Recent African Military Coups: 7 in 3 Years
Since 2020, countries on the African continent have been experiencing unrest due to military coup d’états in what appears to be a domino effect.
The primary reasons for the coups were to send a message to their former colonial power and its Western allies and oppose the disreputable administrations in place.
As of the 30th of August, 2023, a total of six countries have experienced military junta coups, with a seventh conceivable along the borders of Gabon.
Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Sudan, and Niger are the five countries in question.
The coups have occurred within the context of a larger conflict between the West and Russia for influence in Africa. According to experts, a rising tide of anger in former French colonies has opened the door for the Kremlin (Russian government) to seize the opportunity.
Here are excerpts of the timelines, beginning with the most current.
Africa’s Gabon
In the early hours of Wednesday, August 30, a group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on national television and announced they had seized power following the announcement that President Ali Bongo, 64, had won a third term.
The officers asserted that they represented the nation’s entire security and defense forces and that the election results had been annulled.
They subsequently declared that all borders would remain closed until further notice and that all state institutions would be dissolved.
Tensions were high in Gabon as a result of fears of unrest following Saturday’s presidential, parliamentary, and legislative elections, in which Bongo sought to extend his family’s 56-year hold on power while the opposition pressed for change in the oil- and cocoa-rich but impoverished nation.
The lack of international observers, the suspension of some foreign broadcasts, the disabling of internet services, and the imposition of a nationwide curfew at night following the election have raised concerns about the electoral process’s transparency.
Niger
Niger’s presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 in its fifth military coup since the country acquired independence from France in 1960, and presidential guard commander General Abdourahamane Tchiani proclaimed himself the leader of a new military junta.
The Nigerien Foreign Ministry announced on August 26 that the junta had given the French ambassador in Niamey 48 hours to depart the country.
The United States of America, former colonial power France, and the West African regional bloc Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) all condemned the coup and threatened military intervention against the junta.
Analysts point to the rising cost of living, perceptions of government incompetence, and Bazoum’s intentions to replace General Abdourahmane Tchiani as potential causes for the coup.
France and the United States have used Niger as a base to combat an Islamist insurgency in the wider Sahel region of West and Central Africa.
Among many other consequences, the coup threatens Europe’s reliance on uranium mining for its nuclear power facilities.
Orano, formerly a subsidiary of Areva, operates a uranium mine in the north of the country, with Niger’s contribution to the global production of the mineral being negligible.
The company stated last week that it was closely monitoring the situation, but that the military’s seizure of authority had not yet affected the delivery of uranium supplies.
The rebellion has been condemned internationally, including by President William Ruto, who has called for national calm.
Burkina Faso
On January 23, 2022, officers under the command of military officer Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba commandeered the nation’s military base. In the same premise, it was reported that President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré was arrested, and the military proclaimed on television that Kaboré had been deposed as president.
The military subsequently ordered the dissolution of Parliament, the government, and the Constitution.
Sidsoré Kader Ouedraogo, a military captain, stated in a statement that Kaboré’s authority was being terminated due to the deteriorating security situation and the intensifying Islamic insurgency, but the crisis was not being managed.
He added that the new military leaders would determine a timetable “acceptable to everyone” for new elections.
Damiba’s rule was brief, as he only served as interim president from 31 January to 30 September, after which Captain Ibrahim Traore became the world’s youngest governing president at the age of 34.
Traore, who is still battling Islamists on the front lines, has insisted that he will not remain in power for long, as a national conference will appoint a new interim leader by the end of the year.
This leader, who may be civilian or military, will uphold an agreement with the regional bloc of West Africa and supervise a return to civilian rule by 2024.
Russia has expressed support for the coup at the same time that regional neighbors and Western powers have condemned it. This has further strained relations with former colonial power France. Traore made international headlines on July 29 when he accused African leaders of “beggary” at the Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia.
“My generation does not comprehend how a continent with so much prosperity has become the poorest in the world today. And this is why African leaders travel the globe to plead,” he said.
Sudan
Sudan, a neighboring country of Kenya, declared a state of emergency on October 25, 2021, after army general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan apprehended and detained at least five state officials in undisclosed locations.
Since the military takeover in 2019 during the Sudanese Revolution, when President Omar al-Bashir was overthrown and the Transitional Military Council (TMC) seized power, Al-Burhan has been the nation’s leader.
The Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC), also commanded by Al-Burhan, controlled the country’s reigns after the civilians drafted and signed a constitution allowing for a democratic government.
Other civil groups, such as the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) and the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), also signed the draft constitution.
In 2020, a peace agreement was inked in Juba, allowing Al-Burhan to continue to lead the Sovereignty Council for an additional twenty months. However, he disregarded the agreement and extended his rule through a rebellion.
Abdalla Hamdok, the civilian prime minister, denied support for the coup and advocated for popular resistance.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Information, and the Office of the Prime Minister all refused to recognize the transition of power, labeling the coup a crime and maintaining that Hamdok remained prime minister.
The European Union, the United States, and other Western powers supported the action, maintaining that they recognized Hamdok’s cabinet. The African Union also suspended Sudan’s membership until the return of Hamdok’s government to power.
Al-Burhan then stated that he was willing to reinstate Hamdok’s cabinet, despite Hamdok’s insistence that dialogue would not occur until the pre-coup system was completely restored.
On 21 November 2021, the two parties signed a 14-point agreement that reinstated Hamdok as prime minister and called for the release of all political prisoners.
Civilian groups SPA and FFC refused to continue power-sharing with the military, leading to Hamdok’s resignation on January 2, 2022, amid ongoing demonstrations.
After four months of war, the United Nations warned in August 2023 that more than one million people had fled the war-torn nation to neighboring states and that people inside the country were running out of food and dying due to a lack of medical care.
Guinea
In September 2021, the Guinean armed forces abducted President Alpha Condé, 83, like that of other nations, and special forces commander Mamady Doumbouya broadcast the dissolution of the constitution and government.
President Condé, however, as a transformative leader and the country’s first democratically elected leader, altered the constitution through a referendum to enable himself to run for a third term, which sparked protests, but he still won a third term.
During the term, Guinea declared tax increases, slashed spending on the police and the military, and increased funding for the office of the President and National Assembly, which pushed the country to the brink and precipitated a military coup.
Colonel Doumbouya, who has pledged to return the country to civilian rule, stated in May 2022 that the transition will likely take longer than the three years originally anticipated.
The proposal is likely to upset the political coalition in West Africa that has demanded a speedy return to constitutional order.
Mali
Mali has endured two coups within nine months, in August 2020 and May 2021, and is ensnared in a never-ending cycle of political instability.
In their first coup, a group of military officers removed President Ibrahim Boubacar Keta from power, which was followed by months of unrest over irregularities in the March and April parliamentary elections and indignation over the kidnapping of opposition leader Soumaila Cissé.
President Keta and Prime Minister Boubou Cissé were arrested, and Boubou Cissé subsequently resigned, citing his desire to prevent further bloodshed.
President Bah N’daw, Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, and Minister of Defense Souleymane Doucouré were apprehended by the Malian Army, commanded by Vice President Assimi Gota, in 2021.
Gota, the head of the junta that led the coup d’état in Mali in 2020, proclaimed the removal of N’daw and Ouane from power and the holding of new elections in 2022.
This was the country’s third military revolution in ten years.
Mali has been suspended by both ECOWAS and the African Union (AU) thus far. France has also suspended joint operations and national advisory missions with the Malian military.
Goita continues to serve as interim president and has signed a new mining code that will enable the government to increase its ownership of gold concessions and recover what it claims is a significant shortfall in production revenue.
The state intends to recover between Ksh.72 billion (CFA francs 300 billion) and Ksh.144 billion (CFA francs 600 billion), according to the Finance Minister of Mali, Alousseni Sanou.
Chad
Idriss Déby was assassinated by the Northern Chad Offensive, a military rebel group initiated by the Chadian rebel group Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), on April 20, 2021, bringing an end to his 30-year rule.
In 1990, Idriss Déby also seized control via coup d’état.
As a special presidential election was anticipated for 2022, his son, the 37-year-old general Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, assumed interim presidency.
Itno subsequently pledged to transfer power to civilians through “free and democratic elections,” but reneged in October and his authority was extended by two years.
Nations have expressed concern over the delayed return to democracy under the rule of the junta. In April, the German ambassador to Chad was proclaimed persona non grata by the government for his “impolite attitude” and expelled from the country.
FACT is believed to be under the protection of Libyan military commander and politician Khalifa Haftar, where fighting continues to rage in the northern region of the country.
Recent African Military Coups: 7 in 3 Years
