And What If Former Ivorian President, Laurent Gbagbo, And Ex – Wife, Who Are Both Opposition Party Leaders, Become Presidential Candidates!

Laurent Gbagbo is National President of PPA – CI, and has already declared his candidature for the next presidential election in Ivory Coast

Former First Lady, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, is leader of MGC Party and for now is working for the opposition to form a coalition or a front at the presidential election 

There is an interesting scenario playing out on the political landscape in one of the big West African countries, Ivory Coast, concerning the former President of the Republic, Laurent Gbagbo, and his ex-wife and former First Lady, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, who are both leaders of opposition parties, and there is the possibility that both may be candidates in the presidential election expected to hold next year.

It should first of all be noted that Laurent Gbagbo who is known by many people in Cameroon, was a longtime socialist – friend of the Pioneer National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, SDF, in Cameroon, Ni John Fru Ndi, now, of blessed memory. Laurent Gbagbo was one of the top foreign dignitaries that would very likely have attended the last National Convention of the SDF, if Chairman Fru Ndi had not passed away before the event. He had in fact earlier accepted Fru Ndi’s invitation.

Laurent Gbagbo And Wife, Imprisoned

The heated dispute between the camp of incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, and that of opposition leader and former Prime Minister, Dramane Alassane Ouattara, over the result of the 2010 presidential election, sparked off another wave of violent confrontations in Ivory Coast that had been divided into two camps for a number of years. Gbagbo refused to leave power insisting that he won the election, while Ouattara who was indisputably the candidate of the former colonial master, France, insisted that he was the winner.

Suffice to say that the post – election crisis degenerated to a situation where at one point in 2011, the Presidency of Ivory Coast was stormed by a group of Ivorian military officers, which according to the Gbagbo camp, were allegedly backed by French forces. President Gbagbo and his wife, Simone, were ‘captured’. The ousted President of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo was dragged to the International Criminal Court, ICC, at The Hague on controversial charges of crimes against humanity said to have allegedly been committed during the post –election violence. His wife, Simone, was imprisoned in Ivory Coast. In fact Alassane Ouattara who was sworn-in as the new President of Ivory Coast, refused to hand over the former First Lady to the ICC,  and opted that she should face trial  at home.

Former President And Wife, Liberated

Meanwhile after spending some years in prison in Ivory Coast, the former First Lady, Simone Gbagbo, was liberated, following the clemency granted by President Alassane Ouattara.  After for the husband, Laurent Gbagbo, he faced a long trial at the ICC, and happily enough ended up being Discharge and Acquitted by the court, in 2020. This meant that the ICC did not find him guilty of crimes against humanity, for which he accused.  Former President Gbagbo returned to Ivory Coast in June 2021, to the warm embrace of his wife and family, party comrades and others.

But unfortunately the reunion of Laurent Gbagbo and his longtime wife, Simone, did not last for long, as they divorced a couple of months later. It is not clear what happened between the couple with grown up children that led to the divorce.

Whatever the case, it should be noted that the former First Lady of Ivory Coast, Mrs Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, is known to be a lady who is both spiritually and politically strong, and is as well a very courageous woman.  She is a highly committed Christian with a strong born – again spirit, and with a strong believe in her visions.  It was rumoured during the post –election crisis in Ivory Coast, that the then First Lady was the one that gave her husband the courage to resist the pressure that was mounted by France that backed Quattara, and was passing around in the name of the United Nations.

 Laurent And Simone Create Political Parties

Meanwhile after the divorce the former first Lady who maintained her name as Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, went ahead to launch a political movement, MGC, that later became a political party.  Laurent Gbagbo  also later complained that he was no longer wanted in his old party, and said  he and his followers would better leave and create another party. Apparently the comrades that took over the leadership of the party when Laurent Gbagbo was dragged to The Hague and placed on pre-trial detention for close to a decade did not want him again at the helm of the party.

