Africa
Gabon coup leaders name Gen Brice Oligui Nguema as new leader
Gabon coup leaders name Gen Brice Oligui Nguema as new leader
Army officers who seized power in a coup in Gabon on Wednesday have named General Brice Oligui Nguema as the country’s transitional leader.
Gen Nguema was earlier carried triumphally through the streets of the capital Libreville by his troops.
The deposed President, Ali Bongo, has appeared in a video at his home, calling on his “friends all over the world” to “make noise” on his behalf.
The former French colony is one of Africa’s major oil producers.
Mr Bongo’s overthrow ended his family’s 55-year hold on power in the Central African state.
Army officers appeared on TV in the early hours of Wednesday to say they had taken power.
They said they had annulled the results of Saturday’s election in which Mr Bongo was declared the winner but which the opposition said was fraudulent.
The officers also said they had arrested one of Mr Bongo’s sons for treason.
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Within hours, generals met to discuss who would lead the transition and agreed by a unanimous vote to appoint Gen Nguema, former head of the presidential guard.
Gen Nguema told France’s Le Monde newspaper that Gabonese people had had enough of Ali Bongo’s rule, and that he should not have run for a third term.
“Everyone talks about this but no one takes responsibility,” he said. “So the army decided to turn the page.”
Crowds in Libreville and elsewhere celebrated the army’s declaration.
But the coup was condemned by the UN, the African Union and France, which had close ties to the Bongo family.
The US state department urged Gabon’s military to “preserve civilian rule” and urged “those responsible to release and ensure the safety of members of government”. The UK condemned the “unconstitutional military takeover” of power.
There has long been simmering resentment of the Bongo family – it ruled Gabon for almost 56 years – and there has been public discontent over broader issues such as the cost of living.
“At first I was scared, but then I felt joy,” a resident of Libreville, who requested anonymity, told the BBC. “I was scared because of the realisation that I am living through a coup, but the joy is because we’ve been waiting for so long for this regime to be overthrown.”
Gabon coup leaders name Gen Brice Oligui Nguema as new leader
Africa
Army foils coup to topple DR Congo president
Army foils coup to topple DR Congo president
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) army says it has repelled an attempted coup d’etat.
Sylvain Ekenge, the DRC army spokesperson, spoke in a televised address on the state-run RTNC TV.
“An attempted coup d’etat has been put down by the defence and security forces. The attempt involved foreigners and Congolese. These foreigners and Congolese have been put out of action, including their leader,” Ekenge said.
Ekenge said several suspects have been detained and the “situation is now under control”.
The army spokesperson did not give further information about the incident.
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His statement comes hours after armed men attacked the house of Vital Kamerhe, former chief of staff and close ally of President Felix Tshisekedi.
Kamerhe’s residence is about two kilometres from the presidential palace.
Michel Muhima, Kamerhe’s spokesperson, had said the gunmen clad in military uniform engaged the politician’s guards in a shootout, leaving three people dead.
Muhima said two of the deceased were police officers attached to Kamerhe while the other was one of the attackers.
The unrest in the country comes amid a dispute in the ruling party over the postponement of an election for the leadership of the country’s national assembly.
President Tshisekedi met with parliamentarians and party leaders on Friday in a bid to resolve the crisis.
Tshisekedi was reelected as president in December 2023.
Army foils coup to topple DR Congo president
Africa
Chad’s military ruler Derby declared winner of presidential election, opposition kicks
Chad’s military ruler Derby declared winner of presidential election, opposition kicks
Chad’s military leader, Mahamat Deby Itno, was declared the winner of this week’s presidential election, according to provisional results released Thursday. The results were contested by his main rival, Prime Minister Succès Masra.
The national agency that manages Chad’s election released results of Monday’s vote weeks earlier than planned. The figures showed Deby Itno won with just over 61% of the vote, with the runner-up Masra falling far behind with over 18.5% of the vote. Gunfire erupted in the capital following the announcement, though it was unclear if it was celebratory.
Preliminary results were initially expected on May 21.
Chad held its long delayed presidential election following three years of military rule, a vote that analysts widely expected the incumbent to win. Deby Itno, also known as Mahamat Idriss Deby, seized power after his father, who spent three decades in power, was killed fighting rebels in 2021.
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The oil-exporting country of nearly 18 million people hasn’t had a free-and-fair transfer of power since it became independent in 1960 after decades of French colonial rule.
Hours ahead of Thursday’s announcement, Masra published a speech on Facebook accusing the authorities of planning to manipulate the outcome.
During the 11-minute speech, Masra appeared in a blue suit at a podium with the national flag in the background and claimed victory, saying the incumbent was planning to reverse the outcome of the vote. He called on Chad’s military, police and other security forces to stop following Deby Itno’s orders.
“These orders will lead you to side with the wrong side of Chad’s history, these orders will lead you to fight your brothers and sisters, these orders will lead you to commit the irreparable and unforgivable,” he said in the speech. “Refuse to obey these unjust orders!”
There was no immediate response from the president’s office.
Chad’s military ruler Derby declared winner of presidential election, opposition kicks
Africa
Civil societies, Togo president on war path over new constitution eliminating elections
Civil societies, Togo president on war path over new constitution eliminating elections
The hope of having new leader in Togo has been dashed following the abolition of presidential elections in the West Africa country.
The development follows the signing of a controversial and widely condemned new constitution by President Faure Gnassingbe
The new constitution does not allow for election to the highest office in the land, an arrangement that will see the Gnassingbes consolidate their hold on power and extend their six-decade-long rule.
A statement from Gnassingbe’s office on Monday stated that, under the new legislation, only the parliament will have the power to select the president, eliminating direct elections.
According to Africa News, the election commission on Saturday announced that Gnassingbe’s ruling party had won a majority of seats in the nation’s parliament.
The report revealed that there was a crackdown on civic and media freedoms ahead of the vote, as the government banned protests against the proposed new constitution and arrested opposition figures.
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Also, the electoral commission banned the Catholic Church from deploying election observers.
In mid-April, a French journalist who arrived to cover the elections was arrested, assaulted and expelled. Togo’s media regulator later suspended the accreditation process for foreign journalists.
Provisional results showed the ruling Union for the Republic (UNIR) party won 108 out of 113 seats in parliament, and 137 out of 179 positions in the senate.
The new constitution also increases presidential terms from five to six years and introduces a single-term limit.
However, the almost 20 years that Gnassingbe has already served in office would not count toward that tally.
Togo has been ruled by the same family for 57 years, initially by Eyadema Gnassingbe and then by his son, Faure Gnassingbe, who took office after elections that the opposition described as a “sham.”
The political opposition, religious leaders and civil society say the proposed new constitution makes it likely that Gnassingbe will stay on when his mandate expires in 2025.
They also fear that the creation of a figure similar to a prime minister, to be selected from the ruling party, could become another avenue for Gnassingbe to extend his grip on power even beyond that new term.
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