He was the first chairman of the National Council for Democracy and Development, which seized power in a military coup d'état on 23 December 2008 shortly after the death of long-time president Lansana Conté.
[4] He was exiled in Burkina Faso, where he converted from Islam to Catholicism, changing his name from Moussa to the French form, Moïse, before returning to Guinea in 2021.
Moussa Dadis Camara was born in 1964 in the remote town of Koulé, Nzérékoré Prefecture, in the Guinée Forestière region of southeastern Guinea, near the border with Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia.
[13] According to Camara, the coup was necessary because of Guinea's "deep despair" amidst rampant poverty and corruption, and he said that the existing institutions were "incapable of resolving the crises which have been confronting the country."
[16] Later in the day, Camara and thousands of soldiers loyal to him paraded through the city, surrounded by large numbers of civilian supporters.
[19] On 25 December 2008, the Prime Minister under the previous régime, Ahmed Tidiane Souaré, pledged loyalty to Camara, thus further consolidating the latter's rule.
[18] On 22 March 2009, Souaré was arrested and held in a military prison, along with two Mines Ministers (recalling that Guinea is the world's largest exporter of bauxite, the necessary ore for aluminum).
Although many branches of security forces were involved, the presidential guard "Red Berets", led by Abubakar "Toumba" Diakite, were responsible for the violence, firing on, knifing, bayonetting, and gang-raping the fleeing civilians, killing at least 157 people (U.N.) and injuring at least 1,200 not just in the stadium but as many fled on streets.
[22] Following the event, cell phone photos from anonymous sources circulated on the Internet, showing what appears to be many women being raped by Camara's soldiers.
For a people already accustomed to violence, the rapes were nonetheless especially shocking as they took place in the open space, under broad daylight, and were horrifically violent and often mortal.
[29] The African Union's commissioner for peace and security said the sanctions were intended to punish the junta and would not affect areas such as trade which may impact on the lives of ordinary citizens.
A government spokesman (Idrissa Cherif) said he was only lightly wounded, but anonymous junta officials said Camara was in a serious condition after being shot in the head.
[31] On 4 December, The New York Times's sources suggested that Camara had in fact left the country for medical treatment in Morocco, amidst claims by officials that he was not in serious condition.
[37] On 21 January 2010 the military junta appointed Jean-Marie Doré as Prime Minister of a six-month transition government, leading up to elections.
During this time he converted from Islam to Catholicism, changing his birth name of "Moussa" (Moses) to its French form, "Moïse".
In October 2016, Camara retired from the presidency of his party, the Patriotic Forces for Democracy and Development (FPDD) and announced that he would not participate in the next municipal and legislative elections.
[44] On 31 July 2024, Moussa Dadis Camara was found guilty of “crimes against humanity” in the massacres that occurred in 2009, and was sentenced to twenty years in prison.