Hamed Bakayoko, the Ivorian prime minister, died on Wednesday 10 March in Berlin of cancer at the age of 56. He was evacuated from Côte d’Ivoire for medical reasons on February 18 after a rapid deterioration in his health. Hamed Bakayoko, pillar of Ivorian politics, RDR and then RHDP, had long enjoyed strong popularity.
as reported from Abdijan,
It was with the applause that we were able to measure the popularity of “Hambak”, to which he was nicknamed. Like this evening in August 2019 in the stadium of the Abidjan archicomble, during national funeral of DJ Arafat he called his “son.” He had spoken long to improvise, emotions in his voice, a tribute to the king of the offbeat coupe.
“Hamed,” as Ivorians often call him, was not a great speaker, but he had the qualities of tribune, voice, stature, charisma. He spoke to everyone, even when the Ivory Coast was divided into two incompatible camps, provided services, cultivated his networks in all circles, political, artistic, security, diplomatic.
► Read :Côte d’Ivoire: Death of Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko of Germany
This popularity was used by his political family as an asset. But she also sometimes worried in her own camp. Because the story of Hamed Bakayoko is the story of a Balzacian rise, especially favored by the trust of Dominique Ouattara, the wife of the president, then of the presidential couple. The story of a boy who, with his master’s degree as the only diploma, will successively be a student leader, journalist, radio manager, deputy, mayor of Abobo, interior minister, defense, then prime minister.
Some attributed to him presidential ambitions, especially after the death of his predecessor Amadou Gon Coulibaly in July 2020. Still, it was Alassane Ouattara who then replaced his second place. Did Hambak then think of the 2025 presidential election while shaving in the morning? “No, I like my life the way it is,” the prime minister replied to reporters a few weeks ago without convincing. Hamed Bakayoko had just been re-elected deputy despite his absence from Séguéla.
We got closer because we had things in common. Children of the people who started very low and who have increased by work, self-sacrifice and resilience that have been built. We had it in common, it brought us closer.
Bonaventure Kalou, former international footballer and mayor of Vavoua
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