COTONOU — Benin’s highest court has definitively closed the procedural chapter of one of the country’s most closely watched cases. On Thursday, September 24, 2026, the Supreme Court rejected the cassation appeal filed by lawyers for former Director General of the National Police, General Louis Philippe Houndégnon. While the court found the appeal admissible in form, it firmly dismissed it on the merits, upholding the May 19, 2026 ruling by the appeals chamber of the Court for the Repression of Economic Offences and Terrorism (CRIET). By affirming the lower court’s jurisdiction, the Supreme Court has exhausted the defense’s extraordinary remedies and opened the way to an imminent trial.
Defense arguments fail to sway the bench
Present at the hearing, one of the accused’s lawyers, Me Fidèle Abouta, attempted a final maneuver by arguing that his client’s fundamental rights had been violated from the earliest stages of the proceedings. The arguments did not convince the judges, bringing a definitive end to the jurisdictional standoff that had lasted several months.
Charges at the heart of the case
At the core of the matter, the Beninese state accuses its former police chief, who has become a particularly vocal critic of the current government, of a series of serious offenses. The prosecution alleges incitement to rebellion and civil disobedience for speeches aimed at encouraging uprising, harassment through electronic communications for disseminating sharp messages on social media, and violation of the duty of discretion for disclosing confidential information linked to his former duties. Initially investigated under correctional classification, the case was ultimately reclassified as criminal by the CRIET, which views it as an attempt against state security.
Next step: the merits before the CRIET
With this final rejection, procedural arguments give way to the substantive debate before the CRIET. The key question now will be whether the general’s statements fell under freedom of expression or constituted a deliberate attempt to destabilize state institutions.
