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Ivory Coast’s ex-President Gbagbo returns home after ICC acquittal

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4 years ago

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Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo has returned home, 10 years after he was taken to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity.

Mr Gbagbo has been living in the Belgian capital Brussels since his release from detention three years ago.

His successor and rival President Alassane Ouattara invited him back.

He was the first former head of state to go on trial at the ICC but was acquitted of all charges.

The 76-year-old was charged after his refusal to accept defeat in a 2010 election triggered a civil war that left 3,000 people dead. He always denied all the allegations.

In March, the ICC appeals court upheld a 2019 acquittal, saying the prosecution had failed to prove its case against Mr Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé, an ally and former youth leader who was accused of leading a militia backing him.

Who is Gbagbo?

Born in the south-central region of Gagnoa in 1945 to a Catholic family, Mr Gbagbo was educated in a Christian seminary and later became a history professor.

He cut his political teeth in the trade union movement where he became a vocal opponent of Ivory Coast’s then one-party state. He started out on the political left, but in the 1980s took a strong nationalist, stance, which critics say bordered on xenophobia.

After 20 years in opposition, he was finally elected president in 2000, but civil war broke out just two years later. Mr Gbagbo’s supporters were accused of carrying out xenophobic attacks in areas they controlled – against those from the mainly Muslim north, immigrants from neighbouring African countries, and Westerners.

They accused former colonial power France and the UN of not doing enough to put down a rebellion which had split Ivory Coast in two, with rebels allied with Mr Ouattara seizing the north.

The crisis led to the postponement of the 2005 presidential elections six times before they were finally held in 2010 but Mr Gbagbo refused to concede defeat to Mr Ouattara after a runoff.

The five months of violence that followed were described as some of the most brutal violence the country had ever seen.

Mr Gbagbo said the dispute over Ivory Coast’s presidency was a fight for Ivorian – and indeed African – sovereignty and he accused the French and Americans of siding against him.

However, this argument did not prevail and the African Union backed the UN’s finding that Mr Gbagbo lost the election and should stand down.

He was finally captured in April 2011 in a presidential palace bunker by UN and French-backed forces supporting Mr Ouattara.

What Mr Gbagbo’s return means and its impact is uncertain, but for some Ivorians the hope is that it will help reconcile the country and shift the government’s attention to economic reforms and to dealing with the spillover of the Islamist insurgency from neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali.

However, for many victims of Mr Gbagbo’s rule, time has not healed their physical and emotional wounds. His return is a reminder of the violence they suffered and the injustice they still endure.

This West African nation wants peace in its borders to be achieved through reconciling its people – whether it can achieve this without justice for victims of its civil wars, only time will tell.

Why was Gbagbo cleared by the ICC?

In 2019, the judges ruled that prosecutors had failed to demonstrate “the existence of a ‘common plan’ to keep Mr Gbagbo in power” which included crimes against civilians, or a “policy to attack a civilian population”.

Presiding Judge Cuno Tarfusser said the prosecution had also “failed to demonstrate that public speeches by Gbagbo constituted ordering or inducing the alleged crimes”.

In March, an ICC appeals court upheld the acquittal, dismissing the prosecution’s argument that there had been procedural errors in how the original verdict was delivered and that thousands of documents and 96 witnesses presented during the trial had proved the guilt of Mr Gbagbo beyond reasonable doubt.

Despite his acquittal at the ICC, he could still serve time in prison after Ivorian authorities sentenced him in absentia in November 2019 for “looting” the Central Bank of West African States (Bceao) in the aftermath of the 2010 disputed poll.

The 20-year sentence had ruled him out of taking part in last year’s election.

Why did Gbagbo go back?

After his acquittal President Ouattara invited him to return to Ivory Coast, which is still striving for political stability. Mr Gbagbo responded, by saying he wanted to promote peace in his country.

Although bitterness and division remain a decade after the election, and civil war, observers say Mr Ouattara feels politically secure after winning a controversial third term last year and is therefore willing to reconcile with his political nemesis.

