Guinea Junta Gives Order To Prosecute Ex-President Conde

Guinea’s ruling junta on Thursday ordered prosecutors to take legal action against former president Alpha Conde, whom it overthrew in a 2021 coup, and more than 180 other officials and ex-ministers, notably for alleged corruption.

The military, which seized power on September 5, 2021, has made the fight against corruption – reputed to be endemic in the West African nation – one of its key battles.

But the announcement, made in a letter from the justice minister to public prosecutors, marks a new stage in the fight, targeting Conde by name – as well as many of his senior officials and former ministers.

They include ex-prime minister Ibrahima Kassory Fofana and the former ministers of defence, economy and trade as well as a number of presidential advisers from the Conde regime.

The letter orders prosecutors to pursue the people listed for alleged acts of “corruption, illicit enrichment, money laundering, forgery and use of forgeries in public writing, embezzlement of public funds and complicity”.

The list includes 188 names in total, though some are mentioned more than once. Their bank accounts have been frozen, the letter said.