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Gabon coup not surprising, about 4 more on the way – Kwesi Pratt
Veteran journalist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has voiced his lack of surprise over the recent military takeover in Gabon.
The Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper stated that clear indications were present regarding the ousted President of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, tightly clinging to power.
Expressing his views on Accra-based Metro TV, Kwesi went on to suggest that the coup in Gabon garnered considerable local support due to the citizens’ fatigue with prolonged rule by a single family.
“Who was not expecting a coup d’etat in Gabon? I don’t know of one person who was not expecting a coup d’etat in Gabon. As a matter of fact, if you look at the measures which were instituted by the government of Ali Bongo in the run-up to the election and after the elections, they all point to panic, severe panic,” he said.
Speaking on Good Morning Ghana on Wednesday, August 30, 2023, he added that “everybody was expecting this coup d’etat in Gabon for many reasons.”
“One family has been in power for 53 long years. And that family has not been in power for 53 long years because it was loved by the people of Gabon; it has been in power because it imposed itself on the people, rigid elections, harassed opposition leaders, banned political parties, arrested trade union leaders, and so on.”
Furthermore, he projected his expectation of four additional coups across various African nations, emphasising the recurring nature of such political upheavals on the continent.
He further predicted the occurrence of four additional coups within Africa, foreseeing that at least two of them could transpire before the conclusion of 2023.
“I was expecting the coup creel in Gabon. I’m still expecting coup d’etats in 4 more countries. I think that four more are going to fall very, very soon, possibly before the end of the year. We should expect about 2 or 3 countries to fall, and four more countries are likely to fall.”
Meanwhile, Gabon’s president has called on “friends all over the world” to “make noise” over the coup in the country, in a clip that’s been circulating on social media.
Sitting in what he says is his residence – in a grand room complete with wood-paneled walls, ornate carpets and leather-bound books – Ali Bongo says: “My son is somewhere, my wife is in another place.
“Nothing is happening. I don’t know what is going on.”
He again urges his “friends” to speak up, before thanking them.
A communications company that was working for the presidency during the election has been in contact with the BBC to confirm the authenticity of the footage. It has been asked by Bongo’s office to circulate the video.
Source:Myjoyonline.com
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Focus on more pressing issues like Galamsey, not hate speech – Ellen Ama Daaku to Mahama
An aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,Ellen Ama Daaku has advised President John Dramani Mahama to shift his attention from social media hate speech to more urgent national issues such as illegal mining.
Speaking in an interview, she noted that the President’s recent comments about tracking the IP addresses of people who spread hate speech were unnecessary.
According to her, President Mahama must first define what he considers to be hate speech before seeking to punish people for it.
Ms. Daaku argued that the President himself had benefitted from hate speech and social media attacks in the past when he was in opposition.
She said even during his time in government, he described his opponents and their tribesmen in unpalatable terms, which later drew complaints from former President Nana Akufo-Addo to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
She stressed that harsh criticism of leaders on social media should not automatically be considered hate speech, adding that former leaders, including former President Nana Akufo-Addo had all been subjected to it.
“He is only feeling what Nana Akufo-Addo went through for eight years,” she remarked.
While acknowledging the need to regulate misconduct online, Ms. Daaku insisted that going after social media activists should not be a priority.
She noted that many political activists, including herself, had been insulted and attacked online but never called for arrests.
She concluded that President Mahama should focus his energy on solving pressing problems such as galamsey and the economy instead of concentrating on critics on social media.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
