Guinea’s anti-corruption campaign has claimed another high-profile figure, with a special financial crimes court sentencing former Constitutional Court president Mohamed Lamine Bangoura to seven years in prison over the alleged misappropriation of more than $20 million in public funds.
The court convicted Bangoura on Wednesday of illicit enrichment, corruption, embezzlement and money laundering in connection with the management of funds allocated to the Constitutional Court during his tenure as its head.
In addition to the prison sentence, the former judicial chief was ordered to pay a substantial fine and damages to the state jointly with two co-defendants who are currently fugitives.
The court also barred him from holding public office for five years and ordered the confiscation of his assets in Guinea and neighbouring Senegal.
Bangoura, who has been in detention since December 2022, denied the allegations, while his defence team had sought his acquittal.
His conviction forms part of a broader crackdown on alleged financial misconduct involving senior officials and former ministers who served under ex-President Alpha Conde. About 180 former government officials have been targeted by the country’s financial crimes court.
Conde was ousted in a military coup in 2021, paving the way for Mamady Doumbouya to assume power. The military authorities subsequently established the Court for the Repression of Economic and Financial Crimes (CRIEF) to prosecute financial crimes.
Doumbouya initially governed as head of the military junta before being elected president last year in a vote that faced limited opposition.
However, his administration’s anti-corruption drive has unfolded amid growing criticism from opposition groups, which have accused the authorities of restricting civil liberties and using the judicial system to target political opponents.
The allegations have raised questions about the independence of the judiciary and the political implications of the government’s prosecution of former officials.
Bangoura’s sentencing represents a significant development in Guinea’s efforts to hold former public officeholders accountable for alleged financial abuses, although concerns over political freedoms and the administration of justice continue to shape the country’s political climate.
