Guinea Student Dies After Imprisonment for Exam Cheating; Family Cites Sickle Cell Complications

Djouma Bah, a social sciences student, was allegedly caught using his phone during Guinea’s national baccalaureate exam on 15 July. He was arrested along with other students who were also suspected of cheating.

Two days later he was convicted of cheating and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, of which five months were suspended.

He began serving his one‑month term at a prison in Kindia, roughly 137 km (85 miles) northeast of the capital Conakry, where his health quickly deteriorated.

He was then transferred to the regional hospital for medical treatment.

Saliou Bah said he visited his son in the hospital, where the boy told him he was having trouble breathing and asked to lean on him.

He then looked at me and said, ‘Dad, I’m dying,’ Saliou Bah recounted.

After about two days in the hospital, he was discharged home but died shortly thereafter, officials confirmed.

Education Minister Alpha Bacar Barry said he was ‘deeply saddened by the news’ and offered the family his ‘sincere condolences.’

Human‑rights groups have called for an independent investigation into the circumstances of his death and for any other students involved to be prosecuted.

On Wednesday, students protested the detention of their classmates, demanding their release.

“A student should not be sent to prison. These young people are the future of our country,” Saliou Bah pleaded.

He added, “I also ask the authorities to release the other students still in custody before they, too, lose their lives.”

“We lost our son; we lost our future,” he said.

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