In Ivory Coast, a murder case haunts the main student union

The school year has just begun in Côte d’Ivoire, but dozens of students, with hastily closed bags or suitcases, rush towards the exit of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny University in Abidjan, under the watchful eye of university agents and security forces. of the order. On October 2, the Ministry of Higher Education ordered illegal occupants of university residences to leave them under penalty of being expelled manu militari.

A decision that is part of a series of legal measures taken against the Federation of Students and Schools of the Ivory Coast (Fesci), a powerful student union regularly accused of violent, even mafia-like, practices and particularly known on university campuses for his own benefit.

The origin of this decision: the discovery, on Monday, September 30, of the lifeless body of a student and member of Fesci at the Cocody University Hospital. Marte Aubin Deagoué Agui, nicknamed the “General Magician”At the age of 49, he completed a master’s degree at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny University. A member of the Fesci section of the Abobo 1 university campus, he was especially known for being a rival of its secretary general, Sié Kambou, elected in December 2023. Mr. Agui’s body “ showed traces of physical violence », According to a press release from the prosecutor published on October 1.

“An act of barbarism”

After concluding that it was a homicide, the prosecutor’s office opened an investigation and arrested Abdoul Karim Sidibé, a relative of Sié Kambou, “ calling himself an intelligence agent “. According to the statement, the latter admitted to having organized, at the request of Sié Kambou, a meeting with the victim, who “ met him in a basement located in Angré Pétro Ivoire, where he was kidnapped by individuals aboard a [VTC] Yango towards an unknown destination “.

The secretary general and five other members of Fesci’s office were arrested by criminal police on 1^Ahem October. An arrest that quickly sparked clashes on campus.

In a joint statement published on October 2, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Higher Education stated that Mars Aubin Deagoué Agui had been “ kidnapped and then sexually abused by individuals identified as members [de la Fesci]»denouncing “ an act of barbarism from another era “.” Awaiting the conclusions of the investigation opened by the national police », concludes the press release, the government has decided: “ as a precautionary measure, prohibit all activities of student union associations throughout the national territory “.

Eviction of squatters

A few hours later, the Ministry of Higher Education also ordered students to “ occupying the rooms of the university residences of the different CROU [Centres régionaux des œuvres universitaires] illegally ” of ” vacate said rooms taking all your personal belongings » the same day. On October 3, police went to universities to help campus officers evict student squatters, known in Ivory Coast by the nickname ” Cambodians », in reference to refugees from the Cambodian civil war.

“ It was a latent crisis since December », laments Germain Kramo, professor-researcher at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny University. In fact, Sié Kambou’s candidacy had been contested internally, while Allah Saint-Clair stated “ Makelele », president from 2019 to 2023, wanted to extend his mandate at the head of the union.

Although Sié Kambou’s victory in congress had silenced some critical voices, Fesci ranks remained divided on the issue. “ These succession conflicts are recurrent in Fesciunderlines Germain Kramo. In 2000 and 2001, he experienced the “machete war”, with two rival branches that respectively supported Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, who faced each other in the universities. »

Dissolved and then rehabilitated in 1993 and 1999 by the government of Henri Konan Bédié, Fesci had not suffered major legal sanctions since the 2000s, with the exception of a brief suspension in 2016 following student strikes. “ In Fesci’s heyday, in the time of Guillaume Soro [secrétaire général de la Fesci de 1995 à 1998] and Charles Blé Goudé [1998 à 2001]the police would not have been able to arrest a Fesci general secretary without causing a stir throughout the country », explains Germain Kramo.

“ We commend the police for responding quickly and hope justice is served.reacted to the World Martial Joseph Ahipeaud, founding member and first secretary general of Fesci. But the government should not take this opportunity to destroy the only union organization it has not been able to control since the post-election crisis of 2010-2011. »