Government Spokesman Responds to 10-Year-Old Mira’s Heartfelt Letter Pleading for Presidential Pardon for Her Imprisoned Parents
Government spokesperson Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji has responded to the moving letter from young Mira, 10, who pleaded with the President for a pardon for her incarcerated parents. While acknowledging the emotional weight of the message, the government remains firm on adhering to judicial procedures.
The voice of little Goudjo Mira was not lost in the noise of social media. On the contrary, it reached the highest levels of power.
Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji, spokesperson for the Beninese government, publicly reacted to the heartfelt letter from the 10-year-old girl, in which she begged President Patrice Talon to use his power of clemency to release her parents, who have been imprisoned since 2022 in the “Tiens Ds Com” case.
In his statement, the spokesperson did not shy away from the emotional impact of Mira’s message. “We heard her cry from the heart,” he said, before noting that Mira’s situation, as heartbreaking as it is, is not unique.
“There are currently around 13,000 people in detention in our prisons. Most of these individuals are fathers and mothers,” he continued.
The government says it understands the distress expressed by Mira but remains committed to balancing humanity with justice. “Mira’s cry is also the cry of all other anonymous children,” Houngbédji acknowledged. However, he emphasized that all those in detention must answer for the charges brought against them, in strict accordance with judicial procedures.
The government spokesperson also expressed hope that “the time of acquiescence will come soon,” so that responsibilities can be clearly established.
For him, compassion must not override the rule of law. “If there are things they are accused of and must answer for, then as citizens subject to the law, just like everyone else, they must be held accountable,” he stated firmly.
For context, Goudjo Mira, a primary school student in her fourth year (CM2), wrote a handwritten and heartfelt letter to the President of the Republic on May 8, 2025.
In it, she pleads for the release of her parents, Goudjo Élisée and Agassou Chantal, who have been imprisoned for three years following their conviction in the “Tiens Ds Com” case by the Court for the Repression of Economic Offences and Terrorism (CRIET).
In her letter, filled with pain and surprising maturity, Mira describes the difficult daily life she shares with her siblings, marked by the absence of their parents, poverty, and the interruption of their schooling due to lack of funds. “My tears have flowed too much,” she wrote.
