CHANTAL COLLE BACK, PRESIDENT REPORTEDLY OVERRULES

C O N F I D E N T I A L CONAKRY 000564 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2018 TAGS: PGOV ASEC KDEM GV SUBJECT: CHANTAL COLLE BACK, PRESIDENT REPORTEDLY OVERRULES DEPORTATION ORDER REF: A. CONAKRY 0023 ¶B. CONAKRY 0036 ¶C. CONAKRY 0054 Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D ¶1. (C) Described by some as a close presidential confidante and by others as a &troublemaker,8 Mme Chantal Colle returned to Conakry September 19 after having been deported in March to France by the former Minister of Interior and Security. Colle,s sudden March arrest and deportation two days later sparked widespread press speculation earlier this year because of Colle,s reportedly close relationship to President Conte. Earlier reporting indicated that First Lady Henriette Conte may have been behind the deportation order in an attempt to prevent Colle from manipulating the president into making decisions likely to inflame the population (reftels). ¶2. (SBU) Colle,s return to Guinea, which follows upon a rash of presidential appointments widely perceived as restoring presidential loyalists to positions of power, has once again nabbed press attention. According to press reports, the current Minister of Security was preparing to deport Colle in accordance with the March order, possibly at the direction of the First Lady. ¶3. (C) Dr. Mamadou Bah, Inspector General of the Police, told Pol LES that President Conte summoned the Minister of Security to the presidential palace and demanded to know why Colle was going to be deported. The Minister reportedly said that First Lady Henriette Conte had ordered him to do so. According to Bah, the president then called in Henriette and asked her about the case, and the First Lady denied any involvement. Bah said that the president was furious and told the Minister to leave Colle alone or risk losing his job. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶4. (C) Chantal Colle remains in country. A Guinean citizen born to a Guinean mother and a French father, Colle is seen as a corrupt and wealthy businesswoman, and is rumored to be one of Conte,s ex-mistresses. She owns a telecommunications company, Allo, that partnered with local cell phone giant Areeba a few years ago. Colle is very close to Fode Bangorah, the highly unpopular former Minister Secretary General of the Presidency and defacto head of government. She was absent from Guinea for most of former Prime Minister Kouyate,s administration, having left as the 2007 strikes got underway, and returning just after Conte fired Kouyate,s communications minister, the first sign that the presidency was beginning to restore Conte,s power over the government. Colle may be trying to rejoin the entourage of political players around the president vying for influence and money. END COMMENT. RASPOLIC