ABIDJAN: Ivory Coast's former president Laurent Gbagbo, who returns home on Thursday after a nearly 10-year absence, has known glory and humiliation in equal measure in his long and chequered career.

The 76-year-old is set to fly back to the country he ruled from 2000 to 2011, after the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague confirmed his acquittal of crimes against humanity.

The charges arose from a five-month conflict sparked by Gbagbo's refusal in late 2010 to accept defeat in a presidential election to his rival Alassane Ouattara, whose victory was endorsed by the UN.

More than 3,000 people were killed before Gbagbo was arrested in the economic hub Abidjan on April 11, 2011, and transferred to the ICC.

Gbagbo accused France, the former colonial power, of involvement in a plot that led to his arrest by Ouattara's forces.

His popularity does not seem to have suffered from his long absence. Thousands of people have been preparing to welcome him in working-class districts of Abidjan.

In his native Gagnoa in central west Ivory Coast, preparations for a hero's welcome are well under way for the leader nicknamed the "Lion of Africa".