Sékou Kourouma (1956 – 18 April 2020) was a Guinean politician, political aide and advisor to

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Alpha Condé Alpha Condé (N'Ko: ; born 4 March 1938) is a Guinean politician who served as the fourth president of Guinea from 2010 to 2021. He spent decades in opposition to a succession of regimes in Guinea, unsuccessfully running against then-President L ...

. He held the position of

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

to Condé, a high-ranking post officially known as the Secretary General of the Government, until his death from COVID-19. Kourouma, who was also a former Minister of Public Works, was a relative of Condé. Kourouma died from complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

at age 65 on Saturday 18 April 2020 at

Donka Hospital The Donka Hospital is a publicly owned hospital in Conakry, Guinea. It has inadequate facilities to handle demand, and many Guineans cannot afford its services. More than once in recent years the hospital has had to deal with a major influx of pati ...

Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973. The current population of C ...

. Guinea's Minister of Health, Colonel

Remy Lamah Remy Lamah is a Guinean politician who has been Minister of Health in the Cabinet of Guinea since 2014. He was previously CEO of the health services of the Guinean armed forces. In October 2021, he was retired from the army. References Ye ...

, confirmed Kourouma's death that evening, while the Office of the President issued statements and tweets the next day. Kourouma's death was the latest in a string of high-profile deaths of officials during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Guinea The COVID-19 pandemic in Guinea was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached Guinea in ...

. In addition to Kourouma, the head of Guinea's electoral commission, Amadou Salif Kebe, died of COVID-19 on 17 April 2020, just 24 hours earlier. Victor Traoré, the director of Guinea's

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

bureau, also died from COVID-19 in April. Kourouma was also the second Chief of Staff to a

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

n president to die from COVID-19 in April 2020.

Abba Kyari Abba Kyari (23 September 1952 – 17 April 2020) was a Nigerian lawyer who served as Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria from August 2015 to April 2020. Early life Kyari was born on 23 September 1952, to a Shuwa Arab family fro ...

, the Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

, died from COVID-19 on 17 April 2020, the day before Kourouma's death.

References

Date of birth unknown 1956 births 2020 deaths Government ministers of Guinea Place of birth missing Rally of the Guinean People politicians Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Guinea {{Guinea-politician-stub