The coup that wasn’t: Gabon plotters numbered only five
Early yesterday morning, a uniformed officer took to the airwaves of the Gabon state broadcaster.
Flanked by two armed soldiers, Lt Kelly Ondo Obiang said the Patriotic Movement of the Defence and Security Forces of Gabon was taking charge of the country and called on fellow military units to seize transport infrastructure and key facilities.
Simultaneous reports appeared of shots being fired near the radio station in central Libreville and military vehicles were seen driving at speed through the streets. All eyes turned to the small west African nation in the throes of what appeared to be a coup. Except that it wasn’t.
The coup backers consisted of only five junior soldiers and apparently no wider plot had swept the ranks of the country’s military – although authorities now say they plan to seek out sympathisers among the army generals, civil society and opposition leaders mentioned in the rebels’ statement. Four were arrested quickly and the fifth was found hiding under a bed.
“The situation is calm. The gendarmes who are often stationed there have taken control of the entire area around the radio and TV headquarters, so everything is back to normal,” said government spokesman Guy-Bertrand Mapangou.
The men claimed to be seizing power to “restore democracy” in the small oil-rich nation of only two million people whose ailing leader has been receiving treatment in Morocco after suffering a stroke last year.
In an attempt to ease fears about his health, President Ali
Bongo, 59, appeared in a new year address to the nation. In their coup declaration, the soldiers called the president’s message “a pitiful sight”.
It had “reinforced doubts about the president’s ability to continue to carry out of the responsibilities of his office”, Lt Obiang said.
Since taking power in 2009, Mr Bongo’s term has been overshadowed by an investigation into embezzlement by France, the former colonial power. He has also been condemned for his membership of the Freemasons, whose Gabonese chapter he leads.
While the coup attempt does not appear to have been organised by the military’s leaders, it did tap into a mood of dissatisfaction among some.
About 300 people gathered around the state broadcaster after the news broke, although they were soon dispersed by the police, who fired teargas.
Otherwise, the streets of the capital remained quiet.