Ivory Coast’s political landscape has been thrust deeper into turmoil after prosecutors announced charges against 11 individuals, among them senior members of former president Laurent Gbagbo’s party, over alleged “terrorist” acts linked to violent unrest earlier this month.
According to prosecutor Oumar Braman Kone, the accused are implicated in an August 1 incident in which a public bus was set ablaze and a police vehicle was attacked in an Abidjan suburb.
Witness accounts and police reports describe a “horde of hooded individuals” armed with machetes, clubs, firearms, and petrol bombs. The violence, Kone claims, was aimed at sowing fear and destabilizing the nation ahead of the October 25 presidential elections.
An investigation led to the arrest of nine suspects, several of whom are members of Gbagbo’s African Peoples’ Party – Cote d’Ivoire (PPA-CI).
During interrogations, the accused allegedly named Lida Kouassi Moise, a former defence minister, and Kone Boubakar, a retired ambassador, as the masterminds. Both men were detained over the weekend.
The charges, ranging from terrorist acts and conspiracy against state authority to participation in an insurrection and vehicle arson, come amid heightened political tension following President Alassane Ouattara’s announcement that he will seek a fourth term. The decision has sparked fierce opposition protests and criticism over its constitutionality.
On Sunday, the PPA-CI issued a sharp rebuke, calling the arrests “an operation of intimidation and repression” and accusing the government of “judicial and political harassment.” Prosecutor Kone, however, dismissed these claims, insisting the case is strictly criminal.
The stakes are high. Just days before the charges, thousands of opposition supporters marched peacefully through Yopougon, the same area where the attacks occurred, demanding Ouattara’s withdrawal from the race and the reinstatement of barred opposition leaders, including Gbagbo.
