In Guinea, as soon as the National Committee for Recovery and Development (CNRD) took power on September 5, 2021, the head of the junta, Mamadi Doumbouya, announced that “justice will be the compass that will guide every Guinean citizen”. More than two years later, this compass no longer seems to distinguish north from south.
On the one hand, the trial of massacre of September 28, 2009 has been held for over a year. Former dignitaries of the junta in power in 2009 parade before the bar, including former junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara. We would be tempted to believe that justice fully plays its role.
Despite this legal procedure, the head of the junta kept these people suspected of corruption in positions of high responsibility. Ousmane Gaoual Diallo remains minister and government spokesperson, while Moussa Cissé was appointed head of the national oil company on April 17. His predecessor was dismissed following suspicions of corruption revealed by the investigation of French journalist Thomas Dietrich. It would not be surprising to see him soon at the head of another institution in the country.
The Minister of Justice recognizes a real problem
On April 19, the irony was that the Minister of Justice publicly denounced the behavior of a magistrate who allegedly called the president of the transition to influence a legal case. According to his statements reported by The Djelythe magistrate reportedly declared to the president: “Mr. President, I am a magistrate in such and such a jurisdiction. It is in relation to the file concerning this woman who had been put in prison by the outgoing minister. The file is there, what action to take? »
The situation of justice in Guinea under the CNRD regime raises concerns regarding its impartiality. Although trials, such as the one linked to the September 28, 2009 massacre, appear to indicate a desire for accountability, other recent events highlight gaps in the justice system.
THE corruption allegations involving former and current senior government officials raise questions. In addition, controversial decisions to keep suspected people in key positions raise doubts about the independence of the judiciary from political power. Additionally, recent revelations regarding alleged interference by a magistrate, highlighting questionable practices within the justice system, heighten concerns about the integrity of the judicial process.
With this turn of events, we understand better why opponents such as Cellou Dalein Diallo and Sidya Touré decided to leave the country. The military junta sought to use the judicial system to destroy them, after demolishing their homes in particular with the Court for the Repression of Economic and Financial Offenses. This same jurisdiction has been holding dignitaries of the former deposed regime in detention for several years now. This is the case of theformer Prime Minister Kassory Fofana and former President of the National Assembly Amadou Damaro Camara who are kept in prison with legal proceedings that never end despite the fact that judges have repeatedly ordered the release of these accused.