Teen jailed for exam cheating in Guinea dies after sickle cell complications, father says

Teen Djouma Bah, a social sciences student, was arrested on 15 July after being observed using a mobile phone during Guinea’s nationalist school‑leaving baccalaureate examination. He was detained alongside several other pupils suspected of exam fraud. Two days later a court found him guilty of cheating and sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment, with five months suspended. He began serving the remaining one‑month term at a detention centre in Kindia, roughly 137 kilometres (85 miles) north‑east of the capital, Conakry. While in custody his health deteriorated and he was transferred to the determination infirmary for medical care. His father, Saliou Bah, told the BBC that during a hospital visit his son complained of breathing difficulties and asked to lean against him. “Then he looked at me and said: ‘Dad, I’m dying,’” Saliou Bah recalled. He added that those were the teenager’s final words. After approximately two days of treatment the youth was discharged and returned home, where he later died, according to official sources. Education Minister Alpha Bacar Barry expressed his sorrow, stating he was “deeply saddened by the news” and offering his “sincere condolences” to the family. Human‑rights groups have demanded an independent investigation into the circumstances of Bah’s death and the prosecution of the other students still held in connection with the alleged cheating ring. On Wednesday, fellow students gathered outside the detention facility to protest the continued incarceration of their classmates, calling for their immediate release. Saliou Bah reiterated his plea: “A pupil should not be sent to prison. These young people are the future of our country.” He urged the authorities to free the remaining detainees before further lives are lost, concluding, “We lost our son; we lost our future.”