IVORY Coast’s jailed former first lady Simone Gbagbo has been granted amnesty by the president in what he says is a move to foster reconciliation. According to BBC, in 2015, Mrs Gbagbo was sentenced to 20 years for her role in the violence that followed the 2010 elections in which more than 3,000 people died. Mrs Gbagbo was among 800 people that President Alassane Ouattara pardoned. The violence in 2010 in Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest cocoa producer, was sparked by Mr Gbagbo refusing to accept that he lost a disputed election run-off to Mr Ouattara. Mr and Mrs Gbagbo were arrested in 2011 after troops stormed a bunker where the pair had taken refuge in the main city, Abidjan.

Source: Nigerian Tribune August 07, 2018 13:07 UTC