Laurent Gbagbo "gave news" to traditional chiefs
Laurent Gbagbo addresses traditional leaders in his residence in Mama, June 28, 2021. AFP - SIA KAMBOU
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
For his second day of visit to his village of Mama, Laurent Gbagbo received in his residence more than 200 traditional leaders, and local officials of his party.
After ten years of absence including eight in pre-trial detention, the former president spoke for more than 35 minutes, punctuating his remarks with anecdotes and presenting himself as the victim of a political trial.
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With our special correspondent in Mama,
François Hume-Ferkatadji
Under the imposing appatame that sits in the center of the park of his Mama residence, Laurent Gbagbo, sky blue shirt, gets up to speak.
A few words in bété, then finally, he "
gives news
", as tradition dictates after a long period of absence.
“
Yes, I was brought there…
” (audience laughter). There, in other words at Sheveningen penitentiary in the Netherlands, where he spent eight years in pre-trial detention. Multiplying figures of speech, understatement or euphemisms, Laurent Gbagbo recounts his detention at length in a light tone. "
I made friends
", he says, or even affirming that he "
did not see the time pass
".
As if to forget
his official request for divorce with Simone Gbagbo
which earned him some half-word criticism among his supporters, he insisted on the role of Nady Bamba, his current companion.
“
She fed me.
She was the one who gave me money every month.
Because the food we are served in prison is not good
.
"
Settlement of accounts with the ICC
Then he calls into question the procedure and the prosecutions of the International Criminal Court: "
It was not serious, it was necessary to remove a troublesome man
,
an embarrassing competitor, so I was put there
" while "
he didn't 'there was nothing
'.
"
I am not a criminal,
" he proclaims.
Finally, Gbagbo continues to punctuate his intervention with anecdotes and metaphors, all of which aim to make the audience understand that he will return to the political game.
By addressing the executive secretary of the PDCI present among the guests, he calls on his supporters to form an alliance with the PDCI.
“
Let's not curse each other,
” he pleads.
Also notable, in 35 minutes of intervention, Laurent Gbagbo has not once mentioned the name of Alassane Ouatarra, the Ivorian president.
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Ivory Coast
Laurent Gbagbo