Ivory Coast police arrest man over murky Abidjan homes demolition

Ivory Coast police said Friday they had arrested a man accused of using a fake court document to order the demolition of a large area of an Abidjan neighbourhood.

The case has sparked outrage in the west African country since 3 June, when part of Koumassi Camp was razed by bulldozers.

For years, Ivorian authorities have waged an urban clean-up campaign in the sprawling economic capital, pulling down illegal settlements in the name of public safety.

But they say this demolition was ordered by an individual who had no legal authority, not the government.

The suspect, Jacques Alloui Brou, later appeared in a video posted on Facebook to say he was behind the demolitions and possessed a court ruling ordering them.

However, Abidjan public prosecutor Oumar Braman Kone said the document brandished by Brou “did not authorise the demolition of any building”.

Kone opened an investigation and issued an order for Brou’s arrest.

Brou, a 76-year-old businessman, was arrested Thursday in the Abidjan district of Port-Bouet, according to a police spokesman, who gave no further details.

According to the prosecutor, the demolitions could amount to “disturbing public order, assault and wilful destruction of property”, offences punishable by up to five years in jail.

Several thousand people lost their homes in Koumassi Camp, near the city centre, and have not been offered rehousing.