Whatever the case, Laurent Gbagbo went on to create a political party known as ‘Pati des Peuples Africains, Cote d’Ivoire’, PPA – CI.  That is, the Party of African People, Ivory Coast. From all indications, the humiliation and injustice that Laurent Gbagbo went through in the hands of the UN under the influence of France, that pulled him out of the Presidency like a criminal, and dragged him to The Hague where he spent some nine years in detention, greatly reinforced the Pan -African spirit in him.

Laurent Gbagbo Declares His Candidature / Marries Longtime Collaborator

The former President of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, early this year officially launched his new political party, PPA –CI, during which he announced his candidature for the next presidential election in the country.

Then on August 8, 2024, the 79 year old Laurent Gbagbo who as aforementioned divorced with his longtime wife, Simone, went on to marry his longtime collaborator, 50 years old Nadiang Bamba, fondly known as Nady. Gbagbo’s marriage was strictly a private ceremony with just a few invitees, and took place at his home at the high class district, Cocody, in the Ivorian Capital, Abidjan. The marriage took place in the presence of Mayor of Cocody, Jean –Marc Yace, who made it official. A high ranking Catholic Priest was also on hand to give the Church’s recognition to the marriage. Many observers appreciated the fact that 79 year old Laurent Gbagbo got married to a matured lady, 50 years old Nady Mbamba, instead of picking a less matured young woman who would only help to increase his  high blood pressure and other problems.

 Simone Gbagbo Brings Together Opposition Parties

Meanwhile, two days after the former Ivorian leader, Laurent Gbagbo, remarried, his ex-wife and opposition party leader, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, chaired a meeting of leaders of 12 opposition parties in Abidjan, with the objective being to create an opposition front or coalition, for the next presidential election. It should be noted that the meeting had nothing to do with the marriage of Laurent Gbagbo.  It was thus just a coincidence that it held two days after the marriage took place.

The National President of MGC Party, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, who is a rising strong opposition leader in Ivory Coast, and who pulls respect on the political landscape of the country, initiated the move to try to rally all serious opposition parties in the country, to possibly form a coalition or any type of strong opposition front, to face the incumbent, Alassane Ouattara , his party  and allied parties, at the next presidential  election. So the meeting of Ivorian opposition leaders was her initiative.

Display Of Political Maturity By Former President And His Divorced Wife

Interesting enough, one of the opposition parties that Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, contacted and invited to the meeting, was the PPA – CI of her ex – husband, Laurent Gbagbo. Interestingly still, though the leader of PPA – CI, Laurent Gbagbo, did not attend the meeting of opposition leaders initiated by the ex-wife in person, he however sent one of the top officials of the party, Mrs Angele Boka, to represent him and the party.  His ex-wife that as the initiator of the meeting was the first to sign the attendance sheet at the meeting, and in her capacity as leader of MGC Party, clearly wrote her name as Madame Simone Ehivet Gbagbo.

Simone’s invitation of her ex-husband’s party to the opposition meeting, and the decision of the ex-husband that the party should respect the invitation and participate at the meeting, was really a display of political maturity by Laurent Gbagbo and his ex-wife, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo. Worth recalling, that the opposition meeting that had earlier been planned, took place barely two days after Laurent Gbagbo remarried. Yet, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo reportedly showed a lot of warmness at the meeting, to the representative of her ex-husband’s party.  She and Laurent might have disagreed on continuing together as husband and wife, but they agree as politicians to work together for the interest of the country. This is definitely a lesson to many divorced African women and men, who tend to see or consider their ex-husbands or ex – wives as enemies, even when they have children like Laurent and Simone do.

Simone Gbagbo Has Not Declared Her Candidature   

Going back to the next presidential election in Ivory Coast, the leader of MGC Party, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, has so far not declared her candidature, probably as she has taken the initiative to build an opposition alliance. But political observers in Ivory Coast say it is very likely that if at the end the opposition fails to form a coalition or an alliance for the presidential election, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, will very likely declare her candidature. Thus there is the possibility of a political scene playing out in Ivory Coast, whereby the former President of the Republic, Laurent Gbagbo, and his ex-wife and former First Lady of the country, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo,  will both be presidential candidates.