The Ivorian political landscape is witnessing a new development. Moïse Lida Kouassi, former Minister of Defense under Laurent Gbagbo, regained his freedom under judicial supervision on Monday, July 6, 2026, after more than ten months of detention. The information was relayed by sources close to the African People’s Party – Ivory Coast (PPA-CI), a political party of which he is an influential member.
His release comes as the former minister, a prominent figure in the post-electoral crisis of 2010-2011, is facing health issues requiring special care. Cyberactivist Ibrahim Zigui, close to the PPA-CI, also benefited from temporary release on the same day.
This release from prison marks the temporary conclusion of a judicial procedure opened in August 2025. Moïse Lida Kouassi was arrested on Saturday, August 9, 2025, alongside Koné Boubacar, former Ivorian ambassador to South Africa, following urban violence in Yopougon, the capital, on the night of August 1-2, 2025. These events, marked by the burning of a SOTRA bus and the looting of a national police vehicle by a group of individuals, occurred less than two months before the presidential election in October 2025, in an already tense social climate.
The charges against the two men are particularly serious. The Prosecutor of the Republic, Koné Braman Oumar, opened a judicial investigation for acts of terrorism, conspiracy against the authority of the State, participation in an insurrectional movement, intentional damage and intentional arson of vehicles belonging to others. According to the prosecution, the names of Lida Kouassi and Koné Boubacar were mentioned during the questioning of several people arrested after the violence, who identified them as the alleged instigators of these attacks. According to the prosecution, the intended goal was to instill a climate of terror and intimidate the population after the announcement of the incumbent president’s candidacy for the October 2025 presidential election. The modus operandi, according to the same source, aimed in particular to set fire to buses, gas stations, the local Electoral Commission headquarters (CEL) of Yopougon Niangon as well as the premises of the annex town hall of Yopougon Niangon gauche.
For Moïse Lida Kouassi, this judicial chapter is part of a tumultuous journey. Already marked by exile in Togo after the post-electoral crisis of 2010-2011, and then by extradition to Abidjan in 2012, the former Minister of Defense (2000-2002) remains a figure whose political and judicial destiny is intrinsically linked to the upheavals of recent Ivorian history. While his release is a relief for his loved ones and his political party, it leaves the follow-up to the judicial investigation opened nearly a year ago in suspense.
