In Côte d’Ivoire on Monday, 2 February 2026, two prominent figures in the nation’s cocoa industry, Moussa Koné and Koffi Kanga, were placed under formal detention after being accused of defamation and calumny in connection with public comments they made about the sector’s challenges.
The Director-General of the Conseil du Café-Cacao (CCC), Yves Brahima Koné, lodged the complaint, alleging that the leaders of the Syndicat National Agricole pour le Progrès de la Côte d’Ivoire (SYNAPCI) and the Association Nationale des Producteurs de Café-Cacao de Côte d’Ivoire (ANAPROCI) made false
statements about mounting stockpiles and logistical blockages that, he claimed, contributed to a 30 per cent drop in global cocoa prices and harmed the industry’s reputation.
According to the CCC head, figures cited by the unionists – including claims of 700.000 tonnes of cocoa stocks in the bush and dozens of trucks stranded at ports – were inaccurate and misleading.
The two men were handed over to the prosecution for further legal proceedings on Tuesday, 3 February 2026 amid deepening tensions in the cocoa trade, which is vital to the West African country’s economy. The defence has rejected the accusations, arguing that price declines predated the unionists’ remarks
and that their claims were based on data from industry sources.