Amidst scrutiny the Gabon coup finally gets a nod of approval, tagged as a “good coup”

• The AFC, a major financial institution with substantial investments in Gabon, expresses approval for the recent coup, citing its peaceful nature and minimal impact on economic activities. 
• While AFC executive Sanjeev Gupta lauds the coup as a good coup, the institution's CEO, Samaila Zubairu, reveals a conflicting stance, indicating a project halt in the country due to concerns over rising military takeovers in Africa. 
• The Gabonese coup faces intense international scrutiny, with even the West African Bloc considering military intervention if the coup leaders fail to restore a democratic government. 

The Gabon coup which was executed on the 30th of August, 2023, has finally gotten a nod of approval from a major financial institution. The African Finance Corporation, a multilateral financial institution, created by African sovereign states, has noted that the coup so far has been peaceful and it has been business as usual in the central African nation.

In what the financial body tagged a “good coup,” a senior official representing the group noted that economic activities in the state have hardly been affected, and business is going on as though the region didn’t just experience a major political shift, according to a report by Reuters.

We have significant investments in Gabon and so far the coup has been very peaceful, the thinking has been very mature, normal life is going on ... the assets are safe and everything is operating, which probably means it is a good coup, Sanjeev Gupta, executive director of financial services at the AFC, said at the Reuters IMPACT climate conference in London.

However, the same body had a conflicting opinion on the matter in an email to Bloomberg, where Samaila Zubairu, the Chief Executive Officer of the AFC relayed that the institution has halted a project in a state where it has made investments.

The rise of the juntas in Africa is “very worrying, especially with the seeming appeal of the changes to the mass populace,” Samaila Zubairu said.

With an investment portfolio of approximately $11.5 billion in Africa, the AFC has stakes in port facilities in Gabon, Mauritania, and Ghana, and power plants in Ivory Coast and Djibouti.

Minutes after the state electoral commission declared President Ali Bongo had won a third term, a group of top Gabonese military officials came on national television, shortly after the coup to announce that they had successfully seized power from democratically elected Ali Bongo.

Albeit contentious, Bongo was set to maintain his family's 56-year hold on power after winning the 2023 presidential elections. His win was widely disputed by the opposition and observers, as they cited large bouts of election malpractice.

The leader of the coup, General Brice Oligui Nguema has since assumed office as the country’s interim head of state. So far, the coup has been received by the international community with heavy scrutiny, as even the West African Bloc, which Gabon is a part of, has threatened military intervention, should the coup plotters fail to reinstitute a democratic government.

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