Definitely acquitted by the International Criminal Court on March 31, and former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo returned to Abidjan on Thursday, June 17, after a ten-year absence.
■ When will 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 support in Côte d’Ivoire, led by his former minister Assoa Adou, secretary general of the FPI known as “GOR” (Gbagbo or nothing), and current prime minister Hamed Bakayoko. On 24 February, in the middle of the legislative campaign, a “national reception committee” was launched, consisting of thirteen people who would represent all regions of the country. Subsequently, the system was enriched with “general coordination” around another former minister, Léon Emmanuel Monnet, and nine technical and thematic committees responsible for meeting the various institutional interlocutors.
In these, the roles were divided between the pillars of the former head of state’s political family, 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 spokesman Franck Anderson Kouassi in Communication; or Damana Pickass, who works with mobilization with Marie-Odette Lorougnon. Yopougon’s deputy and son of former president Michel Gbagbo are part of the person in charge of housing.
► To read also: Ivory Coast: what political future for Laurent Gbagbo?
The Hamed Bakayoko’s death, on March 10, the process slows down until his successor Patrick Achi, himself a victim of health problems, takes over the case. In this case, he is mainly surrounded by the minister responsible for the reconciliation Bertin Konan Kouadio, known as KKB, and the one for security, General Vagondo Diomandé.
On April 7, President Alassane Ouattara confirmed that “Laurent Gbagbo is free to return.” He promises that the travel expenses of his predecessor and family members would be “covered by the state”. It was not specified later whether it would be a supply of the Republic’s aircraft or a commercial flight. Finally, Laurent Gbagbo and his second wife “Nady” Bamba will travel in business class on Thursday, June 17 on the scheduled flight with Brussels Airlines. Flight SN229 is scheduled to leave Brussels at 10.55 local time and arrives at 15.45 Abidjan time.
■ How will it be welcomed?
The question of the “format” of the reception largely occupied the negotiations between the government and Laurent Gbagbo’s entourage. “GORs” have long insisted that this return be “a popular party”, “with all those who love it”. “We have an obligation to organize a welcome for him that will be memorable,” Simone Gbagbo explained again in early June to Ivorian journalists.
Finally, in the face of the RHDP’s opposition, which demanded a “modest” return, some post-election victims’ associations also threatened to wait for Laurent Gbagbo to step down to demand his arrest. organizers now prefer to talk about a “visible” return. “What we want is for the Ivory Coast to celebrate everywhere. Not everyone has to converge at the airport, but some show their joy where they are, “Justin Koné Katinan explained last week.
► To read also: Ivory Coast: FPI calls for celebrating Laurent Gbagbo’s return in a spirit of reconciliation
The government would therefore have reached a middle ground with this “visible” return. It should be done in the presence of officials, perhaps Prime Minister Patrick Achi, and a few dozen guests, at the President’s Pavilion at the airport that is being made available at the moment. According to him, areas dedicated to the public would be planned near the airport so that supporters could visit him. The procession would then take a road to the residence chosen by the former president and cross several municipalities north of Cocody.
■ Where will he live and what will his schedule be?
Laurent Gbagbo will occupy a home that has been the subject of security work in recent months. He will not live with Simone Gbagbo, nor with his second wife, Nady Bamba, who has been proposed. According to Jeune Afrique, he will meet with the delegations that will request hearings, probably many during the first weeks of his resettlement.
His home in his home village of Mama (Gagnoa region, west of the country) has been partially rehabilitated in recent months. According to the village manager, Laurent Gbagbo will come on Saturday to bow to his mother’s grave, who died in 2015 while he was on trial in The Hague. On this occasion, two welcoming ceremonies will take place, in public and in his home. According to the Bete tradition, remarkable people will welcome him and symbolically wash him to “cleanse” him after his stay in prison. It will be a first short visit to mother, with a return planned to Abidjan on Sunday.
■ What benefits will he benefit from?
