A court in Ivory Coast’s economic capital on Friday handed down a three-year prison sentence to a Malian politician after finding him guilty of insulting President Alassane Ouattara and spreading offensive content online, a ruling that highlights deepening diplomatic tensions between the two West African neighbours.
Mamadou Hawa Gassama, a long-time Malian lawmaker and member of the National Transitional Council, Mali’s military-appointed parliamentary body, was convicted in an Abidjan criminal court after comments he made in September 2022 were deemed insulting to the Ivorian head of state.
In a televised interview with a Malian media outlet at the height of a regional political crisis, Gassama referred to President Ouattara as “an enemy of Mali,” remarks that prosecutors later characterised as defamatory and destabilising.
Gassama was detained in early July 2025 during a private visit to Ivory Coast and held under a judicial order while authorities pursued charges of insulting the head of state and “disseminating offensive expressions online.”
In addition to the prison term, the court also imposed a fine on Gassama and barred him from residing in Ivory Coast for an equal period after his release.
His lawyer, Mamadou Ismaila Konate, criticised the sentence as unduly harsh.
He said, “We believe that this decision is, first of all, excessive; it is serious, and it is very severe.”
Gassama, known in political circles for his outspoken views, previously served as an opposition member of parliament during the presidency of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was ousted in Mali’s 2020 military coup. Since the coup and a subsequent one in 2021 that brought General Assimi Goita to power in Bamako, relations between Mali and Ivory Coast have been strained. President Ouattara has been a vocal critic of the military takeovers that shook several Sahel states.
The sentencing underscores the legal risks faced by foreign politicians and commentators who make contentious remarks while on Ivorian soil, particularly in a political environment marked by heightened sensitivity to perceived slights against state leadership.
