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.

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COMMENT
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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