Alassane Ouattara announced that Laurent Gbagbo would benefit from “the benefits and benefits of the former presidents of the republic.” According to the 2005 law on the status of ex-heads of state, he should receive a living wage of a little less than 10 million CFA francs per month (more than 15,000 euros). To which must be added housing allowance and miscellaneous costs for 7.5 million CFA francs. In total: about 17 million CFA francs, or 26,000 euros per month. If this scale were applied retroactively over ten years, which would be the case, Laurent Gbagbo would recover the equivalent of EUR 3.2 million. In addition, his only bank account in Côte d’Ivoire, frozen for ten years, would be released by the authorities.
In addition to the financial aspect, the former president has the right to staff. An auxiliary, a chief of staff, a protocol officer, a missionary, and two secretaries. House staff also (butler, chef, gardener, etc.), as well as three drivers for three vehicles made available to them. In total, about ten people paid for the Ivorian presidency. And 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 provides special procedures that specifically require the approval of the National Assembly.
■ What is his criminal situation?
Laurent Gbagbo is still sentenced to twenty years in prison and fined 329 billion CFA francs (approximately 500 million euros), which was pronounced in January 2018 by Abidjan’s Supreme Court in the so-called “case of BCEAO”.
His three fellow prisoners benefited in August 2018 from the large amnesty ordered by Alassane Ouattara. This order excludes from the scope of the amnesty soldiers and members of armed groups imprisoned for blood crimes, and people “during trial before an international criminal court”, therefore, first and foremost Laurent Gbagbo.
His relatives believe that his acquittal realizes this rash 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 defense organizations, which were against the amnesty and believe that the sentence “is still valid”, while acknowledging that it is “difficult to enforce”.
What, then, is to be done with this condemnation? Four scenarios are possible. If Alassane Ouattara extends the amnesty to Laurent Gbagbo, the conviction will be erased, the former president restoring all his civil and political rights, including, why not, to stand for a vote. If he prefers pardon, the verdict remains in the criminal record, only the punishment is not applied. The third possibility, the less credible, the authorities listen to the associations of the most virulent victims and decide to execute the arrest warrant. A “highly unlikely” hypothesis for sociologist Fahiraman Rodrigue Koné of the Institute for Security Studies, as it “represents a greater risk to the government because of its social cost and the catastrophic impact it would have on the image of Alassane Ouattara.” Finally, the president can play status quo and thus keep “a joker” in his game during the rest of the events and “get to abstain from Laurent Gbagbo to the political game”, concludes Fahiraman Rodrigue Koné.
■ What is the relationship with Alassane Ouattara?
Allies against Henri Konan Bédié in the 1990s, Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara became opposed to “woody de Mama” coming to power. A rivalry that culminated in the 2010 presidential election, which everyone claims to have won.
► To read: Alassane Ouattara and Laurent Gbagbo: from struggle to death to forced reunions
Alassane Ouattara had made reconciliation an issue for his second term, especially with the amnesty granted to about 800 people in August 2018, from which Simone Gbagbo and the “exiles” benefited. This spirit of detente was undermined by the 2020 presidential campaign and third term of office received by a head of state on his promise to hand over, following a vote boycotted by the opposition.
Since this election, discussions have been fruitful: the opposition, in particular the PDCI and the FPI, participated in the March 6 legislative elections, which took place peacefully, and returned to the Assembly. Negotiations on Laurent Gbagbo’s return were successful and on April 7, the head of state therefore gave the green light.
Yet the relationship between the two men is still contradictory. According to relatives, they have not spoken since 2011, and Alassane Ouattara would have appreciated a little waiting in vain for a phone call from Brussels. The communication takes place through intermediaries, including Adama Bictogo on behalf of the presidential party RHDP. The announcement of the date of 17 June by Assoa Adou on Laurent Gbagbo’s birthday, 31 May, also arrested the authorities, who considered it “without consent” before “noting” it.
Asked last week about a future meeting between the two men, Justin Koné Katinan, spokesman for Laurent Gbagbo, replied: “There is evidence, we have our traditions. It will be done, the Ivorians want it. “
.
