A group of officers of Guinea-Bissau’s army have been arrested on accusations of attempting a coup, according to the country’s armed forces.
The alleged coup plot involved several senior officers who were reported missing starting Monday, and was announced the day before the general election campaign was set to begin.
The military thwarted an “attempt to subvert the constitutional order”, General Mamadu Ture Kuruma, deputy chief of staff of the armed forces, said at a press conference on Friday.
“This sad episode, which involves some general and senior officers of our Armed Forces, jeopardises the peace and stability so desired for socio-economic development and the attraction of foreign investment,” read a statement from the armed forces General Staff.
The coup attempt was allegedly led by the director of a military training school, Brigadier General Dahaba Nawalna, with the support of some generals and senior officers.
Kuruma did not provide all the names of detained officers, but named Nawalna, as well as Commanders Domingos Nhanke and Mario Midana, as being among senior officers arrested on Thursday in their homes in the capital Bissau.
No mention was made of what will happen to the alleged coup plotters or how many of them have been accused of taking part. It would be the second known coup attempt against President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who came to power in 2020, the latest taking place in December 2023.
‘No disorder will be tolerated’
There has been substantial controversy over Embalo’s term in advance of the November general elections.
“This is indeed a new attempt to subvert the constitutional order, on the eve of the start of the election campaign for the legislative and presidential elections on November 23,” Kuruma said.
Campaigning kicks off on Saturday in Guinea-Bissau in elections likely to be dominated by the incumbent after the main opposition was disqualified.
Embalo told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Thursday that “no disorder will be tolerated”, adding that the “government has taken all necessary measures to ensure the safety of each candidate during this campaign”.
Embalo has been at odds with the political opposition, which says his current five-year term ran out at the end of February, while the Supreme Court of Justice has ruled that it ends on September 4.
In March, Embalo also said he would run for a second term in November, backtracking on earlier vows to step down.
The opposition has refused to recognise Embalo as president. A mission by a West African regional bloc sent to Guinea-Bissau in March to help resolve the crisis also left abruptly after what it said were threats of expulsion from Embalo.
Guinea-Bissau has laboured under a succession of coups since independence from Portugal in 1974, but since its 2014 presidential election, the Portuguese-speaking country has set itself on the path towards the rule of law.
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