Ivory Coast’s former First Lady, Simon Gbagbo (known as Iron Lady), is about to spend quite a bit of time locked up. Today, a court in Côte d’Ivoire sentenced her to 20 years in prison in connection to the violence caused by the 2010 elections that left more than 3,000 dead. More after the click.
As the BBC reports:
Simone Gbagbo, 65, had been charged with undermining state security.
Her husband, former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, is awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
More than 3,000 people died in the violence that followed the presidential poll after the ex-leader refused to accept defeat to Alassane Ouattara.
She and her husband were arrested in 2011 after troops stormed a bunker where the pair had taken refuge in the main city, Abidjan.
And it was in the same city where Gbagbo – once called the “Iron Lady” and known for her fiery speeches – faced trial. She was also accused of disturbing public order and organising armed gangs.
She denied witness accounts that accused her of personally distributing arms to the death squads that operated in Abidjan during the five-month conflict.
The court unanimously sentenced her to 20 years, which is the sentence for undermining state security.
The prosecution had only asked for 10 years – but this had only been for the charge of disturbing public order.
Read the entire article here.
Wow. Prosecution only wanted half of the term she ended up getting. Clearly, the Court was not playing any games with Mrs. Gbagbo.
If you recall, for four months after former President Laurent Gbagbo refused to give up his post, Ivory Coast was engulfed in violence, with thousands dying. The husband and wife took refuge in a bunker for that period, until UN troops found them. The photo below shows them, both Laurent and Simone Gbagbo, upon capture:
The former president is still awaiting his trial with the ICC. But safe to say, if his wife got 20 years….his own will be just as substantial.
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That said, what do you think about what will happen to Nigeria’s current First Lady, Patience Jonathan? As reported yesterday, she was caught on camera at a campaign election encouraging voters to stone those who want to bring about change. The APC has filed a letter of complaint to the ICC, likening the remarks to the ones Simone Gbagbo was known for.
How do you think the Patience Jonathan situation will play out now, in light of the Simone Gbagbo sentence?
