Ivory Coast ex-Prime Minister Guillaume Soro cleared for return, judicial fate awaits

Former Ivorian Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, in exile for four years, has been given the green light to return to his country, according to the Ivorian government spokesperson Amadou Coulibaly. However, the enforcement of his convictions in Côte d’Ivoire will be subject to the decision of the justice system, as stated following a Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

“Guillaume Soro can return whenever he wants; indeed, the country is open,” affirmed Coulibaly. He emphasized that the judicial administration of Côte d’Ivoire would handle the implementation of the sentences imposed on Mr. Soro. “It is she who decides when she executes a decision that she has freely made,” he added.

Highlighting President Alassane Ouattara’s efforts to facilitate the return of self-exiled individuals, Coulibaly mentioned that those who wished to return had already done so, participating in various events, including political meetings.

Guillaume Soro, a former rebel leader and subsequent Prime Minister and President of the National Assembly, declared his intention to end his exile and return to Africa nearly two weeks ago. His departure from Côte d’Ivoire in 2019 followed a falling out with President Ouattara. In 2020, he was sentenced in absentia to 20 years for “complicity in embezzlement of public funds” and, a year later, to life imprisonment for “endangering the security of the State.”

President Ouattara had previously expressed his stance, declaring a preference for “life imprisonment” before Soro’s 2021 conviction. Since his return to Africa, Soro has engaged with military figures, meeting General Abdourahamane Tiani in Niger and Captain Ibrahim Traoré in Burkina Faso, both of whom rose to power through coups in July last year and September 2022, respectively.