Conakry has formally requested the repatriation of the remains of the last Almamy of Fouta-Djalon, beheaded in 1896. The move falls under France’s new legal framework for returning human remains taken during the colonial era.
Guinea’s government has taken a new step in its dialogue with France over colonial-era memory. On July 27, 2026, Conakry sent Paris an official request for the return of the skulls of Almamy Bokar Biro Barry, the last ruler of the theocratic state of Fouta-Djalon, along with the skulls of three people close to him: his father, his brother and his war chief.
A war leader beheaded in 1896
Bokar Biro was the last almamy, or political and religious leader, of Fouta-Djalon, a region that today forms part of Guinea. Defeated by French colonial troops at the battle of Pétel-Djiga, he was captured, killed and beheaded in 1896. Following a practice common in colonized territories at the time, his head was taken to France as a war trophy. It is now kept, along with the three other skulls Guinea is claiming, in the storage collections of the Musée de l’Homme in Paris.
A process that began in mid-July
The case did not open overnight. Since mid-June 2026, a Guinean delegation led by the minister of Culture, Tourism and Handicrafts, Moussa Moïse Sylla, had already been visiting the Musée de l’Armée in Paris to review other pieces of national heritage, including the personal Quran of Almamy Samory Touré, a major figure of the resistance to colonization who died in exile in Gabon in 1900.
In mid-July, a first official request was sent to the French government concerning Samory Touré’s personal belongings. It was during research carried out in response to that request that French authorities told Conakry, at the end of July, that the four skulls of Bokar Biro and his companions had been located. The formal restitution request followed on July 27 and was made public on August 6 by Minister Sylla on RFI.
A French legal framework that makes it easier
The request relies on a French law passed in 2023 and reinforced in May 2026, which allows the return of human remains held in public collections without requiring a specific law for each case. That is a much lighter process than before: the return of around twenty skulls to Algeria in 2020, for instance, had required dedicated legislation.
Guinea is not an isolated case. In August 2025, France returned to Madagascar the skull believed to belong to Sakalava king Toera and two of his warriors, beheaded during the 1897 Ambiky massacre.
Where things stand now
At this stage, the case is an official request that France has acknowledged, not yet an actual return of the remains. Guinean authorities have set up a scientific committee, led by Mohamed Amirou Conté, director of Guinea’s National Museum, to follow the file. Officials themselves expect the process to take one to two years to complete.
A state funeral, but no museum display
Once returned, the skulls will not be put on public display. « Displaying a skull here is not something we do. Human remains, we bury them with dignity, » said Mohamed Amirou Conté, stressing the importance of respecting Guinean funeral traditions.
The government is planning a state funeral for Bokar Biro, though the burial site has not been decided: either Conakry, the current capital, or Timbo, the historic capital of the Fouta-Djalon theocracy.
More than cultural diplomacy
For Conakry, this is not simply an administrative matter between museums. It is the first request of its kind since 1968, when President Ahmed Sékou Touré himself asked France to return Samory Touré’s Quran, sword and robe.
Guinea’s culture minister has framed the effort as « cultural diplomacy built on mutual respect » rather than a confrontation. But for many Guineans, the case is above all about dignity and national memory, as long as the remains of a ruler who died resisting colonization still lie far from home.