Camp Boiro, in the Camayenne district north of central Conakry, was the principal political prison of the Sékou Touré regime from independence in 1958 until Touré's death in 1984. Behind its high walls, thousands of Guineans accused of plotting against the state were tortured, starved on the "diète noire" (black diet of complete deprivation of food and water), and executed without trial. The camp remains in operational use as a military base.
There is no museum, no memorial, and no public access. The walls are visible from the road and the perimeter can be walked, but photography is sharply restricted and the soldiers at the gate are watchful. A campaign by survivors' families has sought to turn part of the site into a memorial; so far, the political will is absent. Visiting the perimeter — and knowing what happened behind those walls — is in itself a way of insisting that the camp's history not be forgotten.