A man holds an Ivorian flag during a welcoming ceremony for several supporters of Ivorian former president Laurent Gbagbo upon their arrival in Abidjan at the end of ten years of exile in Ghana

Some of Mr Gbagbo’s allies were welcomed home two months ago after years in exile

But others point to the 2018 amnesty given to Mr Gbagbo’s wife, Simone, and several others jailed for crimes committed during the 2010-11 crisis, saying the reconciliation effort started a while ago.

Six other former allies of Mr Gbagbo returned two months ago after years in exile.

Amid the attention given to Mr Gbagbo, many victims of his rule are resentful and feel forgotten because few people have been convicted for their crimes.

“This creates impunity and paves the way for other crimes,” Issiaka Diaby of the Collective of Victims in Ivory Coast told news agency AFP.

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Africa

China Opens Largest Cocoa Factory in Ivory Coast, US Chocolate Makers “Will Feel the Loss”

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3 months ago

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February 27, 2025

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Global Construction Review, the online media outlet of the international organization The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), reported that Chinese company China Light Industry Nanning Design Engineering has finished building the largest cocoa bean factory and warehouse in Côte d’Ivoire (the Ivory Coast). The facility is located in the African country’s largest city and its former capital, Abidjan. (Note: This is the second cocoa plant built by the Chinese company in Côte d’Ivoire; the other is located in the port city of San-Pédro.)

According to the South China Morning Post , the Chinese government paid US $200 million to build the new plant in Abidjan and “will be repaid in cocoa beans” — 40 percent of the output of the two plants will be given to China to repay its loan.

The Ivory Coast is the world’s largest cocoa bean producer, producing more than 2 million tonnes a year, accounting for approximately 40 percent of global cocoa production and exports. Cocoa beans is the country’s major export product: in 2022, the Ivory Coast exported US$3.33 billion in cocoa beans, with nearly half going to the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States.

[NOTE:  A tonne equals 2204 lbs. or 1000 kilograms, whereas a ton, the more commonly used metric in America, equals 2000 lbs or about 907 kilograms.]

Kristy Leissle, founder and CEO of the African Cocoa Marketplace, said: “Buyers everywhere are struggling to secure cocoa supply, and if 50,000 metric tonnes are now going to China instead of Europe or North America, chocolate makers in those regions will feel the loss.” (Chocolate’s main ingredient is cocoa beans.)

Each of the new cocoa bean plants in the Ivory Coast will have an annual processing capacity of 50,000 tonnes, and they will together be able to store 300,000 tonnes.

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PeacePro Urges Djibouti to Evacuate Foreign Military Bases as France Loses Last Military Base in Ivory Coast

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3 months ago

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February 23, 2025

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The Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) has called on the government of Djibouti to take immediate steps toward initiating the evacuation of all foreign military bases from its territory. This appeal follows France’s official withdrawal from its last military base in Ivory Coast, marking another significant step in the ongoing demilitarization of Africa.

In a statement issued by PeacePro’s Executive Director, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, the organization emphasized the need for African nations to reclaim full sovereignty over their security affairs. Hamzat noted that Djibouti, which currently hosts military bases from multiple foreign powers—including the United States, China, France, and Japan—should take proactive steps in line with the growing movement of African nations rejecting external military presence.

“We commend Ivory Coast for this decisive move, which strengthens Africa’s sovereignty and independence in security matters. Djibouti must now follow suit and reconsider its role as a hub for foreign military operations,” Hamzat stated.

PeacePro has been leading an aggressive campaign for the demilitarization of Africa, setting a target to achieve at least 80% reduction of foreign military bases by the end of 2025. Hamzat noted that the closure of French bases in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and now Ivory Coast is a testament to the success of this movement.

Djibouti, located at the strategic Horn of Africa, remains one of the most militarized territories on the continent due to its hosting of multiple foreign forces, often under the justification of counterterrorism and maritime security. However, PeacePro insists that African nations should prioritize self-reliance in defense and security matters rather than depend on external forces.

Recall that PeacePro had recently condemned the United States’ proposal to bomb alleged terrorist camps across Africa, urging African governments to reject the plan. The organization argued that previous U.S. military interventions have escalated crises rather than resolving them.

