The President of Côte d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, granted his pardon to his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo who was sentenced by the Ivorian courts to 20 years in prison for the robbery of the Central Bank of West African States ( BCEAO) during the post-electoral crisis of 2010-2011; but the former head of state rather hoped for an amnesty in view of the next presidential election of 2025.
« We want amnesty », indicated Justin Koné Katinan, the spokesman of Gbagbo’s new party, the African Peoples’ Party-Côte d’Ivoire (PPA-CI), explaining that « the presidential pardon as it is given is already a step, but it is not what we expected ».
Indeed, pardon does not annul the conviction, whereas a convicted person does not have the possibility of embarking on the race for the supreme magistracy.
Gbagbo « has never asked for a presidential pardon »; however, the ongoing political dialogue process “must go all the way to achieve amnesty,” Katinan insisted.
The presidential pardon, the unfreezing of accounts and the payment of life annuities in favor of Gbagbo, these are the measures announced by Ouattara, for the sake of appeasement, during his speech delivered on the occasion of the celebration of the feast. of independence on August 7th.
The 77-year-old former president returned to Côte d’Ivoire in June 2021, after being acquitted in March of the same year by the International Criminal Court of crimes against humanity committed during the post-election crisis that erupted. resulted in 3,000 deaths.
By OMA Newsletter N° 817 of 08/11/2022
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
