By Owei Lakemfa
The military coup on Wednesday, November 26, 2025 that swept away President Umaro Sissoco Embaló did not come as a surprise. Embalo, a retired general who camouflaged as an elected President, was a lawless leader who consistently trampled the country’s constitution under his feet. He had a sense of entitlement and a culture of impunity.
In my February 9, 2024 column titled, ‘The civilian coups in Senegal, Guinea Bissau and ECOWAS ambivalence’, I pointed out that: “There are civilian or constitutional coups in Guinea Bissau and Senegal, yet the regional body, the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, is pretending otherwise. It appears interested only in military coups, not those carried out by its bosses in the Heads of State Summit.”
