself a victim of health problems, takes over the case. He is mainly surrounded in this case by the Minister in charge of Reconciliation Bertin Konan Kouadio, known as KKB, and that of Security, General Vagondo Diomandé.
On April 7, President Alassane Ouattara affirmed that "
Laurent Gbagbo is free to return
".
He promises that the travel expenses of his predecessor and members of his family would be "
covered by the state
".
It was not specified later whether it would be a provision of an aircraft of the Republic or a commercial flight.
Finally, Laurent Gbagbo and his second wife “Nady” Bamba will travel on Thursday June 17th in business class on the regular Brussels Airlines flight.
Flight SN229 is scheduled to leave Brussels at 10:55 am local time and arrive at 3:45 pm Abidjan time.
■ How will it be welcomed?
The question of the "format" of the reception
has greatly occupied the negotiations between the government and the entourage of Laurent Gbagbo. The “GORs” have long insisted that this return be “
a popular celebration
”, “
with all those who love it
”. "
We have a duty to give him a welcome that will be memorable,"
Simone Gbagbo again declared at the beginning of June to Ivorian journalists.
Finally, faced with the opposition of the RHDP, which called for a "
modest
"
return
, some associations of victims of the post-electoral crisis threatening to also wait for Laurent Gbagbo to get off the plane to demand his arrest,
the organizers now prefer to speak of "
visible
"
return
.
“
What we want is Côte d'Ivoire to celebrate everywhere.
Not everyone has to converge at the airport, but some people show their joy where they are,
”explained Justin Koné Katinan last week.
► See also: Côte d'Ivoire: the FPI calls to celebrate the return of Laurent Gbagbo in a spirit of reconciliation
The government would therefore have reached a middle path with this "
visible
"
return
.
It should be done in the presence of officials, perhaps the head of government Patrick Achi, and a few dozen guests, at the presidential pavilion of the airport made available for the occasion.
According to his entourage, areas dedicated to the public would be planned near the airport to allow supporters to greet him.
The procession would then take a route to the residence chosen by the former president, crossing several municipalities to the north of Cocody.
■ Where will he live and what will his schedule be?
Laurent Gbagbo will occupy a residence that has been the subject of security work in recent months. He will not reside with Simone Gbagbo, nor with his second wife, Nady Bamba, as has been suggested. It is in this residence, paid with his allowances, according to
Jeune Afrique
, that he will meet the delegations which will request hearings, surely numerous in the first weeks of his resettlement.
His residence in his native village of Mama (Gagnoa region, west of the country) has been partly rehabilitated in recent months.
According to the village chief, Laurent Gbagbo will come on Saturday to bow to the grave of his mother, who died in 2015 while he was on trial in The Hague.
On this occasion, two welcoming ceremonies will take place, in public and at his home.
According to the Bété tradition, the notables will welcome him and symbolically wash him to “purify” him after his stay in prison.
It will be a brief first visit to Mama, with a return scheduled for Abidjan on Sunday.
■ What advantages will he benefit from?
Alassane Ouattara announced that Laurent Gbagbo would benefit "
from the advantages and indemnities due to the former presidents of the Republic
". Under the 2005 law on the status of former heads of state, he should obtain a life allowance of just under 10 million CFA francs per month (over 15,000 euros). To which must be added housing allowances and miscellaneous costs for 7.5 million CFA francs. In total: around 17 million CFA francs, or 26,000 euros per month. If this scale is applied retroactively over ten years, which should be the case, Laurent Gbagbo would recover the equivalent of 3.2 million euros. In addition, his only bank account in Côte d'Ivoire, frozen for ten years, was to be released by the authorities.
In addition to the financial aspect, the former president is entitled to staff.
An aide-de-camp, a chief of staff, a protocol officer, a mission officer and two secretaries.
House staff too (butler, cook, gardener, etc.), as well as three drivers for three vehicles made available to them.
In total, about ten people paid by the Ivorian presidency.
As well as a security squadron.
The distribution of these posts was the subject of negotiations between the government and Laurent Gbagbo's representatives.
It should be noted that the status of former president does not confer criminal immunity, but does grant special procedures which notably require the agreement of the National Assembly.
■ What is his criminal situation?
Laurent Gbagbo is still under sentence of twenty years in prison and a fine of 329 billion CFA francs (around 500 million euros), pronounced in January 2018 by the Supreme Court of Abidjan in
the case known as "the breakage of the BCEAO".
His three co-convicts benefited in August 2018 from the great amnesty decreed by Alassane Ouattara.
This order excluded from the scope of the amnesty soldiers and members of armed groups imprisoned for blood crimes, and people "
on trial before an international criminal court
", first and foremost, therefore, Laurent Gbagbo.
His relatives believe that his acquittal brings down this exclusion and that the amnesty therefore logically extends to the former president. However, they are waiting for a "
political gesture
" to formalize this, while ensuring that the subject has never been a "
prerequisite
" for his return. An opinion that does not share the majority or the Ivorian human rights organizations, which were opposed to the amnesty and consider that the sentence "
is still valid
", while recognizing that it is "
difficult to execute
".
What then to do with this condemnation? Four scenarios are possible. If Alassane Ouattara extends the amnesty to Laurent Gbagbo, the conviction is erased, the former president recovers all of his civil and political rights, including, why not, that of standing for a ballot. If he prefers pardon, the sentence remains in the criminal record, only the penalty is not applied. Third possibility, the less plausible, the authorities listen to the associations of the most virulent victims and decide to execute the arrest warrant. A “
highly improbable
”
hypothesis
, for the sociologist Fahiraman Rodrigue Koné, of the Institute for Security Studies, because it “
represents a greater risk for the government because of its social cost and the disastrous impact it would have on the image of Alassane Ouattara
”.
Finally, the president can play the
status quo
, and thus keep "
a joker
" in his game, for the rest of the events, and "
obtain the renunciation of Laurent Gbagbo to the political game
", completes Fahiraman Rodrigue Koné.
■ What relationship with Alassane Ouattara?
Allies against Henri Konan Bédié in the 1990s, Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara became opponents of the “woody de Mama” coming to power.
A rivalry that reached its climax at the time of the 2010 presidential election, which everyone claims to have won.
► To read also: Alassane Ouattara and Laurent Gbagbo: from the fight to the death to forced reunions
Alassane Ouattara had made reconciliation an issue of his second term, with the amnesty granted to some 800 people in August 2018, from which Simone Gbagbo and the "exiles" benefited.
This spirit of detente was undermined by the presidential campaign of 2020 and the
third term obtained by a head of state back on his promise
to hand over, after a vote boycotted by the opposition.
Since this election, discussions have been fruitful: the opposition, PDCI and FPI in particular, participated in the legislative elections of March 6, which took place peacefully, and returned to the Assembly. The negotiations for the return of Laurent Gbagbo were successful, and on April 7, the Head of State therefore gave the green light.
Nevertheless, the relationship between the two men remains conflicting. According to relatives, they have not spoken since 2011, and Alassane Ouattara would have little appreciated waiting in vain for a phone call from Brussels. Communication is through intermediary representatives, including Adama Bictogo on behalf of the presidential party RHDP. The announcement of the date of June 17 by Assoa Adou on Laurent Gbagbo's birthday, May 31, also gripped the authorities, who deemed it "
non-consensual
" before "
taking note
" of it. .
To the question asked last week of a future meeting between the two men, Justin Koné Katinan, spokesperson for Laurent Gbagbo, replied: “
There is evidence, we have our traditions.
It will be done, the Ivorians want it.
"
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