Ex-Ivorian speaker slams political witch hunt of supporters

Former Ivorian rebel chief and candidate for the 2020 presidential election, Guillaume Soro, on Tuesday denounced the arrest of his supporters.

He also denounced the will of the government to prevent him from running in the polls, after his return from an overseas engagement was briefly aborted.

Using social media platform, Twitter; Soro gave his version of his incredible aborted return on Monday in his Twitter account. He castigated the arrest of his supporters and attacked his former ally turned adversary, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.

The former president of the National Assembly, who has been at odds with the government for nearly a year, is now the subject of an “international arrest warrant” issued by the Ivorian courts for “attempting to undermine the authority of the state”.

According to the Abidjan public prosecutor, Richard Adou, the warrant was issued on Monday, the same day of his scheduled return.

Reports said his plane had been barred from landing in the country but he tweeted later to confirm that permission to land had been granted by the authorities.