Guinea-Bissau, a small West African nation long plagued by political instability, has once again found itself in the international spotlight after a dramatic military coup upended its fragile democracy. The events unfolded rapidly in the week of November 26, 2025, as a disputed presidential election descended into chaos, culminating in the ousting of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and his hurried flight across borders.
According to multiple reports, including confirmation from Embalo’s own chief of staff, Califa Soares Cassama, the former president initially sought refuge in neighboring Senegal before arriving in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, by November 30. Unnamed Congolese government sources corroborated Embalo’s presence in their capital, signaling that the ex-president was seeking a safe haven far from the turmoil engulfing his homeland.
The coup itself was announced by a faction of military officers who declared they had assumed “full control” over Guinea-Bissau, a move that coincided with the anticipated release of provisional presidential election results. The military’s spokesperson, Diniz N'Tchama, addressed the nation, stating that the electoral process had been suspended and that the country’s land, air, and sea borders were now closed. This abrupt seizure of power left the nation’s political future shrouded in uncertainty and fear.
The roots of the crisis can be traced to the presidential and legislative elections held on November 23, 2025. In a scene reminiscent of Guinea-Bissau’s troubled past, both Embalo and his main challenger, Fernando Dias, proclaimed victory before any official results were announced. This deadlock set the stage for the military’s intervention, which many observers saw as a blow to the country’s hard-won democratic progress.
Adding to the intrigue, many of the new military leaders, including transitional president General Horta Inta-A and prime minister Ilidio Vieira Te, were previously close allies of Embalo. The interim government, unveiled on November 29, consisted of a 28-member cabinet predominantly composed of Embalo’s former associates. This unusual continuity between the old and new regimes has fueled speculation and conspiracy theories, with some suggesting that the coup may have unfolded with Embalo’s tacit approval. Yet, no direct evidence has emerged to substantiate these claims.
The opposition, particularly the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), has borne the brunt of the turmoil. The party reported that its headquarters in Bissau was stormed by heavily armed militia groups in the days following the coup. The PAIGC condemned the raid as an assault on democracy and the country’s stability, especially given that the party had already been barred from presenting a presidential candidate in the contested election. Civil rights advocates decried this crackdown on opposition voices, warning that it threatened to erase the gains made since Guinea-Bissau’s return to civilian rule.
As of November 30, neither Embalo nor Dias had received any official word on the outcome of the election. The absence of results only deepened the sense of political limbo, with both camps maintaining their claims of victory. The uncertainty has left ordinary citizens anxious and international observers deeply concerned about the country’s future.
The response from the international community was swift and unequivocal. Regional leaders, the United Nations, and the government of Ghana all condemned the coup and called for the restoration of constitutional order. In a strongly worded statement, Ghana’s government declared, “The Government of the Republic of Ghana strongly and unequivocally condemns the coup d'etat carried out by elements of the military in the Republic of Guinea-Bissau. This unconstitutional usurpation of authority represents a direct assault on democratic governance and disrupts the electoral process that followed the peaceful conduct of presidential and legislative elections on 23rd November, 2025.” Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko was equally forthright, labeling the military takeover a “sham” and urging that the electoral commission be allowed to declare a winner.
Meanwhile, in a development that captured the imagination of the West African public, a TikTok video of Ghanaian prophet De-Lighter Roja resurfaced and quickly went viral. In the video, originally broadcast on Angel FM and shared on TikTok on November 30, Prophet Roja described a vision in which a country's flag was turned upside down and replaced by a military one—a clear allusion, he claimed, to an imminent coup in West Africa. Presenter Saddick Adams, who interviewed Roja, remarked on air that the vision seemed to foretell a coup, and instructed his producers to preserve the clip as evidence should the prophecy come to pass.
The resurfacing of the prophecy in the aftermath of the Guinea-Bissau coup ignited a flurry of reactions on social media, especially among Ghanaians. Some viewers were impressed by Roja’s apparent foresight, while others dismissed the prophecy as vague or coincidental. The debate was further stoked by a separate viral moment, when controversial political commentator Appiah Stadium confronted Prophet Roja at Kumasi’s Prempeh Airport on November 27, issuing his own warning of impending doom for the prophet—a twist that only heightened the drama and spectacle around the unfolding events.
Yet, for the people of Guinea-Bissau, the spectacle of prophecy and social media debates paled in comparison to the stark realities on the ground. The abrupt closure of borders, the suspension of the electoral process, and the storming of opposition headquarters all signaled a return to the dark days of military rule and political repression. The fact that the new military leaders were so closely tied to the ousted president raised uncomfortable questions about the true nature of the coup and the prospects for genuine change.
For now, Guinea-Bissau remains in a state of suspended animation. The international community continues to press for a return to constitutional order and the completion of the electoral process, but the path forward is anything but clear. As the dust settles, the world watches to see whether Guinea-Bissau will reclaim its democratic aspirations or slide further into instability.
In the end, the events of late November 2025 serve as a stark reminder of how fragile democracy remains in parts of West Africa, and how quickly old patterns of power and repression can reassert themselves when institutions falter and trust evaporates.
