USA Africa Dialogue Series - Gbagbo’s new political missteps

Drama unfolds in Côte d'Ivoire, not so much 

between Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, 

his political enemy, but between Simone, 

his estranged wife and himself. Hours after his 

dramatic return to the country, Gbagbo, made 

another big political mistake. He filed for divorce

 from his former wife and  political ally,

 Simone Gbagbo, his  partner in the atrocities 

of a decade ago.

"She made me do it," he must have said to himself

 while awaiting sentencing in a cold prison cell

in The Hague, and searching for a scapegoat for

his miscalculations. 

Whatever the real reason, the political icon 

threw  political caution to the

wind, and  decided to file divorce papers

hours after his return from Hell, shifting the

conversation  away from his victorious return, 

to family intrigue, betrayal and disloyalty.

The atmosphere was already a tense one, given 

his unwelcome reception to Simone's  entourage 

at Aeroport Houphet Boigny in Abidjan, a 

move that lacked political decorum and

etiquette. She scored strong political points

by going to the airport to meet him. He lost

big time by refusing to appreciate the gesture 

of hospitality.

Why indeed didn't Mr. Gbagbo wait another  

six weeks- or even six months to drop this 

divorce bombshell?

So which faction of the Gbagbo family dynasty

will prevail? Will Simone and her supporters 

wrest  political control, and push Gbagbo into the 

background,  once and for all? Will women rally 

around the political icon and fierce politician, 

who along with her husband championed 

ethnic cleansing and genocide - when Gbagbo 

fought to stay in power a decade ago?

How will this aid in dethroning Alassane Ouattara,

the third-term  President  for whom an anti- third 

term war was fought, taking thousands of lives

in its trail? 

Time will tell as the drama unfolds.

Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History/African Studies, CCSU
africahistory.net; vimeo.com/ gloriaemeagwali
Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Research
Excellence Award, Univ. of Texas at Austin;
2019 Distinguished Africanist Award
New York African Studies Association