The putsch against Gabon’s Bongo dynasty has shaken the region’s fragile autocrats and tremulous gerontocrats into a desperation of self-protective measures. How much longer can they postpone the inevitable? After the 30 August Brice Nguema-led military coup in Gabon, political commentators called time on central Africa’s Francophone “dinosaur regimes” – hinting that Bongo’s overthrow would most likely create cascading effects across the subregion. This prediction was informed by the fact that these countries – Cameroon is under Paul Biya who is 90; Equatorial Guinea under Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo(80); and the Republic of Congo under Denis Sassou Nguesso (79) – … Continue reading Central Africa’s dinosaur regimes and the art of coup-proofing