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Hundreds of mainly young people gathered in Benin’s capital, Cotonou, on Saturday to decry last Sunday’s abortive coup. Participants waving national flags and with raised fists brandished slogans such as “Never Again” as they demanded peace, stability and respect for constitutional order.
“We are attached to a certain kind of democracy, which means power has to be won through elections,” said Youssouf Issa, an entrepreneur who will stand in legislative polls slated for January.
Last Sunday, mutineers claimed on state television to have overthrown President Patrice Talon, but hours later the army thwarted the putsch with help from Nigeria and France.
West Africa has been shaken by political instability since the beginning of the decade, with Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau all undergoing coups since 2020.
“I was terrified my country would descend into instability. It is important to preserve the gains of the last ten years,” said another protester, Fridaousse Iffabi.
Talon, who will step down after two terms when his country holds presidential polls in April, has been fulsomely praised for Benin’s economic development over the past decade. But his detractors also accuse him of repressing the opposition.
His chosen successor, Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, is expected to win easily, given that the main opposition party is barred from standing after failing to secure the required number of endorsements.
After the attempted coup, Benin issued an international arrest warrant for Kemi Seba, a pan-Africanist and anti-Western figure, for “justifying crimes against state security and inciting rebellion.”
Former Beninese Defence minister Candide Azannai, a key opposition figure, has meanwhile been taken into custody on charges of “conspiracy against state authority and incitement to rebellion,” a judicial source reported on Saturday.
The abortive coup leader, Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri, remains at large along with several associates.
