Laurent Gbagbo Seeks to Return to Ivory Coast from Exile

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Nwolu Obiajulu

Obiajulu Nwolu is an established writer at africannewstoday.com. He is passionate about African affairs. He loves writing about interesting facts relating to the African continent and enjoys sharing his knowledge with others.

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Former president of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo plans to return to his home country after his passport was given back to him following his acquittal at the International Criminal Court in 2019, his lawyer disclosed.

The former leader has been unable to return to Ivory Coast since his January 2019 acquittal at the Hague under the terms of his release, which required him to remain in Belgium after his passports were seized while awaiting judgment on an appeal, CGTN reports.

Gbagbo’s counsel, Hahiba Toure said, “Laurent Gbagbo today received two passports, one ordinary and one diplomatic,”

“He welcomes the act just taken by Ivorian authorities which, according to him, goes in the direction of appeasement.” The diplomatic passport can only be issued with the consent of Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara.

Gbagbo plans to return to Ivory Coast this month and has appointed Assoa Adou, secretary-general of Gbagbo’s political party, to approach authorities so that he can return in peace and in accordance with his status as a former president, Toure said.

Recall that Gbagbo refused to concede defeat after losing the 2010 election to Ouattara.

Both men held inauguration ceremonies and the standoff persisted for months until pro-Ouattara forces captured Gbagbo from his underground bunker. More than 3,000 people died during the 2010-2011 crisis.

Gbagbo was brought before the International Criminal Court in 2011 to face charges of crimes against humanity, of which he was acquitted.

President Alassane Ouattara, extended his more than ten years tenure last month when he was re-elected for a third term strongly contested by opposition leaders.

Ouattara maintains that the two-term limit for presidents does not apply to him because of a constitutional referendum passed in 2016.