Ivory Coast Former President Laurent Gbagbo returned home to Ivory Coast on Thursday, a decade after his refusal to concede defeat in a presidential election sparked months of violence that left more than 3, people dead.
Related articles. From the same country. On the same subject. More stories. South Africa. By using this website, you agree with our use of cookies to improve its performance and enhance your user experience. More info in our Cookies policy page. 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 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. In , 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 for "looting" the Central Bank of West African States Bceao in the aftermath of the disputed poll. The year sentence had ruled him out of taking part in last year's election. 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. But others point to the amnesty given to Mr Gbagbo's wife, Simone, and several others jailed for crimes committed during the crisis, saying the reconciliation effort started a while ago.
Whether there is a future political role for him remains to be seen. Guillaume Soro, former rebel chief who helped Ouattara take power, has since fallen from grace. Condemned to life in jail for "undermining state security" he is now in exile.
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