Mohamed Lamine Sanha

Mohamed Lamine Sanha (died 6 January 2007) was a Bissau-Guinean Naval Chief of Staff. Sanha was implicated in several attempted coups against the government of Guinea-Bissau. Sanha was an ally of Ansumane Mané, who led the military rebellion against President Nino Vieira in the 1998 civil war.

Sanha was part of the military junta that ousted Vieira. Subsequently, as head of the navy, he released a South Korean ship that had been held on April 18 2000 for fishing in Guinea-Bissau's waters without permission; he said that he was prepared to face the consequences of this decision. On May 3 2000 he was reported to have been dismissed from his post as head of the navy.^[1]

One attempted coup in which Sanha was implicated was that of December 2001, which was also led by Army Chief of Staff Almane Alam Camará. After Tagme Na Wai became Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, he announced the reintegration of 65 senior officers into the military, including Sanha, on December 1 2004; Na Wai appointed Sanha as his naval advisor.^[2] In August 2006, Sanha was detained after the government foiled an alleged coup by Sanha to kill Na Wai. In early January 2007, Sanha was ambushed by armed men in civilian clothing. He eventually died on 6 January, sparking riots.

References

^ "Guinea-Bissau: Navy commander dismissed for releasing South Korean vessel", PANA news agency, May 4, 2000.
^ "GUINEA-BISSAU: 65 senior officers readmitted to armed forces", IRIN, December 2, 2004.