• The coup was carried out by some elite Special Forces of the nation’s military
• The military cited mismanagement as one of the reasons for their action
When Guinea’s Alpha Conde ascended the nations Presidency in 2010, he promised to steer the mineral-rich but poor country towards development by fighting corruption and ensuring effective management of the country’s natural resources.
After three Presidential terms spanning a period of eleven years, Alpha Conde on Sunday, September 5, 2021 was removed as President of Guinea by his own elite military Special Forces.
Events leading to his overthrow and the justification given by the military for its action, points to the fact that Mr. Conde failed to keep to his promise.
His reign as President was largely characterized with allegations of corruption, intimidation, the use of state power to fight his opponents and an apparent quest to hold onto power.
Alpha Conde was first elected as President in 2010 and was re-elected in 2015 for what was supposed to be his last term in an election which his opponents claimed was characterized by fraud and rigging.
The President in the latter part of his second term in 2020, set aside Guinea’s presidential term limit and was re-elected for a third term leading to street demonstrations in the country.
Aside from his first term in 2010, two of his subsequent election victories have been described as fraudulent and rigged.
Guinea witnessed a week-long protest and violence in early March, 2013 after opposition supporters took to the streets of Conakry to peacefully protest against what was said to be Conde’s attempts to rig the nations parliamentary elections.
The violence that erupted led to the death of at least 20 persons and over a hundred injuries, all from the brutality of Condé's security forces who used live ammunition to disperse the peaceful protesters.
He is said to have set up a special army unit with which peaceful protests were repressed with impunity.
Some of the soldiers were said to be former rebels whose activities led to the death of many women and children in Guinea.
Guinea’s 2015 Presidential election was another piece of contributory factor to events that led to Condo’s eventual overthrow.
The election which he won with some 57.58 percent votes was marred with fraud and mismanagement.
His main contender, Cellou Dalein Diallo, rejected the results on grounds that the vote had been rigged by Condé's government.
Condé's government is alleged to have resorted to intimidating voters, ballot stuffing, permitting minors to vote, altering the electoral map, and violence against the opposition supporters.
Condé was sworn in for what was supposed to be his second term on 14 December 2015.
In the final days of his second term, Alpha Conde instituted constitutional changes that was to allow him contest for a third term.
This development led to a series of bloody protests and violent clashes that led to the death of over 90 persons.
After successfully expunging the two-term presidential limit, Conde in October 2020 won a third presidential term with 59.5% of votes.
In their announcement of Conde’s overthrow, the Army led by one Lieutenant-Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, appeared on public television, draped in the national flag, and cited government "mismanagement" as a reason behind his actions.
"We are no longer going to entrust politics to one man, we are going to entrust politics to the people," the coup leader said.
"Guinea is beautiful. We don't need to rape Guinea anymore, we just need to make love to her," Doumbouya added. Read Full Story
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