Guinea's ruling military junta has returned the residence of the west African country's first post-independence leader to his family more than three decades after the army first seized it.

A previous military junta took power and seized the property in the capital Conakry just days after long-serving former president Ahmed Sekou Toure's death in 1984.

Sekou Toure led Guinea to independence from France in 1958 and served as president until his death in 1984. The building has since become a residence for official guests.

"The land built on Bellevue, commonly known as Bellevue Villa, is and remains restored to the heirs of the late Ahmed Sekou Toure," junta leader Mamady Doumbouya said on national television on Friday before signing the decree.

Sekou Toure's wife Andree Toure, 87, is still alive. She was arrested after her husband's death and sentenced to eight years' forced labour, leaving Guinea after her liberation in 1988.

Sekou Toure's oldest daughter Aminata Toure is the mayor of Kaloum, Conakry's business hub.

Sekou Toure was initially acclaimed as a progressive leader but later ruled Guinea with an iron fist.

Rights organisations say his regime was responsible for the death or disappearance of some 50,000 people.

A series of military juntas and coups shaped Guinean politics in the following decades.

Guinea returned to military rule when the army ousted former president Alpha Conde in a September coup.

Guinea police disperse pro-Conde protesters
Conakry (AFP) Dec 11, 2021 - Guinea police fired tear gas on Saturday to disperse dozens of protesters in the capital Conakry demanding freedom of movement for deposed president Alpha Conde, an AFP reporter saw.

The clashes were the first such incident since a junta led by Lieutenant Colonel Mamady Doumbouya in September toppled the 83-year-old after 11 years in power.

Conde's party had called for a rally outside its headquarters near the airport, but supporters arrived on Saturday morning to find security forces deployed in the area, and scuffles broke out.

The ousted president was held in secret for 12 weeks following the coup on September 5, until the junta authorised him to be sent to live in his wife's home in the capital's suburbs.

The Guinean press has reported he is under house arrest.

Conde became Guinea's first democratically elected leader in 2010, but last year sparked mass protests when he changed the constitution to allow himself to seek a third term.

Though he was re-elected, his critics denounced the poll as a sham.

Angered by poverty, corruption and repression, Guineans have welcomed the coup -- for now.

Doumbouya has promised to return the country to civilian rule after elections, the date of which remains unknown.

The West African country has immense mineral and water resources, but more than 43 percent of the population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank.

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