The long quest for accountability over the 2009 stadium massacre in Guinea has entered a new phase, as a second major trial wrapped up in a Conakry courtroom with the fate of a senior officer now in the hands of the judges.

The defendant, Colonel Bienvenu Lamah, headed the Samory Touré military camp in Conakry at the time when security forces stormed the city’s main stadium during an opposition rally, killing at least 156 people and raping dozens of women. Survivors and rights groups say troops and militia units left from Lamah’s base before descending on the crowd.

Prosecutors accuse Lamah of complicity in murder, rape, kidnapping and torture, arguing that as the officer in charge of the base he enabled and failed to prevent the assault. In their closing arguments, they urged the court to elevate the charges to crimes against humanity, saying the scale and systematic nature of the violence met international legal thresholds.

Defence lawyers countered that Lamah neither planned nor ordered the operation and did not exercise effective command over the units implicated in the massacre. They insisted there was no documentary or testimonial evidence proving he gave instructions for the stadium attack or participated in a cover-up, and called for a full acquittal.

Addressing the three-judge panel, Lamah maintained his innocence, portraying himself as a career officer caught in the turmoil of a collapsing regime. He expressed confidence that the court would, in his words, “judge according to law and conscience” and separate individual responsibility from collective guilt for the atrocities.

The court has adjourned for deliberations, with a verdict scheduled for 27 July 2026. Victims’ associations say the decision will be a crucial test of Guinea’s willingness to pursue accountability beyond the top figures already tried.

The first landmark trial over the massacre ended with the conviction of former junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara, who was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 20 years in prison, before later receiving a presidential pardon from the current military authorities. Seven other officials were convicted, some handed life sentences, in a judgment hailed by international observers as a breakthrough for justice in West Africa.

For survivors and families of the dead, the Lamah case represents another attempt to pierce the chain of command that enabled one of the region’s worst episodes of political violence in recent history.