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Alpha Condé speaking at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London, 2020, By DFID –

Top 10 Most Famous People from Guinea

Guinea’s population is made up of roughly 24 different ethnic groups. The majority of the Mandinka people, often referred to as Mandingo or Malinké, live in eastern Guinea, primarily in the Kankan and Kissidougou prefectures, and makeup 29.4%of the total population.  The Futa Djallon region is home to the majority of the Fulas or Fulani, who make up 33.4%of the population. With a population share of 21.2%, the Soussou is mostly found in western regions around the capital Conakry, Forécariah, and Kindia. The remaining 16%of the population is made up of smaller ethnic groups, such as the Kpelle, Kissi, Zialo, and Toma. Guinea is home to 10,000 non-Africans, the majority of them are Lebanese, French, and other Europeans. 

However, this article describes in detail some of the top 10 famous people in Guinea. They include the following;

1. Ahmed Sékou Touré

The first president of Guinea, Ahmed Sékou Touré, was a political figure from Guinea and an African statesman. He presided over the country from 1958 until his passing in 1984. Touré was one of the key nationalists from Guinea who worked to free the nation from French rule.

Sékou Touré, a devoted Muslim of Mandinka descent, was the great-grandson of Samori Ture, a powerful Mandinka Muslim priest who imposed an independent Islamic government in a region of West Africa. 

2. Mory Kanté 

Mory Kanté was a vocalist and kora harpist from Guinea. His 1987 hit song “Yé ké yé ké,” which peaked at number one in Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, and Spain, made him most well-known abroad. Akwaba Beach, the album from which it was taken, was at the time the most popular African record. 

Kanté joined Salif Keita’s singing group, the Rail Band, in 1971.  In 1973, Keta quit the band, making Kanté the sole remaining vocalist. In 1994, the German techno duo Hardfloor remixed “Yéké Yéké,” bringing Kanté unexpected stardom once more.  Additionally, he had a vocal appearance in 2006 on the song “Narama” by British DJ Darren Tate.

3. Ismael Bangoura

Umm Salal’s Guinean professional player Ismaël Bangoura during his official signing ceremony. Photo by Vinod Divakaran.

Ismael Bangoura, a football forward, was born in Guinea on January 2, 1985. Bangoura has played as a winger and an offensive midfielder in addition to his usual position as a striker.

Before being discovered by scouts from French amateurs Gazélec Ajaccio, he started his career at the local club Athlético Coléah. He signed with the Corsican team and scored 15 goals in 44 games for his new team before transferring to Le Mans of the French Ligue 1 in 2005. On November 5, 2005, he made his top-flight debut against French club Marseille, scoring his first goal in his team’s 3-0 triumph.

4. Pascal Feindouno

Former professional football player Pascal Feindouno from Guinea was a winger. In his prime, he was widely regarded as one of Guinea’s greatest footballers. Between 1998 and 2012, he made 85 appearances for Guinea’s national team and scored 30 goals. He began his career with Club Industriel de Kamsar where played for two years before signing with Hirondelles de Conakry in January 1998.

5. Alpha Condé

Alpha Condé speaking at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London, 2020, By DFID –

Alpha Condé is a Guinean politician who served as the fourth president of Guinea from 2010 to 2021. Condé spent decades fighting against a succession of governments in Guinea, leading the opposition party Rally of the Guinean People (RPG), and ran unsuccessfully in the 1993 and 1998 presidential elections against President Lansana Conté. Condé, who ran for president again in 2010, won the election after the second round of voting. He promised to strengthen Guinea’s democracy and combat corruption after being elected.  Condé became the first freely elected president of the nation when he assumed office in December 2010.

6. Camara Laye

Camara Laye was a Guinean author who lived from January 1, 1928, to February 4, 1980. He wrote The African Child (L’Enfant noir), a book that was partially based on his upbringing, and The Radiance of the King (Le Regard du ROI). These two books are among the earliest significant pieces of Francophone African literature. Later, Camara Laye served as a government official in the newly independent Guinea, but he voluntarily left the country due to political disagreements.

7. Lansana Conté

The second President of Guinea, Lansana Conté, was a Guinean politician and military figure who presided over the country from 3 April 1984 until his passing on December 22, 2008. He was born on 30 November 1934 in Guinea. In the 1984 coup d’état in Guinea, Conté became the new leader.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Conté’s economic reforms, which included currency devaluation and reduced government spending. Realignment with western countries also attracted international investment.

8.Samory Toure

Almamy Samory Touré, Public Domain,

Samory Toure was a Muslim preacher, military planner, and the founder and ruler of the Wassoulou Empire. He was a profoundly devout Sunni Muslim who followed Maliki law.

Until his imprisonment in 1898, Toure resisted French colonial rule in West Africa. Ahmed Sékou Touré, the first president of Guinea, was Samori Toure’s great-grandfather.

9. Momo “Wandel

Momo “Wandel” Soumah Momo “Wandel” Soumah was a Guinean singer, songwriter, and alto saxophonist who was regarded as one of Africa’s greatest players. He was very influenced by jazz luminaries such as Coltrane, Parker, and Coleman. He combined native music from Guinea’s lower coast with jazz (the Soussou and the Baga). Wandel had a wonderful voice that was surrounded by a group of traditional musicians who were all good. The flutist Mamady Mansour, Khali Camara, Sekou “Kora” Kouyate, master drummers Aboubacar Camara and Aly Sylla, and former Myriam Makeba bandleader Kouyate were all members of his ensemble (soloists of the National Percussion of Guinea).

10.Moussa Dadis Camara

Captain Moussa Dadis Camara – President of the Republic of Guinea,By Diplomatica –

Former military commander Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, now known as Mose Dadis Camara, presided over Guinea from 23 December 2008 to 15 January 2010.

However, he was the head of the National Council for Democracy and Development (National Council for Democracy and Development, CNDD). He took over on December 23, 2008, shortly after the longtime president Lansana Conté passed away.