COUP D'ETAT: Africa's Five Most Destructive And Painful Coups

No continent has seen more military overthrows of governments than Africa. This may be a bitter pill to swallow, but it is a truth Africans and people of African descent must contend with.

In all, 40 of the continent’s 54 countries have had a change in government, at one point or more, via the barrel of the gun. The reasons for which these forced takeovers happen are varied from anything in Western imperialism to tribal identity.

The propensity to make governance nasty, brutish and short has cost Africans not only lives but time too.

Very little to no justification can be given to why a change of government should come via the whims of military men. However, with the benefit of hindsight, one may say that some overthrows seem more confusing than others.

In this list, we will take a look at coups that deposed either civilian or military governments who were not characteristically unpopular.

Data does not exist to gauge pre-coup approval ratings of African governments. But it may be said that wider and deeper reflections in the aftermath of some coups have shown that the people deposed were treated unfairly and with contempt.

The list is in no particular order.

Patrice Lumumba

The young, dashing and charismatic Lumumba was the independence leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo. But a concerted effort by Belgium, the United Nations and local powers led by Mobutu Seseseko, forced him out of power and later killed him.

He was against Belgian imperialism in the Congos and domestically, Lumumba was not in harmony with a military that wished it could be given more power after independence in 1960.

Today, his efforts to ensure Belgian and other Western countries did not have their way in the Congos are lauded as visionary.

Kwame Nkrumah

Undoubtedly Africa’s most noted post-colonial thinker, Nkrumah fell victim to machinations by the United States which felt that his growing brand of socialism would be inimical to US imperialism.

In Ghana, the Americans found willing military minds who plotted and took power when Nkrumah was away on official business to Vietnam in 1966.

History has, however, proven that Nkrumah was right about political realities such as neocolonialism (a term he coined) and the threats of capitalism in Africa.

Sylvanus Olympio

Olympio was the first president of Togo. But he has also been the shortest-serving president, having been killed by his predecessor, Gnassingbe Eyadema in the 1963 coup.

The coup makers had very little complaints except for their fears that Olympio had no interest in improving Togo’s military.

Togo has since 1963 been ruled by father and son Eyadema.

Thomas Sankara

Thomas Sankara is the only man on this list who came to power through a coup. But that is because he is also arguably the only African military leader who was ahead of his time in his approach to development.

Sankara oversaw an increase in food production, improved participation of women in commerce and the economy and forced the middle class to be sensitive to the plight of the poor.

The man who led the coup against Sankara, Blaise Compaore ruled from 1987 to 2014. Compaore himself is reportedly wanted by Burkina Faso for the murder of Sankara.

Amadou Toumani Toure

The motivations that made Captain Amadou Sanogo and his men overthrow the democratically-elected Amadou Toure are what may be adequately described as power-hunger.

Sanogo claimed that Toure was incompetent in his handling of insurgency in northern Mali in 2012. He also accused the president of financial misconduct with no evidence.

Interestingly, Sanogo’s shenanigans happened months before Toure had already been scheduled to leave office. The president then had to live Senegal in exile.