Bah Oury is an indispensable political figure in the contemporary history of Guinea. Founder of the opposition party UFDG, a long-standing advocate of democracy and human rights, he has participated in all the major civil struggles in his country.
Jailed and convicted on several occasions, Bah Oury continued to fight peacefully for the rule of law in Guinea.
His uprightness, courage and self-righteousness made him a charismatic leader and a respected moral conscience of the Guinean political landscape.
Introduction
Amadou Oury Bah, better known as Bah Oury, is one of the most prominent political figures in the contemporary history of Guinea.
Born in 1958 in Pita, Central Guinea, Bah Oury was engaged very early in the struggle for democracy and human rights in his country.
Founder of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) in the 1990s, he participated in all major citizen movements for democratic change under successive authoritarian regimes.
Having been imprisoned on several occasions and convicted by imprisonment, Bah Oury continued to fight peacefully for democracy and the rule of law in Guinea.
His tireless commitment and moral integrity have made him a respected figure in the political landscape of Guinea.
Childhood and education
Amadou Oury Bah was born in 1958 in Pita, Central Guinea. In 1964, at the age of six, he left with his family to Senegal, fleeing the dictatorship of Sékou Touré in Guinea.
He grew up and studied in Senegal, where he distinguished himself for his brilliant academic results.
First in the general competitions of Senegal's high schools in mathematics, French, philosophy and history, he obtained his Bachelor's degree series of mathematical sciences with mention very well, finishing first in the Republic of senegal.
President Léopold Sédar Senghor, impressed by his exemplary career, granted him Senegalese citizenship and awarded him a scholarship to continue his studies in preparatory classes at the prestigious Lycée Louis-Le-Grand in Paris.
After this training of excellence, Bah Oury taught higher mathematics in France for a few years. But he eventually decides to give up everything and return to Guinea, his native country that needs his skills and commitment more than Senegal.
Political career
Upon returning to Guinea after the death of Sékou Touré in 1984, Bah Oury invested in raising democratic awareness among the young Guinean people.
Together with Dean Thierno Madjou Sow, he created the Guinean Organization for the Defence of Human and Citizen Rights (OGDH) in 1990, prior to the adoption of the Basic Law by the Military Committee for National Recovery. (CMRN). These human rights activists are the forerunners of the country's political organization.
Following the assassination of student Sékou Traoré by the regime in November 1990, Bah Oury and the OGDH called for peaceful demonstrations. Arrested, they are imprisoned for 3 days.
It was in clandestinity that Bah Oury created, along with other activists, the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) in 1991.
In October 1992, Bah Oury was charged with attempting to assassinate General Lansana Conté, and was arrested and released two days later under rising popular pressure.
In the 1990s, while the country was darkened by authoritarianism, corruption and repression, Bah Oury and the UDFG continued the democratic struggle, denouncing electoral manipulation and human rights violations.
The UFDG, with Bah Oury as Secretary-General, organized the first peaceful demonstration in September 2004 to demand freedom of the press and respect for democratic rights.
Police repression is fierce. In the 2005 municipal elections, the UFDG demonstrated its rise in power despite the massive fraud orchestrated by the ruling party.
In 2007, Cellou Dalein Diallo joined the UFDG and became its president. Bah Oury was appointed 1st Vice-President, in charge of external relations and communication.
With the arrival of Diallo, the UFDG brought together more and more Guineans hoping for democratic change in the country.
UFDG
Under the chairmanship of Cellou Dalein Diallo, the UFDG established itself as the main opposition force against successive authoritarian regimes.
With Bah Oury as 1st Vice-President, the party actively participated in major social movements and citizen mobilization for democracy in 2006 and 2007.
The UFDG supports the demands of trade unions and civil society, putting the lives of dozens of its young activists at risk, who were brutally repressed during the demonstrations. But the party does not get any political dividend from these struggles to which it has contributed massively.
Despite these disappointments, the UDFG persists and structures itself to become a genuine democratic political institution.
Under the impetus of Bah Oury in particular, the party was endowed with objective, rational and formal foundations. The identification, accountability and training of activists enable the UDFG to lay the foundations for its roots throughout the country.
Minister
On 19 May 2008, Bah Oury was appointed Minister for National Reconciliation, Solidarity and Institutional Relations in the government of Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souaré.
He was the first representative of an opposition party in the history of Independent Guinea to hold a ministerial post.
During his six months in government, Bah Oury accomplished historic acts for national reconciliation. It officially acknowledges the responsibility of the Guinean State for political crimes committed since independence.
He obtained compensation for the victims of the Kaporo Rails case, which resulted in the imprisonment of Dean Mamadou Ba.
Above all, Bah Oury managed to find and return to the families the bodies of the eight foresters murdered in 2000 on the order of General Conté. A fundamental act that, thanks to his courage and determination, finally allowed the loved ones to mourn after 8 years of unbearable waiting.
On 27 February 2024, Bah Oury was appointed Prime Minister by President Mamady Doumbouya to replace Bernard Goumou, in the midst of the political and social crisis shaking the country. His arrival as head of government was perceived as a hope of a crisis outcome due to his assembly qualities.
Conclusion
Engaged in political struggle for more than thirty years, Bah Oury is one of the most respected democratic figures in Guinea.
His courageous stance on national reconciliation and the defence of human rights has made him an integral and determined leader.
His journey, from a clandestine activist under the dictatorship to a transitional prime minister, forces admiration. It symbolizes the persistent hope of a Guinea reconciled with its history, democratic and respectful of the rights of all its children.
