Gabon: Guinea-Bissau President Appoints New Officials To Brace Up Personal Securities Against Any Coup

Umaro Sissoco Embalo, the Guinea-Bissau President, revealed it has appointed two new officials to protect his security, ruling out any intending coup against his government.

This is coming after recent coups that happened in Niger Republic and Gabon, both carried out by the military.

Embalo, had in last month, charged that Niger’s coup presented an existential threat to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), stating the deposed Nigerien president Mohamed Bazoum was the country’s legitimate leader.

On Monday, 4th of September, 2023 General Tomas Djassi assumed office as head of presidential security, while General Horta Inta started work as chief of staff to the president on Friday.

Djassi and Inta were sworn in Monday during an event at the presidential palace, freshreporters media had gathered.

“It’s true that coups d’état carried out by presidential security officers have become fashionable,” Embalo told newsmen on Monday, while assuring that “any suspicious movement will be met with an appropriate response”.

These two positions have long existed in the government’s organisational structure but have not been filled for several decades.

Guinea-Bissau has suffered four military coups since it gained her independence in 1974, most recently in 2012.

An attempt to overthrow Embalo took place in February 2022.

Before his new appointment, Djassi was the head of the national guard, an elite unit of the army whose intervention helped stall the 2022 coup attempt while Inta was head of the central police station in Bissau. [CONTINUE READING HERE]>>>>