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Côte d’Ivoire prosecutors said on Wednesday they opened an investigation into a prominent minister who had been accused of rape by a young woman.
The investigation focuses on the Minister of Reconciliation, Kouadio Konan Bertin, who also ran in the presidential election last year.
“The young woman lodged a complaint with the police. A (judicial) investigation is underway,” said the prosecution, specifying that Bertin had lodged a complaint against her for defamation.
“The two cases will be dealt with simultaneously,” the office said.
In an audio message posted online Monday, an Ivorian-Cameroonian artist who said she worked with Bertin claimed that in April she was forcibly taken to Divo, a town 200 kilometers (120 miles) west of ‘Abidjan, where she was raped.
Asked about the allegation Tuesday evening on the national television channel RTI, Bertin said he had “nothing to reproach me”.
He added: “This is a criminal case which is in the hands of justice.
Bertin, 52, commonly known by his initials KKB, was the only candidate against incumbent President Alassane Ouattara in the elections last October.
Other candidates boycotted the ballot to protest Ouattara’s candidacy for a third term, which they said circumvented the constitution.
Bertin, who won just 1.99% of the vote, was appointed Minister of National Reconciliation two months later – a post aimed at bridging the country’s dangerous political divide.
The high-profile allegation follows a TV show that sparked nationwide outrage in August by appearing to shed light on the rape.
TV host Yves de M’Bella had asked a man described as a former rapist to demonstrate, using a model, how he raped his victims.
De M’Bella was given a 12-month suspended prison sentence for “tolerating rape” while his guest was given a two-year sentence.
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