The Inside Story Of The Fake Coup In Guinea-Bissau

 By Owei Lakemfa

Umaro Mokhtar Sissoco Embalo on November 26, 2025 sat in his office as the President of Guinea-Bissau. As a retired General, the 53-year-old knew when he was beaten. Three days earlier, he had succumbed to unbearable pressures that he allowed general elections to be held despite his fears. His tenure had expired on February 27, 2025.

Rather than hold elections in accordance with the constitution, he had it postponed. The Constitutional Court had come to his aid by setting September 4, 2025 as the new date for his departure or mandate renewal. The seven-month extension had seemed a long way off.

Guinea-Bissau’s Lawless President Embalo Has No Business In Office

 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.

*General Horta Inta-A Na Man

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.”