Despite the occurrence of coup d’etats being largely driven by domestic reasons, President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said the impact of foreign influence cannot be overlooked.
According to him, the reoccurrence of constitutional overthrow on the continent is a menace that requires outright condemnation by all to ensure the goal of riding the region of instability is materialised.
He says the role of these external influence undermines “our collective bid to rid the continent of the menace of instability and unconstitutional changes in government, as currently defined by the frameworks enshrined in the Lomé Declaration, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, and other important regional and continental instruments.”
The President made those remarks whilst delivering the keynote address at a side-event organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany, on Friday. February 17, 2024.
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Explaining why some foreign entities fuel coups in Africa, Mr. Akufo-Addo indicated “foreign involvement in fomenting unconstitutional changes, often in favour of repressive governments, foreign economic interests and other would-be geo-political benefits, are contributory factors. Some foreign entities regard coups in African countries as a means of enhancing their regional ambitions.”
He continued, “as such, they engage in all sorts of disinformation campaigns in a bid to disparage the authority of democratically elected governments and instigate opposition protests against incumbents.”
In implementing existing continental and regional instruments and protocols, the President noted that defaulting Member States are condemned and suspended from the activities of continental and regional bodies, and individual coup-makers are sanctioned.
A major lapse in tackling the problem, the president noted, nonetheless, is the selective sanctioning of coup plotters where only those that come through military takeovers are punished, leaving out democratically elected leaders who alter constitutions to extend their stay in power.
“However, the reality is, these sanctions have not been applied uniformly. Whilst we are quick to sanction military coup leaders, civilians, who achieve similar ends via the manipulation of constitutions to remain in power, for example, go without sanctions, although their actions are clearly prohibited in our legal instruments. This means that the existing frameworks need to be strengthened to capture such infractions,” he added.
By Felix Anim-Appau|Onuaonline.com
