Murder, rape and torture allegations hit Ivory Coast student union
The Ivorian government has announced the closure of all student unions following the murders of two students, which are being attributed to the influential Student and School Federation (Fesci).
Several Fesci members have been arrested in connection with the killings of Khalifa Diomandé and Zigui Mars Aubin Déagoué, which occurred in August and September.
Authorities reported that investigations at Félix Houphouët-Boigny University in Abidjan revealed an underground tunnel used for torture and a brothel.
Students have informed the BBC that it was well-known Fesci operated these illegal establishments, but many were too intimidated to come forward.
“You wouldn’t have believed you were at a university in an organized country,” said a former student who requested anonymity.
“I was threatened by Fesci many times, they tried to rape me,” she tells the BBC. “My boyfriend tried to stand up for me, and he was beaten up,” she alleges. On other occasions, she says she had to pay Fesci members to leave her alone.
She says she is still traumatized, and has not set foot on the campus since dropping out after her ordeal eight years ago.
“I don’t know how it lasted so long but now I feel relieved for the victims,” she adds.
Extortion was common, say students.
“I was supposed to pay $100 (£77) per month for my room,” explains Jose Aristide, “but they were forcing me to pay $250 per month.
“There was no other option. Everyone feared them.”
On Thursday, Ivory Coast’s Security Council said it had carried out a series of raids on universities in Abidjan and the central city of Bouaké in which more than 100 machetes and grenades were seized.
They also found and expelled 5,000 undeclared residents at university campuses across Abidjan, Bouaké, and Daloa.
When the student union ban was announced that same day, people celebrated.
One lecturer tells the BBC he welcomes the ban, saying he hopes it will bring some peace to the campuses.
Originally set up in the 1990s as a student body, Fesci soon became an anti-government protest group and has long been suspected of involvement in organized crime.
It has also served as a springboard into politics for some.
Former Fesci leaders include Guillaume Soro – a rebel leader turned prime minister, and Charles Blé Goudé – a former youth minister who was accused and then acquitted of massive human rights violations during post-election violence that happened a decade ago.
