Justin Katinan Koné, Fourth Vice President of the African Peoples’ Party – Côte d’Ivoire (PPA-CI), has been placed in pre-trial detention following questioning in connection with judicial proceedings linked to unrest during Côte d’Ivoire’s 2025 electoral period.
In a statement issued on Friday, September 11, the Public Prosecutor attached to the Abidjan Court of First Instance confirmed that Koné was interrogated by investigators from the Police Prefecture after a complaint filed by the ruling Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) on September 7. The complaint alleges defamation, insult via an information and communications system, and dissemination of false information.
Following questioning of both the civil party and Koné, the prosecutor requested that the case be transmitted for judicial information with a view to referral to the Criminal Court. However, the proceedings extend beyond the RHDP complaint. Judicial police officers were also instructed to question Koné regarding his alleged involvement in unrest recorded during the 2025 elections.
Koné was subsequently placed in police custody and brought before the Anti-Terrorism Section of the Abidjan Court. A judicial investigation has since been opened, resulting in an order for his pre-trial detention.
The charges listed by the prosecution include alleged terrorist acts, conspiracy against state authority, participation in an insurrectionary movement, disturbance of public order, advocacy of murder crimes, and involvement in prohibited demonstrations. Authorities also accuse him of deliberately setting fire to vehicles in Abidjan and other parts of the country.
The proceedings are reportedly based on Côte d’Ivoire’s Law No. 2024-360 of June 11, 2024, concerning the repression of terrorism, alongside provisions of the Penal Code. The prosecution recalled that in October 2025 it had warned that acts of violence committed during the electoral period would not go unpunished, stressing that perpetrators, accomplices, and alleged sponsors would face investigation and prosecution regardless of status.
Koné’s detention is expected to draw significant political and legal attention, given his senior role within the PPA-CI and the broader tensions surrounding the 2025 electoral period. As the judicial investigation continues, the allegations remain subject to judicial determination.
