On July 9, 2024, two Guinean activists, Mamadou Billo Bah and Oumar Sylla Fonikè Manguè, members of the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC), were abruptly arrested in Conakry by security forces, before being transported to the gendarmerie premises. An arrest described as “kidnapping” by FNDC activists, who have since remained without news. No legal proceedings have been initiated, plunging the lawyers and families of the detainees into deep disarray. In a recent press release, the companions of these imprisoned activists expressed their concern and sent a poignant appeal to the Guinean authorities.
Fifty-eight days have passed, punctuated by fear and anxiety, without the slightest information about the fate of the two opponents reaching their loved ones. Faced with the oppressive silence of the authorities, the families of Mamadou Billo Bah and Oumar Sylla Fonikè Manguè have finally decided to break their silence. Assiatou Bah, wife of Mamadou Billo Bah, and Hawadjan Doukouré, partner of Oumar Sylla Fonikè Manguè, jointly launched an appeal to General Mamadi Doumbouya and government authorities to obtain news of their loved ones.
“We are in a complete void. No information is reaching us. On the legal level, we have had no feedback. We have not had the opportunity to see them or communicate with them. We want to know their conditions of detention, their state of health,” pleaded one of the spouses with palpable emotion.
The lack of communication regarding the fate of the imprisoned activists has led the spouses to call on the international community to exert increased pressure on the government in place. For them, these arrests should not be considered as personal matters, but as emblematic cases of the fight for individual and collective freedoms. Oumar Sylla Fonikè Manguè and Mamadou Billo Bah are indeed standing up for the rights of all Guineans.
“Today, every Guinean embodies Oumar Sylla Fonikè Manguè and Mamadou Billo Bah. It is sad to see some people remain passive, saying to themselves ‘as long as it does not directly concern me, I will not get involved’. However, what is currently being plotted is the defense of our fundamental rights by these two activists. These hard-won rights are currently being taken away from us, and it is imperative to continue this fight to guarantee them,” the wife stressed with strength and determination.
Faced with the silence of the Guinean authorities, the families of Oumar Sylla Fonikè Manguè and Mamadou Billo Bah have decided to file a complaint in France against General Mamadi Doumbouya for “forced disappearance”. This strong gesture aims to make their voices resonate beyond national borders and to remind the whole world of the importance of defending human rights and individual freedoms..
This case highlights the gray areas that remain in the Guinean political landscape, crystallizing the concerns and expectations of an entire population in search of justice and transparency. The appeal of the families of the missing activists resonates as a call for solidarity and vigilance, inviting everyone to mobilize to defend democratic values and fundamental rights, inalienable for any just and equitable society.