Former President of Cote D’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo on Monday, filed for divorce from his wife of 32 year.
According to his lawyer, Claude Mentenon, after years of “rejected requests for Simone Ehivet to consent to an amicable separation,” the ex-president has asked an Abidjan court to commence formal divorce proceedings.
The announcement was made days after the former President returned to the country after a 10-year absence during which he was tried for crimes against humanity during the post election conflict of 2010 to 2011.
While Laurent Gbagbo was president, wife, Simone wielded significant political influence as First Lady.
She was arrested alongside her husband in April 2011 after he refused to concede defeat to current President Alassane Ouattara.
The refusal sparked a gruesome conflict that took the lives of over 3,000 Ivorians.
Gbagbo was sent to the International Criminal Court in The Hague where he was finally acquitted in March after a lengthy trial.
Simone on her part was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in Cote D’Ivoire for “violating state security” but was released in 2018 after 7 years in detention as part of an amnesty.
Laurent Gbagbo’s return follows a pardon by incumbent President Alassane Ouattara in the name of national reconciliation.
Laurent and Simone Gbagbo got married in 1989 and have 2 daughters. Together, the ex-president and his wife campaigned for the introduction of multi-party elections in the 1990s.
The 76-year-old former president has been locked in a romantic relationship for several years with 47-year-old former journalist Nady Bamba.
