Garbon, Five Other African Countries That Experienced Military Coup

ENigeria Newspaper takes a look at five other African countries aside from Garbon that experienced military coups in recent times.

Recall that ENigeria Newspaper had earlier reported that a military coup had occurred in Garbon on Wednesday, August 30, 2023. This was after military commanders were seen on television announcing a takeover of the country as well as confirming the arrest of ousted president Ali Bongo and his son over charges bordering on corruption and embezzlement.

The Coup in Garbon came only days after an election that saw Bongo launching a third term in office, a development that the citizens had vehemently opposed. Following the coup in the country, the military commanders annulled the results of the election that Bongo purportedly won as well as a takeover of government in the country.

Africa, especially the western and central regions, has in the last few years become a ‘hub’ for military coups. the Gabon coup if successful will be the second in two months this year and the eighth since 2020.

Tinubu Breaks Silence on Coup in Gabon

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has released a statement condemning the ongoing Coup in Garbon, ENigeria Newspaper reports.

In a statement released by Presidential spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale, the President said he is “watching closely with deep concern” for Gabon’s socio-political stability and “at the seeming autocratic contention apparently spreading across different regions of our beloved continent.”

The statement reads in full: “President Bola Tinubu is watching closely with deep concern for the country’s social-political stability and at the seeming autocratic contention apparently spreading across different regions of our beloved continent.

“The President as a man who has made significant, personal sacrifices in his own life in the course of advancing and defending democracy is of the unwavering belief that power belongs in the hands of Africa’s great people and not in the barrel of a loaded gun.
“The President affirms that the rule of law and a faithful recourse to the constitutional resolutions and instruments of electoral dispute resolution must not at any time be allowed to perish from our great continent.

“To this end, the President is working very closely and continues to communicate with other Heads of State in the African Union towards a comprehensive consensus on the next steps forward with respect to how the power in Gabon will play out and how the continent will respond to contagious autocracy we have seen spread across our continent.”

President Tinubu also noted that he is committed to working with other heads of state to defend democracy on the continent.
African Countries That Experienced Military Coup Recently.

NIGER
On July 26, 2023, members of Niger’s presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum inside his palace, declaring on national television that they were seizing power to address the “deteriorating security situation and bad governance.”

Abdourahamane Tiani, the commander of the presidential guard, was named the new head of state a few days later by the military junta.
The leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have been in talks with the Junta to reinstate constitutional order, noting that they will activate ‘standby forces’ if diplomacy fails.

BURKINA FASO
The country had two coups in 2022. In January 2022, Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba ousted President Roch Kabore over failure to contain violence by Islamist militants.
However, on September 30, 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traore seized power from Damiba to become the country’s new leader.

GUINEA
President Alpha Conde was overthrown in September 2021 by special forces leader Colonel Mamady Doumbouya after the former altered the constitution in 2020 to get around restrictions that would have prohibited him from running for a third term, which had led to severe unrest.
ECOWAS thereafter imposed sanctions on Doumbouya, junta leaders, and relatives, rejecting the promise of a transition to democracy in three years.

CHAD
After President Idriss Deby was killed in combat while visiting forces engaged in fighting rebels in the north, the Chadian army seized control of the country in April 2021.

The president’s son, General Mahamat Idriss Deby, was named interim president, which contravenes Chadian law, where the speaker of parliament should have become president.
The unlawful transfer of power sparked rioting in N’Djamena, the country’s capital, which the military eventually put down.

MALI
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was overthrown in August 2020 by a gang of Malian colonels under the command of Assimi Goita. The coup came after anti-government demonstrations about worsening security, contentious elections for the legislature, and corruption charges.
The junta consented to hand over control to an interim administration run by civilians, which will oversee an 18-month transition to free and fair elections in February 2022.

After a clash between the coup leader and the interim president, retired colonel Bah Ndaw, the junta staged a second coup in May 2021. Assimi Goita, who had been acting vice president in the meantime, was promoted to the position of president.

ECOWAS Silent As Garbon Coup Rages On, Ali Bongo, Son In Detention

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) appears dumbfounded and taken aback as the ongoing Garbon Coup d’état was reported on Wednesday, ENigeria Newspaper.
The Economic Community of West African States is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of 5,114,162 km², and in 2019 had an estimated population of over 387 million.

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Source: ENigeria Newspaper