A mob
armed with machetes dragged Legré, a printing press employee for the media
group La Refondation, from his home in Koumassi and hacked him to death, according
to local journalists and news reports. The assailants were believed to be
supporters of Alassane Ouattara, the opposition party leader who was locked in
a protracted electoral dispute at the time with incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.
(Ouattara was sworn in as president in May 2011.)
Legré’s
affiliation with La Refondation, publisher of the daily newspaper Notre Voie, which
backed Gbagbo, was the likely motive, news reports said. Koumassi, an Abidjan
suburb, was home to many Ouattara supporters.