Deposed Guinean President Condé flown abroad for medical care

Deposed Guinean president Alpha Condé left his country on Monday.

The 83 year-old-man flew abroad for medical care, however, no details were disclosed on his diagnosis.  Witnesses at the airport in Conakry confirm that the former president’s plane was en route to Abu Dhabi.  The junta, which calls itself the National Rally Committee for Developmen,  had announced earlier this month that the former president was not in good health and would be allowed to travel for treatment.

Alpha Condé was overthrown in September 2021 by colonel Mamady Dumbuya.  He then spent more than four months in the custody of the military junta that deposed him.  His ouster came less than a year after he ran and won a third term in office despite widespread protests. 

The regional bloc ECOWAS and other members of the international community had called for Conde’s immediate release ever since he was detained.  But Guinea’s new military rulers vowed that Conde wouldn’t be allowed to leave the country and seek exile. West African regional leaders put travel bans into place after the junta failed to release him. The financial assets of junta leaders also were frozen.

The politician was eventually freed in November and sent to his wife's home in the capital Conakry.