African malady Ex-French colonies beset by coups

By Isaac Kaledzi

WASHINGTON: Political instability in former French colonies in Africa is fast gaining prominence with the latest military takeover happening in Gabon. Gabonese President Ali Bongo was all but set to extend his 14-year stay in power after the electoral commission declared him the winner of last Saturday’s presidential election.

That would have further extended his family’s 55-year hold on power in the country. But the soldiers who seized power on Wednesday in the former French colony said the elections “did not meet the conditions for a transparent, credible and inclusive ballot so much hoped for by the people of Gabon.”

“Today our country is going through a grave political crisis,” the military men who introduced themselves as members of the CTRI [Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions] said in their live broadcast announcing the coup.

They claimed that there has been “irresponsible, unforeseeable governance that has resulted in the steady degradation of social cohesion which risks leading the country to chaos. We have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the regime in power.”

Nathalie Mezo, a women’s rights activist from Gabon, describes the coup as predictable. “The Gabonese population is hungry for change! That’s why most people, even if it’s a military coup, are relieved that 60 years of family regime and dynasty may finally come to an end,” she told DW. Mezo believes the coup was prepared long in advance, because “If we citizens already know that the [Election] result will definitely be in favor of the outgoing president, then the army knows all the more!” “This this has always been the case since 1993, but in the last 14 years or two terms it has been even more violent. In 2009 and 2016, all elections were violently contested. So this scenario was absolutely predictable!” Mezo added.

This is the first time the army is turning against the Bongo dynasty, which has been in power since 1967.

Jocksy Ondo Louemba, a Gabonese journalist living in exile told DW that “Omar Bongo [Ali Bongo’s father] was someone who redistributed a lot, a kind of big businessman. All of Gabon was his clientele. He was a man who was very much focused on clientelism: he bought political opponents.”

But Louemba said his son Ali Bongo was different “He was very brittle; he was against dialogue. He thought he could achieve anything by force and police. But, you know, Napoleon said: you can do anything with bayonets, except to sit on them.”

Unlike Anglophone Africa, which currently has a comparatively stable political climate, Western-style democracy has not gained solid footing in Francophone Africa.

“There is a feeling in Francophone African countries that the French always sided with the people in power, regardless of whether they were popular. There is always a very strong connection between France and the government who, in many situations, are not very friendly with their own population,” Senegalese human rights lawyer, Ibrahima Kane, of the Open Society Foundation told DW.

He adds that the same anger is being directed at France-supported, democratically elected governments that enable military interventions. In Niger where soldiers removed President Mohamed Bazoum from power, there were thousands jubilating on the streets, just in the case of Gabon, echoing discontent for democratically-elected governments.