Captain Camara is shot in the head by a former aide.

On December 9, 2009, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, the leader of Guinea’s military junta, was shot in the head by one of his former aides, Lieutenant Aboubacar "Toumba" Diakité. This assassination attempt marked a major turning point in Guinea's political landscape and created a power vacuum that would lead to significant shifts in the country’s leadership. Camara had come to power in December 2008, following the death of long-time Guinean president Lansana Conté. He led a military coup, positioning himself as the head of the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD), a junta that seized control of the country with promises to combat corruption and lead Guinea toward democratic elections. However, his regime soon became infamous for human rights abuses, especially after the September 28, 2009 massacre in Conakry, when Guinean security forces, under Camara’s command, opened fire on pro-democracy protesters gathered in a stadium, killing at least 150 people and raping dozens of women. Lieutenant Diakité, a close associate of Camara and one of the commanders implicated in the stadium massacre, turned against him in December 2009. On December 9, during an argument, Diakité shot Camara in the head, reportedly fearing that the junta leader intended to scapegoat him for the atrocities committed during the massacre. Camara was critically injured and flown to Morocco for medical treatment. The assassination attempt effectively ended Camara’s rule. After recovering, he was transferred to Burkina Faso for further treatment and never returned to power. His absence created a leadership vacuum in the CNDD, and General Sékouba Konaté, Camara’s defense minister, assumed control of the junta. Konaté, in contrast to Camara, worked to steer Guinea toward a more peaceful transition, leading to the country’s first democratic elections in 2010. Camara’s shooting, combined with the legacy of violence from the September 28 massacre, drastically altered Guinea’s political trajectory. The incident underscored the deep divisions within the junta and the fragility of Guinea's political situation at the time. It also paved the way for a return to civilian rule, though the path to democracy in Guinea would remain fraught with challenges. #MoussaDadisCamara #GuineaPolitics #ToumbaDiakité #Guinea2009 #GuineaMilitaryJunta #September28Massacre #AfricanHistory #MomentsOfLife #MoofLife_Moment #MoofLife