Mr. Cheick Boundou Camara, 1951 - 2010
UN Police (Guinea)
Mr. Cheick Boundou Camara, a national of Guinea, was working with the UN Police for the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) since 2008.
Born in Faranah, central Guinea, Cheick completed 13 years of schooling in Kankan and began his police education at the National Police School of Kankan in 1973.
Upon graduating, at age 24, he was posted as a Special Commissioner for Road Security at Kérouané, east Guinea, and in 1981 he was promoted to Central Commissioner for Road Security in Macenta. Cheick then served as Commissioner of the first district in Kissidougou for two years and in 1984, he became a Deputy Director with the Border Police.
After these posts in central and eastern Guinea, Cheick was stationed for several years in the mining town of Sangarédi in the west, working as a Special Commissioner of Police. During this time he also took classes in human rights and counternarcotics, and completed police training courses for trainers. He also attended commissioner studies in Algeria at the École Supérieure de Police d’Alger.
Later, he worked for ten years as Central Commissioner for Seguiri Police near the Mali border before his deployment to Haiti in 2008.
Drawing on his 35 years of police experience in Guinea, he was stationed in Port-au-Prince where he supervised and trained local police to ensure high professional standards. He also provided support to the Pillar Audit and Inspection Unit at MINUSTAH.
He constantly received high praise for his work and his colleagues commended his integrity, attention to detail,
decision-making skills and willingness to go beyond his set tasks.
“He performed excellently at work. He was organized, insightful, disciplined and a team player,” said a colleague. “He proceeded with his assignments with the responsibility of a good father of the family yet
providing the necessary advice and responsiveness of a disciplined and seasoned officer.”
As a speaker of French, Malinke and Susu, he was able to work with both local and international contingents
with the utmost professionalism.
Interim President of Guinea, Sekouba Konate, presented his condolences from the government and the state to the families of Cheick and his Guinean colleague who also died in the earthquake.
“I was deeply touched by the death of our two valiant police officers,” said Guinea’s Ambassador to the UN,
Alpha Ibrahima Sow. “They fell to an honorable cause as they were preparing to return to their home country
after a successful mission in the name of peace and the international community.”
He continued, “I was shocked but also just as relieved that they had been found. I thought of the pain of the
families, loved ones, friends and colleagues who had just been deprived of one of their own.”
Cheick is survived by his two wives and 12 children.