Published on Business Day Newspaper: 12 October 2009

Most people would not be able to find Guinea on a map – until the recent slaughter and rape of dozens of people in the streets of the capital, that is.

As the horror was splashed across the world’s media, the rulers of this West African nation tried to distance themselves, and the army they command, from the massacre.

The regime, which seized power in a coup d’etat last year after the death of dictator Lansana Conte,, is trying to sell the army as the saviour of this blighted nation.

The African Union, confronted by these unfortunate events, has been in discussions with coup leader, Moussa Dadis Camara, in an attempt to force an early election. The organisation has extracted a promise that no coup leaders will stand for election in return for keeping international sanctions from the door.