Nearly five years after staging a military coup, president of gold-rich Guinea sacks officer who helped him seize power along with 173 other soldiers

Guinea’s President Mamadi Doumbouya has dismissed 173 military personnel for “desertion”, including Michel Lamah, an officer who took part in the September 2021 coup that brought him to power.

• Guinea’s President Mamadi Doumbouya has dismissed 173 military personnel for “desertion”.
• Those dismissed include Michel Lamah, an officer who participated in the September 2021 coup that brought Doumbouya to power.
• The dismissals come nearly five years after the coup and months after Doumbouya won the December 2025 presidential election.
• Guinea holds vast deposits of gold, bauxite and iron ore, with the Simandou project expected to accelerate the country’s mining-led economic growth.

The dismissals were announced in a presidential decree broadcast on state television on Monday, August 24, in one of the broadest military shake-ups since Doumbouya came to power.

Gen Amara Camara, minister secretary-general of the presidency, read the decree, which removed 173 personnel drawn from several branches of the armed forces.

The order cited “desertion” as the reason for the dismissals but did not specify when the affected personnel abandoned their posts or the circumstances surrounding the cases.

The move comes as Doumbouya consolidates his hold on power nearly five years after the coup, amid a surge in gold, bauxite and iron ore activity that is reshaping Guinea’s economic outlook.

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Officer linked to 2021 coup among those dismissed

Among those removed was Michel Lamah, a member of the Groupement des Forces Spéciales (GFS), the elite Special Forces unit that Doumbouya commanded before seizing power.

Lamah became one of the most recognisable figures from the September 5, 2021 coup after images showed him in a military vehicle carrying then-President Alpha Condé following his arrest.

During the September 2021 takeover, troops stormed the presidential palace and detained Condé as Doumbouya, then a colonel and commander of the Special Forces, announced the seizure of power.

The coup ended Condé’s 11-year rule, a year after he secured a controversial third term following constitutional changes that triggered protests and political unrest.

In the aftermath of the takeover, Doumbouya pledged that neither he nor members of the military-led transition would contest elections organised to restore civilian rule.

He ultimately entered the December 2025 presidential election and won about 87% of the vote.

The election, however, excluded major opposition figures, while Doumbouya faced criticism for reneging on his promise to return Guinea to civilian rule.

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Guinea’s mineral wealth shapes economic outlook

At the same time, Guinea is entering a crucial phase in the development of its mining sector, which remains the backbone of the economy.

The country holds major deposits of gold, bauxite and iron ore, including about one-third of the world’s known bauxite reserves.

In June, the World Bank described the start of production at the China-backed Simandou iron ore project as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to turn mineral wealth into broad-based prosperity.”

American investors also have exposure to Guinea’s mining sector, including through US-based Alcoa’s interest in Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée.

The World Bank estimates that Guinea’s economy grew by 7.4% in 2025 and projects 8.8% growth in 2026 as mining output rises.

The latest military dismissals are unlikely to change that outlook on their own, but they could keep investors focused on political stability and the security of major mining projects.