In the end, the criminal court of Abidjan has delivered what the prosecution wanted. On Wednesday 23 June, Guillaume Soro was sentenced to life imprisonment for “undermining national security”, as requested by Richard Adou, the prosecutor, a week earlier.
“Conspiracy”
The former Prime Minister and 19 of his supporters were accused of “conspiracy”, “attempt to undermine the authority of the state” as well as “dissemination and publication of false news discrediting the institutions and their operation, resulting in damage to public morale”.
In April 2020, the former president of the National Assembly had already been sentenced to twenty years in prison, 4.5 billion CFA francs in fines and deprivation of his civic rights for a period of five years after being found guilty of handling embezzled public funds and money laundering.
The prosecution accused him of having acquired a villa in Marcory residential area, an upmarket district of Abidjan, in 2007, when he was Prime Minister, with funds from the Ivorian treasury.
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