More than 48 hours after the assassination of El Hadj Hassimiou Diallo, the Guinean authorities are reacting. Prime Minister Bah Oury led a government delegation to visit the deceased’s family in Kobayah on the day of 1is September. The government announces sanctions and promises to find the economic operator’s executioners.
The killers of El Hadj Hassimiou Diallo are still on the run. The family is also still waiting for the results of the autopsy, before burying theirs. The government went to the deceased’s home to offer condolences. The Prime Minister, Bah Oury, the Ministers of Housing and Security, Mory Condé and Bachir Diallo, among others, went to comfort the family of El Hadj Hassimiou and “to inform them” of their “determination” to track down the killers. They were accompanied by the leaders of the National Coordination of Fulbhè and Haali Pular of Guinea, CNFHPG: “We want the State to strengthen security measures so that such acts do not happen again, because whoever says development, speaks of tranquility in the country. The population is really overwhelmed by this situation and we are counting on the State,” said El Hadj Ibrahima Onatol Diallo, vice-president of the CNFHPG. As for the government, Bachir Diallo spoke out. He announced that sanctions have already been taken against certain police authorities: “I don’t want to talk much. When this happened, the President and the government were informed. All the police officers who were in charge of this sector were sanctioned; this is the first measure. Many measures are being taken, but if such things happen, people will cry on the government. Measures are being taken, this has helped us to understand a lot. We are here to tell you that measures will be taken, so that what is currently happening can change. Change is not easy, those who committed this act did not come down from the sky, they are among us. Security has a role and so does the population.”
The sanctions that Minister Bachir Diallo is talking about are the suspensions of the central police commissioner of Sonfonia and his deputy. They are accused of not having carried out the instructions issued by the department. After the attack, they were ordered to secure the area to avoid any further inconvenience. This was not done. Criminals took advantage of this to enter the funeral home again at night and steal goods and money. This was not to the liking of police officials. Colonel Mory Kaba, spokesman for the Ministry of Security, explains: “They were sanctioned not because they have any responsibility for the first attack, but because they refused to secure the house afterwards. Otherwise, people took an hour before informing us of the death of the economic operator, while we have a toll-free number available 24/7.” The police officer believes that the investigations to find the perpetrators of the assassination are progressing: “We have good leads, they will be behind bars very soon.”
A police or gendarmerie in the neighborhood
In the Kobayah district, in Kignifi in particular, the attacks never end. Not a day goes by without a citizen being attacked at home or having their belongings taken away in the street in full view of everyone. It must also be said that there are dozens of places where drugs are consumed. To eradicate this scourge, Mohamed Barry, head of the Kignifi sector, is asking the authorities to set up a police or gendarmerie station in the area: “Before, thefts were very common. Now, we find ourselves with this case of murder. We implore the authorities to help us set up a police or gendarmerie station to protect the population and their property. In 2014, I even tried to set up self-defense teams. But people advised me against it. If there was an attack and one of the young people lost his life, I would have been held responsible. This is why I have always alerted the authorities to the need to help us better secure the populations in our sector, by sending the police to the scene.”
The standoff continues
This hypothesis has been emerging for years. The head of the sector and a few notables had even identified an area where the infrastructure was going to be built. In the area called “Plate 23”. Except that this has sparked a standoff. Another citizen claims to be the owner of the premises and threatens anyone who talks about building a police or gendarmerie station on his “land”. This crisis has been brewing for almost 10 years. Recently, notables from the neighborhood went to the Ministry of Security to try to get things moving. But the standoff continues, the “owner” who allegedly has no documents and who is hiding behind the fact that he inherited the estate from his late brother, even had a wall built there. That says it all.
Yacine Diallo
2024-09-02 18:31:12