Ibrahima Kassory Fofana, Guinea’s former prime minister under deposed President Alpha Condé, has been sentenced to five years in prison for corruption and embezzling public funds. The special court in Conakry found Fofana guilty of stealing up to $1.7 million, primarily from social welfare programs, including those set up during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to his prison sentence, Fofana was fined $230,000. His conviction is part of a broader crackdown on former officials from Condé’s administration, which has been targeted by the Court for the Repression of Economic and Financial Offenses, established after Guinea’s military junta took power in September 2021.
Fofana, who served as prime minister from May 2018 to September 2021, has been in detention since April 2022. He denies the charges, with his legal team calling the prosecution a “witch hunt.”
Guinea is among several West African countries, including Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, where military juntas have ousted civilian governments and delayed the return to democratic rule.
Sources: Guinea’s Court for the Repression of Economic and Financial Offenses
