From the moment he seized power in September 2021 Guinea’s Mamadi Doumbouya struck an imposing figure.
Just 36 years old at the time, the broad-shouldered colonel, standing at well over six feet (1.8m), wearing military fatigues, mirrored sunglasses and a red beret certainly made an impression when announcing the coup.
A relatively unknown member of an elite army unit, he declared that the government of ousted President Alpha Condé had disregarded democratic principles and that citizens’ rights were being trampled on.
After more than four years of acting as interim president, and going back on a promise not to run for leadership of the country, Doumbouya, now 41, was sworn in as the elected head of state on Saturday.
The discreet, disciplined and private man won 87% of the vote in December’s election against a severely depleted field.
Ex-Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, now in exile, described the process as a charade which generated “fabricated” results.
While seemingly enjoying some popular support, critics have questioned Doumbouya’s democratic credentials as some political parties have been banned, activists have mysteriously disappeared and media outlets been shut down.
Video footage shot in the aftermath of the 2021 coup showed Doumbouya being greeted by enthusiastic crowds
Scrolling back through the social media accounts from the president’s office there is a sense of a carefully curated image.
The army man, now a general, has, for the main, ditched the camouflage in favour of the baseball cap and tracksuit, or a boubou – traditional Guinean attire of loose-fitting robes with elaborate embroidery. The shades though are still at times in evidence.
Pictures show him at the opening of schools, or transport and mining infrastructure or cycling through the streets of the capital, Conakry. The message is clear: this is a man of action who is working on behalf of the people.
“This was presenting an image of someone who can be close to civilians, someone who is a civilian leader and can be representative of the people,” Beverly Ochieng, senior analyst with Dakar-based security intelligence firm Control Risks, told the BBC.
