Gabon coup not surprising, about 4 more on the way – Kwesi Pratt

Veteran journalist Kwesi Pratt Jr. claimed that he was not surprised by Gabon’s recent military coup.

The former president of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, was seen to be clinging to power, according to the managing editor of the Insight Newspaper.

Kwesi continued to express his opinions on Accra-based Metro TV, claiming that the reason the Gabonese people were so supportive of the coup was because they had become weary of the protracted reign of a single family.

“Who was not expecting a coup d’etat in Gabon? I don’t know of one person who was not expecting a coup d’etat in Gabon. As a matter of fact, if you look at the measures which were instituted by the government of Ali Bongo in the run-up to the election and after the elections, they all point to panic, severe panic,” he said.

On August 30, 2023, he said on Good Morning Ghana that “everybody was expecting this coup d’etat in Gabon for many reasons.”

“One family has been in power for 53 long years. And that family has not been in power for 53 long years because it was loved by the people of Gabon; it has been in power because it imposed itself on the people, rigid elections, harassed opposition leaders, banned political parties, arrested trade union leaders, and so on.”

He also predicted four more coups across different African countries, highlighting the regularity of such political upheavals on the continent.

He also projected the possibility of four more coups in Africa, with at least two of them possibly happening before 2023 is over.

“I was expecting the coup creel in Gabon. I’m still expecting coup d’etats in 4 more countries. I think that four more are going to fall very, very soon, possibly before the end of the year. We should expect about 2 or 3 countries to fall, and four more countries are likely to fall.”

In a video that has been making the rounds on social media, Gabon’s president has urged “friends all over the world” to “make noise” over the coup that has taken place in the nation.

Ali Bongo declares while seated in what he claims to be his home, a spacious room with wood paneled walls, elaborate rugs, and leather-bound books: “My son is someplace, my wife is at another area.

“Nothing is happening. I don’t know what is going on.”

He again urges his “friends” to speak up, before thanking them.

The BBC has got in touch with a communications firm that supported the president during the election to verify the veracity of the video. It has been requested to share the footage by Bongo’s office.