Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, will make a “strictly private trip” to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2 to 8 July 2021, his spokesman, Justin Kone Katinan, disclosed in a statement.
“Mr. Gbagbo will fly to Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from Friday, July 2, 2021 to Thursday, July 8, 2021,” said a press release signed by Mr. Katinan Kone.
According to Mr. Kone, “this trip is strictly private.”
Mr. Gbagbo will take a commercial flight from the Felix Houphouet Boigny International Airport on Friday 2 July 2021.
He will also return to Abidjan by commercial flight on Thursday 8 July 2021, Justin Kone added.
The DRC is the first country where the former Ivorian head of state, is to visit since his return to Cote d’Ivoire on 17 June 2021.
Gbagbo was acquitted on 31 March 2021 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) following a trial in the case of crimes against humanity committed during the 2010-2011 post-election violence in Cote d’Ivoire.
During his detention in the Shevenwingen prison in The Hague, the Netherlands, Mr. Gbagbo revealed cultivating a friendship with Jean-Pierre Bemba.
In addition, he said many heads of state supported him during his time in jail..
AP/ls/fss/as/APA