Ivory Coast’s President, Alassane Outtara has disclosed that following the acquittal of Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Ble Goude by the International Criminal Court, the duo are free to return home to Ivory Coast.
Gbagbo was accused of rape, murder and other vicious acts after the nation’s 2010 presidential elections, to which he and the youth minister at the time, Ble Goude pleaded not guilty to.
Despite over 80 witnesses that came to testify, the ICC ruled that the prosecution did not have enough evidence to indict Gbagbo and thus ordered his release.
An estimated 3000 persons lost their lives in the war that ensued in 2010 after a highly controversial election when Gbagbo refused to step down even after losing.