Madar (Conakry) - Twenty-two territorial administrators from Guinea's northeastern Siguiri region, from the regional governor to prefects and sub-prefects, appeared with 202 gold miners on Wednesday 11 November 2026 before the trial chamber of the Court for the Repression of Economic and Financial Offences (CRIEF) in Conakry, in a long day of questioning, according to Guineenews.
Charged with complicity in artisanal gold mining and illicit enrichment, the administrators rejected all the charges. They argued that environmental damage in Siguiri predated their time in office, and several described measures they said they had taken to enforce the ban.
The sub-prefect of Banko said machines not yet moved to Conakry were under army guard at a forward post. The administrators denied authorising any mining or enriching themselves, saying they held no significant bank accounts or property.
The 202 gold miners admitted the charges against them. Asked to identify administrators they knew, none named any of the 22, according to the same source.
Around midnight, the court's special prosecutor, Alphonse Charles Wright, asked to show images of the environmental damage, but the court refused and ordered the proceedings to continue. The defence asked to open a confrontation phase, which the prosecution opposed. The hearing was adjourned to 16 November, when prosecution submissions and defence pleadings could take place.
The trial is part of proceedings against more than 1,200 people arrested in the Siguiri region for illegal gold mining, after a ban took effect on 2 November and tens of thousands of workers from across West Africa were deported, according to AFP via Africanews. Mali has warned of a "humanitarian catastrophe" and Burkina Faso has complained about the treatment of its citizens.
