It is far too early to know the results of the Zimbabwe Defense Force’s military takeover of the Zimbabwean government. Although the takeover had many hallmarks of a coup, ZDF has emphasized that it did not carry out a coup. However, there is a plethora of African coups and their endings to watch for at this moment as we follow events in Zimbabwe.
The African continent has seen many coups since the 1960s. Both bloody falls and deadly strategic operations on incumbent governments. In fact, there have been around 200 African coups in Africa, some successful, some unsuccessful. Hollywood movies like Tears of the Sun I took inspiration from these bits of African history and portrayed some gory government falls.
Togo was the first West African country to stage a military coup on January 13, 1963. Togolese soldiers, who had been demobilized by the French colonial armies and threatened with unemployment for refusing to join the Togolese army, staged an armed coup that resulted in the assassination of President Sylvanus Olympio.
So far, 40 African countries have experienced coups, some more than others, with Burkina Faso being the capital of the African coup. Below we list the countries in Africa with the most coups.
| country | number of coups |
| Burkina Faso | 10 |
| Nigeria | 8th |
| burundi | 6 |
| Chad | 6 |
| Ghana | 6 |
| Comoros | 6 |
| Mauritania | 6 |
| Sudan | 6 |
| Ethiopia | 5 |
| Libya | 5 |
| Sierra Leone | 5 |
| The Central African Republic | 5 |
| benin | 5 |
Six of the coups in Burkina Faso occurred in 1980 alone and two of them were led by Blaise Compaoré, who seized power and then ruled for 27 years until October 2014 when he was overthrown by another coup. In the 57 years since Nigeria’s independence, the country has spent more time under military rule than under civilian rule.
Guinea-Bissau has not had a full-time president since the country gained independence in 1974. Coups in Morocco, Kenya and Cameroon have never been successful. Despite the rich history of African coups, there have still been outstanding coups.
Five of the most famous African coups
Egyptian Revolution
In 1952 the Egyptian revolution was declared 23. July The revolution began. It began with a military coup carried out on July 23, 1952 by a group of young army officers calling themselves “The Free Officers Movement”.
The initial revolutionary goal was given as the overthrow of King Farouk I. However, soon it had more political ambitions as the group soon strove to abolish the constitutional monarchy and establish a republic. Its success would inspire many Arab and African countries to also revolt against what they believed to be corrupt, turning it into one of the most influential African coups in history.
The coup also led to the nationalization of the Suez Canal, sparking the Suez Crisis that forced France and Britain to decolonize.
Libya’s 1969 coup d’état
The infamous late dictator who lived in a tent for illiterate Bedouin parents became the 27-year-old army officer who on September 1, 1969 decided to seize power for himself. King Idris had been to a spa town out of the country.
Driving military vehicles into the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi, he and about 70 co-conspirators surrounded the royal palace and other key government buildings, cut communications and arrested some high-ranking officials.
The king’s bodyguards could only resist and in less than two hours Gaddafi had carried out a successful bloodless coup. In a radio address that morning, Gaddafi informed his compatriots that the “corrupt” and “reactionary” regime had been overthrown.
Gaddafi transformed himself from a previously unknown leader into a figure who imposed his will on all aspects of Libyan life. He ruled for 42 years before being killed during the 2011 “Arab Spring” uprising.
Equatorial Guinea coup 1979
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo on August 3, 1979, overthrew his dictator uncle over fears he had gone insane when he ordered the murders of several members of his family, including Obiang’s brother.
His uncle Macias was accused of a number of atrocities including the Bubi genocide. He was executed by firing squad on September 29, 1979.
Obiang would emerge as a corrupt leader who held power for three decades and channeled all of the country’s wealth through his own bank accounts while the world questioned his role in his uncle’s atrocities.
Ugandan coup 1971
Idi Amin also had humble beginnings like Gaddafi’s. He also rose through the ranks of the military to become Uganda’s top general. He was originally a close ally of President Milton Obote, who led the country to independence from Britain in 1962. The two men soon fell out, however, and just before leaving for a conference in Singapore, Obote reportedly secretly ordered Amin’s arrest.
News of the plot to have him arrested leaked again to Idi Amin, who moved troops to Kampala, the capital, on January 25, 1971, before Obote was there. They fired automatic weapons and mortars and seized the airport and other strategic locations before radioing their successful coup.
Idi Amin broke his promise to restore democracy and instead ruled Uganda with an iron grip, killing some 300,000 perceived political opponents over the course of his brutal eight-year reign. Eventually deposed by Ugandan exiles and Tanzanian soldiers, he lived the rest of his life in Saudi Arabia without ever being charged.
2012 coup in Mali
On March 21, 2012, Malian soldiers mutinied, who formed the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy, became dissatisfied with President Amadou Toumani Touré’s management of the Tuareg rebellion from January to April.
The Tuareg Rebellion was a series of uprisingsDating back to 1916, when rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad were fighting for independence in the northern region of Mali. In 2012, 100,000 civilians were displaced and almost 15,000 soldiers were killed.
The mutinous Malian soldiers therefore attacked the capital of Barnako, including the presidential palace, the military barracks and state television.