Guinea’s former President Alpha Conde, who was ousted in a military coup in September, returned to the country on Friday after a trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a medical checkup, the interim government said, reported FX Empire.
Guinea’s military ousted elected president Conde last year after months of growing discontent among the masses. Conde, who had been in power since 2010, was accused of endemic state corruption and angered his opponents by changing the constitution to allow him to stand for a third term, sparking mass protests. He was the country’s first democratically elected president and had been in power since 2010.
The 84-year-old Conde, who is under house arrest in Guinea but is allowed to receive visitors, left the West African nation in January after the junta allowed him to travel on medical grounds.
In a late-night statement read on national television, Guinea’s military junta said that the former president will remain in Guinea for as long as his health permits. It added that Conde’s integrity and dignity will always be respected.
Guinea’s coup was condemned by neighboring countries as well as the international community and led to its suspension from the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The 15-nation bloc imposed sanctions on the country and has given the interim government an April 25 deadline to lay out a timeline for a return to constitutional rule or be ready to face harsher penalties.
Coup leader Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who was also declared Guinea’s interim president after the coup, has vowed to restore civilian rule and hold free, credible, and transparent elections but has so far refused to announce an exact date despite international pressure to do so.
Guinea is among one of three countries in the West African region where the military seized power in the space of just 18 months, along with Mali and Burkina Faso.
