President of the Republic and Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will tomorrow afternoon, 8th of August 2021, chair a virtual emergency meeting of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government to take action on recent political developments in the West African state of Guinea.
The Military in Guinea seized power in Guinea on Sunday 5th September 2021, and arrested the third term President of Guinea, Alpha Konde.
The Military junta subsequently suspended the constitution and promised to return Guinea to constitutional rule in the shortest possible time.
Speaking to the presidential press corps at the Jubilee House today the 7th of September 2021, the Director of Communications at the Jubilee House, Eugene Arhin, says the President and his colleague Heads of state in the West African sub-region are determined to ensure that democratic rule is restored in Guinea.
*State Visit*
Mr Arhin in his address announce that the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Ebiy Ahmed, is in Ghana for a three-day state visit to deepen relations between Ethiopia and Ghana.
The Ethiopian Prime Minister’s visit has come on the back of ongoing fighting in northern Ethiopia, between the military and Tigray rebels. The Ethiopian conflict has been raging for 10 months, pushing hundreds of thousands of people into conditions of famine.
In other news: Guinea coup leaders release dozens of prisoners
Military leaders who’ve seized power in Guinea have released about 80 prisoners ahead of a summit of the West African grouping Ecowas.
The leaders of the Ecowas bloc are due to meet virtually on Wednesday to discuss the Guinea coup and the political transition in Mali.
The prisoners had been opponents of President Alpha Condé, who was ousted by special forces under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Mamady Doumbouya.
He has accused Mr Condé, 83, of rampant corruption, human rights abuses and mismanagement.
Ismaël Condé, a member of the opposition UFDG party, said his time in prison had been difficult, but he was now hoping for a better future for his country:
“It’s a feeling you can’t explain, to be deprived of your freedom for 12 months for such trivial things and to be released under these conditions, you can’t explain,” he said.
Dr Mamady Onivogui, a democracy and human rights activist, told reporters after his release that had no regrets and was looking move to a better future:
“I hope that the junta will do something so that Guineans can get along, so that Guineans can move forward, because we are more than 60 years into our independence and it’s dragging on.”
Guinea is rich in natural resources – including bauxite needed to make aluminium – but years of unrest and mismanagement mean it is one of the world’s poorest countries.
Bauxite prices have hit a 10-year high since the coup.Article share tools
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