Former President Goodluck Jonathan has been swept into the heart of Guinea-Bissau’s political crisis, trapped alongside hundreds of foreign observers after soldiers stormed the capital, seized power, and slammed shut all borders in a dramatic military takeover.
Panic erupted the moment the coup was announced, with observers racing to the airport, only to find runways shut, flights grounded, and armed soldiers locking down the country.
A group of officers, calling themselves the “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order,” declared that they now have “total control” of the nation. Their announcement came barely 24 hours after President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and rival Fernando Dias both declared themselves winners of the tense presidential election.
The coupists suspended the entire electoral process “until further notice,” enforced an overnight curfew, and sealed land, air, and sea borders, trapping Jonathan and scores of international officials in the process.
“I have been deposed,” Embalo told France24 in a phone call, saying he was “currently at the general staff headquarters.”
The tension deepened as Domingos Simoes Pereira, head of the main opposition PAIGC, was arrested. Haque, one of the observers, revealed: “As well, we’ve just heard that the military is trying to cut off the Internet. There’s a curfew in place.” He added that the coup leader, Denis N’Canha, was until now the president’s own guard commander.
“The man supposed to protect the president himself has put the president under arrest,” Haque said.
Jonathan, who arrived as the head of the West African Elders Forum (WAEF) observer mission, had been posting updates on the election process just days earlier. “We arrived in Bissau this evening as members of the West African Elders Forum (WAEF) Election Mission…” he wrote on arrival, wishing citizens a peaceful and transparent poll.
He later posted updates on election-day activities and, most recently, shared photos from a condolence visit to the family of the late President Manuel Sefiro Nhamado, writing that he went “to condole with them on the recent passing of their matriarch and former First Lady, Mrs. Isolina Da Fonseca Nhamajo.”
Since the coup began, attempts to reach Jonathan’s spokesman, Ikechukwu Eze, failed.
But ex-presidential aide, Ima Niboro, confirmed to Daily Trust that Jonatha, who just marked his 68th birthday, remains in Guinea-Bissau.
Niboro said he contacted people around the former president, who assured him Jonathan is safe but stuck like every other observer.
Jonathan and other African leaders monitoring the polls have since released a strongly worded statement condemning the coup.
“We express deep concern with the announcement of a coup d’etat by the armed forces, while the nation was waiting for the announcement of the results…” the statement read, warning that the military’s actions threaten the country’s fragile democratic progress.
They demanded that the African Union and ECOWAS intervene, and called on the coup leaders to release all detained electoral officials immediately.
“We call on the people of Guinea Bissau to remain calm,” they added, reaffirming their commitment to supporting the nation’s democratic path during what they described as a “sensitive period.”
