For the first time in 55 years, a member of the Bongo family is not in charge of Gabon. The eighth coup in three years for former French colonies in Africa has seen former President Ali Bongo deposed by the military. President Bongo, who took over the Gabonese Presidency from his father Omar in 2009, had recently won re-election for a third term, however this wasn’t without the result being contested. Hours after the election, members of the military went live on TV, denied the election’s legitimacy, declared a coup, and chose former head of the Presidential Guard, General Brice Oligui Nguema, as interim leader. Subsequently; President Bongo was placed under house arrest, the borders were shut down, a curfew instituted, and the streets were flooded by Gabonese citizens celebrating the deposition. Unlike other recent coups in the region, the overall reaction has been positive, and the people have welcomed it.

Despite this reaction from the majority of the Gabonese, the coup has been condemned by the global community, as it has become the latest in a recent wave of coups in Africa. The Economic Community of Central African States have announced an “imminent” meeting of their head states in order to determine a response; with the Nigerian President calling this wave, a “contagion of autocracy.” While under house arrest, former President Ali Bongo has asked his friends and allies all over the world to “make noise,” in opposition to what just happened. However, while the citizens of Gabon have been fearful, due to the nature of the deposition, they have also “been waiting for so long for this regime to be overthrown… [and would] be happy to elect a dog in place of Bongo.”

A military coup can rarely be described as a positive outcome, as it is generally an acceptance that democracy has failed. While this is the case for Gabon, this coup has thankfully been almost completely nonviolent. However, how did Gabon and many other Central and Western African countries get to a point where such an abandonment of democracy has been deemed ‘necessary’ by its peoples? The first place to look may be at the region’s former colonial power, France. In fact, since 1990 over 78% of the military coups in Africa have come from former colonies of France, with many of those coup leaders heavily criticising France for being responsible for the problems in their respective countries. Unlike the other former colonial powers in the continent like the United Kingdom, France have been far more involved in the politics of their former colonies. The term ‘Françafrique’ is one that is frequently used to refer to France’s sphere of influence in its former African colonies. The word highlights France’s neo-colonialism, as well as the allegedly corrupt Franco-African political, economic, and military networks: which may suggest some legitimacy to claims of France’s guilt. While this must be taken into account, France is not solely to blame for what has happened.

The Bongo family have been in charge of Gabon since 1967, with Omar Bongo their President until his death in 2009, when his son Ali took over. During Omar’s presidency, Ali was given the role of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Defence, and the representative of Bongoville. Over the years, Bongo was criticised by many, with the Burkinabé newspaper, L’Observateur Paalga, calling him “A spoilt child… brought up in France, hardly able to speak indigenous languages.” The Gabonese have often expressed their discontent with the Bongo family’s rule, as violence has been a part of every election in Gabon since 1990, including an attempted coup in 2019.

In such a turbulent time in Central and Western Africa, true democracy is the best way to achieve peace. For Gabon, this coup was undemocratic, however neither were their ‘elections’. The first few days of this new regime have been relatively non-violent, however reports of gunshots in the capital of Libreville show that this could change at any given moment. There is hope from many that this new regime could institute a truer democracy than its predecessor, however as this story is still unravelling it is clear that it is far too early to speculate.