Tag Archives: Ivory Coast

BREAKING: Ivory Coast’s former first lady Simone Gbagbo acquitted of war crimes

Posted on by
1

An Ivory Coast court has found former first lady Simone Gbagbo not guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity after a trial on her alleged role in postelection abuses that led to the deaths of thousands.

Judge Kouadio Bouatchi with the country’s highest criminal court said a jury unanimously voted on Tuesday to free Gbagbo.

The prosecution had asked for a life sentence, saying she participated on a committee that organised attacks against supporters of her husband’s opponent after the 2010 election.

Once dubbed Ivory Coast’s “Iron Lady,” Gbagbo, who was not in court on Tuesday, must still serve 20 years in prison after being found guilty in 2015 of offenses against the state.

The prosecution had called on the jury to find the 67-year-old wife of ex-president Laurent Gbagbo “guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentence her to life imprisonment,” said prosecutor Aly Yeo.

“After her spouse came to power, she started to impose herself as the real head of Ivory Coast, the army, the police and gendarmerie,” Yeo said.

Laurent Gbagbo is on trial for crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and persecution, having been handed over in November 2011 to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

The ICC also wanted to prosecute his wife and issued a warrant for her arrest, but Ivorian authorities refused to hand her over, insisting she would receive a fair trial at home.

Ivory Coast descended into civil war in 2011 after Gbagbo’s refusal to accept defeat to Alassane Ouattara in a presidential runoff election. About 3,000 people were killed in the conflict.

“We regret this decision when we think of the many victims,” Soungaola Coulibaly, lawyer for the victims, told Reuters.

“If Simone Gbagbo is declared not guilty of these acts then who was? … The victims do not understand this decision.”

Human Rights Watch said the judgement left “unanswered serious questions about her alleged role in brutal crimes”.

“The acquittal … reflects the many irregularities in the process against her,” Param-Preet Singh, associate director in Human Rights Watch’s International Justice programme, said.

“The poor quality of the investigation and weak evidence presented in her trial underscore the importance of the ICC’s outstanding case against her for similar crimes.”

 

Source: AlJazeera

Prosecutors demand life sentence for Ivory Coast’s ex-first lady, Simone Gbagbo.

Posted on by
2

Prosecutors on Tuesday demanded a life jail term for Ivory Coast’s former first lady, Simone Gbagbo, who is on trial for alleged crimes against humanity.

“Gentlemen of the jury, you will declare Madame Gbagbo guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentence her to life imprisonment,” prosecutor Aly Yeo urged in his summing up at the country’s top criminal court.

He described her as a shadowy figure who orchestrated attacks on her husband’s opponents.

Gbagbo, the 67-year-old wife of former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo, was not in court as the jury retired to consider a verdict expected later Tuesday.

Once dubbed Ivory Coast’s “Iron Lady,” Simone Gbagbo is already serving a 20-year sentence for “endangering state security.”

Laurent Gbagbo is on trial for crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and persecution, having been handed over in November 2011 to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

The ICC also wanted to prosecute his wife and issued a warrant for her arrest, but Ivorian authorities refused to hand her over, insisting she would receive a fair trial at home.

Some 3,000 people died in five months of unrest in the cocoa-rich west African republic after Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept the result of presidential elections in 2010.

Yeo said Simone Gbagbo headed a crisis cell — “a genuine decision-making body” that allegedly coordinated attacks by armed forces and pro-Gbagbo militias.

The evidence came from documents found in at the home of the presidential couple when the pair were arrested on September 11, 2011, he said.

“She replied to correspondence from arms dealers offering weapons and combat helicopters,” said Yeo.

She is accused of distributing arms to militias backing her husband following his election defeat.

In one case, she allegedly played an indirect role in the shelling of a market in Abobo, a Ouattara stronghold in the capital Abidjan, in November 2010.

 

Source: AFP

BREAKING: Ivory Coast special forces carry out mutiny in town of Adiake

Posted on by
Reply

Special forces mutinied in Ivory Coast’s coastal town of Adiake on Tuesday, firing their weapons into the air, a resident and a military source said.

 

The military source said the mutineers were seeking a similar pay-off to one agreed between soldiers and the government after a revolt in January.

 

Source: Reuters

Ivory Coast Mutineers Reach Deal Amid Fears.

Posted on by
12

Disgruntled soldiers in Ivory Coast reached an agreement with the government late on Friday resolving a dispute over bonus payments that had threatened to reignite a nationwide army mutiny, negotiators for the mutineers said.

There was no confirmation of the deal from the government, and it was not immediately evident that the terms had been accepted by the rank and file, who took to the streets in Bouake, the second largest city, and other locations on Friday.

