 To all the parts of Africa, thousands of supporters have given Côte d'Ivoire's controversial former president, Lawrence Babour, a hero's welcome, as he made a triumphant return to his home village on Sunday. The village in the southwest of the West African country has been a beehive of activity in anticipation of his visit since Babour arrived back in Ivory Coast from Europe on June 18. That's after he was definitively acquitted by the International Criminal Court on charges stemming from violence that claimed around 3,000 lives after he refused to concede electoral defeat in 2010 to current President Alison Wotara. On Sunday, Babour made his way to Mamma by road, stopping first in the capital, Yamosokoro, in the centre of the country, the world's top cocoa producer. He then headed to the town of Lausanne, Mamma, to visit the grave of his mother, who died in 2014 when he was in prison at the ICC in The Hague. Mamma has begun buzzing at dawn. Its main artery choked with coaches, motorbikes and cars, filled with supporters of the former president.