September 28 case in Guinea: the first six months of a historic trial

General view showing the interior of the new courthouse in Conakry on September 28, 2022 during the opening of the trial of the September 28, 2009 massacres. AFP - CELLOU BINANI

Text by: Sidy Yansané Follow

8 min

On September 28, 2022, the trial of the 2009 Conakry stadium massacre began. For the first time in the country's history, former masters of the country, including former captain Moussa Dadis Camara, are on trial for their alleged participation in a mass crime of more than 150 deaths and a hundred rapes. An unprecedented trial in more ways than one.

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By deciding to open the trial on September 28, Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, current transitional president in Guinea, undoubtedly wanted to engrave his name in Guinean political history. In 1958, it was on this day that the former French colony voted for its independence, led by its first president Ahmed Sékou Touré.

On 28 September 2009, in the stadium of the same name in Conakry, CNDD junta forces organized the execution of 156 people participating in an opposition meeting. At least 109 women were raped during the massacre and in barracks and hospitals in the days that followed. Thirteen years later, to the day, eleven defendants who are members of the CNDD, including their leader, Moussa Dadis Camara, appear before the courts of their country. A first supposed to mark the end of impunity in a country infamous for its countless crimes committed by the state.

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The results of these first six months of trial are rather positive, says Halimatou Camara, lawyer for the civil parties and feminist activist. We do not yet measure the magnitude of what is at stake after 64 years of a culture of impunity, but it is a good start.

Despite his apprehensions about security and political challenges, journalist and sociologist Boubacar Sanso Barry of the news website Le Djely shares a similar observation: "In the end, the trial is proceeding normally. I was afraid that his holding would lead to protests, especially from Dadis' home region," he said.

The first appearance of "Toumba" will arouse real interest in the trial

In a brand new building specially built to host the trial, the eleven political and military figures, some of whom were ministers of the transitional government at the time, all marched to the stand to answer charges of murder, sexual violence, torture, kidnapping, among other serious crimes.

The ball opened with Colonel Moussa Tiegboro Camara, former minister in charge of the fight against organized crime, drugs and special services, followed by Marcel Guilavogui, Dadis' nephew, presented as one of the main actors in the repression of the stadium.

But it is the first appearance of Aboubacar Diakité known as "Toumba", aide-de-camp to Captain Dadis, which will arouse a real interest in the trial.

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That was the big moment of the trial, and yet, it was totally unexpected. " recalls Almamy Kalla Conté, a journalist specializing in judicial issues at Radio Télévision Guinéeenne.

In a gesticulated demonstration of rare eloquence, dressed in a sparkling bazin and punctuating his story with verses from the Koran, Toumba unfolds the thread of events that led to the massacre of September 28, 2009 as his meeting with Dadis Camara, the "blood pact" they concluded, their ascension to the head of state by a putsch, the total disorganization of the armed forces, his alleged attempt to stop the stadium massacre, and, having become a fugitive, his flight to Senegal after shooting his captain-president in the head who, according to him, wanted to blame him.

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From then on, everyone started watching the trial on television or on mobile phones, Almamy Kalla Conte said. It made it possible to occupy the minds of the populations, very tried by the violence linked to the third term of President Alpha Condé and the putsch that overthrew him a year earlier. Not to mention the difficult socio-economic situation.

Disappointment with Camara's deposition

Since then, Toumba has been a star in Guinea. To the point that some wear t-shirts with his effigy and immediately proclaim his innocence. The videos of its audiences have far exceeded one million views on the Internet. This is much more than Moussa Dadis Camara. His appearance was however the most expected but "his share of truth" will quickly disappoint, as the defense of the former captain is confused.

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While he has always been open to holding a trial, Dadis' annoyed attitude towards the magistrates is not so surprising, his impulsive character and his disconnection with reality reflects him as we already know him. " adds Boubacar Sanso Barry.

The political journalist evokes the meeting, in December 2021, in Conakry, between the former captain and General Sékouba Konaté who succeeded him at the head of the transition. A reunion organized by the current president-putschist Mamadi Doumbouya. "In his eyes, it is as if this trial was just a formality to clear his honor in order to return to politics. Maybe the current authorities let him believe that and now he finds himself trapped," Barry said.

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In general, public opinion did not like that Dadis rejected his responsibilities, Almamy Kalla Conté continues. By his attitude, he settles on the same level as his minions, while he demands to consider him as a former president. It goes badly!

Victims' testimony adds another dimension to trial

For Halimatou Camara, it was the testimony of the civil parties that caught his attention, including that of a lawyer whose brother was at the stadium and who took a bullet while they were talking on the phone. His body has never been found: "Speech is now free. On a purely therapeutic level, the trial allows them to grieve.

Especially since the victims' hearings highlighted the already great scale of the abuses. "The massacre continued late into the evening of September 28. Military camps and hospitals became places of kidnapping where people were tortured and raped for days. It also seems that the walls of the stadium had been electrified to prevent the protesters from fleeing," says the lawyer.

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In the opinion, many could not believe that women were raped in the stadium itself, adds Boubacar Sanso Barry. After a few months, the successive appearances of the defendants became comparable to entertainment, until the testimony of the victims brought seriousness, they gave another dimension to the trial.

Broadcast by public and private television, which then broadcast them on their YouTube page, this historic trial is a challenge for the media, especially for the state broadcaster RTG.

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Our advantage is that our coverage is national. Unfortunately, we do not broadcast live, but we broadcast the entire hearing of the day, in the middle of the evening, decrypts Almamy Kalla Conté. At the time of the gang trial in 1995, there was no other media outlet except RTG. And for the trial of the attack on the residence of the head of state in 2011, it was a very political and expeditious trial. For this exceptional trial, the coverage is unheard of. Despite this, we lack the resources and training in judicial affairs to ensure better coverage. The Department of Justice is not with us.

A trial that also reveals its flaws

Despite its importance, the trial also reveals its flaws. "Judicial actors are insufficiently trained on gender-based violence," says Camara. For example, they label victims as "raped" women. However, the right term is "assaulted".

« Victims are sometimes asked for scabrous details that are not likely to provide clarification. We are not even talking about the lack of physical evidence. »

A reproach shared by journalist and sociologist Boubacar Sanso Barry: "On the establishment of the truth and on the historical significance of the trial, I remain doubtful. For now, it's just the word of some against the word of others. Dadis is totally incoherent, but no evidence has been put against him. Ideally, there should be a minimum of consensus in the future verdict so that it marks the people and serves as an example in the future.

In absolute terms, all parties welcome the holding of this unprecedented trial, including the Minister of Justice, Alphonse Charles Wright: "What is satisfactory is that everyone is reassured about the impartiality of justice. This trial is a decisive factor in the fight against impunity in all its forms.

However, the communication officer of the Guinean Organization for Human Rights, Alseny Sall, draws a more measured assessment: "It is true that the magistrates of the September 28 trial work independently, but it is not enough to speak of an independence of justice in general. We are currently in a transition during which we always encounter situations bordering on the instrumentalization of justice against socio-political actors. Magistrates must now work to strengthen their independence, because it cannot be given, it is snatched away.

" READ ALSO – Trial of the massacres of September 28, 2009 in Guinea: "The behavior of Dadis Camara revolts me"

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• Guinea
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