Ivory Coast TV presenter gets 12-month suspended sentence for glorifying rape

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) –A court in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital Abidjan convicted a television presenter Wednesday of glorifying rape, local media reported.

Yves de M’Bella was handed a one-year suspended prison sentence for asking a convicted rapist he hosted on his show to simulate a sexual assault using a mannequin, the local newspaper Fratmat reported.

The man who appeared on the show was sentenced to two years in prison, it said.

The court also fined M’Bella 2 million CFA francs (around $3,620) and banned him from leaving Abidjan for one year.

The prime time program was broadcast Monday by private channel Nouvelle Chaine Ivoirienne (NCI), where host M’Bella reportedly asked his guest to demonstrate how he raped women using a female mannequin.

The broadcast triggered condemnation on social media platforms in Ivory Coast, and an online petition demanding that M’Bella be punished and the cancellation of his show has so far been signed by around 50,000 people.

The broadcast showed a laughing M’Bella helping the guest adjust the mannequin.

He even asked him to detail how he chose his victims and whether he preferred them “slim or fat” and if they “enjoyed it.”

In a statement, the country's independent communications council announced that it had suspended M’Bella for 30 days, faulting the broadcast for using obscene language, condoning rape and attacking the dignity of women.

An apology by the presenter in a lengthy Facebook post did not cool people’s anger. On Wednesday, nearly a dozen women gathered outside the television station, demanding that management set aside time to give voice to rape victims and raise public awareness about sexual violence.

In his apology, M’Bella admitted that he “made an error” but claimed he was raising awareness.

“I'm sincerely sorry to have shocked everyone while trying to raise awareness,” he wrote on Facebook.

The station also apologized and cancelled the final episode of the particular show, which had been scheduled to air on Friday.