Col. Mamady Doumbouya, head military junta in Guinea, who recently announced a 39-month transitional period before elections, today visited President Julius Maada Bio, a man who, in 1996, transferred power from a military regime to a democratically elected govt in the small West African nation.
State House did not exactly communicate details of the one-day visit but Foreign Affairs Minister, Prof David John Francis, in a Facebook live video seen by SLNews, indicate that the military junta leader, who is under pressure to return the neighboring country to constitutional democracy, was hoping to learn something from President Bio.
Col. Doumbouya, escorted by heavy military support, was received earlier at the border town of Kambia by Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh. The Government also provided heavy military and police presence in some parts of the capital, Freetown, until he left by 1pm.
In early December when President Bio addressed colleague heads of state and government and the leadership of the Economic Community of West African States on Roadmap to Democratic Rule in Guinea, he emphasised that: “Sierra Leone firmly endorses ECOWAS’ mediation efforts for both a return to constitutional order and democratic transition roadmaps for both Guinea and Mali.
“We remain firmly committed to and endorse the efforts of the ECOWAS Commission and the Authority of Heads of State to ensure stability and peace in the ECOWAS region,” he said.
The President also disclosed that his government’s bilateral engagement with the leadership of the National Committee of Reconciliation and Development (CRND) in Guinea, whose leadership he had visited in October of 2021, was focused on supporting a return to constitutional order and security cooperation between two nations that shared a long border.
