Military coups were a regular occurrence in the continent in the decades after independence and there is concern they are starting to become more frequent.
The takeover in Niger led by soldiers belonging to the presidential guard, is just the latest in a string of coups that have taken place in recent years. Overall, Africa has experienced more coups than any other continent.
Of the 17 coups recorded globally since 2017, all but one – Myanmar in 2021 – have been in Africa. Between January 1950 and July 2023, there were some 220 successful and attempted coups in Africa, representing almost half (44 per cent) of all attempted coups worldwide. Kenya has experienced only one unsuccessful attempt that was staged by junior Air Force officers on August 1, 1982.
1. Sudan
Since 1950, Sudan has had the most coups and attempted takeovers amounting to 17, six of them successful. The first attempted coup was on August 18, 1955, which was followed by a successful one on November 17, 1958. In 2019, long-serving leader Omar al-Bashir was removed from power following months of protests.
Bashir himself took over in a military coup in 1989. Research from the Centre for Systemic Peace (CSP) and Statista shows that there have been 35 coups (including failed attempts and plots) in Sudan’s history. Although an armed conflict erupted in Sudan on April 15, 2023, the latest and successful coup happened on October 25, 2021, where coup leaders dissolved the country’s power-sharing government and temporarily detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
2. Burundi
Burundi’s history has been marked by 11 separate coups, mostly driven by the tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi communities. Out of the 11 coups, five have been successful. The first attempted coup was on October 18, 1965.
Many other coups followed in the years between 1966 and 1993, with the most bloodiest happening on October 21, 1993, an attempted military-backed coup that resulted in the assassination of President Melchior Ndadaye. The attack helped to trigger a 10-year civil war that left an estimated 300,000 people dead. The latest was on May 13, 2015, when top army generals attempted to overthrow President Pierre Nkurunziza while he was visiting Tanzania.
3. Sierra Leone and Ghana
Sierra Leone experienced three coups between 1967 and 1968, and another one in 1971. There were two attempted coups in Sierra Leone between 1986 and 1988. It experienced five further coup attempts between 1992 and 1997.
In total, there have been 10 attempted coups in Sierra Leone, five of them being successful. Just like Sierra Leone, Ghana has also had its share of military coups, with 10, five of them being successful. The first was on February 24, 1966, when Kwame Nkrumah was removed from power, and in the following year there was an unsuccessful attempt by junior army officers. Many attempted and successful coups followed in staggered years, with the last attempt having happened on March 23, 1984.,
4. Burkina Faso and Comoros
The West African country has had the most successful coups, with nine takeovers and only one failed coup. The first one happened on January 3, 1966. The only failed coup was on September 17, 2015.
The latest, a successful military-backed coup, was on January 23, 2022. Coup leaders suspended Burkina Faso’s constitution, dissolved the National Assembly and detained President Roch Marc Christian Kabore. Comoros has also had nine coups, four of them being successful. The last successful one was on April 30, 1999, but there was a failed coup the following year on March 21.
5. Niger, Benin, Mali, Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau
On 26 July 2023, a coup d’état occurred in Niger when the country’s presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum and presidential guard commander General Abdourahamane Tchiani proclaimed himself the leader of a new military junta.
This was the eighth and fifth successful coup since the country gained independence from France in 1960. Other African nations with eight coups (successful or failed) are Benin, Mali, Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau.
6. Togo, Congo, Chad and Mauritania
With seven successful and failed coups, these countries are in the top ten list of countries in Africa that have had the most coups in history. In Togo, three coups have been successful, with two each in Republic of Congo and Chad, and five successful coups in Mauritania —the latest being on August 6, 2008, where the deposed leader, President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was jailed.
7. Guinea
As of this year, the West African country has had six attempted coups, with three of them being successful.
The first was on April 3, 1984, while the rest followed in the years that followed. On September 5, 2021, members of Guinea’s military stormed the presidential palace and carried out a successful coup. The coup leaders detained the deposed president Alpha Conde.
8. Uganda, Ethiopia and CAR
These nations have had five attempted coups each, where two of them were successful in Ethiopia and three in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Uganda. In Uganda, the first coup was on January 25, 1971, a successful military-backed coup that deposed President Milton Obote. Coup leader Idi Amin became one of the world’s most brutal dictators, who was disposed of on April 13, 1979.
The last on the East African nation was on July 27, 1985, when President Obote was overthrown for the second time. The first one in Ethiopia was on December 14, 1960, but the most popular one was on September 12, 1974, were the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army deposed the then-leader, Emperor Haile Selassie. The first one in CAR was in January 1966 and the latest happened on March 15, 2003.
9. Egypt
The North African country has had four attempted coups, and all of of them were successful. The first of them happened on July 23, 1952, followed by another one two years later. On February 11, 2011, there was a successful military-backed coup following mass protests. The deposed leader Hosni Mubarak was jailed.
The latest one happened on July 3, 2013, when the Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led a coalition to remove President Mohamed Morsi, who was jailed. Democratic Republic of the Congo, Algeria, Madagascar, Liberia, Lesotho and Ivory Coast have also had four coups each
10. Somalia
On December 10, 1961, there was an attempted military-backed coup on the East African nation, the first of the three attempts the country has had. Only October 21, 1969, was successful. It was a bloodless takeover of Somalia’s government by military officers of the Supreme Revolutionary Council led by Siad Barre.
The other attempted coup was on April 9, 1978. Lybia, Zambia and The Gambia are the other countries to have experienced three coups each. BY K24 NEWS