Ivory Coast: A former aide-de-camp of Guillaume Soro prosecuted for “terrorist acts”
In Côte d’Ivoire, Abdoulaye Fofana, former aide-de-camp to Guillaume Soro, is facing a second trial, this time on charges of terrorist acts and conspiracy against the state authority. Already judged for attempted coup d’état, he denies all charges and denounces a political manipulation through contested evidence.
SUMMARY
The legal saga of Abdoulaye Fofana continues in Abidjan. This Monday, July 21, 2025, the former close collaborator of Guillaume Soro appeared for the second time in less than a week, before the Ivorian justice. The officer, once alongside the leader of Generations and Peoples in Solidarity (GPS), is this time indicted for “terrorist acts, attack and conspiracy against the state authority”. Charges he categorically rejects.
As with the first trial, where he was prosecuted for attempted coup d’état, Commander Fofana defended himself tooth and nail. At the bar, he contested the authenticity of the videos presented by the prosecutor, asserting that he is not the man appearing in the images. He speaks of a technological manipulation aimed at making him look like the main instigator of the facts alleged.
Charges rooted in the 2020 electoral crisis
Prosecutions against Fofana stem from the post-electoral crisis of 2020, a period marked by violence causing numerous human losses. According to the accusation, Abdoulaye Fofana would have made inflammatory remarks, likely to encourage subversive actions against the power in place. A dozen co-defendants appear alongside him in this very sensitive case, with obvious political implications.
The public prosecutor’s office seems determined to hand down a heavy verdict. In the context of the first case, it has already requested a 20 year prison sentence against the defendant. The latter, like his defense, is convinced that these trials are less judicial than political.
For the defense, these prosecutions are part of a retaliation campaign against Guillaume Soro and his former collaborators. During the first trial, Fofana’s lawyer had denounced a “targeted hunt”, intended to neutralize anyone who had circulated around the former president of the National Assembly, who is now in exile.
The hearing is adjourned to July 28, 2025, for the court’s verdict.
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