Police prevent, disperse pro-Condé protest

Peaceful Assembly

Police prevent, disperse pro-Condé protest

On 11th December 2021, a day before a meeting of the regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja, Nigeria, to discuss the military coups in Guinea and Mali, supporters of deposed president Alpha Condé attempted to gather at the headquarters of Condé's political party, Rassemblement du Peuple de Guinée (RPG), in Conakry to demand the liberation of Alpha Condé. To prevent the protest from taking place, security officers occupied the premises of the protest location. Small groups of protesters who tried to reach the protest location were dispersed with tear gas. Scuffles between protesters and security forces as well as arrests of protesters were reported. 

As reported previously on the Monitor, former president Alpha Condé was ousted in a military coup on 5th September 2021 by Guinea’s Special Forces under the leadership of Mamady Doumbouya. They suspended the Constitution; dissolved the government and its institutions; and detained Condé. The coup took place less than a year after Condé was re-elected for a controversial third term, which required a change in the Constitution, as it originally only allowed for a two-term limit on presidential mandates. In March 2020, a constitutional referendum took place despite months of protests. Since October 2019, authorities have cracked down on protests and activism which is in opposition to any modification in the Constitution that would allow Condé to run for a third term.