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Join on Telegram Rabat – In response to the recent surge of military coups across the African continent, Rwanda and Cameroon have taken proactive measures to reshape their defense portfolios. This comes in the wake of the most recent coup in Gabon, where President Ali Bongo was ousted from power and placed under house arrest by the military.
Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, wasted no time in implementing significant changes to the country’s Ministry of Defense following the Gabonese coup. The reshuffling included key positions such as the Defense Delegate to the Presidency, high-ranking staff within the Air Force, Navy, and the Police.
Paul Biya, who has held power since a coup d’état brought him to the presidency in 1982, has faced allegations of tyranny and human rights violations during his early years in office. Although he later allowed multiparty elections in the nation, his prolonged tenure has been a subject of criticism.
In parallel, the Rwandan Defence Force (RDF) announced on X, the social media network formerly known as Twitter, that President Paul Kagame had authorized the retirement of 83 top military officers, including James Kabarebe, the senior presidential advisor on security issues. While the exact reasons for this sudden retirement were not disclosed, it is widely speculated that this move is aimed at countering the growing wave of military coups sweeping across Africa.
Read also: Coup D’Etat in Gabon: Military Officers Seizes Power Amid Governance Concerns
The RDF further revealed that President Kagame has also granted approval for the promotion and appointment of new officers to fill the vacancies left by the departing senior officials.
In addition to these measures, high-level meetings took place between Rwanda’s Chief of Defence Staff, the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Rwanda, and the Defense Attache of Cameroon. These discussions centered on strategies to enhance defense cooperation between their respective nations.
It’s worth noting that due to constitutional changes made in 2015, President Kagame can serve as the president of Rwanda until 2034. As one of Africa’s longest-serving presidents, Kagame has been in office since 2000.
Both President Kagame and President Biya’s decisions to restructure their military leadership came shortly after soldiers seized power in Gabon, marking the end of the Bongo family’s 53-year hold on the presidency. The election in which Ali Bongo had recently secured a controversial third term was heavily contested by the opposition, who alleged widespread fraud.
