Cotonou — The die is cast. In a decision that marks a decisive turning point, Benin’s Supreme Court on Thursday, September 24, 2026, definitively dismissed the cassation appeal filed by lawyers for former National Police Director General Louis Philippe Houndégnon. The court found the appeal admissible in form but rejected it on the merits, thereby upholding the May 19, 2026, ruling of the appellate 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 unlocked the door to an imminent trial.
The courtroom showdown that sealed the outcome
Present at the hearing, one of the accused’s attorneys, Fidèle Abouta, made a final attempt to argue that his client’s fundamental rights had been violated from the earliest hours of the proceedings. The arguments failed to persuade the judges, bringing a definitive end to the jurisdictional tug-of-war that had dragged on for months.
The charges at the heart of the case
The Beninese state accuses its former police chief — now a particularly outspoken critic of the sitting government — of a series of serious breaches. Prosecutors specifically allege incitement to rebellion and civil disobedience through speeches calling for uprising, harassment via electronic communications for disseminating sharp messages on social media, and violation of the duty of discretion for leaking confidential information linked to his former duties. Initially investigated under misdemeanor charges, the case was ultimately reclassified as a criminal matter by the CRIET, which views it as an attempt to undermine state security.
What happens next: the merits take center stage
With this final rejection, procedural arguments fade into the background, making way for the substantive debate before the CRIET. The key question now is whether the general’s statements fell within the bounds of free expression or amounted to a deliberate effort to destabilize state institutions.
