Criet: Steve Wotto in all his states before the judge, his lawyer pleads insanity, the accused rejects.

Charged with glorifying crimes against state security, electronic harassment, and inciting hatred and violence, the defendant faced pressing questions from the magistrate and the public prosecutor in a tense atmosphere.

According to information from Libre Express, when questioned about the content of his digital publications, Steve Wotto fully acknowledged the authorship of his content while maintaining his position of not guilty regarding the legal qualifications against him. The accused admitted to having made many virulent statements against former president Patrice Talon, explaining that he acted out of bitterness.

The TikToker did not stop there and took advantage of the platform to directly target the newly elected president, Romuald Wadagni. In court, he openly challenged the legitimacy of the electoral process that brought the latter to power, not hesitating to label the election as electoral fraud and a constitutional coup d’état.

Black anger, mysticism, and contestation of the conditions of his arrest

Tension escalated when the judge and prosecutor sought to know why the defendant was hiding to post his videos before his arrest by law enforcement. Steve Wotto then exploded in black anger, raising his voice to assert his own version of events.

He denied being captured by the police, claiming he presented himself to the Bohicon police station as soon as he learned he was wanted, before denouncing alleged threats of assassination during his transfer to Cotonou.

To justify his political diatribes, the accused defined himself as a spiritual man acting under the direct influence of the spirits of his ancestors. Proclaiming himself a worthy man, he launched a fierce societal critique, claiming that today’s Beninese have become thieves and lamenting that the former Latin Quarter of Africa has lost its prestige due to the decline of its intellectuals.

The defense invokes Jacquot, the defendant replies “I am not crazy”

In light of this verbal drift and to shield his client from a heavy penalty, his lawyer attempted a medical maneuver by mentioning heavy psychiatric history, including a medically supervised stay at the Jacquot psychiatric center. Pointing to the incoherence of the defendant’s statements, the counsel requested a formal psychiatric evaluation and the appearance of the young man’s father to testify about his mental instability.

This protective strategy was immediately dismissed by the TikToker himself, who cut short his lawyer’s assertions with a definitive “I am not crazy.”

Taking note of this internal tug-of-war and the requests from the public prosecutor, the judge ordered the postponement of the case to Monday, July 20, 2026, in order to examine the request for psychiatric evaluation and continue the discussions.