Guinea: alpha Condé, ousted president, authorized to leave the country for medical reasons – archyde

The ex-president of Guinea, Alpha Condé, 83, overthrown by a military coup on September 5, was authorized, Friday, December 31, to leave the country for medical examinations. “In consultation with ECOWAS [la Communauté des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest], the former president Alpha Condé is authorized to go to be consulted outside for a period of one month ”, explains a government statement read Friday evening on public television. The date of his departure has not been specified.

The release of Mr. Condé is part ECOWAS requirements, with elections being held within six months. The organization suspended Guinea from its instances and individually sanctioned members of the junta led by Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, who was made transitional president.

Mr. Condé, at the head of the country for nearly eleven years, was held in solitary confinement for twelve weeks, until the junta authorized him to reside with his wife, in the suburbs of Conakry. The power had not specified if this stay was accompanied by restrictions, but, according to the press, he is under house arrest.

A coup d’état well received by the population

The junta said in a press release on September 17 that Alpha Condé “Is and will remain in Guinea”. The National Committee of the Rally for Development, which took over the leadership of the country after the putsch, “Will continue to ensure to the former head of state a treatment worthy of his rank, and this without any national and international pressure”, said the press release.

Guineans, exasperated by poverty, corruption and repression, generally welcomed the coup. Colonel Doumbouya has promised to return power to civilians after elections, the date of which remains unknown.

Mr. Condé had a new Constitution adopted by referendum in March 2020 and invoked this change in fundamental law to stand for re-election after two terms, despite months of blood-suppressed protest. His re-election in October 2020, vigorously contested by the opposition, was preceded and followed by dozens of arrests.