CRIET: the former executive secretary of the Kpomassè town hall acquitted on the grounds of reasonable doubt
The Court for the Repression of Economic Offences and Terrorism (CRIET) issued, on January 28, 2026, a judgment acquitting former executive secretary of the Kpomassè town hall, Dieudonné Aloukoutou, and his associate Gbaguidi Christian.
The decision was made on the basis of reasonable doubt, the court said, which was ruling in the first instance on charges of abuse of office.
According to Libre Express, the two defendants were prosecuted before the CRIET’s special prosecutor for suspected irregularities in the management of public contracts related to the construction of a municipal cemetery.
During the hearings, the public prosecutor had sought against them a sentence of 24 months’ imprisonment with a suspended sentence and a fine of 2 million CFA francs.
As part of the investigation, Dieudonné Aloukoutou had been held in provisional detention before being released in March 2025, while his co-defendant appeared at liberty. The charges included, in particular, payments made without full execution of the services, fictitious voucher numbers, and the use of forged stamps, elements which the two men had vigorously denied before the Court.
The judgment chamber held that the evidence did not allow establishing, beyond a reasonable doubt, the guilt of the defendants. The two men were acquitted, marking the end of the proceedings for this judicial case that had generated strong media attention.
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