Security expert Prof Kwesi Aning has cautioned that the Wednesday, November 26, coup d’état in Guinea-Bissau may not be the last in West Africa.
According to him, “There is a bigger question about the usefulness of democracy, the nature of leadership, issues around corruption, transparency….this is not going to end, this may not be the last coup d’ etat.”
He also explained that the current situation in some of the West African states is not friendly and could easily fuel such military actions.
Speaking on Joy FM on Thursday, November 27, he attributed such developments to poor political management, noting that when citizens struggle to access social amenities and meet basic daily needs, the likelihood of further military interventions increases.
On Wednesday, a group of military officers said they had seized control of Guinea-Bissau amid reports that the president, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, had been arrested.
Shortly after, gunshots were heard in the capital, Bissau. Government sources revealed that Embaló had been detained.
The officers then appeared on state TV, saying they had suspended the electoral process, as the West African nation awaited the outcome of Sunday’s presidential election.
They said they were acting to thwart a plot by unnamed politicians who had “the support of a well-known drug baron” to destabilise the country, and announced the closure of its borders and imposed a night-time curfew.
The country held its national elections on Sunday, November 23, 2025.
Discussion about this post