GENERAL NEWS

Guinea coup was expected, I warned Alpha Condé 2 months ago – D.K. Osei

The coup in Guinea came as no surprise to retired Ghanaian diplomat, D.K. Osei, who worked in the Ghana Embassy in Guinea under the Rawlings administration.

Indeed, Mr. Osei said he also warned ousted Guinea President Alpha Condé about this possibility two months ago.

“I have always had the view that given the nature of the attempts made [by Condé] to change the constitution… it would not have surprised me that this would happen.”

“In fact, discussions have been held about this eventually and two months ago when I was in Conakry, I spoke to the President about the possibility of this happening,” Mr. Osei said on The Point of View on Citi TV.

The former diplomat said he and President Condé have been friends for a long time and he was “deeply concerned” about the country’s future.

He also said there had been a marked shift in then-President Condé’s ideals that also worried him.

“Alpha was one of the most democratic presidents that I have ever known; one of the most committed pan Africanists that I have met in my life.”

Mr. Osei said he had raised the issue of the Constitution changes but was rebuffed by Mr. Condé, now aged 83.

“One of the things he said to me was that since I had never stood for an election, I could not give him a lecture on democracy.”

“His responses were very un-Alpha like,” Mr. Osei added.

The constitutional change in Guinea allowed Mr. Condé to successfully run for a controversial third term in 2019.

Before 2010, when he was first elected into office, he was a long-time opposition leader.

The constitutional change has been noted as one of the reasons for the military take-over.

After gunfire in Guinea’s capital, a group of soldiers announced the dissolution of the constitution, the closure of the borders and a nationwide curfew in a broadcast on state TV on Sunday evening.

The soldiers, led by a Special Forces Colonel, Mamady Doumbouya, had said regional governors had been replaced by military commanders and that Mr. Condé was under arrest.

The UN, African Union, and ECOWAS have condemned the coup and called for a return to civilian rule.

The coup in Guinea was the fourth attempted coup in West Africa in the last year with two military takeovers in Mali and a failed coup in Niger.

Ogyem Solomon

Solomon Ogyem – Media Entrepreneur | Journalist | Brand Ambassador Solomon Ogyem is a dynamic Ghanaian journalist and media entrepreneur currently based in South Africa. With a solid foundation in journalism, Solomon is a graduate of the OTEC School of Journalism and Communication Studies in Ghana and Oxbridge Academy in South Africa. He began his career as a reporter at OTEC 102.9 MHz in Kumasi, where he honed his skills in news reporting, community storytelling, and radio broadcasting. His passion for storytelling and dedication to the media industry led him to establish Press MltiMedia Company in South Africa—a growing platform committed to authentic African narratives and multimedia journalism. Solomon is the founder and owner of Thepressradio.com, a news portal focused on delivering credible, timely, and engaging stories across Ghana and Africa. He also owns Press Global Tickets, a service-driven venture in the travel and logistics space, providing reliable ticketing services. He previously owned two notable websites—Ghanaweb.mobi and ShowbizAfrica.net—both of which contributed to entertainment and socio-political discussions within Ghana’s digital space. With a diverse background in media, digital journalism, and business, Solomon Ogyem is dedicated to telling impactful African stories, empowering youth through media, and building cross-continental media partnerships.

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