Former ConCourt President jailed for graft

The former President of Guinea’s Constitutional Court has been sentenced to seven years in prison, one of nearly 200 officials from the country’s previous administration targeted by an anti-graft court, reports Channels TV. A special court convicted Mohamed Lamine Bangoura of illicit enrichment, corruption, embezzlement of public funds and money laundering, all in connection with the management of money allocated to the Constitutional Court. Bangoura is among approximately 180 high-ranking officials and former Ministers from the administration of ex-President Alpha Conde (2010-2021) to be targeted in the proceedings since November 2022. Conde was overthrown in a 2021 coup that brought to power Mamady Doumbouya, who ruled first as junta chief before being elected President late last year in a vote with no substantial opposition. Shortly after the 2021 military coup, leaders set up a special court for financial crimes, which handed down Bangoura’s sentence. Bangoura was ordered to pay a fine of 2bn Guinean francs ($225 000). The court also ordered the confiscation of his assets in Guinea and neighbouring Senegal. Two co-defendants, each on the run, were sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined 5bn ($564 928) Guinean francs. The three men together were also ordered to jointly pay 41bn ($4 632 413) Guinean francs to the state. Bangoura, who has been in detention since December 2022, contested the charges against him, and his defence team argued for acquittal. Guinea’s opposition has denounced the suppression of freedoms and alleged the judicial system is being weaponised under Doumbouya.

Full report on the Channels TV site