Former ICC prisoner Gbagbo to meet his successor

Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara will host his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo tomorrow – their first meeting since Gbagbo returned home in June following his acquittal by the International Criminal Court. Communications Minister Amadou Coulibaly said Ouattara had a telephone conversation with his predecessor this month to pave the way for the meeting. Gbagbo, President of the country since 2000, in 2010 refused to concede defeat. He was arrested in April 2011 after months of violence sparked by his refusal to recognise Ouattara as winner of the vote. At least 3 000 people died in the post-election violence in the country. The Nation reports that Ouattara welcomed Gbagbo's return from The Hague, saying that he had accepted the homecoming plan 'in the spirit of reconciliation'. And Ouattara last week used the Muslim feast of sacrifice, Idd ul-Adha, to appeal for national healing.