As momentum builds across Africa for military independence, PeacePro vows to intensify its advocacy in 2025, ensuring that more countries take concrete action toward closing foreign bases and strengthening indigenous security frameworks.

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Trump’s sudden suspension of foreign aid puts millions of lives in Africa at risk

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4 months ago

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January 27, 2025

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  • The United States government funds HIV prevention, treatment and research programmes across the world but especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

  • US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on 20 January that halts foreign aid for 90 days.

  • The order, which is not clearly worded, has left in doubt the future of many life-saving HIV programmes in Africa.

The sudden decision by United States President Donald Trump to halt and review all foreign aid for 90 days could be devastating for HIV programmes in African countries. After Trump’s inauguration on 20 January, he signed numerous executive orders. One of these suspends aid to “foreign countries and implementing non-governmental organisations, international organisations, and contractors” pending review for whether it aligns with “American interests and … values”.

The order said, “no further [US] foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States”.

Foreign aid includes the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR. PEPFAR has saved millions of lives since it was launched by former president George W. Bush in 2003.

PEPFAR statistics show that at the end of 2024, it was providing life-saving antiretroviral treatment to nearly 21-million people across 55 countries, many of them in sub-Saharan Africa. PEPFAR is also delivering pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) — which stops people from contracting HIV — to about 2.5 million people. In 2024, PEPFAR provided HIV testing to about 84-million people. It funds HIV treatment and intervention in Uganda, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and many others.

South Africa has about 5.6-million people on antiretroviral treatment. The medicines themselves are paid for by the South African government, but PEPFAR funds some of the staff at some ARV programmes. It also funds much of the prevention and information effort, including ARV user clubs, medical circumcision and public messaging.

South Africa does leading research on HIV and TB. Much of this is funded by the US National Institutes of Health. It’s unclear what the future status of this funding is.

It’s also unclear what the status is of money that has been committed. For example, some programmes get monthly tranches based on contracts that have already been signed. At least one project manager we spoke to said he wasn’t sure if commitments for February onwards would be arriving, and US government representatives who he deals with are themselves unsure.

This uncertainty is due to this phrase in the executive order, “shall immediately pause new obligations and disbursements”. It’s unclear if already-committed disbursements are affected.

Professor Linda-Gail Bekker, an infectious disease scientist at the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at UCT, said that it’s unclear whether the PEPFAR funding will be reduced or stopped but that the outcome in African countries could be “disastrous”.

Bekker said that HIV treatment “doesn’t stand still” and that treatment, PrEP, and quality healthcare have to keep on getting to people.

Bekker also said that other countries in Africa are far more dependent on PEPFAR funding than South Africa. For example, Malawi, which has a minimal health budget.

“There is no doubt our own national governments need to step up. We know there needs to be more self-reliance,” she said, but added that the sudden stop of donor funding can be “disastrous”.

A study from 2024 looking at the rate of mortality amongst South African adults who experienced interruption in antiretroviral treatment, shows that interrupting antiretroviral treatment leads to much greater risk of death.

Over the years, Bekker says, PEPFAR funding has also gradually transitioned from where there was an emergency situation, at the height of the AIDS epidemic in the early 2000s, to helping countries’ health systems cope.

PEPFAR allocations in Malawi for 2024 and 2025 are $180-million and $178-million respectively. It is one of two of the biggest funders of HIV interventions in Malawi, along with the Global Fund, according to the National Aids Commission (NAC) of Malawi. In a recent strategic plan, the NAC noted that, “There is an urgent need to sustain and accelerate the national response between 2020 and 2025 in order to put Malawi on the path towards ending AIDS as a public health threat in Malawi by 2030.”

It is unclear how Trump’s order to pause and review foreign aid will affect PEPFAR in the future. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) media office did not respond to questions by the time of publication.

Trump also issued an executive order withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organisation (WHO). According to Reuters there is a 12-month notice period for the US, the WHO’s largest funder, to leave the organisation and stop all financial contributions to its work.

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