Over the past half-decade, Africa has witnessed a dramatic resurgence of military takeovers, with ten coups reshaping political realities across the continent. The latest upheaval in Guinea-Bissau underscores a troubling trend: democratic transitions remain fragile, security challenges are acute, and militaries are once again stepping into power vacuums.
Long after the end of the Cold War, the continent finds itself grappling with questions of legitimacy, governance, and national identity.
Mali was first to fall in this wave as President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was toppled in August 2020, followed by a second takeover barely nine months later, Under Colonel Assimi Goïta, the transitional government repeatedly delayed elections, citing jihadist violence. In 2025, Goïta approved a law granting himself a renewable five-year mandate, effectively institutionalising military rule.
Similar frustrations with governance pushed Guinea into turmoil in 2021, when Lieutenant-Colonel Mamady Doumbouya detained President Alpha Condé, Doumbouya now seeks electoral legitimacy, submitting his candidacy for polls slated to restore constitutional order.
Sudan’s October 2021 coup fractured an already fragile power-sharing deal, igniting one of the world’s worst human catastrophes. The clashing forces of Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo plunged the country into civil war, killing tens of thousands and displacing millions.
Burkina Faso followed in 2022 with a rapid double coup: first against President Roch Kaboré, then against coup-leader Paul-Henri Damiba. Captain Ibrahim Traoré emerged from the chaos, pledging elections but ultimately extending his transitional tenure for five more years as jihadist violence multiplied.
The domino effect continued in 2023 members of the presidential guard ousted Mohamed Bazoum, elevating General Abdourahamane Tiani and freezing democratic processes for at least half a decade. Just weeks later, Gabon’s military annulled Ali Bongo Ondimba’s re-election, a move celebrated by citizens weary of a 55-year political dynasty. General Brice Oligui Nguema took control and, by 2025, secured a landslide presidential victory under a new constitution drafted during the transition.
The pattern extended to Madagascar, where unrest took on a new generational character. “Gen Z”-led demonstrations fuelled a military takeover in October 2025, ejecting President Andry Rajoelina. Colonel Michael Randrianirina, thrust into power, promised elections within roughly two years. And now Guinea-Bissau’s military intervention has pushed the coup count to ten, affirming that from the Sahel to the Indian Ocean, armed forces remain political arbiters more than national protectors.
The common threads are unmistakable: insurgency, economic desperation, contested elections, and institutions too weak to mediate crisis.
What makes this wave particularly troubling are not just its frequency, but its normalization, citizens cheering tanks as fixes to broken politics.
As African leaders confront deep structural problems, the continent stands at a crossroads: reform democratic governance or risk watching power repeatedly change hands at gunpoint.
