Guinea has allocated a plot of land to thousands who were forcibly evicted by previous governments, with some victims having waited over 25 years for compensation.
More than 20,000 people were displaced when former president Alpha Conde’s government demolished the Kaporo-Rails, Kipe 2, Dimesse, and Dar Es Salam neighbourhoods in the capital, Conakry, between February and May 2019, according to Human Rights Watch.
The government had previously claimed the land was state property intended for official buildings.
A prior wave of demolitions occurred in the same Conakry area in 1998 during Lansana Conte’s administration.
At a celebratory ceremony on Saturday, representatives of the victims received land deeds for a 258-hectare (638-acre) plot in Wonkifong, about 60 kilometres (40 miles) from Conakry, as observed by an AFP journalist.
The land will be managed by the state-owned company SONAPI, which will oversee the site’s development and the rehousing of the victims.
“We are taking a concrete step towards healing the wounds of the past for 2,683 households while laying the foundations for a shared future,” said Maimouna Laure Mah Barry, SONAPI’s managing director.
Samba Sow, spokesperson for the victims, described the event as “the reparation of a 26-year-old injustice for those evicted in 1998 and five years for those evicted in 2019.”
“Thousands of homes, schools, markets, and places of worship were destroyed in flagrant violation of the laws of our country. The lives of several thousand families have been destroyed,” he added.
Sow has called on the current leader, junta head General Mamady Doumbouya, to establish a compensation fund for the victims.
General Amara Camara, a junta spokesperson, attended the ceremony and stated that the president is “resolutely committed to drying the tears of all the sons and daughters of this country.”
Since a coup in September 2021, which removed civilian president Conde, Guinea has been governed by a military junta led by Mamady Doumbouya.