Sentenced to life in Ivory Coast following a trial he considers politically motivated, former Prime Minister Guillaume Soro announces that he is “ending” his exile, which has been in progress since December 2019. It remains to be seen find out if he risks being arrested on his return to Côte d’Ivoire.
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With our correspondent in Abidjan, François Hume-Ferkatadji
“ I announce, here and now, that I am ending my exile, because it is painful for me to move far from my ancestral and native land of Africa. “. In a short five-minute video posted on his social networks, Guillaume Soro evokes the “end” of his exile, without defining the contours of this announcement.
Will he return to Ivory Coast, where he is facing two legal convictions? A few minutes after his speech, his campaign director, Moussa Touré, indicated “ that he will remain in Africa to face his destiny », suggesting that he could be domiciled in another country in the sub-region.
In this video, Guillaume Soro accuses the Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara to want to track him down wherever he is. “ The latest arrest attempt made in Istanbul demonstrates, if necessary, that the only place of peaceful rest that Mr. Ouattara reserves for me is indeed the cemetery “, affirmed the former Prime Minister.
“ I refuse to be a fugitive »
In addition to returning to his eventful exile in France, Belgium, Dubai and “ to the confines of the Asian continent “, he said, Guillaume Soro reaffirms his innocence while Ivorian judges condemned him for “endangering state security” in 2021 and ” concealment of embezzlement of public funds » in 2020.
“ I refuse to be a fugitive. Especially since before God and men, I am not guilty of any crime that would deserve such punishment. “.
Last May, Guillaume Soro announced his intention to run for the 2025 presidential election, ambitions that he does not seem to have abandoned. “ I want to be able to contribute to the reconciliation of the sons and daughters of my country and make my contribution to building peace between the peoples of Africa. “, he assures.