On Sunday, September 5, 2021, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya staged a coup in Guinea, ousting President Alpha Conde.
In justifying the military’s actions, Doumbaya quoted former Ghanaian president Jerry John Rawlings who said that, “if the people are crushed by their elites, it is up to the army to give the people their freedom.”
On the day of the coup, Colonel Mamady, dressed in a red beret, sunglasses and army fatigues, announced on Guinea’s state TV that, “the Guinean personalisation of political life is over. We will no longer entrust politics to one man, we will entrust it to the people”.
And after meeting Ministers from Former President Conde’s government on Monday, September 6, 2021, Colonel Mamady announced that a union government will be formed within weeks and and promised that former government officials will not be witch hunted.
However, very little is known about the life of Colonel Mamady.
Age
Colonel Mamady was born on March 4, 1980 in the Kankan Region of Guinea and is of Mandinka origins.
Wife and Children
Colonel Doumbouya is married to a French lady, believed to be an active duty member of the French National Gendarmie, with whom he has three children.
Military Career
Colonel Doumbouya was a French Legionnaire [The French Legionnaire is a military service branch of the French Army, formed in 1831. Legionnaires are highly trained infantry soldiers and the Legion is unique in that it is open to foreign recruits willing to serve in the French Armed Forces] holding the rank of Corporal prior to his return to Guinea in 2018 to lead the Special Forces Group, an elite military unit created by President Conde.
When he took office, receiving promotion to the rank of battalion commander, his international experience was cited, including training he had completed in a number of different countries. Mamady was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 2019 and to colonel in 2020.
Colonel Mamady is said to have “brilliantly completed” the operational protection specialist training at the International Security Academy in Israel, as well as elite military training in Senegal, Gabon, and France.
Colonel Mamady’s career in the military spans over 15 years, which has seen him serve in missions in Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Central African Republic and close protection in Israel, Cyprus, the UK and Guinea.
In fact, Colonel Mamady is believed to have “brilliantly completed” the operational protection specialist training at the International Security Academy in Israel, as well as elite military training in Senegal, Gabon, and France.
Notably, Col Doumbouya is among 25 Guinean officials the EU has been threatening to sanction for alleged human rights abuses committed in recent years under President Condé.
By: Jerubbaal Baiden/gidbaide@gmail.com
