Two men have been convicted and sentenced in connection with the dumping of toxic waste in the Ivory Coast in 2006; 17 people died.
In 2006 toxic waste was dumped at open sites across the Ivorian commercial capital Abidjan; 17 people were killed and made thousands ill.
Some of those responsible have
been brought to trail and this past Wednesday, Salomon Ugborugbo, the Nigerian director of the local Tommy company which had used trucks to distribute the waste in 2006 at open sites across the Ivorian commercial capital Abidjan, was given a 20-year sentence on the charge of "poisoning".
The prosecution sought a life sentence. Desire Kouao, an Ivorian shipping agent, was given a five-year sentence for "complicity" in the same charge.
The court acquitted seven local port customs and maritime officials over their role in the toxic waste scandal.
The trial raised questions about the dumping of toxic materials in Africa.
No representatives from the Dutch-based international oil trader, Trafigura, which had chartered the Panamanian-registered Probo Koala vessel that unloaded the waste in Abidjan, were accused in the trial.
The company, Trafigura will pay approximately $200 million in an out-of-court compensation settlement with the Ivory Coast government and the company was exempted from legal proceedings in the West African country.
The company says it is not responsible for the deaths and illnesses suffered by Abidjan residents after the dumping.
Vincent T'sas is an independent journalist in the Ivory Coast. He said "People are saying that the main culprits are not in court - the people of Trafigura - and they could have been because they have spent - right after this dumping - six months in prison here.”
"One of the prisoners was the president of Trafigura, but after six months he was released because the company made a deal with the government saying OK, we will pay $200,000 million if you free us.”
"That is what angers people. People are still suffering,"
At the opening of the trail, Trafigura said in a statement it would present independent experts to prove the waste could not have been responsible for their illness.
The petrochemical waste was described as "slops", residues from gasoline mixed with caustic washings.
Defence lawyers in the Abidjan hearings stated it was unfair for their clients to be in the dock when executives from Trafigura were not on trial.
The company faces a possible class-action suit next year in London courts brought by a British law firm representing thousands of Ivorian victims seeking tens of millions of dollars in compensation.
Many victims have already been compensated from the out-of-court settlement, but many feel they have not received enough compensation.
In 2006, Abidjan hospitals were overwhelmed as thousands sought treatment for vomiting, nausea, diarrhoea and breathing difficulties after exposure to noxious fumes.
T'sas said on Thursday: "I went to a village near the dump today and I saw a woman who was covered in sores who has had them since the dumping in 2006.
"It's raining at the moment in Abidjan and the fumes of the toxic waste are still in place. Although there has been a clean-up operation, it has not been completely cleaned."
