Former Guinean Prime Minister Sidya Touré, who died in Paris at the age of 81, will be buried in Ivory Coast, where he had lived in exile since the 2021 military coup.
Touré died last week in Paris, where he had been receiving medical treatment after falling ill in Abidjan, according to Radio France Internationale (RFI).
He had lived in Ivory Coast since September 2021, following the military coup that ousted President Alpha Condé and brought Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya to power.
Touré served as Guinea’s prime minister from July 1996 to March 1999 under then-President Lansana Conté, who ruled the country from 1984 to 2008.
During his tenure, he pursued administrative and economic reforms and sought to strengthen Guinea’s relations with international financial institutions.
After leaving office, Touré remained a prominent opposition figure as leader of the Union of Republican Forces, one of Guinea’s major opposition parties.
The UFR was among 40 political parties dissolved by the authorities in March as part of a wider political crackdown.
The party said a burial in Guinea was “inconceivable” because of the “humiliations” Touré suffered “at the hands of the Guinean authorities.”
Touré’s remains are expected to arrive in Abidjan on Friday, ahead of his burial in Ivory Coast.
Africanews
