Ivory Coast – Hamed Bakayoko: “He left too early”

Côte d’Ivoire between shock and condolences

Hamed Bakayoko, nicknamed “HamBak” by Ivorians, who was also Minister of Defense, was evacuated to France on February 18 by special plane for “health reasons”, before being transferred to a hospital in Germany on the weekend. last, when the legislative elections were being held in his country. Despite his absence, he was largely re-elected as a deputy in his stronghold of Séguéla (north). Before his departure for Paris, this man of strong build, popular and bon vivant had not been seen in public for two weeks, but his relatives said he was very thin.

Appreciated in all camps of a country marked by strong political tensions, he was perceived as a possible successor of President Ouattara, and his opponents were keen to salute his memory. “He was a man of conviction, who had an ambition for young people,” said N’Goran Djedri, one of the leaders of the first opposition party, the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI). “He left too early. ”

Charles Blé Goudé, who has long been a pillar of supporters of former President Laurent Gbagbo, bitter rival of Alassane Ouattara, was one of the first to pay tribute to him since his exile in Europe. “We were, of course, political opponents, but I remember him as a man who was loyal to his mentor to the end, a landmark and support for many young Ivorians,” he told AFP. .

In a press release published last night, the former president of the National Assembly, Guillaume Soro pays homage to a “brother”. “I share the sincere mourning of the Ivorian people who keep the illustrious disappeared, who was for a long time my close collaborator and special advisor, the image of a generous man, open and close to his fellow citizens”, writes the former rebel, adding that “the circumstances of life, alas, have led us to take different political paths, opposed and sometimes conflicting, but we have known, above all, to keep and preserve our fraternity and our reciprocal affection”.

“A precious intermediary between the regime and the other socio-political layers is disappearing”, reacted Pascal Affi N’Guessan, president of FPI. “It is with great consternation that we learn this bad news which constitutes a very great loss for the country. When we know the function occupied by the illustrious disappeared in the state apparatus, when we have just lost a first prime minister not long ago, it is as if fate was hitting on the country, ”he added. Same story with George-Armand Ouegnin, president of the opposition EDS coalition. “I am deeply moved by this death of the Prime Minister. I would like to offer my condolences to his political family, his biological family and the government. He led the political dialogue that enabled inclusive elections. ”

Tribute from the world of culture and the media

The world of Ivorian popular music, appreciated by Hamed Bakayoko, was also saddened by his death. “Apart from the fact that he was a great politician, I personally lose a big brother, a friend and a godfather. He was a (…) great lover of music, ”reacted Asalfo, from the famous group Magic System. Patron, the name of Hamed Bakayoko was regularly mentioned in the songs of artists from various backgrounds, in the pure tradition of “libanga”. Innoss’B, singer from Goma, in eastern DRC, had made one of these dedications to him in his song “Olandi”.

“It is with sorrow that I present my condolences to the Ivorian government, the Ivorian people and the family of Hamed Bakayoko. A great man has just left us. Sleep in peace HE Hamed Bakayoko, ”Malian artist Sidiki Diabaté posted on his Twitter account.

Beyond music, everyone in the culture expresses itself. Like Mamane, columnist on RFI, producer and founder of Gondwana-City Productions, based in Abidjan.

First a political activist, Hamed Bakayoko then entered the world of the media in the 1990s. Many newspapers and media also pay tribute to him on Thursday. On the Koaci site, Amy Touré writes that “Hamed Bakayoko had everything to please, perhaps too much to please, perfect synthesis between two worlds to bring together, that of Laurent Gbagbo, Henri Konan Bédié, and Alassane Ouattara , the first two for whom he was a friend, the other a son ”.

On Jeune Afrique, who interviewed him at length in September 2020, it is Marwane Ben Yahmed, the director of the publication who recounts the last hours of Ahmed Bakayoko. The opportunity to dive into the memories that bind them, but also to discover other less known facets of this extraordinary character.

Africa reacts

Reactions were also pouring in from the rest of the continent, especially in the West African sub-region, where Hamed Bakayoko was often sent as emissary. Burkina is losing “a friend, a brother attached to the vitality of relations” with the Ivory Coast, according to President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.

” No words ! ! ! exclaimed his friend Karim Keïta, the son of the former Malian president. Mayakovsky is said to have said: “Brother Hamed Bakayoko died on that day. This year has seen what a hundred will not see. This day will enter the dreary legend of the centuries »Sleep in peace koro! TAF Condolences to his family. Be strong ! I am with you. ”

“I learned with emotion of the death of the Ivorian Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko. I salute the memory of the illustrious deceased and offer saddened condolences to President Ouattara, as well as to the brother Ivorian people, ”Senegalese President Macky Sall wrote on Twitter.

Mohamed Bazoum, the candidate elected in Niger, declared “the death of my friend Hamed Bakayoko, Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire is an immense loss for his country and for all of West Africa”.

Shortly after the announcement made official by the Ivorian government, Togo, whom Hamed Bakayoko knew well, paid tribute to him through a message from the Head of State, Faure Gnassingbé. “It is with immense sorrow that I learned today of the death of the Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire Hamed Bakayoko. An outstanding statesman, dedicated to the task and rigorous in his work is gone. On my own behalf and on behalf of the Togolese people, I extend my most saddened condolences to His Excellency Mr. Alassane Ouattara, to the brotherly people of Côte d’Ivoire and to the grieving family. ”

Ivorian and African youth salute the memory of a leader

While the country harshly accuses the blow, young Ivorians are also trying to pay homage to the deceased in their own way. As reported by the local press, students went on “strike” in a high school in the town of Bouaké, to rally in memory of Hamed Bakayoko. Same images in Abobo, and other towns.

Beyond this gesture, on social networks, many testimonies poured out testifying of the help, of a memory, of a meeting with the Prime Minister disappeared.