A court in Guinea has sentenced Amadou Damaro Camara, a former parliamentary speaker and ally of ousted president Alpha Condé, to four years in prison for embezzlement and illicit enrichment.
The Court for Economic and Financial Offences (CRIEF) also fined Camara 10 million Guinean francs ($1,160) and ordered him to pay damages of 5 billion francs to the state. Camara, a prominent figure in Condé’s RPG party, has been in custody since April 2022.
Camara was accused of misappropriating funds meant for constructing a new parliamentary headquarters. Prosecutors alleged that the funds were diverted for personal use.
The court also sentenced Michel Kamano, a parliamentary financial administrator at the time, to five years in prison and fined him 4 billion Guinean francs ($460,000). Tried in absentia, Kamano is now the subject of an international arrest warrant.
Jin Sun Chenget, whose company was involved in the project, received a one-year prison term and a fine of 10 million francs. Meanwhile, Kamano’s former assistant, Zenab Camara, was acquitted.
Guinea’s military junta, which seized power in 2021, has pledged to tackle corruption in the resource-rich but impoverished nation. However, critics have questioned whether these efforts are politically motivated or part of a broader power consolidation strategy.
The junta had promised to return Guinea to civilian rule by the end of 2024 but has since backtracked on its commitment, raising concerns among international observers.
This high-profile sentencing underscores the junta’s proclaimed commitment to tackling corruption, even as doubts linger about its broader governance intentions.
