• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
No Result
View All Result
1
Home Africa

Ivory Coast president pardons predecessor Gbagbo to boost “social cohesion”

7 August 2022, 7:51 AM  |
Reuters Reuters |  @SABCNews
Alassane Ouattara

Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara speaks during the first cabinet meeting of the new government at the presidential palace in Abidjan, Ivory Coast April 7, 2021.

Alassane Ouattara

Image: Reuters

Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara speaks during the first cabinet meeting of the new government at the presidential palace in Abidjan, Ivory Coast April 7, 2021.

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara on Saturday said he had offered a presidential pardon to long-time rival Laurent Gbagbo, as part of a reconciliation drive with his predecessors ahead of elections in 2025.

Gbagbo, President from 2000-2011, returned to Ivory Coast last year after being acquitted in 2019 by the Hague on war crimes charges for his role in a civil war sparked by his refusal to concede defeat after the 2010 election.

Back home, he still faced a 20-year prison sentence for a 2019 conviction linked to the robbery of funds from the Abidjan central bank during the post-election period. He has always denied the charges.

“In order to further strengthen social cohesion, I have signed a decree granting a presidential pardon to Laurent Gbagbo,”  Ouattara said in a televised speech to the nation ahead of its Independence Day on Sunday.

He said he had also asked for Gbagbo’s accounts to be unfrozen and for the payment of the arrears of his presidential lifetime annuity.

The decision follows a rare meeting in July between Ouattara, Gbagbo, and former President Henri Konan Bedie.

The trio dominated Ivory Coast’s fractious political scene since the 1990s. Bedie was President from 1993 until his ouster in a 1999 coup. Gbagbo governed from 2000 until his election defeat to Ouattara in 2010.

Tensions came to a head most dramatically after the 2010 election. Gbagbo refused to concede defeat, leading to a brief civil war that killed about 3 000 people before rebel forces aligned with Ouattara swept into the main city Abidjan.

Ouattara has presided over relative stability during his decade in power. But dozens of people were killed in clashes that broke out around the 2020 election when he stood for a third term that Gbagbo and Bedie said was unconstitutional.

The President has not yet said whether he plans to run for a fourth term in 2025. He has said he would like to step down but also suggested he would need Gbagbo and Bedie to commit to withdrawing from politics in order to do so.

They have not so far indicated what their plans are.

Share article
Tags: Elections 2025Ivory CoastAlassane OuattaraLaurent Gbagbo
Previous Post

Cele determined police department will continue the fight against criminals

Next Post

Preservation of culture under the spotlight as Basotho mark their New Year

Related Posts

FILE PHOTO: Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigeria's newly declared winner of 2023 presidential election, Bola Tinubu pose for photograph

Nigeria’s Tinubu sworn in as president, under pressure over economy and security

29 May 2023, 12:30 PM
FILE PHOTO: A man walks while smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah//File Photo

Heavy clashes in Sudan’s capital as truce set to expire

29 May 2023, 12:24 PM
FILE PHOTO: Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni speaks during a Reuters interview

Uganda approves harsh anti-LGBTQ law, risks global backlash

29 May 2023, 11:39 AM
President 
Cyril Ramaphosa
 arriving in the Federal Republic of Nigeria through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja

Ramaphosa in Nigeria to attend Tinubu’s inauguration

29 May 2023, 8:00 AM
Gerco van Deventer held hostage by JIM in the north of Mali.

Gift of the Givers releases Gerco van Deventer’s “proof of life” video

29 May 2023, 6:39 AM
Nigeria's president-elect Bola Tinubu

Nigeria prepares for presidential inauguration

28 May 2023, 4:31 PM
Next Post
Girls are seen dancing at the Basotho New Year celebrations hosted by the Lesotho Development Corporation at the Manthabiseng Convention Centre in Maseru on 29 July 2022.

Preservation of culture under the spotlight as Basotho mark their New Year

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • DENOSA defends nurses for placing newborns in boxes
  • Limpopo teacher writes a book which simplifies Maths
  • North West Health probes why newborn babies were placed in boxes
  • Majodina refutes allegations of soliciting a bribe from Mkhwebane
  • Pending court cases interfering with my duties: AmaZulu King
  • Dr Nandipha’s looks during court appearances under the spotlight
  • Experts raise caution over Prime energy drink craze
  • 108-carat ‘fancy intense pink’ diamond discovered in Lesotho
  • Dr Nandipha Magudumana, co-accused in Thabo Bester’s escape to apply for bail
  • Reserve Bank expected to increase repo rate on Thursday
  • Limpopo teacher writes a book which simplifies Maths
  • Highly unlikely Majodina attempted to solicit funds from Mkhwebane: FF+
  • Bester’s lawyer to challenge procedures of his re-arrest in Tanzania
  • VIDEO: Accused 1 to 4 in Thabo Bester escape denied bail
  • Alleged rhino poaching kingpin to appear in court

LATEST

File: Collins Chabane Municipality mayor Moses Maluleke speaking at an event
  • South Africa

Current Collins Chabane Mayor wants predecessor’s murder case quickly concluded


Mauricio Pochettino applauds fans after a match.
  • Sport

Pochettino handed task of reviving Chelsea’s fortunes


Cows graze as steam rises from the cooling towers of Matla Power Station, a coal-fired power plant operated by Eskom in Mpumalanga province, South Africa, May 20,2018
  • Eskom rolling blackouts
  • Business

Scientist finds solution to extending life of power plants’ rotors


Türkiye President Tayyip Erdogan
  • World

Türkiye’s Erdogan triumphs in election test, extending 20-year rule


Babies inside of cardboard boxes at Mahikeng Hospital in the North West
  • South Africa

Unions protest against suspension of nurses in newborns in a box debacle


One SA Movement leader Mmusi Maimane
  • Politics

Maimane lays culpable homicide charge against govt over “load shedding” death


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2023

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2023

Previous Bheki Cele Cele determined police department will continue the fight against criminals
Next Preservation of culture under the spotlight as Basotho mark their New Year