Former Ivory Coast footballer gets 3-year jail term for rape
Former Ivorian footballer Aboulaye Traore, nicknamed Ben Badi, has been sentenced to three years in prison for rape, according to Channel Television. The Bouake court also ordered him to pay 15 million CFA francs ($26,700) to his victim and imposed a five-year ban on him appearing in central Ivory Coast.
Traore, who won the 1992 African Cup of Nations with the Elephants and remains a popular figure, was found guilty of having non-consensual sexual relations with a 21-year-old woman in March 2021. The Ivorian League for Women's Rights hailed the sentence as a "significant advance in the fight against impunity for sexual and sexist violence."
Before retirement, Traore was a cult hero for Abidjan's ASEC Mimosas and played for European clubs including FC Metz in France and Portugal's Braga. This high-profile case sets an important precedent for sexual violence prosecution in West Africa.
What message does this send about how sexual assault cases should be handled by authorities in the region?