Guinea-Bissau has been hurled into its most perilous political crisis in decades as defiant military officers have overthrown the civilian administration, arrested the president, dismantled every democratic structure, and announced an unrestrained reign with no end in sight.
The mutinous officers took over the capital in a coordinated blitz, storming state institutions and placing the president under heavy detention. In a chilling national broadcast, the junta declared that “all electoral processes are terminated indefinitely,” insisting that the country would now be governed solely under their command.
The coup leaders proclaimed, without apology or restraint, that they were assuming complete authority over the state, saying they had “no obligation to follow failed civilian models or corrupt military precedents.” They vowed to chart a path governed by their own rules, sending a stark warning to both past and present power structures.
In what many analysts describe as a direct assault on the nation’s constitutional soul, the officers further asserted that “the armed forces will administer Guinea-Bissau until stability is fully redefined,” a statement widely interpreted as a declaration of indefinite military dominion.
Regional tension is already rising as the coup threatens to ignite fresh instability in West Africa, a region battered in recent years by military interventions and weakened civilian governance. Diplomatic missions have reportedly gone into emergency mode as ECOWAS and the African Union prepare official responses.
The situation in Bissau remains dangerously fluid, with citizens waking up to a nation abruptly stripped of its leadership, its democracy, and its political direction.
