Ivory Coast former speaker denies weapons discovery

Ivory Coast‘s former parliament Speaker, Guillaume Soro, has denied the discovery of weapons at his residence in Bouake, in the economic capital Abidjan.

Mr Soro has been in exile in Europe since 2019.

His communication director, Toure Moussa, said the former speaker had not stayed in this residence for several years.

The latest discovery comes after that of 2017, when a cache of weapons was found at the home of his chief of protocol Souleymane Kamarate Kone.

According to Guillaume Soro’s camp, the news is part of a strategy to manipulate the Ivorian citizens.

Mr Soro was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia in June 2021, on charges of plotting a coup against President Alassane Ouattara.