COTE D'IVOIRE: INTERIOR MINISTER REFUSES BRIBE,

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABIDJAN 000992 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL IV SUBJECT: COTE D'IVOIRE: INTERIOR MINISTER REFUSES BRIBE, POLICE SERGEANT ARRESTED Classified By: POL/ECON Jim Wojtasiewicz, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (U) On Thursday August 24, General Adolphe Babi, the Ivorian Police Inspector General, announced at a press conference the arrest of Sergeant Zie Guillaume, who was charged with offering a bribe of approximately USD 226,000 (CFAF 113 million) to the Interior Minister in exchange for accepting 312 prospective candidates into the police academy. Sergeant Zie had collected the money from the prospective candidates to guarantee that they would get in. ¶2. (U) Sergeant Zie offered the cash bribe to Interior Minister on August 10. Dja Ble immediately alerted General Babi, who went to the Minister's office with an investigative team and arrested Zie on the spot on charges of corruption. The investigative team found the cash bribe in the trunk of Zie's car. ¶3. (U) Each year, the Ministry of Interior organizes entry-level exams for prospective candidates at the police academy. Those that pass the written exam must then pass physical and medical tests to gain admission. However, there have been recurrent rumors that police officials are taking bribes to short-circuit this recruitment process. ¶4. (C) Comment: This incident speaks well of the new Interior Minister, a highly regarded former head of the Ivorian intelligence service who is not a member of any political party. However, Dja Ble has his work cut out for him to change the culture of corruption within the police. This incident will no doubt have made the minister some enemies. End Comment. Hooks