Soldiers, most of them former rebel fighters, launched a revolt in Bouake a week ago that rapidly gained momentum in the world’s top cocoa grower until the government was forced to yield to the mutineers’ demands after two days.

But the soldiers said they had received none of the 12 million CFA francs ($19,278) in bonuses they said the government had promised to pay each of them under an initial deal to end the uprising struck last Saturday.

“We’ve reached an agreement. They will pay five million Monday and the rest each month,” Sergeant Mamadou Kone, one of the mutineers’ negotiators, told Reuters. “We haven’t finished up, but that’s the most important thing.”

The soldiers had appeared poised to relaunch their mutiny on Friday.

Renegade troops sealed off Bouake as evening fell, even as a government delegation headed by Defence Minister Alain-Richard Donwahi pursued talks with the mutiny’s leaders inside the city.

Gunfire meanwhile broke out at two strategic military camps in the commercial capital, Abidjan, and mutineers seized entrances to Korhogo, a city in the country’s north.

Ivory Coast has one of the world’s fastest growing economies but has struggled to resolve deeply entrenched problems left over from years of civil war and political turmoil.

The government has failed to bring significant reform to the army, which remains a patchwork of former rebel fighters and troops who stayed loyal to the government during the 2002-2011 crisis. Divisions and parallel chains of command persist.

 

Source: Channels TV

Funny Twitter Reactions After German Women Beat Ivory Coast 10-0 in Women’s World Cup

Posted on by
1

Last night, the Ivory Coast women’s football team played their German counterparts in their opening match at the ongoing FIFA women’s world cup.

At the end of the night, the German team emerged conquerors with a devastating 10-0 scoreline.

As usual, Nigerians and other users on Twitter in their reaction to the shocking scoreline have had some interesting things to say. We brought some of them here for you:

We begin with popular grandiloquent politician, Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon who expressed his grief in terse simple words:

Ivory Coast Bans Skin-Whitening Creams

Posted on by
Reply

Ivory Coast has banned skin-whitening creams, because of fears they cause lasting damage to health.
The health ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

“Cosmetic lightening and hygiene creams … that depigment the skin … are now forbidden,

The ban affects whitening creams and lotions containing mercury and its derivatives, cortisone, vitamin A or more than two percent hydroquinine, a lightening agent that is used to develop photographs.

According to Guardian UK, Elidje Ekra, a dermatologist at the Treichville university hospital in Abidjan said

“In our cultures, some people think women with light skin are the most beautiful. This beauty standard … pushes many girls to depigment their skin.What we see in the media is the lighter one’s skin is, the better one’s life,While the craze is most widespread among women, some men use the creams too,

The creams are also extremely popular in many countries in Asia, including India, Pakistan and Japan, as well as in the Middle East.The use of the creams is believed to be even more widespread in Nigeria.

Ivory Coast’s Former First Lady Simone Gbagbo Jailed 20 Years. See Why

Posted on by
Reply

Ivory Coast’s former first lady, Simone Gbagbo, has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for her role in the violence that followed the 2010 elections. Gbagbo, 65, had been charged with undermining state security.

Her husband, former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, is awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

More than 3,000 people died in the violence that followed the presidential poll after the ex-leader refused to accept defeat to Alassane Ouattara.

She and her husband were arrested in 2011 after troops stormed a bunker where the pair had taken refuge in the main city, Abidjan.

And it was in the same city where Gbagbo – once called the “Iron Lady” and known for her fiery speeches – faced trial. She was also accused of disturbing public order and organising armed gangs.

‘Ashamed of Ivorian justice’

She denied witness accounts that accused her of personally distributing arms to the death squads that operated in Abidjan during the five-month conflict.

Gbagbos

The Gbagbos were eventually captured in April 2011 after an assault supported by UN and French troops

The court unanimously sentenced her to 20 years, which is the sentence for undermining state security.

The prosecution had only asked for 10 years – but this had only been for the charge of disturbing public order.

The BBC’s Ali Bamba in Abidjan says the verdict was delivered in the early hours of Tuesday morning after eight hours of deliberation by the jury.

The former first lady remained calm, as she had been throughout the trial, almost as if she knew what was coming, he says.

Her daughter from a previous marriage, Marie Antoinette Singleton, told the BBC’s Newsday programme that the sentence was unfair and a sign of “political justice”.

“Why would you want to double it? It’s not about justice; it’s about getting rid of political adversaries.

Ivory Coast’s Former First Lady Jailed

Posted on by
Reply

Ivory Coast’s former first lady, Simone Gbagbo, has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for her role in the violence that followed the 2010 elections. Gbagbo, 65, had been charged with undermining state security.

