How Coup Attempt In Sao Tome And Principe Was Prevented – PM

A coup attempt in Sao Tome and Principe was prevented on Friday morning, Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada has said.

Coup Attempt In Sao Tome And Principe

Sao Tome and Principe is an African island nation praised for its stability.

Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada, who stated this at a news briefing aired on private broadcaster Radio Somos Todos Primos, said Military barracks came under attack early on Friday.

“We were targeted by an attempted coup, which began around 00:40 [00:40 GMT] and was completed … shortly after 06:00 [06:00 GMT],” he said.

At least six people have reportedly been detained.

The head of the Economic Community of West African States condemned the coup attempt in the Gulf of Guinea nation.

“Sao Tome and Principe is a country considered a model of parliamentary democracy in Africa,” Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo said on Twitter.

Trovoada said four attackers were “neutralised” and detained after the coup attempt. A former president of the National Assembly, Delfim Neves, was arrested on Friday morning, and a former soldier, Arlecio Costa, was also detained in relation to the coup, the prime minister said.

Neves lost his position on November 11 when a new chamber was installed following elections in September, in which Trovoada’s centre-right Independent Democratic Action (ADI) party won an absolute majority.

The ADI is one of two major parties that have vied to run the country since its independence in 1975. The other is the Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party (MLSTP-PSD). The ADI’s electoral triumph saw Trovoada return to the post of prime minister for the third time.

Reports say Sao Tome and Principe is a former Portuguese colony, located off the western equatorial coast of Africa. It has been relatively stable since an attempted military coup against the government of President Fradique de Menezes in 2003. Coup leaders at the time said they tried to topple the government due to widespread poverty.

Meanwhile, Kanyi Daily reported that the Guinea Bissau president had revealed that many people were seriously injured and others killed in a failed coup attempt.