Guinea: CNRD appoints General M'Mahawa Sylla as head of Conakry governorate
M'Mahawa Sylla (center), the only woman to have achieved the rank of general in Guinea, was appointed head of the governorate of Conakry by the CNRD (here at the Samory Touré military camp in Conakry on September 11) © C. Idrac / RFI
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1 min
A week after the coup that overthrew Alpha Condé last Sunday, the National Committee for Recovery and Development (CNRD) made its first appointment.
Brigadier General M'Mahawa Sylla has been appointed to head the governorate of Conakry.
She is the first and only woman to have achieved the rank of general in her country on March 8, 2020. And the first woman to hold this strategic position.
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With our special correspondent in Conakry,
Charlotte Idrac
In the salon of General M'Mahawa Sylla, at the Samory Touré military camp, visitors parade.
Parents, friends, members of the governorate cabinet, all come to congratulate her on her appointment.
“
A surprise
”, according to her.
“
Above all, I remain a soldier of my nation.
But being a soldier, we always remain at the disposal of the authorities.
I'm in charge.
We soldiers are used to adapting to each nature.
So I will adapt to the new situation.
"
Trained at the combined arms military school of Guinea, M'Mahawa Sylla, 50, passed through the Defense Studies College in China, she also participated in the UNOCI, the UN mission in Côte d'Ivoire .
“
In her youth, she also played in the national handball team,
” adds a soldier.
M'Mahawa Sylla does not wish to comment on her priorities for her new post, but says she is "
grateful
" to the president of the CNRD for the confidence granted.
“
It is truly an honor for all Guinean women and it goes in the line that the president has set himself, that is to say without discrimination.
"
Outside, visitors continue to flow.
Smiling, M'Mahawa Sylla claps her hands, before settling in the governorate, where she succeeds another general, Mathurin Bangoura.
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