Her husband, former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, is awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court. More than 3,000 people died in the violence that followed the presidential poll after the ex-leader refused to accept defeat to Alassane Ouattara.

She and her husband were arrested in 2011 after troops stormed a bunker where the pair had taken refuge in the main city, Abidjan.

Read More: BBC

All Eyes On Malabo For AFCON 2015 Draws Today

Posted on by
1

All eyes in Africa will be focussed on Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday as the capital of Malabo plays host to the draw for the Africa Cup of Nations just weeks after Morocco were stripped of the right to host the event.

The traditional ceremony to determine the group matchups for the January 17 to February 8 continental showpiece, was initially set for Rabat before Morocco asked for the tournament to be postponed because of the devastating Ebola outbreak which has cost nearly 7,000 lives in west Africa.

Morocco were instead not only stripped of the right to host the tournament but disqualified from the event as Equatorial Guinea, the third highest producer of petrol in Sub-Saharan Africa, stepped in at the final hour to save the day.

Equatorial Guinea, who co-hosted the 2012 event with Gabon, face a race against time to be ready with less than two months until kick-off, and the draw is set to unveil further indications of progress on preparations.

One aspect that hasn’t changed is the format with four groups of four teams drawn in a round-robin first round line-up shared between the cities of Malabo, Bata, Mongomo and Ebebiyin.

– Ivory Coast, Algeria the teams to avoid –

Ironically, Equatorial Guinea will be in the top seeded hat as hosts, just six months after the former Spanish colony were disqualified from qualifying after fielding an ineligible player during a preliminary round fixture against Mauritania.

They will joined, as one of the top four seeds, by four-time champions Ghana, 2012 African winners Zambia and the Ivory Coast.

The ‘Elephants’ of the Ivory Coast, who lost finals in 2006 and 2012 and also reached the semi-finals in 2008, remain a formidable force as the seedings were determined by previous CAN results.

Their glory teams of the past have undergone several changes in recent years as they turn to life without retired legend Didier Drogba and now lean on the coaching leadership of dashing Frenchman Herve Renard who led Zambia to their first title three years ago.

Manchester City’s Yaya Toure and Roma striker Gervinho are key players for the Ivory Coast with a strong cast of talent in place to support the 1992 champions.

Holders Nigeria and seven-time champions Egypt failed to qualify leaving Algeria the danger team from hat number two alongside 2013 finalists Burkina Faso, Mali and Tunisia.

The ‘Desert Foxes’ of Algeria reached the second round of the World Cup for the first time this year, and are chasing a second African title after their only success on home soil in 1990.

The country are enjoying a purple patch with top club ES Setif recently winning the African Champions League and the CAN providing a serious opportunity to increase their flourishing international reputation.

On paper, hat number four appears stronger than the third set of teams with former giants Senegal, Cameroon and Guinea joining the Congo while Cape Verde, South Africa, Gabon and Democratic Republic of Congo complete the 16-nation line-up in pot three.

Cameroon, now without former captain Samuel Eto’o, failed to qualify in 2012 and 2013 which dropped their ranking while Senegal have failed to get past the first round since 2006.

The ‘Indomitable Lions’ of Cameroon, won the last of their four African titles in 2002, when they defeated a Senegal team making their lone appearance in the championship match.

2015 CAN draw:

Pot 1: Equatorial Guinea (hosts), Ghana, Ivory Coast, Zambia

Pot 2: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Tunisia

Pot 3: Cape Verde, South Africa, Gabon, DR Congo

Pot 4: Cameroon, Senegal, Guinea, Congo

Source – kokomansion.com

Burkina Ex-president Compaore in Exile in Morocco, Says Ivory Coast Govt

Posted on by
1

Burkina Faso’s longtime president Blaise Compaore, toppled by a popular uprising last month, has left his temporary refuge of Ivory Coast and headed into exile in Morocco, an Ivorian government spokesman said on Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Burkina Faso when Compaore, who originally seized power in a 1987 coup, tried to change the constitution through parliament to extend his 27-year grip on the West African state.

He fled to neighbouring Ivory Coast, where he was welcomed by President Alassane Ouattara, a close ally, and lodged in a state villa in the capital Yamoussoukro.

“Yes, he has decided to change locations. He has left for Morocco. He will always be welcome in Ivory Coast. Our doors are always open,” Ivorian government spokesman Bruno Kone told Reuters, without giving further details.

Burkina Faso’s military briefly took power after Compaore stepped down. A civilian interim president, Michel Kafando, was appointed this week to guide the country on the southern fringes of the Sahara desert to an election due next year.

Credit: Reuters