“It’s not typical for Guinea to have many mining resources and regrettably”: Mamady tells Kemi Séba

On a visit to Guinea, French-Beninese activist Kemi Séba met with President Mamady Doumbouya, with whom he reached numerous agreements. Here are the two most significant messages from Guinea’s president to Pan-Africanist leader.

Kemi Séba, a well-known activist who has been in Guinea since Monday, was welcomed by President Mamady Doumbouya. Last Thursday, after leaving the audience, the head of the NGO Urgences Panafricanistes talked to the press. “I talked with Mr. Doumbouya and his team with my staff, and what I heard yesterday, even if there are subtleties if what he said yesterday is followed by tangible, material actions, I can promise you that we will back him, and if he betrays what he said yesterday, we will oppose him,” he added.

Guinea’s strongman would have first told the activist that “Guinea must be allowed to benefit from its own riches. It is not typical for Guinea to have so many mining resources, and regrettably, it is a handful of corporations and organizations who profit, rather than the people”. Following these comments, Kemi Séba added: “As a sovereignist, this is already essential to me”.

The second critical point conveyed to the Pan-Africanist leader by the head of the Guinean junta was that “It was time to put an end to the former colonial entity’s subordination relationship with Guinea.

Colonel Mamady Doumbouya’s stance can only be met with the support of Kemi Séba, who has made the fight for true independence of African nations, particularly former French colonies, his hobbyhorse for many years.

In this instance, the activist has stayed loyal to himself by defending a viewpoint that he had previously taken in the wake of the coup. Indeed, soon after the capture of Alpha Condé, Kemi Séba expressed “his pleasure, happiness, and feeling of ecstasy” at the arrest of Alpha Condé, “one of the most powerful tyrants in French-speaking Africa… one of the most ruthless persecutors of his people”.

If he was willing to provide “unlimited assistance to the Guinean special forces who detained” Alpha Condé, the head of Urgences Panafricanistes, also stated: “If he (Mamady Doumbouya, editor’s note) works for his trainers, we will combat him without ever regretting Alpha Condé.” Assuming that the two men’s honeymoon is long-lasting.