One of the principal figures convicted over Guinea’s infamous 2009 stadium massacre, Aboubakar Sidiki Diakité, widely known as “Toumba,” has died in custody, the country’s prison service confirmed on Wednesday.
Diakité, who was serving a 10-year prison sentence, died at 04:35 (local time) at a military hospital in Conakry. He had been convicted for his role in the September 2009 massacre, during which at least 156 people were killed and more than 100 women raped by security forces loyal to the then military junta.
At the time of the violence, Diakité served as commander of the presidential guard and was a close aide-de-camp to former junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara.
The incident remains one of the darkest chapters in Guinea’s history, occurring during and after an opposition rally at a stadium in the capital, Conakry.
Diakité is at least the second person convicted in connection with the massacre to die in custody, following the death of former security minister Colonel Claude Pivi in January.
Authorities had transferred Diakité from Conakry’s central prison to Coyah prison in February after accusing him of displaying aggressive behaviour, refusing a security search, and threatening prison officers.
He was initially arrested in Dakar in 2016 and extradited to Guinea a year later. His sentence was due to expire in 2027.
In the aftermath of the 2009 events, Diakité reportedly attempted to assassinate Camara, accusing him of trying to shift full responsibility for the massacre onto him.
Camara was later convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 20 years in prison. However, he was subsequently pardoned by Guinea’s current leader, Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power in a 2021 coup and was elected president last December in a controversial vote that excluded major opposition figures.
Guinea, which gained independence from France in 1958, has long grappled with political instability marked by military interventions and authoritarian rule.
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