Mr Gbagbo and Mr Ble Goude stood accused of orchestrating a wave of violence after disputed elections in the West African nation in 2010. Mr Gbagbo was captured in 2011 by Ouattara's troops, aided by UN and French forces, and sent to stand trial at the International Criminal Court. However ICC judges, by a two-to-one majority, stopped the trial midway citing an "exceptionally weak" prosecution case. BLOWThe case was a severe blow for ICC prosecutors after similar failures with former DR Congo warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba in 2018 and Kenyan leader Uhuru Kenyatta in 2014. Stung by the decision, ICC prosecutors said they would appeal the acquittal and called for Mr Gbagbo and Mr Ble Goude to stay in detention.

Source: Daily Nation February 01, 2019 04:07 UTC