Rwanda And Cameroon President Sacks Military Chiefs For Fear Of Coup

Less than 24 hours after the military seized power in Gabon, Presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda and 90-year-old Paul Biya of Cameroon sacked their military leaders.

According to a government statement, Kagame dismissed nearly 200 military leaders in Kigali, including two four-star generals, James Kabarebe and Fred Ibingira, and two three-star generals, Charles Kayonga and Frank Mushyo Kamanzi.

The statement stated that the Rwandan president, who is notorious for his ruthless crackdown on the media and the opposition, also retired 83 senior officers, 06 junior officers, 86 senior non-commissioned officers, 678 end-of-contract officers, and 160 were released on medical grounds.

Mr. Biya, who resides primarily in Switzerland, has already reshuffled the officers in the army, air force, and navy in Cameroon to demonstrate that he is not leaving the country’s control in the hands of chance.

Little more than a day had passed since the military overthrew President Ali Bongo Ondimba in Gabon and put him under house arrest. At that time, major changes had already taken place in Cameroon and Rwanda. The coups in Gabon and Niger were not mentioned by either leader while making their judgments.

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sanctions were also imposed on the soldiers who took control of Niger in late July, but they haven’t been able to convince the military junta to hand over control to the country’s democratically elected government.

In a message published on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, Biya said he had ordered the removal of some soldiers from the country’s defense force and the transfer of others.

Among those who have recently been appointed as senior military chiefs for the army are Ajeagah Njei Felix, Kamdom Lucas, and Nguema Ondo Bertin Bourger.

Edward Essono The Cameroonian marine’s newly appointed officers included Serge Durel and Moudio Hervé.

At 49 years old, Biya took over as president in 1982. Since then, he has served as president. From 1975 to 1982, he held the position of prime minister before being elected president. Critics claim that despite his long-lasting government, the economy of Cameroon has not been significantly impacted.

However, Mr. Biya has been residing in his house in Switzerland for the past ten years as his health deteriorated from old age, from whence he has been overseeing the roughly 30 million citizens of his country.

With the most recent coup, there have been eight military coups in Central and West Africa since 2020. This is concerning and necessitates reflection. We might need to concentrate on treating the disease rather than the signs and symptoms that it causes.