Death of Baba Coulibaly: First Lady Dominique Ouattara offers her condolences to the family of the deceased

On Wednesday December 6, 2023, the First Lady, Mrs Dominique Ouattara, visited the home of the deceased at Riviera Palmeraie to offer her condolences and support to the bereaved family.

The First Lady’s delegation included Mrs Maïmouna Koné, wife of the Vice-President of the Republic, Mr Amadou Coulibaly, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Mr Aka Sayé Lazare, Chairman of the Board of Directors  of RTI, Mr Dembélé Fousseni, Managing Director of RTI and many other personalities, as well as members of her Cabinet.

Mr. Baba Coulibaly was sick for several months. News of his death sent shockwaves across social media last October, with many Ivorians paying tribute to him. The death of this star presenter is a great loss for the Ivorian media, given his contribution to the promotion of Rap in Côte d’Ivoire and his role as a journalist and presenter at RTI, and finally as head of RTI’s programming department. Mr. Baba Coulibaly was also close to the First Lady, Mrs Dominique Ouattara, for whom he had a filial love.

With all this in mind, the First Lady was keen to express her compassion and support for the widow, Mrs Estelle Coulibaly Kariké, and her entire family. But it was above all important for the wife of the Head of State, as a mother, to controbute to the funeral arrangement of the person who used to be the Master of ceremony at many events she hosted.  Mr. Amadou Coulibaly, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy and spokesman for the First Lady, reminded us of these filial ties. Indeed, for him, it was a duty for the First Lady to be present alongside the grieving family, as Baba Coulibaly was one of the many sons of the wife of the Head of State. He also recalled the collaboration between the First Lady and the deceased, in the sense that none of the latter’s activities took place without him. For him, it was on the strength of this affection and relationship that the wife of the Head of State came in person to show her compassion to the bereaved family.

On behalf of the Coulibaly and Kariké families, Mr. Guy Kariké, spokesman for the bereaved family, expressed the thanks of Mr. Baba Coulibaly’s relatives to the First Lady and her husband. He recalled the maternal presence of the First Lady at the side of Baba Coulibaly. But he also emphasized the support she had given the family as soon as the bad news was announced. Moreover, the family spokesman revealed that it was the First Lady who helped the family with the transfer of Mr. Baba Coulibaly’s mortal remains to Abidjan.

It should be noted that the First Lady offered five (5) million F CFA to the family for the arrangements of the deceased’s funeral. Mr. Baba Coulibaly’s body will be laid to rest this Thursday, December 7, 2023, at IVOSEP followed by his burial at Williamsville cemetery.