Former Ivory Coast Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, who entered self-imposed exile in 2019, has announced plans to return home despite facing two criminal convictions.
Soro expressed the difficulty of living away from Africa, his ancestral land, and emphasized his desire to contribute to the reconciliation of the country.
Convicted in absentia in 2021 for undermining national security and sentenced to 20 years in 2020 for embezzlement, Soro asserted on social media that he is “guilty of no crime.”
He disclosed an attempted arrest in Turkey on November 3, aiming to extradite him to Ivory Coast.
Although he did not specify the return date, Soro previously announced intentions to run in the country’s 2025 presidential elections.
His 2020 presidential bid was thwarted by a Constitutional Court ruling.
Soro, a former leader of a rebel group in northern Ivory Coast, was a crucial ally of President Alassane Ouattara during the 2010 election dispute and subsequent civil war.
However, their relationship soured in 2019 when President Ouattara accused Soro of instigating a “civilian and military insurrection,” leading to Soro’s exile.
Source-BBC
