After hours of heavy gunfire near the presidential palace in Conakry, Guinea’s capital, revolutionary Guinea soldiers deposed President Alpha Conde on Sunday. Alpha Conde has been the president of Guinea since December 2010 as the country’s first freely elected president, and he was re-elected in 2015.
According to Col. Mamadi Doumbouya, who announced the dissolution of the government on state television, they dissolved the government in a plain coup d’état. He also declared the constitution invalid and closed the country’s borders. “A soldier has to save the country. We will no longer entrust politics to one man. We will put it in the hands of the people,” the army man stated.
The whereabouts of Alpha Conde following the Sunday incident in Conakry are unknown; however, a video of the president has surfaced, showing Alpha Conde exhausted, untidy and held in military custody.
As the incident swept social media, ECOWAS condemned the developments and threats without releasing Alpha Conde. In comparison, UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned Col. Mamadi Doumbouya on Twitter. “I am following the situation in Guinea closely. I denounce any takeover of the government by force of the gun and call for the immediate release of President Alpha Conde,” his tweet stated.
Alpha Conde’s condition appeared concerning, and many speculated on when he might be released. However, Col. Mamadi Doumbouya issued a statement saying the Guinea president was in contact with his doctors. And for his release, the army man had nothing to say about it, only saying, “Everything will be fine. We will issue a statement when the time comes.”
The following day at an event, he also announced plans to replace the country’s governors with regional commanders. He warned they would consider any refusal a rebellion against the country’s new military leaders.
According to Ned Price, a spokesperson for the US State Department, he warned against violence. He urged Guinean authorities to avoid extra-constitutional actions that would deprive Guinea of its peace, stability, and prosperity. And such actions limit the ability of the United States and its international partners to assist Guinea.
Guinea has had over six African presidents, the most recent being Alpha Conde, who was in office for ten years and two hundred and fifty-eight days before being deposed by one of his men, Col. Mamadi Doumbouya.
Who is Col. Mamadi Doumbouya?
He was a member of the Guinea Special Forces group (an elite military group founded by Alpha Conde) and corporal with the French Legionnaire before returning to the Special Forces.
In 2019, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and colonel of the following year. Col. Mamadi Doumbouya was one of the 25 Guinea officials threatened with sanctions by the European Union over allegations of human rights violations committed in recent years under Alpha Conde.
Mamadi Doumbouya is married to a French national and is from a Malinke community and hails from the Guinea eastern Kankan region. In his 15 years military career, the soldier has served missions in Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Central African Republic, and close protection in Israel, Cyprus, the UK, and Guinea.
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