CHANTAL COLLE DEPORTED, CONTE RUMORED TO BE IN A

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000023

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2018
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM ASEC GV
SUBJECT: CHANTAL COLLE DEPORTED, CONTE RUMORED TO BE IN A
COMA

REF: A. CONAKRY 0013

B. CONAKRY 0202

C. CARTER/OKEDIJI 02/21/08 EMAIL

Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Following her March 18 arrest, close
presidential confidant Mme Chantal Colle left the country
late on March 19 under a deportation order signed by the
Minister of Interior and Security. Meanwhile, rumors of
President Conte,s deteriorating medical condition have been
rampant although sources close to the president say that he
is well. However, continued silence from the president,s
office on the Chantal Colle case raises questions about the
president,s physical and mental wellbeing since her
deportation is likely to be perceived as a direct challenge
to the president, something that he has traditionally not
tolerated in the past. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) The arrest of Chantal Colle by Guinea,s Judicial
Police on March 18 (ref A) is fueling widespread speculation
and rumor mongering in the press, both on the internet and in
broadcast media. According to multiple sources, Colle left
the country via Air France on March 19 after having been
ordered deported by the Minister of Interior and Security,
Beau Keita. A copy of the ministerial order, signed by
Minister Keita, was scanned and posted on Guinee24.com. It
does not list any specific reasons for her expulsion, but
orders the Director General of the Police to immediately
execute the decision. Press sources reported that Colle was
also stripped of her Guinean citizenship and forbidden from
returning to the country, although there is no mention of
these restrictions in the ministerial order.


3. (U) Widely unpopular among the population and seen as one
of the most corrupt and closet confidants of the president,
there has been much discussion of Colle,s arrest and
deportation in the press. On one side are pro-Kouyate
journalists, such as internet site Guinee24, reporting that
Colle essentially got what she deserved for telling lies and
slandering the consensus government. Other journalists are
more circumspect and while they are not necessarily
supporting Colle, they are reporting that the arrest and
deportation are illegal in that they violate freedom of
expression laws. The new controversial director of the
National Communications Commission (CNC),Tibou Kamara,
publicly reported that the arrest was illegal, which has only
sparked further criticism of his qualifications to lead the
CNC, according to other journalists. A local radio interview
this morning had two journalists arguing over where Colle,s
arrest was fair according to the law. One reported that
Colle,s lawyer plans to take her case to the Supreme Court.


4. (SBU) A PD LES said that he was meeting with the CNC
director on March 18 when Kamara received a phone call from
Chantal Colle. According to LES, he could hear Colle,s
voice and said that she sounded very upset as she asked
Kamara to help her and told him to call his contacts at the
presidency because she had been arrested. Colle reportedly
told Kamara that she could not get through to the presidency.


5. (U) According to Aminata.com, three journalists
interviewed Colle at the airport before her forced departure.
When asked about the president, she reportedly said that he
is very sick and does not know what is happening, mentioning
his diabetes and a &touch of malaria.8


6. (U) Press contacts told PD LES on March 20 that Conte may
be in a coma and that an airplane is on standby at the
airport to take him to Switzerland for medical treatment.
Guinea Forum, another internet new site, reported that Conte
is in a coma, but unlikely to leave the country for medical
treatment in this politically charged environment. The same
article reported that when Conte was told about Chantal
Colle,s deportation, he said to tell her to have a good
trip, and then passed out.


7. (C) When Acting DATT called the airport commander to
inquire about a possible airplane waiting for Conte, the
contact laughed and said that there are too many rumors in
Guinea that are not true. (COMMENT. Contact is normally
very direct in his speech, but in this case, hesitated and
did not directly answer the question, suggesting that he may
have been lying. END COMMENT.) The Embassy expediter, who
was at the airport this morning, reported that he did not see
any medical evacuation airplane on the tarmac.


8. (SBU) Charge called Minister of Finance Ousmane Dore this

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afternoon who said that he saw the president yesterday and
that Conte is &looking good.8 According to Dore, Conte had
been quite sick, but seemed to be doing much better. Dore
told Charge &I can assure you he is okay.8 Dore said that
Conte was planning to come to Conakry and supposedly arrived
today. Poloff spoke to the president,s official translator
who said that she saw the president on Sunday and that he was
&fine.8 She added that she is sure Conte is doing fine
because all of his staff is here in their offices in Conakry,
including Idrissa Thiam and Sam Soumah. She told Poloff that
if Conte were unwell, his key advisors would be with him in
the village.

--------------
COMMENT
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9. (C) As is often the case with breaking news in Guinea, it
is difficult to sort out the facts hidden among the rumors.
We have confirmed from several reliable sources that Colle
was deported and left the country late on March 19. We are
getting mixed reports as to Conte,s health. Sources in
recent weeks have said that Conte,s health has been
deteriorating (ref B),although the Minister of Finance and
Conte,s personal translator told us otherwise today. The
fact that the president,s office has yet to react to
Colle,s deportation suggests that Conte either was or still
is quite ill as it seems out of character to allow such a
direct action against one of his closest associates. We have
been hearing rumors for months about possible efforts to fire
the Minister of Interior. Colle,s deportation, and the
questionable legal grounds upon which it was ordered, seems
like the perfect opportunity to make such a move, but the
president,s office has been suspiciously quiet.


10. (C) According to the prime minister, Conte recently
signed a decree appointing Fode Bangorah as Secretary General
of the Presidency, but the president,s family and others
pressured him into burying the decree (ref C). The PM said
that Chantal Colle and Idrissa Thiam were behind the
initiative.


11. (C) An errand runner from the presidency brought a
package of visa applications to the consular section this
morning for a group of people reportedly planning to travel
with First Lady Henriette Conte to the United States. Mme
Conte already has a valid U.S. visa, but submitted her
passport with the package. When the consular officer asked
the purpose of travel, the runner said that it was a
&mission,8 but could not provide any further details. The
package also included a visa application for the president,s
personal physician, although the physician is reportedly not
part of the group planning to travel with the First Lady.
President Conte does not currently have a valid U.S. visa.
An American citizen claiming to be Prime Minister Kouyate,s
son, Fode Aly Kouyate, also came into the consular section
today asking what the U.S. Government can do for his father
if &something happens.8 END C
BROKENSHIRE