Ivorian Reggae Artist Tiken Jah Fakoly Has Condemned Guinea's President Amid Protests

Popular Ivorian musician, Tiken Jah Fakoly (real name Doumbia Moussa Fakoly) has condemned Guinean President Alpha Condé and accused him of wanting to cling to power, the BBC reports. Tiken Jah Fakoly's comments come amid protests in Conakry and Mamou that have thus far, resulted in nine people being killed after police opened fire. Protesting Guineans are against Condé's plans to reportedly change the constitution so that he can go on to run for a third term. While the 81-year-old has said that a third term will be dependent on the "will of the people", Guineans feel this is unlikely.

In 2010, President Condé became the country's first freely-elected head of state. Prior to him taking office, he was imprisoned for allegedly trying to destabilize the then government under Lansana Conté who had assumed power in 1984 through a military coup. While Condé was in jail, Tiken Jah Fakoly often sang about him and campaigned that he be released. Speaking to theBBC, the artist said that, "[I never thought] the person I was defending would one day brutally crackdown on protesters." He added that, "I thought he was going to do like Nelson Mandela who was in prison for years and when he got out he did one term and then left."

A spokesperson from President Condé's party has expressed shock at the artist's "insulting" and "denigrating" comments.