Jonathan downplays Guinea-Bissau coup report as regional bodies condemn military actions

By Kunle Sanni –

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has dismissed the political turmoil in Guinea-Bissau as something short of a real coup, even as the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) raised alarm over what they described as a deliberate attempt to derail the country’s democratic process.

Jonathan, who is in Bissau as Head of the West African Elders Forum Election Observation Mission, offered a striking interpretation of events while reacting to reports that soldiers briefly announced they had taken control of parts of the government during the tense period following the November 23 presidential and legislative elections.

“It was not a coup — at best, a ceremonial coup,” Jonathan said.

Speaking on the incident, Jonathan said the episode did not follow the pattern of classic military takeovers and should not be hastily categorised as one.

“I wouldn’t call it a coup. It was not a coup,” he said. “I would just say, for want of a better word, maybe it was a ceremonial coup. Because it was President Embaló who first announced the coup. Later, military officers came out to say they were in charge — yet Embaló was still using his phone to speak to media organisations, saying he had been arrested. It was strange.”

While Jonathan played down the severity, a joint observer mission of the AU, ECOWAS, and the West African Elders Forum delivered a sharply worded statement condemning the military’s actions.

In the joint communiqué released on November 26, the mission leaders — Mozambique’s former President Filipe Nyusi, Sierra Leone’s former Vice President Issifu Baba Kamara, and Jonathan himself — praised the people of Guinea-Bissau for their peaceful voting and civic engagement.